Information Systems

This week as we look at various types of information systems, I'd like to tell you about a couple of corporations who develop and support a special type of information systems called, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. These are the systems that stretch across all business functions within an organization and are key to enhancing communication. It is the responsibility of these systems to manage all resources of an organization - people, inventory, money, etc.

Because these systems are extremely complex, most organizations purchase ERP software from companies who specialize in building these types of systems. For very large corporations, Oracle, PeopleSoft, and SAP are the vendors of choice. If you aren't already familiar with these names, you should read up on them as I assure you that you will hear them sometime during your management career.

For more information on these vendors, visit their websites listed below. (Be patient with Oracle as it doesn't look like they know much about web design, judging from the look of their website - I hope they design ERP software better than this.) By the way, Oracle bought PeopleSoft a few years ago, so, you'll find them both at the same website even though I've listed separate links for them below.

http://www.oracle.com/applications/e-business-suite.html

http://www.oracle.com/applications/peoplesoft-enterprise.html

http://www.sap.com/usa/index.epx

Videos about Wikis, Blogs, and RSS Feeds

These are the best resources I've yet to see that explain what wikis and blogs are in a non-technical, easy to understand way. The technique of using paper cut-outs to teach is exciting in itself. Not only will I share these with students, but, with colleagues as well.

Great video on wikis, what they are and how to.
http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english

Fantastic video on blogging
http://www.commoncraft.com/blogs

Video on RSS Feeds from same individuals

http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english

Project Management

When I think about managing software development projects, a few classic readings come to mind. As a student of software engineering, you might want to review this to expand your vocabulary and knowledge beyond what is in our textbook. These are concepts that you might very well be asked about in a job interview.

Once such resource is Dr. Ed Yourdon, a pioneer in early software development methodologies, has written a book titled, Death March Projects. The link below is for an excerpt for the insightful book. This excerpt focuses on two key questions explored in the book, specifically, What is a death march project and why do they happen? Enjoy these insights from such a valuable member of the software engineering community.

http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=169512

Another valuable resource is the book "The Mythical Man Month" by Fred Brooks. This book first presented the concept, then foreign to software developers, that more programmers don't necessarily equate to a quicker project completion. In fact, our instinct tells us the exact opposite. If your project falls behind schedule or you want to finish quicker, hire more programmers. Read this excerpt from Brooks' book to see how this doesn't solve the schedule problem.

http://courses.cs.vt.edu/~cs1104/HLL/Brooks.html

Computer Software

In management information systems, we've been studying the types of software and discussing their role in computing. A focus of the lesson has been operating systems software. With a new operating system environment becoming more widespread, this is a good time to take a look at Microsoft Vista. The following website is helpful in looking at new features in Vista, and providing guidance for using the new operating system.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa511258.aspx

In the applications software arena, Office 2007 is the latest version of Microsoft's popluar application suite. Just like Vista, the user interface of this new edition is substantially different from previous versions and requires some practice getting used to. Here is a helpful website for beginners with Office 2007. It describes by product the new features in this version.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/getstarted/CH101130561033.aspx

Finally, I want to let you know about a new program that Athens State has enrolled in, a Microsoft alliance (MSDNAA). This program allows you as a student to purchase Microsoft software that you'll be using in class at a greatly reduced price. You should receive an email from our MSNDAA administrator within the next few weeks with instructions for participating. There is also information about a limited offer to purchase Microsoft Office 2007 for a mere $59.95! This is a substantial discount, however, you'll need a relatively new computer that is running Microsoft Vista operating system in order to run the Office 2007 software.

Software Projects

So far this semester, students have formed teams to work in their software engineering projects. Now, it is time to decide on what sort of software system they want to develop. Students are given the flexibility to select their own projects, hopefully for a real-world organization who has a software need. And, they also select the programming environment and languages to implement the system with.

Take a look at this to see what software engineering students across the pond developed during their senior project course.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIUkw9LN10o

Here's another example of the extremely creative projects students come up with - this one uses Second Life, virtual environment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkkl3LucxTY

And, if you're into toys, here's another.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD3SyXHj2-Q

How about learning software engineering by playing a game?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bevTSt8US24

Software engineering really can be fun!

Ubiquity of Computers

This week in Human-Computer Interaction one of the topics that we've explored is the ubiquitous nature of computers these days. Not only are computers everywhere, but, they come in all shapes, sizes, and forms. I've recently run across a couple of articles that reemphasized this point for me.

Read this to see how computer chips are now in running shoes and your music player.
http://www.apple.com/ipod/nike/

And, in your sunglasses!!
http://www.networkworld.com/supp/2006/summerguide/071706-survival-oakley-rokr.html

Surely not, on your children too!
http://www.rfdesignline.com/news/202601957

And, according to Bill Gates and Microsoft, no longer will the keyboard and mouse be primary devices for communicating with computers. Natural interfaces are the next great wave - think Wii and iPhone. Pretty soon we will be touching, talking, and gesturing to our computing devices.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWJb2UKf9zI
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7174333.stm

So, when you hear the term ubiquitous computing or ubicomp, don't visual your traditional computer. Think about everyday objects with computer chips embedded within them that we talk to, touch, or control with our eye or hand movements. Certainly gives us as UI designers something to think about.