1. Rob Gleasure R.Gleasure@ucc.ie www.robgleasure.com
IS3320 Developing and Using Management Information Systems Lecture 20: Exam Revision and Semester Roundup
Rob Gleasure

2. IS3320 Today’s lecture Topics Exam technique The changing nature of IT
Spotting IT trends
Blue ocean thinking
Design Thinking
Introducing new IT
Use case diagrams
Flowcharts
DFDs
Project management
Usability, UX, and testing
Exam technique

3. The changing nature of IT
IT doesn’t matter?
How has the analysis and design of IT changed?
What’s different about IT design and the design of bridges or mathematical equations?
What kinds of businesses are most/least affected?
What is likely to happen in the future?

4. Spotting IT trends
How and why can we expect markets to change over time?
What does this mean for the design of IT and the value of different types of innovations?
What are suitable examples of these changes?

5. Blue ocean strategy
What is blue ocean thinking and how does it differ from red ocean thinking?
Why is this particularly important when designing products, services, or practices with a strong IT component?
How do we go about doing so?
What are the four steps involved in drawing a value curve?
What is an example of blue ocean design?
What’s an example of a value curve from a real world product, service, or practice?

6. Design thinking
What is design thinking and why has it become so popular?
What are the core principles of design thinking and why are they important?
What are the stages involved in design thinking?
Why is it so important that we define problems in a manner that lends itself to multiple design options?
Why is it so important that we consider tacit and explicit knowledge and behaviours and gather requirements appropriately?*
* Also applies under process modelling

7. Introducing new IT
How can markets be divided up in terms of potential IT consumers?
What’s the difference between early adopters (techies and visionaries) and pragmatic (mainstream) adopters?
What are the problems when introducing new innovations?
What’s the difference between active and passive resistance?
Why is this especially important when introducing IT?
How can we overcome these problems?
How/why do strategies like crossing the chasm and lean start-up help?

8. Use case diagrams What are use case diagrams? Why are they used
In analysis?
In design?
What kinds of issues can they uncover?
Draw a use case diagram for the following narrative and document assumptions or any aspects that you feel require further discussion and clarification…

9. Flowcharts What are flowcharts? Why are they used In analysis?
In design?
What kinds of issues can they uncover?
Draw a flowchart for the following narrative and document assumptions or any aspects that you feel require further discussion and clarification…

10. Data-flow diagrams (DFDs)
What are DFDs?
What’s the relationship between context-level and level 0 DFDs and why are they organised this way?
Why are they used
In analysis?
In design?
What kinds of issues can they uncover?
Draw a context-level DFD for the following narrative and document assumptions or any aspects that you feel require further discussion and clarification…

11. Project management What are the basic elements of project management?
How are waterfall and agile methods different?
When might you use waterfall?
When might you use agile?
How does agile relate to other techniques discussed in the course, e.g. use cases, lean, crossing the chasm

12. Usability, UX, and testing
What is usability and why is it important?
What are conceptual models and how do they help us design for better usability?
What is UX design and why is it important?
What is an example of good UX design?
What different types of testing can we implement and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
Why is UX so important when introducing new technologies?

13. Answering Questions Exam technique Manage your time Plan your answers
Sketch out your diagrams very quickly as roughwork if you’re not sure how to make them fit together
Bring a pencil and eraser!
Answer your best questions first
Use examples
Have these lined up as part of your revision where possible