ISM 699: Project in Information Technology

Instructor: Dr. Lakshmi Iyer

Office: 435 Bryan Bldg.
Office Phone: (336) 334-4984
Fax: (336) 334-5580
E-mail: Lsiyer@uncg.edu
Office Hours: By appointment

Catalog Description:
A capstone experience in which the student would demonstrate a broad knowledge of the
material covered in the MSITM curricula by undertaking a project approved in
consultation with MSITM Director.
Detailed Course Description:
This is a Capstone course for MSITM graduating students. This Project in Information
Technology course is a final semester capstone experience in which the student would
demonstrate a broad knowledge of the material covered in the MSITM curricula by
undertaking an approved project that might range from a major research paper (mini-
thesis) to a technology development project. There would be a formal contract
established between the MSITM Program director and the student that would clearly
define the scope and other requirements for the project. This course is taken by students
who have completed at least two-thirds of their minimum program hours. If an
unsatisfactory grade is given on the first attempt to satisfy the requirement, no more than
one additional attempt is permitted. If the student fails to meet the department’s minimum
criteria for the capstone experience on the second attempt, the Graduate School will be
notified and will send the student a letter of dismissal.

Student Learning Outcome:

Upon completion of the project, students will demonstrate a broad knowledge and clear
understanding of critical concepts, practices and issues in Information Technology
project development and completion.

The Capstone course offers you the opportunity to investigate a topic of your choice that
integrates the MSITM curriculum by using and demonstrate the skills you learned in at
least 4 areas of MSITM curriculum. It introduces you to the process of research, project
development, or other creative activity that is intended to enhance your knowledge and
skills that will be useful in many academic and work environments. The course is
intended to help you gain confidence in your ability to seek out and use information
related to an area of your interest or to respond to managerial and organizational
challenges by creatively proposing and evaluating technical innovations that further an
organization's objectives. A Capstone project should demonstrate a deeper mastery of
skills and concepts than regular level courses. By the time you have completed the
Capstone project, you should be an expert in your chosen area of investigation. You will

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 have a Capstone instructor with whom you will identify key readings for your chosen
topic.

As you know ISM 699 will not have "regular" class meetings. However, I’d like to sit
with you individually and discuss your projects, and then meet once every two weeks for
a progress report. As part of the deliverable for this course, you will need to complete a
report of about 30 double spaced pages for this project (excluding cover and references)
and make a presentation to ISOM faculty and students during the second to the last week
of the semester. That means that even if you are signing up for the first module of the
first half of the semester, you will have until the end of the semester to complete the
project. I will give you additional details when we meet.

Teaching Strategies:
Individual discussions with MSITM program director or other faculty regarding the
project.

Evaluation Method And Guidelines For Assignments:

Initial Project proposal (5%)
Mid semester update (15%)
Final Project report and presentation of Capstone Project (80%).

Grading Scheme:
A Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (S) grade will be assigned based on student performance.

Required Texts/Readings/References:
Since this project course is completely individualized, the specifics of the required
material are selected in consultation with MSITM program director.

Academic Honor Code:

Students are encouraged to review the University’s Academic Integrity Policy in the
student handbook or on-line at http://saf.dept.uncg.edu/studiscp/Honor.html. The
instructor should be contacted if any questions related to academic integrity arise.

Attendance Policy:
This is an independent study project based class. Students are not required to attend class.
However, they are expected to meet with the professor on a weekly or bi-weekly basis
and to make a final presentation. Attendance in weekly or bi-weekly meetings is
mandatory.

Tentative Schedule
Week Topics
Week 1 Meeting with MSITM program director to establish project parameters
Week 2 Submit a project proposal and project management plan (due by Friday 5 pm)
Week 3-11 Weekly progress reports to MSITM program director
Week 8 Mid semester update due.

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Week 13-14 Final project completion and presentation
Guideline for Project Proposal
Since the nature of the project will vary from one student to another, the following is provided as
a generic guideline. If you have specific questions, discuss with the instructor.
The initial project proposal must be submitted on BlackBoard (see assignment section) by Friday
5 pm of week 2. The project proposal must include the following components:
1. Tentative project title
2. Scope of project/the project purpose/problem at hand, project goals, project significance,
anticipated outcomes and any limitations.
3. How the proposed project fits with the MSITM courses.
4. Timeline with tentative deliverables (this table must be updated periodically as you progress
with your work).
Week(s) Date Meeting What you plan to Outcome/What you
Scheduled or met achieve? accomplished
with instructor

Mid Semester report

Demonstrate significance progress with project work. Update partially completed report on BB
(see assignments link). While there is no set guideline for this report, this to ensure the student is
making progress towards finishing the project in time.

Final Report and presentation

The final report is due on the day the presentation is due. The instructor will schedule
presentations, typically by the last week of classes and will announce the date/time. Each student
will have about 20 minutes for the presentation. The report should be done professionally. Please
include a summary page, table of contents, page numbers, appropriate sub headings,
conclusions/limitations, references and citations. Add appropriate graphics/screen shots as
needed for the project in the report. There should be enough textual content that details your
project work and the report cannot be predominantly graphics. Keep font to about 11 to 12 pt and
margins to 1 inch on all sides. It does not matter what font you use as long as it is consistent.
Same goes for citation, if you choose APA format then ensure that it is consistent in your report.
Here's a link you can use for citation (if you have another favorite please feel free to use that):
http://citationmachine.net/index2.php?reqstyleid=2.
You are welcome to take a look at some sample projects in my office.