Coursework and Projects
I have learned a tremendous amount from being an Management Information Systems major at Temple University. For the past three semesters, I have taken many core MIS classes in which I have learned a lot from hands-on projects. These classes are structured to provide students with real life work experience, even though we are in a classroom environment. In these “studio classes”, we have been assigned real life projects in which we learn firsthand about how MIS relates to many different types of businesses. This has definitely helped me narrow my career interests as I have been assigned many different roles for these projects. Below I will list the three classes in which I learned the most from the projects I was apart of.
MIS 3504: Digital Design and Innovation
This was the most difficult class that I have taken at Temple University. This class’s main focus was to learn the in and outs of being a Business Analyst for a company. Professor Moustafellos challenged us to think outside the box when he assigned our group projects. Our class was paired with a lumber company, Sommerville Lumber and each group was assigned a specific task to focus on. Our group focused on Somerville Lumber’s social media. We saw that their social media was not very active and was not updated across many social media platforms. In order to help Somerville Lumber become more active on social media we created the “LumberCam” prototype application. This app provided Somerville Lumber with a seamless, easy way to upload photos of finished projects to multiple social media outlets. Our team was partnered with Project Managers, who were enrolled in the class after MIS 3504, which is MIS 3535. Overall, I learned a lot about what it takes to be a Business Analyst from taking MIS 4596: Digital Design and Innovation.
MIS 3535: Lead Global Digital Projects
I learned a great deal from MIS 3535: Lead Global Digital Projects. I took this class after I completed MIS 3504: Digital Design and Innovation. In this class, we were taught about what it is like to be a Project Manager. The project for this class was to act as Project Managers for the new MIS 3504: Digital Design and Innovation students. Our role was to monitor and mentor the Business Analysts for their assigned project. We motored the Business Analysts using a project management program called Microsoft Project. In Microsoft Project we were able to set deadlines for required deliverables, calculate budgets, and define each Business Analyst’s specific role for the duration of the project. At the end of the project, we submitted our final project portfolio which contained important documents that ultimately supported out Business Analyst’s project success.
MIS 4596: Information Systems Innovation
I am currently enrolled in MIS 4596: Information Systems Innovation, which is the MIS Capstone class. In this class we have learned a lot about the broad scope of how MIS impacts businesses. We have a final project where we are directed to apply IT and innovative thinking to solve a business problem. The project should solve a problem for an existing business or propose a new product or service. This project has a lot more flexibility than the previous projects I have been apart of. For this project, our team has chosen to create a group messaging application made specifically for Temple University. Currently Temple does not have any messaging app in which students can communicate and share information when working in group settings. Students usually rely on messaging apps through their current smartphone texting apps or through downloadable messaging apps. This application we are prototyping makes it easy for students to instantly communicate when placed in groups for projects. Professors can form the groups they want and with a Temple student’s AccessNet username and password which allows students to instantly communicate with the group they are assigned. This application is still a work in progress, but we expect it to turn out as we have imagined it to be.
Overall, I have learned so much about business and technology from the MIS courses I have taken throughout my undergraduate college career. All of the projects that I have been apart of have taught me a lot about working in groups and have allowed me to demonstrate my leadership ability. The courses I took will help me in life and with my future career endeavors.