University of Sydney Handbooks - 2021 Archive

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Information Systems

Unit outlines will be available through Find a unit outline two weeks before the first day of teaching for 1000-level and 5000-level units, or one week before the first day of teaching for all other units.
 

INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Information Systems major

A major in Information Systems requires 48 credit points from this table including:
(i) 12 credit points of 1000-level core units
(ii) 18 credit points of 2000-level core units
(iii) 12 credit points of 3000-level major core units
(iv) 6 credit points of 3000-level interdisciplinary project units according to the following rules:
(a) for students in the Bachelor of Advanced Computing or Bachelor of Computing they must complete the ISYS coded interdisciplinary project units
(b) all other students may complete either the ISYS or SCPU coded units

Information Systems minor

A minor in Information Systems requires 36 credit points from this table including:
(i) 12 credit points of 1000-level core units
(ii) 18 credit points of 2000-level core units
(iii) 6 credit points of 3000-level selective unit

Units of study

The units of study are listed below.

1000-level units of study

Core
INFO1110 Introduction to Programming

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Prohibitions: INFO1910 or INFO1103 or INFO1903 or INFO1105 or INFO1905 or ENGG1810 Assessment: Refer to the assessment table in the unit outline. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit is an essential starting point for software developers, IT consultants, and computer scientists to build their understanding of principle computer operation. Students will obtain knowledge and skills with procedural programming. Crucial concepts include defining data types, control flow, iteration, functions, recursion, the model of addressable memory. Students will be able to reinterpret a general problem into a computer problem, and use their understanding of the computer model to develop source code. This unit trains students with software development process, including skills of testing and debugging. It is a prerequisite for more advanced programming languages, systems programming, computer security and high performance computing.
INFO1910 Introduction to Programming (Advanced)

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Prohibitions: INFO1110 OR INFO1103 OR INFO1903 OR INFO1105 OR INFO1905 Assumed knowledge: ATAR sufficient to enter Dalyell program, or passing an online programming knowledge test, which will be administered during the O-week prior to the commencement of the semester. Assessment: Refer to the assessment table in the unit outline. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
The focus of this unit will cover the ground up programming components necessary for study in the computer science discipline. Students will engage with procedural programming using two related programming languages. Students will further their understanding of internal operations as well as reasoning about processing, memory model and conventional programming practices. As an advanced offering, all the course contents of INFO1110 will be covered and there will be additional teaching materials and assessments.
INFO1113 Object-Oriented Programming

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Prerequisites: INFO1110 OR INFO1910 OR ENGG1810 Prohibitions: INFO1103 OR INFO1105 OR INFO1905 Assessment: Refer to the assessment table in the unit outline. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Object-oriented (OO) programming is a technique that arranges code into classes, each encapsulating in one place related data and the operations on that data. Inheritance is used to reuse code from a more general class, in specialised situations. Most modern programming languages provide OO features. Understanding and using these are an essential skill to software developers in industry. This unit provides the student with the concepts and individual programming skills in OO programming, starting from their previous mastery of procedural programming.

2000-level units of study

Core
ISYS2110 Analysis and Design of Web Info Systems

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Prerequisites: INFO1113 OR INFO1103 OR INFO1105 OR INFO1905 Prohibitions: INFO2110 Assessment: Refer to the assessment table in the unit outline. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This course discusses the processes, methods, techniques and tools that organisations use to determine how they should conduct their business, with a particular focus on how web-based technologies can most effectively contribute to the way business is organized. The course covers a systematic methodology for analysing a business problem or opportunity, determining what role, if any, web-based technologies can play in addressing the business need, articulating business requirements for the technology solution, specifying alternative approaches to acquiring the technology capabilities needed to address the business requirements, and specifying the requirements for the information systems solution in particular, in-house development, development from third-party providers, or purchased commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) packages.
ISYS2120 Data and Information Management

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Prerequisites: INFO1113 OR INFO1103 OR INFO1105 OR INFO1905 OR INFO1003 OR INFO1903 OR DECO1012 Prohibitions: INFO2120 OR INFO2820 OR COMP5138 Assumed knowledge: Programming skills Assessment: Refer to the assessment table in the unit outline. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
The ubiquitous use of information technology leaves us facing a tsunami of data produced by users, IT systems and mobile devices. The proper management of data is hence essential for all applications and for effective decision making within organizations.
This unit of study will introduce the basic concepts of database designs at the conceptual, logical and physical levels. We will place particular emphasis on introducing integrity constraints and the concept of data normalization which prevents data from being corrupted or duplicated in different parts of the database. This in turn helps in the data remaining consistent during its lifetime. Once a database design is in place, the emphasis shifts towards querying the data in order to extract useful information. The unit will introduce the SQL database query languages, which is industry standard. Other topics covered will include the important concept of transaction management, application development with a backend database, and an overview of data warehousing and OLAP.
ISYS2160 Information Systems in the Internet Age

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Prohibitions: ISYS2140 Assumed knowledge: INFO1003 OR INFO1103 OR INFO1903 OR INFO1113 Assessment: Refer to the assessment table in the unit outline. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit will provide a comprehensive conceptual and practical introduction to information systems (IS) in the Internet era. Key topics covered include: system thinking and system theory, basic concepts of information systems, internet and e-commerce, e-payment and m-commerce, online marketing and social media, information systems for competitive advantage, functional and enterprise systems, business intelligence, information systems development and acquisition, information security, ethics, and privacy

3000-level units of study

Major core
INFS3050 Business Intelligence for Managers

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Assumed knowledge: INFS1000 or INFO1000 or INFO1003 or INFO1903 Assessment: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
To gain or maintain their competitive edge, more than ever before, organisations need to rely on high-quality information to support decision making processes at all organisational levels. Business Intelligence (BI) is now being recognised as one of the top business priorities world-wide. While in the past, the term BI was used to describe a very broad range of software applications, the latest thinking in this field emphasises IS support for human intelligence, in the context of business decision making. In this unit, students learn how BI helps information discovery and how to analyse multidimensional data. Students gain hands-on experience in using a commercial BI platform. These practical skills, combined with in-depth analytical skills enable students to assist any organization (regardless of its size and industry domain) to derive more intelligence from its data, improve its performance and ultimately, compete on analytics. Issues are explored from the business rather than the technology perspective. This unit does not require prior programming experience.
ISYS3401 Information Technology Evaluation

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Prerequisites: (INFO2110 OR ISYS2110) AND (INFO2120 OR ISYS2120) AND (ISYS2140 OR ISYS2160) Assumed knowledge: MATH1005 OR MATH1905 Assessment: Refer to the assessment table in the unit outline. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Information Systems (IS) professionals in today's organisations are required to play leadership roles in change and development. Your success in this field will be aided by your being able to carry out research-based investigations using suitable methods and mastery over data collection and analysis to assist in managing projects and in decision making. Practical research skills are some of the most important assets you will need in your career.
This unit of study will cover important concepts and skills in practical research for solving and managing important problems. This will also provide you with the skills to undertake the capstone project in the IS project unit of study offered in Semester 2 or other projects. It will also provide hand-on experience of using Microsoft Excel and other tools to perform some of the quantitative analysis.
Interdisciplinary project
ISYS3888 Information Systems Project

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Prerequisites: (INFO2110 OR ISYS2110) AND (INFO2120 OR ISYS2120) AND (ISYS2140 OR ISYS2160) Prohibitions: INFO3600 OR ISYS3207 OR ISYS3400 Assessment: Refer to the assessment table in the unit outline. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit will provide students an opportunity to apply the knowledge and practise the skills acquired in the prerequisite and qualifying units, in the context of a substantial information systems research or development project and to experience in a realistic way many aspects of analysing and solving information systems problems. Since information systems projects are often undertaken by small teams, the experience of working in a team is seen as an important feature of the unit. Students often find it difficult to work effectively with others and will benefit from the opportunity provided by this unit to further develop this skill.
SCPU3001 Science Interdisciplinary Project

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Intensive February,Intensive July,Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Prerequisites: 96 credit points Assessment: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This interdisciplinary unit provides students with the opportunity to address complex problems identified by industry, community, and government organisations, and gain valuable experience in working across disciplinary boundaries. In collaboration with a major industry partner and an academic lead, students integrate their academic skills and knowledge by working in teams with students from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. This experience allows students to research, analyse and present solutions to a real¿world problem, and to build on their interpersonal and transferable skills by engaging with and learning from industry experts and presenting their ideas and solutions to the industry partner.
Minor selective
INFS3050 Business Intelligence for Managers

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Assumed knowledge: INFS1000 or INFO1000 or INFO1003 or INFO1903 Assessment: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
To gain or maintain their competitive edge, more than ever before, organisations need to rely on high-quality information to support decision making processes at all organisational levels. Business Intelligence (BI) is now being recognised as one of the top business priorities world-wide. While in the past, the term BI was used to describe a very broad range of software applications, the latest thinking in this field emphasises IS support for human intelligence, in the context of business decision making. In this unit, students learn how BI helps information discovery and how to analyse multidimensional data. Students gain hands-on experience in using a commercial BI platform. These practical skills, combined with in-depth analytical skills enable students to assist any organization (regardless of its size and industry domain) to derive more intelligence from its data, improve its performance and ultimately, compete on analytics. Issues are explored from the business rather than the technology perspective. This unit does not require prior programming experience.
ISYS3401 Information Technology Evaluation

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Prerequisites: (INFO2110 OR ISYS2110) AND (INFO2120 OR ISYS2120) AND (ISYS2140 OR ISYS2160) Assumed knowledge: MATH1005 OR MATH1905 Assessment: Refer to the assessment table in the unit outline. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Information Systems (IS) professionals in today's organisations are required to play leadership roles in change and development. Your success in this field will be aided by your being able to carry out research-based investigations using suitable methods and mastery over data collection and analysis to assist in managing projects and in decision making. Practical research skills are some of the most important assets you will need in your career.
This unit of study will cover important concepts and skills in practical research for solving and managing important problems. This will also provide you with the skills to undertake the capstone project in the IS project unit of study offered in Semester 2 or other projects. It will also provide hand-on experience of using Microsoft Excel and other tools to perform some of the quantitative analysis.