Information Systems Engineering & Management (ISEM)

ISEM 500: Strategic IS Planning, Engineering and Management

Instructor: Amjad Umar, Ph.D.

Professor and Director of ISEM Program
Harrisburg University of Science and Technology
email: aumar@harrisburgu.edu
Phone: 717-901-5141, Room:- 1330

Prerequisites: Graduate standing and basic literacy in IT

Description: This course introduces the basic principles (systems thinking and quantitative
methods) of systems engineering and shows how these principles can be used to strategically
plan, integrate, secure and administer the complex information systems (IS) that support and
drive the current and future digital enterprises. The first part of the course will introduce systems
engineering principles and review the emerging features of current and future enterprises (e.g.,
service orientation, reliance on web and mobile services, globalization, and agility). The second
part will explicate the role of IT to enable and drive such enterprises and will explain the building
blocks of the modern information systems that span business processes, enterprise applications,
databases, computing and platforms, and network services. The final segment explores how the
needed IT systems can be planned, engineered/re-engineered, integrated, secured and managed by
using the systems engineering principles. Extensive case study method will be used throughout
the course.

Important Explanation and a Suggestion: This course requires a basic understanding of IT

concepts (e.g., computer systems, databases, Internet and the Web Technologies).

Course Learning Objectives:

After taking this course, the students should be able to:
1. Fully understand modern digital enterprises and the role of IS (information systems) to
strategically compete and succeed in the competitive global marketplace
2. Apply the concepts of IS planning, architectures and administration to develop strategic IS
plans that are based on systems thinking (people, processes and technologies)
3. Identify the layers (building blocks) that form the modern enterprises and specifically
describe how the Internet and the Web revolutionized the business and the role of IT to enable
and drive modern enterprises
4. Apply the basic concepts of knowledge management and AI to global business decisions

ISEM Program Learning Objectives (PLOs)

The Students completing the MS Degree in ISEM should be able to:
(1) Formulate and implement business strategy.
(2) Articulate knowledge of various system components associated with digital enterprises.
(3) Recognize the interrelationship between various system components.
(4) Formulate the design and planning processes involving information, engineering, and management
systems.
(5) Lead the management for primary operational functions within modern enterprises.

Course Texts:

The main course text is the "Enterprise Planning" Course Pack, available from PayPal, that contains:
 Textbook: “Strategic Planning, Engineering and Management of Digital Enterprises”, by A.
Umar, Target Publication. 2019.
 Four Month Access to a Computer Aided Planning, Engineering and Management
Environment (SPACE) that will serve as an additional text and hands-on experiments for strategic
planning. SPACE keeps track of individual progress (who did what and when) and supports self
assessment exercises.

Video Clip for the Paypal Process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IIagnBw-gc&feature=youtu.be

For Instructions to Purchase "Enterprise Planning" Course Pack through PayPal Click Here or
http://space4ict.com/ISEM%20-course/ISEM500-COURSE%20PACK%20PURCHASING-
Paypal.pdf .

Also Suggested Text: Management Information Systems, Managing the Digital Firm, Kenneth C.
Laudon and Jane P. Laudon, Prentice-Hall (12th edition or later)

Additional Reading Materials:

In addition to the Coursepack, the course will rely on several external sources of information such as
the following:
 Abraham, SC (2012), Strategic Planning: A Practical Guide for Competitive Success,
second edition, Emerald House Publishing
 Boar, B. (2001), The Art of Strategic Planning for Information Technology, Second
Edition, John Wiley, 2001
 Dhillon, G. (2014), Strategic Information Systems Planning: Readings and Cases,
Semantic Books
 King, W.R. Editor (2015), Planning for Information Systems, Routledge Publications
 Ward, J and Peppard, J. (2001), Strategic Planning for Information Systems, John Wiley &
Sons
 Articles on different aspects of digital organizations (theoretical models, examples and
case studies)
 Literature on strategic planning and selected case studies

GRADING AND ASSIGNMENTS

Your grade is based on straight percentile grades. You earn points with each assignment and exam
(see below).

A: 90 to 100%; B: 80 to 89%; C: 70 to 79%;

 Rubric used for Grading:
 A = Exceeded expectations plus all questions answered and well supported through
explanations and diagrams (if appropriate)
 B = Met expectation. Most questions answered but not supported through explanations and
diagrams (if appropriate)
 C and below = Below expectation. Major questions not answered, major omissions and
conceptual flaws

Late Submission Policy (Important):

You will have 1 day grace period for late submission. However, you will lose 10% of the grade in
this late submission period. After that no submissions will be allowed.

Plagiarism and Cheating Policy (very Important)

HU is rigorously discouraging the practice of plagiarism by enforcing the following policy:
 First incident of plagiarism, a grade of 0 on the assignment and a stern warning
 Second incident of plagiarism, a grade of F in the entire course.

The policy against cheating (e.g., copying another student’s work) is similar.

Please note that a Grade of F in a course may result in cancellation of CPT and student visa.

Assignments and Projects:

 Three Homework Assignments (individual) that focus on understanding the concepts
 Three Team Projects that focus on the use of concepts in real life situations.
 Three Exams that make sure that everything fits together
 Attendance and participation to “show signs of life”

The following table shows the exact grade distribution, sequence and timings of these activities
and how do they contribute to the course objectives.

Relationship Relationship
Activities Weight to Course to Program
Objectives Objectives
Three  Homework Assignments    50 Points 1, 2, 3, 4 PLO1
   
Three Examinations      200 points 1, 2, 3, 4 PLO1
Project 1: Develop a Strategic IS Plan for a Company   60 Points 1, 2, 3, 4 PLO2
Project2: Develop a Technology Plan for the Same Company 70 Points
Project3:  Hands on Experiments and Research into a special  70 Points 4, 5 PLO1, PLO2
topic    
Attendance & Participation
 10 Weekly Online Discussions (10x2) = 20 50 points
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
 Attendance in three Executive sessions  (or extra credit 
 for Online Sessions for Strictly Online Courses)= 30    
TOTAL  500 Points

Guidelines for Project Submissions

 Full Legal Names of all team members must be clearly specified on the Title page
 The submissions must be in MS Word, Powerpoint or PDF format
 The entire team must submit only one file
 If more than one file needs to be submitted, then please submit them in one ZIP file.

Overall Course Approach

The, course as displayed in Figure 1, consists of the following modules
 Course Start: Introduction to the course materials and the SPACE environment
 Warmup: HW1, Exam1, and Project1
 Midpoint: HW2, Exam2, and Project2
 Conclusion: HW3, Exam3, and Project3

Figure 1: The Overall Course Approach

About Attending Executive Sessions

F-1 visa holders are required to attend a certain number of on campus sessions to comply with
USCIS Federal Regulations for International Students. Due to our format, missing even one on
campus session is an issue of compliance. Therefore, a student’s absence may only be excused
for illness that is documented by a licensed medical doctor. Otherwise, any absence will be noted
as unexcused by the DSO and your professor will let you know of any academic consequences for
the absence.

Transfer Credits – HU allows transfer of graduate credits from other institutions. The following
limitations apply:
• transfer credit is limited to six (6) semester hours from another graduate program;
• the credit must have been earned with final grades of “B” or higher;
Please review the HU Catalog and contact ISEM Director (Dr Umar) for additional details.
 Course Outline
Note: U(Ch 1) indicates chapter 1 from Umar Book

Week MODULE 0: Introduction to Digital Readings Graded Related HU Courses

Enterprises and Planning (Umar) Assignments (see Exhibit1 for details)
1 Course Overview and Digital U (Ch.1) ISEM572
Enterprises,
2 Overview of Strategic IS Planning, U (Ch. 2) HW1 & PMGT : Project Planning
Patterns and Toolset Exam1
Discussion
3 Examples and case studies U (Ch. 3) Proj1 –
Discussion
MODULE 1: Business Strategies,
Processes and Applications
4 Introduction to Modern Digital U(Ch. 4) HW1 & Mgmt510, Mgmt511
Enterprises, Exam1 Due
Business Strategy, Organizations and
Management Systems
5 Global eBusiness Information Systems U (Ch.5) ISEM560
Engineering and Management in the
Digital Enterprise
6 Enterprise Applications & Digital U (Ch. 6) Project1 Due ISEM560 and
Business (Electronic Commerce, ISEM572/ISEM700
Electronic Business, Digital
Government)
7 Synching and Discussions HW2 , Exam2
& Proj2
MODULE 2.Digital Infrastructure
and Architectures .
8 Enterprise Architectures and IT U (Ch. 7) ISEM540, ISEM536,
Infrastructure Overview ISEM501

9 Data Bases, Data Mining and Business U (Ch. 8) HW2 Due ISEM534 & ISEM565,
Intelligence and Midterm ISEM501, Data Mining,
(Exam2) Analytics
10 Telecommunications, Web, and U(Ch.9) ISEM501, ISEM536,
the Internet ISEM555
11 Information Security Management U(Ch. 11) Proj2 Due ISEM550
MODULE 3: Artificial Intelligence
(AI) and Computer Aided Planning
12 Artificial Intelligence Overview U(Ch. 10) ISEM503, ISEM565,
New Courses in ML-DL
13 Computer Aided Planning, Engg & U(Ch. 11) HW3 Due ISEM540
Mgmt
14 Systems Development and NGE Proj3 Due Mgmt511, ISEM530,
Management PMGT510
15 Trends and Wrapup Final Exam
 Exhibit1: ISEM Courses and Other Related Courses at a
Glance
Core Courses for MS in ISEM (15 semester hours)
 ISEM 500: IS Planning, Engg & Mgmt
 MGMT 510: Business Strategy & Management
Principles
 ISEM 540: Architecture and Integration of Modern
Enterprises
 ISEM 502 User Centered Design or
ISEM530 or ISEM565 or CISC510 or
LTMS531
 MGMT 511 Digital and Global
Enterprises or PMGT510 or ANLY500
ISEM Capstone (6 Semester Hours)
 GRAD 695: Research Methods & Writing
 GRAD699/ISEM 699: Applied Project or Research
Thesis
ISEM Elective Courses
Digital Technology Courses
 ISEM 501: Information & Communication
Technologies
 ISEM 534: Database Design and Management
 ISEM 536: IT Infrastructure & the Internet
 ISEM 551: Web-based Software Engg
 ISEM555: Mobile Computing and Wireless
Communications
 ISEM 558: IoTs and Embedded Systems
 ISEM570: IT Quality Assurance
Business Intelligence (BI) Related Courses
 ISEM 503: Artificial Intelligence Principles and
Applications
 ISEM564: Big Data Applications
 ISEM 565: Business Intelligence and Decision
Support
 ISEM572: Smart Enterprises and Strategic
Intelligence
Electives from Other Graduate Programs
 Analytics Courses
 CISC Courses
 Learning Technologies Courses
ISEM Courses (Cont)
Enterprise Engineering Courses
 ISEM 530: Analysis & Design of Information
Systems
 ISEM 550: Information Security Management
 ISEM 525: Business Process Modeling and
Workflow
 ISEM539: Enterprise Architectures Frameworks
 ISEM 560: eGovernment and eCommerce
 ISEM 568: Aligning Business Strategy with IT
Strategy
 ISEM 574: Block Chains and Bit Coins
Enterprise Management and Entrepreneurship
Courses
 ISEM 547: IT Management
 MGMT 512: Marketing in the Digital Age
 MGMT 513: Financial and Managerial Accounting
 ISEM 520 Service Science, Management and
Engineering
 MGMT 531: Business Entrepreneurship Principles
 MGMT 532: Business Entrepreneurship
Management
 MGMT 533. Business and Entrepreneurial
Financing
 ISEM 561 Public Administration
 ISEM 562: Public Policy
Digital Health and Life Sciences Courses
 ISEM 521: Life Science for IT Professionals
 ISEM 541: Healthcare Systems
 ISEM 542: Health Informatics and Information
Systems
 ISEM 543: Digital Health
 ISEM 544: Social, Technical and Organizational
Issues in Digital Health
 ISEM545: Healthcare Data
Electives from Other Graduate Programs
 PMGT Courses
 Biotechnology Courses
 Healthcare Infomatics Courses
 BOOK OUTLINE

Computer Aided Strategic Planning of Digital

Enterprises

Patterns. Methodology and a Toolkit

.
Amjad Umar, Ph.D.

PREFACE

SUGGESTED USAGE IN A COURSE

ACRONYMS

Module 1 – The Big Picture

Chapter 1: Digital Enterprises and Services – An Overview
Chapter 2: Information Systems Planning and Patterns– A Quick Overview
Chapter 3: Case Studies and Projects for Experimentation

Module 2: Enterprise Business and Applications Planning in the Digital Age

Chapter 4: Business Strategy, Organizations and Management in the Digital Age
Chapter 5: Enterprise Information Systems and Enterprise Applications
Chapter 6: Enterprise Systems and ERPs

Module 3: Digital Infrastructure Planning

Chapter 7: Enterprise Architectures and Digital Infrastructure Overview
Chapter 8: Data Bases, Big Data, Micro Data and Business Intelligence
Chapter 9: Networks, the Internet and the Web (IOT and WoT)

Module 4: Computer Aided Planning, Engineering and Management

Chapter 10: Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems
Chapter 11: Computer Aided Planning, Engineering and Management
Chapter 12: Security, Governance and Blockchain Planning
Chapter 13: Synthesis: Managing the Next Generation Enterprises
HU CORE COMPETENCIES
At the conclusion of this course a student will have met the following core competencies that reflect HU's
mission:
 Critical Thinking and Problem Solving skills are demonstrated by the student’s ability to:
- Identify and clarify the problem,
- Gather information,
- Evaluate the evidence,
- Consider alternative solutions,
- Choose and implement the best alternative.

 Communication - The core communication skills are demonstrated by the student’s ability to:
- Express ideas and facts to others effectively in a variety of formats, particularly written, oral, and
visual formats,
- Communicate effectively by making use of information resources and technology.

 Teamwork and Collaboration - The students will be working with others to increase involvement
in learning and by sharing one's own ideas and responding to others' reactions to sharpen thinking
and deepen understanding.

STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

According to the University's Student Handbook: Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly
activity free from fraud and deception, and is the educational objective of this institution.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, fabrication of
information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, unauthorized
possession of examinations, submitting work of another person, or work previously used without
informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. Any violation of
academic integrity will be thoroughly investigated, and where warranted, punitive action will be
taken.

Students should be aware that standards for documentation and intellectual contribution may
depend on the course content and method of teaching, and should consult the instructor for
guidance in this area.

Honor Code - We as members of Harrisburg University community pledge not to cheat,

plagiarize, steal, or lie in matters related to academic work. As a Community of Learners, we
honor and uphold the HU Honor Code.

COURSE CONDUCT
A few rules will help us to get the most of our classes

o Classes will start on time and end as scheduled. Please take your seat prior to the start of
class.

o You will attend each class and actively participate in the discussions during class. If you
are uncomfortable with public speaking, or if English is not your native language, please talk to
the instructor in the first two weeks of the course to establish ways to make you more comfortable
in speaking and interacting with other students (your peers).

o You are responsible for all the readings, even if the material is not explicitly covered in
class. You should read the class materials prior to class and be prepared to discuss and ask
 questions about the readings and quiz materials. You should also re-read the material after class as
not every topic will be covered during class time. Many passages in the text may need to be read
several times to gain clarity. Also, taking notes on the material you are reading and reflecting on
the reading and these notes will help you better understand the issues, concepts and techniques
that are being presented.

o When individual work is assigned it should be done by you, alone.

Extreme Event Contingency

In the event of an extreme event (weather, power, etc.) that would cause the official closing of the
University and normally result in the cancellation of classes, the instructor may choose to move class
activities to online. Check the Moodle course page for specific directions on when and how to participate
in class during extreme events.

Online, synchronous courses will be held regardless of extreme events, unless the event interrupts
electricity for the instructor or a majority of students. Check the Moodle course page for specific directions
on how to participate in an online, synchronous class during extreme events.

Online, asynchronous courses are not impacted by extreme events unless otherwise indicated by the
instructor.

Instructor Background
Dr. Amjad Umar is the Director and Professor of ISEM (Information Systems Engineering and
Management) program at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (HU), and an
Adjunct Professor of Systems & Telecommunications at the University of Pennsylvania. He is
also Chief Architect of the United Nations Partnership on Small Islands and a Fulbright Senior
Specialist on ICT. At HU, he teaches graduate level courses in strategic planning of digital and
smart enterprises, enterprise architecture and integration of digital and smart enterprises,
information security, and strategic intelligence. He also supervises graduate research and practical
projects in ICT4D – his main area of interest. As Chief Architect of the United Nations ICT4SIDS
(ICT for Small Island & Developing States) Partnership, he currently is focusing on smart hubs
and smart towns for the Small Island & Developing States. Due to his assignments with three
UN initiatives as Chief Architect and Initiative Director since 2007, he has worked with more
than 30 developing countries.

His 25+ years of experience includes senior management and consulting/advisory positions with
governments and industries around the globe. As a Director of Research at Bellcore (part of the
Bell Labs system) for 10 years, he supervised large scale projects in IT planning, enterprise
architectures and integration, mobile computing, information security, and collaborative systems.
He is Founder/CEO of a startup that specializes in Computer Aided Planning of ICT-based
Systems for the underserved populations. He has consulted with global telecom organizations,
US Department of Navy, US Army Research Labs, Frost and Sullivan (England), Toyota Corp.,
Society of Manufacturing Engineers, healthcare organizations, professional services
organizations, and academic institutions in England, Singapore, China, Italy, New Zealand, South
Africa, Argentina, Canada and more than 30 developing countries. He has written eight books and
more than 50 research papers in his areas of specialization. He holds an M.S. in Computer,
Information and Control Engineering and a Ph,D. in Information Systems Engineering (Industrial
and Operations Engineering Department), both from the University of Michigan.