Bblearn csuohio edu

Cleveland State University IST 461 – Business Analysis (4 credit hours)
Instructor: Radha Appan

Office Location: BU 340

Phone: 216-687-4755

email: radha.appan@gmail.com (preferred)

Office Hours: By Appointment

Class Location: Online

Email: Email is my preferred mode of communication. Use the email feature of Blackboard Learn to send me emails. Alternatively, you can also use radha.appan@gmail.com.

Email Policy: Please remember to use professional verbiage in your emails. Emails that are not professional in nature and content will not be tolerated. I will check my emails during the 8:00 am - 5:00 pm timeframe Monday through Friday. If a student sends an email after 5:00 pm on a particular day, that email will be accessed next morning after 8:00 am. From the time I access the students’ emails, I will respond within 24 - 48 hours. Often, some emails are urgent in nature and they will be given preference.

Catalog Description: This course aims to (i) provide an introduction to the key concepts related to business analysis, (ii) help students gain in depth knowledge of various techniques used in business analysis, (iii) develop skills required to complete various business analysis tasks, and (iv) illustrate various business analysis practices employed in the industry. This course does not require any technical expertise and will not teach any specific computer programming.

Expected Outcomes: On successful completion of this course, students will have a holistic understanding of the business analysis profession. Specifically they will be able to (i) explain the various tasks involved in conducting business analysis (ii) examine various situations, predict different problems that may arise during the analysis process and illustrate a variety of ways to address those problems, (iii) develop business analysis plans, formulate & evaluate alternatives, select and justify a course of action to solve the problem in hand, (iv) distinguish and apply various techniques used in business analysis to a variety of contexts. Further, they will have in depth knowledge about the role and responsibilities of business analysts.

List of Required Materials: A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge by International Institute of Business Analysis (Version 2). A pdf copy of the handbook can be purchased at http://www.iiba.org/BABOK-Guide.aspx for $29.95.

Additional material will be made available on Blackboard by the instructor.

Blackboard: The course will be managed through Blackboard Learn. Here is the link for Blackboard Learn: https://bblearn.csuohio.edu/MACAuth/login.jsp

The syllabus, schedule, and all relevant information will be available on the class website from 05/19/2014. Use your Campusnet username and password to log on.

Last Day to Drop: Refer to http://www.csuohio.edu/enrollmentservices/registrar/calendar/

Last Day to Withdraw: Refer to http://www.csuohio.edu/enrollmentservices/registrar/calendar/

Grading: The course grade is based on a student's overall performance through the entire semester. The final grade is distributed among the following components:

Assignments....…...…………………………………….......30%

Test 1………………………….…………………………....20%

Test 2………………………….…………………………....20%

Test 3………………………….…………………………....30%

In general, grades are determined as follows:

90-100%=A, 80-89%=B, 70-79%=C, 60-69%=D, Below 60=F.

Assignments Policy: All assignments are due on the specified date. All assignments must be individually and independently completed and must represent the effort of the student turning in the assignment. Should two or more students turn in substantially the same solution or response, in the judgment of the instructor, the solution will be considered a group effort. Both or all involved in the group effort will receive a zero grade for that homework/assignment. A student turning in a group effort assignment more than once will automatically receive an "F" grade for the course. Click on the Assignments tab on Blackboard to access the assignments.

Late Assignment: An assignment is to be turned in on the day it is due. Late assignments will not be accepted unless the deadline was missed due to a documented emergency. Written verification for the student's inability to complete the homework on time will be required.

Test Policy:

Tests will be made of multiple choice and/or essay type questions that you will take on an assigned day via Blackboard Learn. Each test will be over the chapters assigned by the instructor for that particular test. You will need to be prepared with both the textbook material and any additional materials provided by the instructor. Students who are determined by the instructor to be involved in cheating will receive an ‘F’ for the course. All the tests have to be taken on the assigned days. You can choose any one of the assigned days listed on the course schedule and complete your exam. Click on the assessments tab to access the exams.

Make-Up Test Policy:

Make-up tests will be given only in case of documented medical emergencies. If documentation is not provided, the grade is automatically zero for that test. It is the responsibility of the student to contact the instructor for arranging a make-up time. Written verification of the student's inability to take a test will be required within one week of the test. Please make a note of the test days and make any necessary arrangements.

Course Schedule: The schedule of topics and their order of coverage is given below. Every effort will be made to follow the schedule, but topics covered may vary depending upon the progress made.

Week of

Topic

Reading from the Textbook

Assignments and Test

05/19-05/25

Chapter 1 – Introduction to Business Analysis

Pages 3-15

05/27-06/01

Chapter 2 – Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring

Selected sections of chapter 9*

Pages 17-49

Test 1** (over chapters 1 and 2) can be taken on 05/29 or 05/30 or 06/01

Assignment 1 due on 06/01

06/2-06/08

Chapter 3 – Elicitation

Selected sections of chapter 9*

Pages 53-61

06/9-06/15

Chapter 4 – Requirements management and communication

Selected sections of chapter 9*

Pages 63-77

Test 2** (over chapters 3 and 4) can be taken on 06/13 or 06/14 or 06/15

Assignment 2 due on 06/15

06/16-06/22

Chapter 5 – Enterprise Analysis

Chapter 6 – Requirements Analysis

Selected sections of chapter 9*

Pages 81-117

06/23-06/27

Chapter 7 – Solution Assessment and Validation

Selected sections of chapter 9*

Pages 121-137

Test 3** (over chapters 5, 6, and 7) can be taken on 06/25 or 06/26 or 06/27

Assignment 3 due on 06/27

* The relevant sections of chapter 9 for each week will be notified by the instructor via weekly email.

** Test will included the assigned chapters and related additional material provided by the instructor.

NOTE:

1. Additional reading material will be provided during the course of the semester.

2. The instructor reserves the right to retain, for pedagogical reasons, either the original or a copy of your work submitted either individually or as a group project for this class. Students' names will be deleted from any retained items.

UNIVERSITY POLICIES

Diversity statement: This classroom will be a safe and respectful environment that will respect all differences, i.e., race, ethnicity, gender, gender identification, sexual orientation, religion, and will not tolerate discrimination in any form.

Disability statement: Educational access is the provision of classroom accommodations, auxiliary aids and services to ensure equal educational opportunities for all students regardless of their disability. Any student who feels he/she may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Disability Services at (216) 687-2015. The office is located in MC 147. Accommodations need to be requested in advance and will not be granted retroactively.

Academic Honesty: All student work should reflect a devotion to academic honesty. As found in The Code of Student Conduct: “The Cleveland State University Academic Community values honesty and integrity and holds its members to high standards of ethical conduct. Academic dishonesty is, therefore, unacceptable, and students must be prepared to accept the appropriate sanctions for any dishonest academic behavior as outlined in this policy on academic misconduct.” (p. 18) Such conduct includes cheating, plagiarism, and tampering. The full code can be found at: https://mycsu.csuohio.edu/studentlife/StudentCodeOfConduct.pdf or by contacting the Department of Student Life.

Academic Misconduct: Any form of academic misconduct will earn an immediate grade of U/F for the course. In addition, your name will be forwarded to the Academic Misconduct Review Committee, for a hearing concerning your suspension from the University. To be clear, I consider any and every instance of academic misconduct to be a major infraction. I strongly recommend that you familiarize yourself with the various forms of academic misconduct in the CSU Code of student Conduct. All the work that you hand in must represent your own independent and unique work. It should be distinct from that of every other student in class. If you have questions about this, please ask—it is best to resolve these issues in advance.

All students will adhere to the Viking Creed: We, the Members of the Cleveland State University community, as active citizens in a living and learning environment, bring to our campus a shared vision where “community” means:

Sharing a clear vision of our common purpose

Treating all people fairly, justly and respectfully

Embracing and celebrating our diversity

Collaborating toward a common goal

Exhibiting caring and trust involving students at all levels

Connecting Cleveland State University with our Greater Community

Embracing CSU as the metropolitan education center of Cleveland

Learning in and out of the classroom

Celebrating ourselves through traditions

Taking responsibility to lead, to listen and to serve

Sharing power and influence

Committing to life-long learning and personal growth

As member of the Cleveland State University community, we have an individual and a shared responsibility to practice the Viking Community Creed in order to create a campus of inclusion, respect, integrity and purpose

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