Communications of the Association for Information Systems Volume 40 Article 18 5-2017 MSIS 2016 Global Competency Model for Graduate Degree Programs in Information Systems Heikki Topi Bentley University, [email protected]Helena Karsten Åbo Akademi University Sue A. Brown University of Arizona João Alvaro Carvalho Universidade do Minho Brian Donnellan Maynooth University See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: hp://aisel.aisnet.org/cais is material is brought to you by the Journals at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been accepted for inclusion in Communications of the Association for Information Systems by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Topi, Heikki; Karsten, Helena; Brown, Sue A.; Carvalho, João Alvaro; Donnellan, Brian; Shen, Jun; Tan, Bernard C.Y.; and ouin, Mark F. (2017) "MSIS 2016 Global Competency Model for Graduate Degree Programs in Information Systems," Communications of the Association for Information Systems: Vol. 40 , Article 18. DOI: 10.17705/1CAIS.04018 Available at: hp://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol40/iss1/18
Transcript
Communications of the Association for Information Systems
Volume 40 Article 18
5-2017
MSIS 2016 Global Competency Model forGraduate Degree Programs in Information SystemsHeikki TopiBentley University, [email protected]
Helena KarstenÅbo Akademi University
Sue A. BrownUniversity of Arizona
João Alvaro CarvalhoUniversidade do Minho
Brian DonnellanMaynooth University
See next page for additional authors
Follow this and additional works at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/cais
This material is brought to you by the Journals at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been accepted for inclusion in Communications of theAssociation for Information Systems by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please [email protected].
Recommended CitationTopi, Heikki; Karsten, Helena; Brown, Sue A.; Carvalho, João Alvaro; Donnellan, Brian; Shen, Jun; Tan, Bernard C.Y.; and Thouin,Mark F. (2017) "MSIS 2016 Global Competency Model for Graduate Degree Programs in Information Systems," Communications ofthe Association for Information Systems: Vol. 40 , Article 18.DOI: 10.17705/1CAIS.04018Available at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol40/iss1/18
This document, “MSIS 2016: Global Competency Model for Graduate DegreeProgramsinInformationSystems”,isthelatestintheseriesofreportsthatprovidesguidancefordegreeprogramsintheInformationSystems(IS)academicdiscipline.Thefirstofthesereports(Ashenhurst,1972)waspublishedintheearly1970s,andtheworkhas continued ever sinceboth at theundergraduate andmaster’s levels.TheAssociation for ComputingMachinery (ACM) has sponsored the reports fromthebeginning.SincetheAssociationforInformationSystems(AIS)wasestablishedin the mid‐1990s, the two organizations have collaborated on the production ofcurriculumrecommendationsfortheISdiscipline.Attheundergraduatelevel,boththeAssociationfor InformationTechnologyProfessionals(AITP)(formerlyDPMA)andtheInternationalFederationforInformationProcessing(IFIP)havealsomadesignificantcontributionstothecurriculumrecommendations.
MSIS2016istheseventhcollaborativeeffortbetweenACMandAIS(followingIS’97,IS2002,andIS2010attheundergraduate level;MSIS2000andMSIS2006atthegraduate level; andCC2005 as an integrative document). BothACMandAIS areglobal organizations thatwork to advance computingand its transformativeuses.ACM’s membership includes industry professionals, academics, and studentsworldwide, and it works in a broad spectrum of areas in computing. AIS is thepremier global society for faculty members affiliated with IS, and it also servesstudents throughastudentchapterstructure.Theorganizationscomplementeachother’sstrengthsandhavebeenstrongpartnersineducationalinitiativessincethe1990s.
Aswe discuss inmore detail in the document, MSIS 2016 is the first curriculumguidancedocumentinISthathasbeendevelopedwithatrulyglobalprocessforaglobalaudience.Earlierreportshavebeenusedaroundtheworld,butaU.S.‐basedtask forcedeveloped the reportswith assumptions thatweremostly alignedwiththeNorthAmericaneducationalsystem.MSIS2016isalsothefirstdocumentofitskindthatdoesnotprovideapredefinedcurriculummodel(andthus,itisnotcalledacurriculumrecommendation).Instead,itfocusesonarticulatingcompetenciesthatgraduates shouldhave attainedupon completing their degreeprograms. The taskforcebelieves that thisapproachparticularly suitsadocument that isdesigned toserveabroadrangeofdegreeprogramsaroundtheworld.
RecommendationssuchasMSIS2016haveavarietyofuses.Forsomeinstitutions,MSIS2016canprovidedetailedguidanceandaspecificfoundationforacurriculum.For others, this documentmay serve in a variety of supporting roles: it can be astartingpoint for internalconversations,asourceof ideas insituationswhennewperspectivesarenecessary,abenchmarkforan internaldevelopmenteffort,andastructural guide. We strongly advise all users of this document to adapt itsrecommendationsbasedontheneedsofeachlocalprogram,andwebelievethatitcanbestserveinaroleofaguideandadvisor.Inadditiontoprovidinginformation
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to universities and their units, this document provides highly useful informationregarding the nature and identity of MS degree programs in IS to several otherstakeholdergroups,suchasprospectiveandcurrentstudents,employers,universityadministrators,andpolicymakers.
We hope that this document will also contribute to the global IS community’songoingprocessofself‐reflectionandcontinuousimprovement.Firstandforemost,however, we hope that MSIS 2016 will serve as many schools and programs aspossibleintheircontinuouseffortstooffertheirstudentsasstrong,innovative,andlong‐lasting educational experience as possible.We encourage you to share yourexperienceswiththeMSIS2016modelwiththerestoftheglobalIScommunity—pleaseseemsis2016.orgtofindthebestwaystodoso.
Acknowledgements
The MSIS 2016 task force is very thankful for the work of numerous facultymembers from around the world who ultimately made this document possible!Specifically,wewanttothankthefollowinggroupsandindividuals:
ACMEducationCouncilandBoard(JanePreyandMehranSahami,co‐chairs;AndrewMcGettrick,pastchair)andAISCouncil (JasonThatcher,president;JaeKyuLee,immediatepastpresident;HelmutKrcmarandJaneFedorowicz,past presidents) for their feedback, encouragement, and willingness tosponsorthisprojectandapprovethefinaldeliverable.
MembersoftheAISEducationCommitteefortheirfeedbackandguidance. Active and supportive participants of panels, special sessions, and other
presentations at numerous conferences for their insightful comments andconstructivefeedback.
Numerous faculty members who answered our surveys and providedqualitative feedback regarding various drafts of this document. We wouldlike to particularly acknowledge the contributions of Cecil Chua (TheUniversityofAuckland),TomiDahlberg(UniversityofTurku),DavidDiBiase(Esri), Jonna Järveläinen (University of Turku),ManuelMora (AutonomousUniversity of Aguascalientes), Doug Newton (Mathworks) Mirja Pulkkinen(University of Jyväskylä), Filipe Sá Soares (University of Minho), HannuSalmela (University of Turku), Gary Spurrier (Bentley University), MurrayTuroff(NJIT),andTuureTuunanen(UniversityofJyväskylä).
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Executive Summary
MSIS12016 provides a competency model and curriculum guidance for master’sleveldegreeprogramsininformationsystems(IS).ThisjointeffortbyAISandACMbuilds on the foundation of four earlier graduate IS curriculum recommendations(Ashenhurst, 1972; Nunamaker, Couger, & Davis, 1982; Gorgone et al., 2000;Gorgone,Gray,Stohr,Valacich,&Wigand,2006).MSIS2016does,however,breaknewgroundinseveralimportantways—mostimportantlybyfocusingongraduatecompetencies and competency2areas and categories as its basic architecturalbuilding blocks and by offering a recommendation that has been specificallydesigned for the global IS community by a task force with broad cultural andgeographic diversity. In addition,MSIS 2016 explicitly recognizes that business isnottheonlydomainofpracticeforISprogramsandconsidersalternativessuchashealthcare,government,education,andlaw.
1. MSIS is a professional practice master’s degree that always integrates thedevelopment of competencies in the realms of information systems(includingbothcomputing3andITandISmanagement),aspecificdomainofpractice,andindividualfoundationalcompetencies.
2. MSIS is based on a completed undergraduate degree that provides afoundation in all three major competency realms (see #1 above). Missingcompetenciescanbedevelopedwithpre‐programbridgecourses.
3. MSIS does not have any general expectations regarding prior professionalexperience (although an individual program can set its own professionalexperiencerequirements).
4. The central element of this recommendation comprises specifications for ahierarchy of competency areas, competency categories, and samplecompetenciesforIS.Inaddition,itprovidesgeneraldescriptionsofrequiredareas of individual foundational competencies and examples of areas ofdomainofpracticecompetencies.
6. Different professional profiles require different sets of competencies.MSIS2016 specifies four levels atwhich a student can attain competencies in acategory: Awareness, Novice, Supporting (role), and Independent(contributor).Acompetencyprofile specifies foreachcompetencycategorythelevelthegraduatesofaprogramshouldattain.
8. Competencycategoriesandtheirattainmentlevels(see#6above)formthefoundation for determining modules (courses and equivalents) and theirlearningobjectives.Thestructure,deliverymodes,pedagogy,andcontentofthe modules will be highly dependent on program‐specific conditions andrequirements.
Eacharea includescompetencycategories.Categories, in turn, include theactualcompetencies, which are significantly more fluid than the areas and categories;therefore,competency‐levelspecificationsshouldbeinterpretedasexamples.
MSIS2016includesthefollowingareasofindividualfoundationalcompetencies:Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration and Teamwork, Ethical Analysis,Intercultural Competency, Leadership,Mathematical and Statistical Competencies,Negotiation,OralCommunication,ProblemSolving,andWrittenCommunication.
Domain competencies specify the key competency areas related to a domain ofpracticewithwhichthedegreeprogramisassociated.Inadditiontobusiness,whichhastraditionallybeenthemostcommondomainofpractice,MSISdegreeprogramscanbeandhavealreadybeenbuilttobealignedwithmanyotherdomains(suchashealthcare,law,government,education,etc.).
MSISprogramsusevariousmechanismstodetermine theprofessionalprofiles forwhich they prepare their graduates. This document uses a subset of profilesspecified in the CENWorkshopAgreement on European ICT Professional Profiles(CEN, 2012) as an example but only as such. This list is not intended to beexhaustive; on the contrary, it is expected that programs will develop and adapttargetprofilesthatfittheirspecificneeds.
MSIS 2016 demonstrates the importance of a mapping between the competencycategories and the professional profiles. Programs that followMSIS 2016 can usethecompetenciesdeterminedbasedonthetargetprofile(s)tobuildasetofmodules
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(courses and equivalents) that will form the structure for students’ learningexperiences. MSIS 2016 does not specify how a master’s degree program in ISshould be implemented, nor does it specify how exactly specific graduatecompetency levels should be achieved. Instead, the recommendation providesprocessguidanceformovingfromcompetenciestoanimplementablecurriculum.
MSIS 2016 is a competency specification for master’s level degree programs ininformation systems (IS). It builds on the essential foundation of four earliergraduateISmodelcurricula(Ashenhurst,1972;Nunamakeretal.,1982;Gorgoneetal., 2000; Gorgone et al., 2006). At the same time, it represents in severalways adeparture from them. Instead of prescribing a curriculum course model, thisdocument specifies a set of Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS)graduatecompetencyrequirements.ThisrecommendationistheresultoftheworkbyaglobaltaskforceforthepurposesoftheglobalIScommunity,aclearlydifferentapproachcomparedtotheNorthAmericanfocusoftheearliercurricula.
Compared to earlier models, this recommendation offers a significantly strongerfocus on three of the nine competency areas: Innovation, Organizational Change,and Entrepreneurship; Ethics, Impacts, and Sustainability; and EnterpriseArchitecture. The others include Business Continuity and Information Assurance;Data, Information, and Content Management; IS Management and Operations; ISStrategy and Governance; IT Infrastructure; and Systems Development andDeployment.
MSIS 2016 focuses on capabilities that enable graduates to contribute to positivetransformation of various goal‐oriented human activities through digitalization.This document explicitly recognizes that master’s degree programs in IS can beofferedinthecontextofmultipletypesofdomainsofpractice(notonlybusiness).
Section 2 of this document provides an essential foundational conversationregardingtheprinciplesandassumptionsthatunderlietheMSISdegreeandtheISprofession.Sections3,4,and5formthecoreofthedocument:Section3describesthe architecture of the competency model, Section 4 reviews the graduatecompetencies, and Section 5 specifies the expected graduate competencies at adetailedlevel.Section6offersguidancefordevelopingacurriculumbasedontargetcompetencies, and Section 7 discusses the resources that a high‐quality MSISprogramrequires.
Theremainingsectionsdiscussthe justification,history,currentstatus,andfutureofMSIS2016.Section8presentsabroadrangeofreasonswhyvariousstakeholdersfindanMSdegreeinISuseful,andSection9describesthespecificgoalsfortheMSISfrom the perspective of these same stakeholder groups. Section 10 discusses avariety of uses for MSIS 2016. Section 11 presents a brief history of the earliercurriculumrecommendationsasbackgroundforthiseffort.Section12reviewstheexistingMSISprogrampracticesgloballybyregion.Section13describestheprocessthroughwhich this recommendationwas created. Section 14 analyzesMSIS 2016compared toMSIS2006anddescribes severalmajordifferencesbetween the two
1. MSIS is a professional practice master’s degree that focuses on thedevelopmentof specializedcompetencies in IS. Inaddition,anMSISdegreecanprovideafoundationalpreparationforacademicresearch;theprogramsthatchoosethisemphasistypicallyrequirearesearchthesis.AnMSISdegreefocuses on the development of competencies that are aligned with aspecificdomainofpractice(suchasbusiness,healthcare,law,government,education,etc.).
2.1 Degree Entry Conditions and Pre‐program Leveling Experiences
2. An MSIS degree is based on a completed undergraduate degree thatprovidesafoundationinthecoreIScompetenciesasdefinedinIS2010(Topietal.,2010a).The lengthof thepriorundergraduatedegree in ISmayvarydepending on the national or regional educational system (e.g., in manyEuropeancountries,anundergraduatedegreecanbeathree‐yeardegreeandleadtoatwo‐yearmaster’s,while,inNorthAmerica,atypicalundergraduatedegree isa four‐yeardegree).MSIS2016doesnot,however,requireall thecompetenciesdevelopedbyatypicalundergraduatedegreeinISasitsentryrequirements, justasubsetof thecorecompetenciesasspecified inSection4.5.
3. It is possible for those without an undergraduate degree specified in #2
abovetoenteranMSISdegreeprogram.Thesestudentswill,however,needadditionalpreparationthatprovidestheequivalentofanundergraduatepreparation in the IS topics specified below. This preparation is oftenoffered in the formof educational experiences that are called, for example,bridgemodules5,foundationsmodules,orpre‐programlevelingcourses.Thetopicareasofthesemodules(togetherwiththereferencestoIS2010)are:
a. FoundationsofInformationSystems(IS2010.1)b. DataandInformationManagement(IS2010.2)c. ITInfrastructure(IS2010.5),andd. SystemsAnalysis&Design(IS2010.6).
Section 5 specifies the competencies expected from these learningexperiencesfurther.
4. An MSIS degree requires foundational studies in its specified domain ofpractice as a program prerequisite or the development of the samecompetenciesthroughbridgemodules.
The most common domain of practice is currently business, but theintegration between technology understanding and domain expertise isuseful and can be achieved inmany other domains, too. Examples of suchdomains include government and public administration, non‐governmentalorganizations and other non‐profits, healthcare, education, law, services ingeneral, and many science disciplines. Section 5 discusses domains ofpracticeatamoredetailedlevel.
5. A student entering an MSIS degree program needs to have at least oneuniversity‐levelmoduleinstatisticsoranalytics.
6. An MSIS degree program has no expectations regarding prior
professional experience. Therefore, no competency expectations forgraduatescanbebuiltbasedonpriorprofessionalexperience.However,itisoftenvaluableforstudentstohaverelevantprofessionalexperiencebecauseitcouldhelpthemovercomeshortcomingsindomainknowledgeand/oranundergraduate degree (if, for example, the professional experience is incomputing). It is possible and fully acceptable that individual schools ordepartments create MSIS programs targeted to experienced professionalsthatrequireapre‐specifiedlevelofprofessionalexperience.
2.2 Key Degree Characteristics
7. AnMSISdegreeprovidescompetenciesinthreerealms(seeFigure1):a. Information Systems, including both computing 6 /information
technology(IT)andISmanagementdimensionsb. DomainofPractice(seediscussionabovein#4)c. Individual Foundational Competencies (such as written and oral
The competency category specifications for information systems andspecifications for areas of individual foundational competencies are theessential elements of MSIS 2016. In addition, this document providesexamples of competency area specifications for two domains of practice.Section5discussesthesedetails.
The emphasis on or balance of competencies in these realms variesdependingontheprogram.Allofthemshould,however,beincludedineveryMSISdegreeprogram.
8. Universities around theworld are offering an increasing number of highly
specializedmaster’sdegreesinISthatfocusonspecifictechnicalcompetencyareas, such as analytics or security. Whether or not such degrees can beconsideredMSISdegreesdependson the relativeproportionof specializedcontent to core competency areas. Any MSIS degree should support thedevelopmentofcompetenciesinallofthefourareasdiscussedabove.Ifthespecialty dominates the degree so significantly that the corecompetency categories specified later in this document are not allcoveredat theminimumrequired level, thedegreedoesnot fitundertheMSISumbrella.
9. AllMSIS degreeswill share the same core competency areas, but programimplementationswillvaryintermsoftheiremphasisonspecificcompetencycategories. The selection of categories that a specific program emphasizeswilldependonthetargetprofessionalprofiles(orpersonas).OnepossiblesourceofsuchprofilesisthelatestversionoftheCENworkshopagreementon European ICT professional profiles (CEN, 2012). The MSIS task forceevaluatedtheseprofilesandagreedthattheyhavebroadglobalapplicability.Thetaskforceselectedsixofthe23ICTprofessionalprofilesastheprimaryMSIS target profiles: Business Information Manager, Project Manager,Business Analyst, Systems Analyst, Enterprise Architect, and IT Consultant
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(CEN (2012) describes the profiles). For example, an MSIS program thatprimarily focuses on preparing its graduates for the integrated SystemsAnalyst/IT Consultant role will have a different target competency profilecomparedwiththeprogramsthatfocusontheProjectManagerroles(whichwe feature as examples in Section 6). We also provide examples of twoprofilesoutsidetheCWAmodel:oneforadigitalentrepreneurandanotherforananalyticsprofessional.The list specified above is not exclusive: it is perfectly reasonable for auniversity to offer a master’s degree in IS that prepares its graduates forcareersasCIOsor,bycontrast,developersordatabaseadministrators.It is,however,likelythatthesetypesofprogramswillhaveadditionalbackgroundrequirements,suchassignificantworkexperienceasanISmanager for theCIOpreparationoramuchstrongertechnicalpreparationfordevelopersordatabase administrators. These program types will still have to attain thecoreMSIScompetenciesatlevelsspecifiedinSection5.
10. MSIS 2016 uses four different levels to specify the extent to which aparticular professional profile requires that a competency category beattained. These levels are calledAwareness, Novice, Supporting (role), andIndependent (contributor). Section3describes these levels inmoredetail.An association between competency categories and correspondingcompetencyattainmentlevelsiscalledacompetencyprofile.
11. An MSIS degree comprises at least 30 semester hours (USA)/ 60 ECTS
credits(Europe)andrequiresat least11monthsoffull‐timestudy (oran equivalent amount of part‐time work). This total should not includepossiblebridgemodulesinISand/orthedomainofpractice.
an MSIS program, it is essential to take into account not only the MSISprogram components but also the graduate competencies attained beforethey enter the degreeprogram.This sounds trivial but is easy to ignore inpractice.
13. When determining the expected graduate competencies for an MSIS
program,itwillbeusefultouseprofessionalcompetencymodelsdevelopedduring recent years by multiple regional or national governmentalorganizations (such as the European e‐CF competence framework) orindustry organizations (such as U.K.‐based SFIA). Key elements of thesemodelshaveinspiredtheMSIStaskforce’swork.Theunderlyingcompetencymodel is also aligned with the international TUNING process and theprimarilyU.S.‐basedDegreeQualificationsProfile(DQP)modelsupportedbytheLuminaFoundation(Adelman,Ewell,Gaston,&Schneider,2014).
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2.3 Post‐experience Degrees
Many master’s degree programs in IS require students to have experience as ISprofessionals before and/or during the graduate program and depend on thisexperience.Theseprogramscanbehighlyvaluableandleadtoexcellentoutcomes.Master’s degree programs that are highly individualized, address just‐in‐timeprofessional needs, and include components collected over a long period of timecouldbecomeaverypopularor evenadominantprogrammodel in the future. Itwould,however,bedifficulttobuildacurriculumorcompetencyrecommendationfortheseprogramsgiventhesignificantdifferencesbetweenstudents’backgroundsand program expectations regarding them. Programs targeted primarily to pre‐experience students may, naturally, let students with relevant professionalexperienceadjusttheircurriculasothattheybetterfittheirexistingcompetencies.Forexample,experiencednetwork/systemsadministratorsmayhavecompetenciesthatallowthemtotakeanadvancedelectiveinsteadofanintermediatecourseinITinfrastructure.
The IS community would likely benefit from a mechanism that allows ISprofessionalstoacquireandcollecteducationalexperiencesovertheirprofessionalcareers and build recognized credentials based on them. We do, however,recommendthatthistypeofdegreebebuiltseparatelywithanidentitythatdiffersfromthatofanMSIS(itcould,forexample,beanexecutivemaster’sthatcomprisesmultiple certificates). This type of separation would likely benefit both the pre‐experience MSIS and the post‐experience degree. All of these are mechanismsthrough which IS professionals acquire new competencies or strengthen existingones as part of their lifelong learning process. Offering them can, however, be animportantpartofauniversity’smission,butitisclearerifaseparatedegreetypeisspecifiedforthem.
In addition,we recognize the existenceofMBA concentrations in IS as a separateentityfrommaster’sdegreesinIS.AnMBAisageneralistdegreedesignedtofocusprimarilyonthedevelopmentofmanagerialcapabilities,andanMBAconcentrationseldomprovidesthetypeoftechnicaldepthexpectedfromaspecializedmaster’sinIS.
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Part B: The MSIS 2016 Competency Model
3 Architecture of the MSIS 2016 Competency Model
In this section, we discuss the underlying conceptual structure of theMSIS 2016competencymodel. Inbrief,wespecify themodelusinggraduatecompetenciesasitsfoundationalelementinsteadofcourses/modulesorknowledgeareas,units,andtopics.
Historically, most computing curriculum documents have been built around atypically hierarchical knowledge area–knowledge unit–topic (KA/KU/topic)structure that forms a body of knowledge (BoK). For example, the most recentcomputer science curriculum recommendation (CS2013) has 18 knowledge areasthatcontainfiveto12knowledgeunitseach.Eachknowledgeunit,inturn,includestopics. For example, the Information Management knowledge area has 12knowledgeunits,suchasRelationalDatabases.Thisknowledgeunithas11topics,which are familiar to those who teach IS courses in this area, such as mappingconceptualschematorelationalschema,entityandreferentialintegrity,andsoon.
A potential problem with the KA/KU/topic structure is, however, that it focusesmostly on cognitive aspects of learning and leaves experiential elements out. Acurriculumbased on a knowledge area structure conveys relatively little onwhatthegraduatesareable todoat the timeofgraduation.Someobserversmight findthisperfectlyacceptablebecausetheydonotviewapplicableskillsandattitudesasagoalofuniversityeducation;forothers,itisamajorproblembecausetheyholdabroaderviewofthegoalsofauniversitydegree.
PriorISmodelcurriculahavealwaysincludedsometypeofarepresentationofanISBoK,butnoneof theIScurriculahasbeenstructuredaroundtheBoKstructure inthe samewayas theother computing curricula are. Instead, the IS curriculahavebeenrepresentedmainlythroughcourses(bothcoreandelective/specialized)withlearningobjectivesandtopics(seetheright‐sidepanelofFigure2).ThisapproachhasbeenusedinIS2002(Gorgoneetal.,2002),IS2010(Topietal.,2010a),MSIS2000 (Gorgone et al., 2000), and MSIS 2006 (Gorgone et al., 2006). The mainchallengeofthisapproachisthatittypicallypresentsacourse‐specificviewwithoutprovidingadetailedprogram‐levelrepresentationofexpectedgraduatecapabilities.Someofthesecurricula—particularlyIS2010—dedicatesignificantattentiontothespecificationofprogram‐levelgraduatecapabilitiesatahighlevelofabstraction,buteven IS 2010 never maps the course level with the program level to analyze ordemonstratehowthecoursescontributetothewayinwhichstudentsachievetheprogram‐levelobjectives.
From the beginning of the project, theMSIS 2016 task force followed a third andincreasingly commonly used model (see the left panel of Figure 2). Instead ofspecifying a body of knowledge or a set of courses, thismodel identifies a set ofgraduate competencies. In this context,weuse the term “competency” to refer tograduate ability to use knowledge, skills, and attitudes to perform specified taskssuccessfully. Using more refined language, Lockoff et al. (2010, p. 21) definecompetenciesasfollows:
Competenciesrepresentadynamiccombinationofcognitiveandmetacognitiveskills, demonstration of knowledge and understanding, interpersonal,intellectualandpracticalskills,andethicalvalues.
Weareawareofthecomplexdiscussionassociatedwiththeterm“competency”(seeHoffmann, 1999; Paquette, 2007). In this context, we do not contribute to thatconversationbut simply specify competency as an integrative concept that bringstogethergraduateknowledge,skills,andattitudes.
TheMSIS2016competencymodelspecifiescompetencyareasasthehighest‐levelcategorizationofcompetencies.Theareas,inturn,includecompetencycategories,and these categories specify the actual competencies. Competency areas andcompetencycategoriesaremuchmorestableanddepend lesson technology thanthecompetenciesthemselves.Inaddition,therewillbemuchmorelocalvariationin
Eachcompetencyareahasaname,abrief(paragraph‐long)description,andthreeto five high‐level dimensions. Each category is specifiedwith a name and a briefdescription,asiseachcompetencyinacategory.
Allprogramswillnot,however,preparestudentstoattaincompetenciesatthesamelevel in all competency categories. Different professional profiles have differentcompetency needs, and the professional profiles that a program desires itsgraduates to be able to achieve determine the level at which a program shouldenableitsgraduatestoattaineachofthecompetencycategories.
MSIS 2016 specifies four different levels of competency category attainment:Awareness,Novice,Supporting(role),andIndependent(contributor).Wedefinetheselevelsasfollows:
At the Awareness level, a graduate knows that the competency categoryexists and is aware of the reasons why it is important for the domain ofpractice and individual organizations that use information systems toachievetheirgoals.GraduatesatthislevelhavenotyetreachedSFIAlevelofresponsibility1(SFIA,2016,pp.15–18).
At the Novice level, a graduate can effectively communicate regardingmatters related to the competency, perform component activities undersupervision, and develop on‐the‐job experience related to the competency.ThislevelcorrespondscloselytoSFIAlevelofresponsibility1.
AttheSupporting(role)level,agraduatehasachievedalevelofknowledgeandskill that allowshim/her to collaborateeffectively ina supporting rolewith colleagues who have achieved a higher level of the competency toproducethedesiredoutcomes.ThislevelcorrespondscloselytoSFIAlevelsofresponsibilities2and3.
At the Independent (contributor) level, a graduate has achieved a level ofknowledgeandskillsthatallowsthegraduatetoperformwithoutcontinuoussupport/supervision the tasksrequired toproduce thedesiredcompetencyoutcomes.ThislevelcorrespondscloselytoSFIAlevelofresponsibility4.
Higherlevelsofcompetenciesdoexistandcouldbeconsidered(suchasanexpertlevel). A master’s degree program alone cannot, however, bring a student to thehighestlevelsofcompetencyand,thus,arenotincludedastargetsforgeneralMSISprograms. There are, of course, examples of master’s programs for experiencedprofessionals that arecarefullydesigned to integrateacademic content,pedagogy,and professional experience so that students can attain the highest levels oflearning. One cannot, however, expect this level of achievement as a generalrequirement.
Intheirseminalbook,DreyfusandDreyfus(1986;seealsoDreyfus&Dreyfus,2005)articulate a five‐stage model of skill acquisition (novice, advanced beginner,competent,proficient,expert).Althoughthelevelsarenotdirectlyapplicabletothe
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developmentofprofessionalcompetencies,thereareatleasttwospecificaspectsofthe model that are highly relevant. First, it is not possible to develop humancompetenciesbeyondthenovicelevelonlybasedonabstractknowledgewithoutacloseassociationwithacontext;developingsituationalawarenessrequireslearningthroughexperience.Second,gainingthehighestlevelsofskillachievementrequireshighlyinvolvedengagementinavarietyofsituationsrelevanttotheskillofinterest.
AllMSIS2016degreeprogramsareexpected toenable theirgraduates toattainatotal of 88 competency categories at least at the awareness level, and, for manycategories,therequiredminimumlevelishigher.Section5identifiestheminimumrequiredMSIS2016achievementlevelsforeachcompetencycategory.
4 Overview of the MSIS 2016 Graduate Competencies
4.1 Big Picture
Most importantly, the MSIS is a degree at the master’s level, and, as such, MSISgraduates shouldexhibit general characteristicsofmaster’sprogramgraduatesasspecified in the Dublin Descriptors (Bologna Working Group, 2005). That is,graduatesneed:
Beable to “apply theirknowledgeandunderstanding,andproblem‐solvingabilities in new or unfamiliar environments within broader (ormultidisciplinary)contextsrelatedtotheirfieldofstudy”
“Have the ability to integrate knowledge and handle complexity, andformulate judgments with incomplete or limited information, but thatinclude reflecting on social and ethical responsibilities linked to theapplicationoftheirknowledgeandjudgments”
Beableto“communicatetheirconclusions,andtheknowledgeandrationaleunderpinning these, to specialist and non‐specialist audiences clearly andunambiguously”,and
Overall, an MSIS program develops competencies in three realms: InformationSystems Competencies, Individual Foundational Competencies, and DomainCompetencies (see also Figure 1). Figure 3 presents an overview of the MSIScompetencyareastructure.Therestof thissectiondiscusses itselements inmoredetail.
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Figure3.MSIS2016CompetencyStructure
4.2 Areas of Information Systems Competencies
IS competencies (including both computing/IT and IS management dimensions)formthecenteroftheMSIScompetencyspecification:thecompetenciesincludedinthis element are distinctively our discipline’s own competencies. Individualfoundational competencies and domain competencies (see Sections 4.3. and 4.4,respectively)are, inpractice,sharedasoutcomeswithmanyotherprogramtypes.Mostof thisdocument focusesonreviewing inmoredetail thecompetencyareas,categories,andsamplecompetenciesintheIScompetencieselement.Figure3lists
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the competency areas. We detail these areas, categories, and competencies at asignificantlymoredetailedlevelinSection5.1.
4.3 Areas of Individual Foundational Competencies
Individual foundational competencies are those competencies necessary for allknowledge professionals in a variety of professions, such as communication,collaboration, andproblem solving.They are specifiedonly at thehighest level ofabstractionperarealevel.ThespecificareasofcompetencieschosenforMSIS2016areanextendedversionofthesetarticulatedinIS2010.Thislisthasbeenmodifiedby separating competencies that were presented together in IS 2010. Figure 3showsthelistofthesecompetencies,andSection5.2discussesitinmoredetail.
4.4 Areas of Domain Competencies
The MSIS is a professional practice master’s degree that always integratesinformation systems with a specific domain of practice (such as business,healthcare,legalenvironment,government,K–12education,highereducation,etc.).MSIS2016doesnotarticulateasetofdetailedcompetenciesforanysingledomainofpracticetoavoidtheimpressionofgivingonedomainaprioritystatus,butitdoesprovideexamplesofcompetencyareasfortwodomainsinSection5.3.
4.5 Areas of Prerequisite Competencies with Pre‐Master’s Elements
Mostcomputingcurriculatargettheundergraduatelevel,sotheenteringstudent’squalificationsforthesecurriculaaretypicallydefinedasasecondaryeducation(e.g.,high school) degree. As a master’s degree, MSIS has to consider additionaldimensionsoftheincomingstudentbackground.ThefirstrequirementforincomingMSISstudentsisanearnedbachelor’sdegree.Inmostcontexts,abachelor’sdegreerequiresabout120semester credithoursor180–240ECTScredits (three to fouryearsoffull‐timework).Thisis,however,justabasictechnicalrequirement.
In addition, for an MSIS degree to achieve its objectives regarding graduatecompetencies, incoming students should already have acquired a certain set ofprerequisite competencies related to IS. Earlier versions of the MSIS curriculumhave specified these competencies as prerequisite courses. In MSIS 2006, thesecourses included IS Fundamentals and Programming, and Data, Files, and ObjectStructures(bothspecifiedasIS2002courses).
InMSIS2016,thetaskforcehasmovedtoamodelthatspecifiesasetofprerequisitecompetencies. A necessary but not sufficient prerequisite is foundationalunderstanding of IS—that is, understanding the role of information systems inorganizations.Werecommendaliterature‐basedexaminationorabridgecoursetoensure sufficient coverage of basic understanding that IS constitutes not onlytechnologiesandsoftwarebutalsoawholesystemwithusersandtheiractivities.The theoretical approach to cover is the general systems theory (e.g., vonBertalanffy, 1968) because it helps to structure the area and is a vital tool inproblem‐solvingactivitiesincomplexenvironments.Systemstheoryisalsoahelpfulviewpoint into the complexities in all competencyareas.Manyof theprerequisite
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competenciesareinthesamecompetencyareasthatincludecompetenciesspecifiedfor MSIS graduates but should be gained at an earlier stage. Specifically, theprerequisite competencies are included in three areas: 1) Data, Information, andContent Management; 2) IT Infrastructure; and 3) Systems Development andDeployment(Figure3;seealsoSection5fordetails).
Asfortheindividualfoundationalcompetencies,MSIS2016doesnotmakespecificassumptions regarding the competencies that incoming students have. It does,however,assumethattheundergraduate/first‐cycledegreerequirementhasgivenstudents competencies in oral communication,written communication, leadershipand collaboration, negotiation, analytical and critical thinking, creativity, ethicalanalysis,andproblemsolving(asspecified,forexample, inIS2010).Asamaster’sdegree,MSIS2016strengthensandbringsthesecompetenciestoalevelcompatiblewithmaster’slevelexpectations.
PleasenotethatMSIS2016doesnottakeapositionregardingthepreferredwayinwhich students should acquire the prerequisite competencies. Clearly oneway toget them is to have an undergraduate degree in IS or in a related appliedcomputingdiscipline.Itisalsopossiblethatanincomingstudenthasacquiredtherequired competencies throughwork experience (which, of course, needs to beverified with appropriate testing). Finally, students can achieve the prerequisitecompetenciesbytakingbridgemodulesbeforetheactualgraduateprogramstarts.Whichevermechanism isused, studentsneed toattain the competencies inawaythatallowsthemtofullyusetheprerequisitecompetenciesaspartofthemaster’slevelstudyprocess—themaster’sprogramshouldbebuiltontheassumptionthatallstudentshavetheprerequisitecompetenciesandcanusethem.
4.6 Specialized Competencies
As Figure 3 indicates, specialized competencies comprise additional IScompetencies that build on the program’s chosen core competencies and allowgraduates to perform more sophisticated tasks and act in more specializedprofessional roles. Specialized competencies may also create differentiationbetween career tracks in addition to the differences specifiedwith the secondarycorecompetencies.ThespecializedcompetenciesenableMSISgraduatestoserveinroles that require competencies in a specific area of technical expert knowledge,such as security or analytics. Not all specialized master’s degrees leading tospecializedIScompetenciesareMSISdegrees—anMSISrequiresthat,inadditiontothe specialized competencies, theprogramenables its graduates to attain all corecompetenciesattheminimumatalevelspecifiedinTable1below(inSection5.1.2).
4.7 Impact of Professional Profiles on Competency Categories
This recommendation recognizes that there are significant differences betweenMSIS programs. One of the most important dimensions relates to graduates’expected professional profiles. It is unlikely that any MSIS program would onlyprepareitsgraduatesforonespecificprofile,buttargetprofilesvaryandthechosen
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profile(s) have an impact on the expected graduate competencies and, throughthese,thecurriculum.
CEN(2012)describesindetailthesixprofessionalprofilesthathavebeenchosenasthemost likely targets forMSISprograms:BusinessAnalyst,Business InformationManager, Enterprise Architect, IT consultant, (IT) Project Manager, and SystemsAnalyst. It is clear that thespecificdefinitionsof theseprofilesvarydependingonthe regional, national, and local requirements, but it is likely that the generalcharacteristicsofeachprofileareclosetoeachotherregardlessofthelocation.
Asmentionedabove, all 88 competency categoriesbelong to the coreof theMSISbecauseallMSISprogramsshouldenabletheirgraduatestoattainthematleastattheAwarenesslevel(seeSection3forthedefinitionofthelevels).Inaddition,thisrecommendation specifies for each of the competency categories theminimumlevelthatallgraduatesshouldattain.For22competencycategories,theminimumlevel has been specified as Awareness, for 46 categories as Novice, and for 20categoriesasSupporting.NominimumlevelshavebeenspecifiedasIndependent.Werecognizethatmanyprogramspreparetheirgraduatestoachievethislevelwithsomeor evenmany competencies,but thisdocument recognizes that, particularlywithprograms targeted tostudentswith littleornoworkexperience, this level isverydifficulttoachieve.
Section5.1 specifies the competency categoriesanda setof competencies ineachthat should be viewed as examples. For each category, it further specifies theminimumlevelatwhicheachMSISdegreeprogramneedstoenableitsgraduatetoattaineachcategory.
5 MSIS 2016 Competency Specifications
This section provides additional contextual information for the nine competencyareasinIScompetencies(overviewinFigure4;details inSection5.1),11areasofindividualfoundationalcompetencies(Section5.2),andcompetencyareaexamplesfortwodomainsofpractice(Section5.3).
5.1 Specifications of Competency Areas, Competency Categories, and Competencies for Information Systems
The task force has benefited significantly from the following sources whendevelopingthecompetencystructureoutlinedinthissection:
The European e‐Competence Framework (e‐CF) 3.0: A Common EuropeanFramework for ICT Professionals in All Industry Sectors(www.ecompetences.eu)
The Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) (www.sfia‐online.org/en)
The task force gratefully acknowledges the significant impact of all theseoutstanding specificationsof ITprofessional competencieson theprocessofMSIS2016 competency development. In addition to these specifications, the task forceusedprimarydatacollectedfromMSISprogramdirectors,currentstudents,alumni,andcorporatestakeholdersregardinggraduatecompetencypriorities.
Material fromall thesesourceswas integrated inamulti‐stagedgroupingprocessthattookplaceatthecompetencycategorylevel:thecategorieswerefirstgroupedintocompetencyareas,andthenindividualcompetencieswerearticulatedforeachofthecompetencycategories.Asdiscussedabove,theindividualcompetenciesarelessstablethantheareasandcategories,andtheyarenotintendedtobeexhaustive.
Thissectiondocumentsthecompetencyareas(seeFigure4forsummary)withtwotablesandanarrativedescription.First,wepresentanarrativedescriptionof theareas and high‐level dimensions of the areas. After that, Table 1 summarizes thecompetency areas and categories and provides a convenient overview of the IScompetencies.AppendixAincludesthedetailedcompetencyexamples.
Areadescription:theBusinessContinuityandInformationAssurancecompetencyarea mainly concerns the continuity, auditing, and assurance of informationsystems.Itgenerallycoversareassuchasriskavoidance,securitymanagement,andquality auditing. The challenging issues related to business continuity andinformationassurancespanfromtacticalandstrategictotechnicalandoperationallevels.Theyofteninvolvearangeofprocessesfrommanagement,suchaspolicyandstandard setting, to hands‐on skills, such as system contingency and recoveryplanning.
High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
1. Create policies and standards for business continuity and informationassurance.
2. Planand implementprocedures,operations,andtechnologies formanagingriskand trust, security, and safetyand forbusiness continuityanddisasterrecovery.
3. Monitor, control, and institutionalize the protection and growth of thehardware,software,andinformationassetsininformationsystems.
Area description: the Data, Information, and Content management area coverscompetencies that enable graduates to be effective contributors in processes thatimprovethedomain’sabilitytoachieveitsgoalsusingstructuredandunstructureddataandinformationeffectively.
High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
1. Identify data and information management technology alternatives, selectthemostappropriateoptionsbasedontheorganizationalinformationneeds,andmanagetheimplementationoftheselectedoptions.
2. Identify,create,andmanageorganizationalpoliciesandprocessesrelatedtodata and information management by balancing multidimensionalrequirements, such as legal and regulatory requirements, ethicalconsiderations and implications of technology decisions, organizationalbusinessrequirements,dataqualityissues,andrequirementsofoperatinginaninternationalenvironment.
Areadescription:Enterprisearchitecturehas twoaims:managing thecomplexityof information systems and technologies and aligning these systems/technologieswiththeorganization’sstrategy.Theareacoverscompetencesthatenablegraduatestoparticipateinplanning,building,using,maintaining,andevaluatingarchitectures.
High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
1. Designanenterprisearchitecture(EA).Thisinvolvesidentifyingandapplyingaformal approach to EA development, performing the multistage process ofdevelopinganEA,identifyingtheEAchangeneeds,andapplyingthemtotheEA.Graduates are able to incorporate information, domain activity processes,technology platforms, applications, software, and hardware in the EA whileconsidering the alignment between domain requirements and technologydevelopment.
2. DeployandmaintainanEA.Thisinvolvesconveyingthearchitecturetodomainprocess owners, software development and maintenance projects, andinfrastructureplannersandtakingintoaccountthecurrentstatusoftheprojectsand infrastructure. This also includes gathering input from the enterprise andfromtechnologydevelopmentsformaintainingthearchitectureandperformingarchitecturemaintenance.
Areadescription:theEthics, Impacts, and Sustainability competency area coversthe conceptualization and implementation of environmentally and sociallysustainable IT solutions that are alignedwith the responsibilitiesof organizationsand in compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements and industrystandards. This competency area addresses key questions such as environmentalandsocialsustainability,safetyandhealth,privacy,andintegrity.Italsocoverstheimpactof ITon thenatureofworkandworkplacesandexploreshowcultureandethics(internalpertainingtoorganizationsandexternalpertainingtostakeholders)shapebehavior.Theseareastendtobealignedwithastrategicoratacticalleveloforganizationaldecisionmaking.
Area description: the Innovation, Organizational Change, and Entrepreneurshipareacoversthecapabilitytorecognizeandexploitthepotentialaffordedbycurrentand upcoming technologies to address existing and new business opportunities.This area also includes competencies required to understand and to intervene indifferent forms of domain activities (e.g., work units, work teams, processes,organizations,markets,societysetting)inordertouseinformationtechnologiestoimprovethewaythosebusinessactivitiesarestructuredandperformed.
High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
1. Monitor theenvironment inorder to identifyandevaluatenewISmethodsandtrendsintermsoftheirappropriatenessforanorganization.
3. Develop aplan to exploit newand emergingmethods and technologies fornewpurposesinanorganization.
4. Devisenewwaysofstructuringandperformingdomainactivitiesatdifferentlevels (individual, team, process, and organization) while considering theenablingandenhancingeffectsofinformationtechnologyapplications.
5. Estimate the benefits of the newdesigns, assess the consequences of theirimplementation,andanticipatepotentialadverseconsequences.
Areadescription:theISManagementandOperationsareacoversthecapabilitytodevelop,maintain, andconsistently improvedomainperformancewhileprovidingappropriate information systems, services, and infrastructure. The capabilityfocuses externally on creating value for the domain and internally on IS staffmotivation,performance,andaccountability.
High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
1. Applyprofessionalmanagementskills to thedesignandmanagementofaneffectiveISorganization.
2. Ensureoperationalefficiencyandeffectivenessinservicedelivery.3. Govern IS project management principles and support their use in the
Area description: the IS Strategy and Governance area covers the creation andimplementation of long‐term plans for designing, delivering, and usingorganizational information systems to achieve strategic domain goals andobjectives. This area also covers monitoring and controlling organizational IS
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resources to ensure alignment with and achievement of strategies, goals, andobjectives.
High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
1. Analyze the effect and impact of IS on industries, firms, and institutions;develop and implement plans of action for maximizing firm benefitsassociated with IS design, delivery, and use; and manage IS resourcesfinancially.
2. Create and manage the oversight mechanisms by which an organizationevaluates, directs, andmonitors organizational IT. Thesemechanismsmayleverage one or more governance frameworks; hence, understanding theprocess of applying and analyzing a framework is a critical competency.Distributionofdecisionrightsandorganizationaldecision‐makingpracticesareotherkeycomponentsofthiscompetencyarea.
Area description: the IT Infrastructure area covers competencies that allowgraduates to contribute to needs analysis for and design and implementation ofeffective,technicallycorrectITinfrastructuresolutions.
High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
1. Design integrated communication networks for small‐ and medium‐sizeorganizations, including local area networks and the use of wide‐areanetworktechnologiestoconnectthelocalnetworks.
2. Specifyrequirementsforlarge‐scalenetworksolutions.3. Design an implementation architecture for organizational data processing
and systemsolutions,usingboth internalhardware resources andexternalservicesolutions.
Area description: the Systems Development and Deployment area covers thedesign of information systems and services, including the design of how humansinteractwith and how they experience IT artifacts. It also includes competenciesrelatedtosystemsimplementationandthedeploymentofsystemstoorganizationaluse.
High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
1. Analyze and specify requirements for IT artifacts through studying anddocumentingthewholeorpartofsomeformofdomainactivities(e.g.,workunit,work team, process, organization,market, society setting) in terms ofthe actions they involve and the information they deal with. Define
MSIS‐20
requirements for IT artifacts that can enhance the way existing domainactivities are structured and performed or enabling new forms of domainactivities
2. Design and document IT artifacts that meet specified requirements takingintoaccountnon‐functionalrequirements(includinguserexperiencedesign)andorganizational,technical,infrastructural,andotherconstraints.
3. In the context of iterative processes that integrate analysis, design,implementation, and operations, develop and deploy IT applications thatsatisfyuserneeds.
5.1.2 Competency Categories
Table 1 below provides a more detailed description of the competency areasspecifiedaboveinSection5.1.1bylistingthecompetencycategoriesforeachoftheareas and specifying the minimum required level of attainment for each of thecategories.
As discussed earlier in this document, an essential identifying characteristic of adegreeprograminISisthattheprogrambothpreparesstudentswithcompetenciesin a domain of organized human activity and specifically provides them withcompetencies related to applying computing technologies in the domain. Untilrecently,themostcommondomainhasbeenbusinesstotheextentthatMSIS2006explicitly expects either a business prerequisite or a set of corresponding bridgecoursesinbusiness.
AswithIS2010attheundergraduatelevel,MSIS2016specificallynotonlyallowsbut also encourages the introduction of non‐business domains to the family ofmaster’sdegreesinIS,whichdoesnotmeanthattheimportanceofbusinesswouldsomehow be downgraded. Instead, new domains will be added, which willstrengthen the familyof ISprogramsas awhole. In this section,we includehigh‐leveldomaincompetencyareadescriptionsforbusinessandhealthcare.
5.3.1 Business
We look to MSIS 2006’s two‐course business sequence to define the businesscompetencyexpectationsforstudentswhodonothaveanundergraduatedegreeinbusiness.Theyincludethefollowing:
MSIS‐26
1. Designing cross‐functional business processes as solutions to businessproblems or as mechanisms to benefit from IT‐enabled businessopportunities.
2. Understanding the fundamental business challenges that experts in thekey functional business disciplines (finance, accounting, marketing,organizational behavior, and strategy) address, the key businesstransactions in these functional areas, and the core concepts that thefunctionalareaexpertsusewhilediscussingtheirarea.
3. Understanding the core concepts and processes related to formulatingand enabling the execution of business strategy, particularly from theperspective of enabling business strategy with information systemssolutions.
4. Analyzing and presenting data to provide support for effective analysisandtransformationofwaysinwhichbusinessisconducted.
5.3.2 Healthcare
HealthcareisanothercommonexampleofadomainofpracticeforwhichanMSinInformation Systems program can be designed. These programsmight be offeredunder various titles, such as MS in Health Information Systems or MS in HealthInformatics.
Forsuchaprogram,apossiblesetofdomain‐relatedcompetencycategoriescouldinclude the following (this list is informed and inspired by CDC, 2009; AmericanMedicalInformaticsAssociation,2008;andUniversityofMichigan,2016):
1. Applying theories of human behavior at individual, group, and societallevels; organizational change; and health management relevant forachievingpositivehealthoutcomesinwaysthatarecompatiblewiththeculture,organizationalcontext,andpoliciesrelatedtohealth.
2. Using scientific evidence to improve the quality of healthcare and todevelopinnovativesolutionstohealthproblems.
5. Maintaining appropriate privacy and confidentiality of healthinformation.
6. Communicating effectively with healthcare professionals usingappropriateprofessionalvocabulary,terminology,andpractices.
7. Designing structures and mechanisms for maintaining appropriaterecords for an individual’s healthcare interventions and outcomeshistory.
In addition, programs in healthcare informatics often have more specializedhealthcare/medical competency requirements in areas suchbioinformatics, publichealth, clinical informatics, or nursing (Kampov‐Polevoi & Hemminger, 2011).Kampov‐Polevoi and Hemminger categorize domain‐specific knowledge and
MSIS‐27
competencies in healthcare: healthcare systems, public health core, advancedpractice nursing, clinical sciences, life sciences, biotechnology, computationalbiology, and medical imaging. Competencies related to these areas are typicallydeterminedbasedonlocalneeds.
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Part C: Using MSIS 2016
6 Developing a Curriculum Based on MSIS Competency Specifications
6.1 From Competencies to Curriculum
Earlier in thisdocument,we specify the competency categoriesand theminimumlevelthatgraduatesneedtoattaintosatisfytheminimumrequirementsoftheMSIS.It isclear,however, thatacollectionofgraduatecompetencies isnotsufficient forimplementing a degreeprogram.Ultimately, the unit (typically a department or aschool) that offers anMSIS degree has to construct a set of learning experiencesstructured in ameaningfulway intomodules so thatparticipationwill enable therequired learning processes. By “module”, we refer to courses, seminars, theses,other major projects, and other ways to integrate learning experiences. In thissection,wedescribesamplearchitecturesforMSISprogramsandapossibleprocessfor developing degree programs as collections of structured learning experiencesbasedonthecompetencyspecifications.
Inasignificantdeparturefromearlierdocumentsthatprovidecurriculumguidancein IS, MSIS 2016 acknowledges the fact that the same program‐level targetcompetenciesandlearningobjectivescanbeachievedinamultitudeofways.Thisdocument, which has been globally oriented from the beginning, recognizes thatmaster’sprogramsinISaroundtheworldwillvarydependingonregional,national,and local regulatory contexts, nature of the student groups, and the technicalimplementation environment. No form of guidance, however well designed orforcefully articulated, can change this fact. Therefore,MSIS 2016doesnot specifyhow amaster’s degree program in IS should be implemented, nor does it specifyhowexactlyaspecificgraduatecompetencylevelshouldbeachieved.
In this section, the document does, however, describe possible curriculumarchitecture models (Section 6.2), a process for deriving courses from thecompetencies(6.3),andvarioussampleprogramprofiles.
6.2 MSIS Curriculum Architecture Models
AllMSIS programshave tomake essential decisions regarding the architecture ofthe program’s curriculum in the context of local requirements. Inmost cases, theuniversity, the college/school, or local regulatory or competitive requirementsdetermine important parameters for the program, such as the total number ofmodulesorothersimilarunitsofstudentwork.Someprogramshavemorefreedomthan others, but only in rare cases can a program freely determine the requiredstudentworkload.That isoneof thereasonswhyMSIS2016doesnotprescribeaspecificnumberofmodulesorapredefinedworkload—programswouldnotbeabletoalignwithasinglespecificationeveniftheywantedtodoso.Toprovideexamples
MSIS‐29
of typical scenarios,we discuss in this section two architecturalmodels based ondifferentregionalassumptions(NorthAmericaandEurope).
This discussion also addresses the role of various types of modules in thecurriculum.We assume that MSIS programswill comprise the following types ofmaincategoriesofcoursemodules:
Possible bridge modules that address the pre‐program competencyrequirementsinIS
Possible bridge modules that address the pre‐program competencyrequirementsrelatedtothedomainofpractice
Required courses that enable students to attain the core IS competenciesspecifiedinFigure3
Required courses that enable students to attain additional domain andindividualfoundationalcompetenciesasspecifiedinFigure3,and
Elective courses that enable students to attain specialized competencies asspecifiedinFigure3.
6.2.1 U.S. Model
AtypicalMSISprogramintheU.S.comprises10–12three‐semestercreditcourses(30–36 semester credits, which equals 60–72 ECTS credits) and requires thestudenttoengageinanequivalentof450–540contacthoursand1350–1620totalhoursofworkduring thedegreeprogram(thestudentworkhoursare,of course,approximationsandvarydependingonan individual student). Ifweassume thattheprogramcomprisestencourses(notincludingthebridgecourses),wecould,forexample,buildaprogram(seeTable3)thatoffers:
Fourbridgemodules(oneandahalfcreditseach)tocovertherequiredpre‐master’s competencies, such as Fundamentals of Data Management,FundamentalsofSystemsDevelopmentandDeployment,ISManagementandOperationsinaData‐drivenOrganization,andITInfrastructure.Thesewouldbe waived if a student who entered the program had the necessarybackground.
Six bridge modules (one and a half credits each) to provide foundationaldomain competencies. Assuming the domain is business, these modulescould, for example, comprise accounting, economics, finance, marketing,operations management, and organizational behavior/leadership. Thesewould bewaived if a studentwho entered the programhad the necessarybackground.
Four electivemodules that form a specialization/career track, such as onefocused on one of the profiles discussed in Section 6.3 or in a morespecializedarea,suchasanalyticsorcybersecurity.
ThisexampledescribesarelativelytraditionalMSISprogramconceptintheUS.Todemonstrate the flexibilityof themodel,onecouldalsouse it tocreateaprogramwiththefollowingcharacteristics:
Two integrated bridgemodules (three credits each) to cover the requiredpre‐master’s competencies, Data Management and Systems Design, andInformation Systems Infrastructure and Management. These would bewaivedifastudentwhoenteredtheprogramhadthenecessarybackground.
Four bridge modules (three credits each) to provide foundational domaincompetenciesinhealthcareandhealthcaremanagement,suchasthecoursesspecifiedintheexamplediscussedinSection5.3.2.
Four required modules (one and a half credits each) focusing on furtherdevelopment of foundational individual competencies, such as oralcommunication, written communication, collaboration and leadership, andethicaldecisionmaking.
6.2.2 European Model
Since1999,Europeancountrieshave joined theBolognaagreement8, according towhichuniversityeducationhasathree‐yearbachelor’sdegree,atwo‐yearmaster’s
8ThecountriesengagedintheBolognaProcessareAlbania,Andorra,Armenia,Austria,Azerbaijan,Belarus,Belgium,Bosnia‐Herzegovina,Bulgaria,Croatia,Cyprus,CzechRepublic,Denmark,Estonia,Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Holy See (Vatican), Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,Kazakhstan,Latvia,Liechtenstein,Lithuania,Luxembourg,Macedonia,Malta,Moldova,Montenegro,Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia Federation, Serbia, Slovak Republic,
MSIS‐31
degree, and a three‐to‐four‐year doctoral degree. The qualifications at the end ofeachdegreeareexpressedaslearningoutcomes(seeSection4.1formaster’slevelqualificationsasspecifiedintheDublinDescriptors).
Student workload is measured in European Credit Transfer and AccumulationSystem(ECTS)credits.IntheECTScontext,workloadreferstothetimerequiredtocompleteallrelevantlearningactivities(classmeetings,examinations,assignments,projects,practicalwork,self‐study,etc.)thatstudentsneedtoachievetheexpectedlearning outcomes. One academic year corresponds to 60 ECTS, which areequivalentto1500–1800hoursofstudy.OneECTScredit is25–30hoursofwork.Theminimum amount for amaster’s degree is 60 ECTS credits;more typically, amaster’sdegreerequires90–120ECTScredits.Atypicalcourseis5–6ECTScreditsandtakesonequarterof theacademicyear.Amaster’s thesis is typically30ECTScredits.
To gain access to amaster’s program, a bachelor’s degree in the same or closelyrelated discipline is required. In case bridge courses are needed in IS or in thedomain,asuitablecollectionof intermediate levelcourses is included inthestudyplan(e.g.,asaminorsubject).
Using thismodel,we could, for example, build a two‐year program (See Table 4)thatoffers:
In Europe, two‐year programs typically include a master’s thesis (70–100pages) that reports anempirical study that the studenthas carriedout.Tosupportthisprocess,eachstudenthasasupervisorandpresentsthestudyinthe seminar for discussion. A separate research methods course can beoffered or given during the seminarmeeting hours. A course on academicwriting gives students hands‐on support with their texts. The followingindividual foundational competencies benefit from the following modules:CriticalThinking,Creativity,EthicalAnalysis,OralCommunication,ProblemSolving,andWrittenCommunication.
A capstone project, if provided, also supports Creativity, Collaboration andTeamwork,Leadership,andNegotiation.
6.3 Role of Target Profiles in Designing the Curriculum
AllMSISdegreeswillsharethesamecorecompetencyareas,butvariousprogramimplementations will vary in terms of their emphases on specific competencycategories. The selection of categories that a specific program emphasizes willdependon the targetprofessionalprofiles.Onepossible sourceof suchprofiles isthe latest versionof theCENWorkshopAgreementonEuropean ICTProfessionalProfiles(CEN,2012).TheMSIStaskforceevaluatedtheseprofilesandagreedthatthey have a broad global applicability. The task force selected six of the 23 ICTprofessional profiles as the primary MSIS target profiles: Business InformationManager,ProjectManager,BusinessAnalyst,SystemsAnalyst,EnterpriseArchitect,and ICT Consultant (described below in Table 5). For example, anMSIS programthatprimarilyfocusesonpreparingitsgraduatesfortheBusinessAnalystrolewillhaveadifferenttargetcompetencyprofilecomparedtotheprogramsthatfocusonITconsultantorenterprisearchitectroles.
These profiles are, however, just examples, and actual organizationalimplementationscanusetheseandothersinwaysthatbestservelocalneeds.Forexample, inSection6.5,weprovideexamplesof fourdifferentprogramtypes:onefocusedon an integrated ITConsultant/SystemsAnalyst profile, one focusedon aProjectManagerprofile,onethatemphasizestheroleofanAnalyticsSpecialist,andonethatpreparesstudentsforentrepreneurialroles.
6.4 Process for Deriving Courses from Competency Specifications
Inthissection,weprovideaframeworkforaprocessthatanyprogramthatdesiresto be compatiblewith this recommendation can follow to create a verifiable linkbetween the MSIS 2016 graduate competencies and a specific programimplementation. This process shares some characteristicswith the processes thatSquiresandLarson(2009)andPysteretal.(2015)articulate,butitwasdevelopedindependently.
The process described here focuses on required IS competencies and the corecoursesof theprogram. Inaddition, itassumes that theunitoffering theprogramhas conducteda careful analysisof theneedsof theprogram’skeymarket(s), theinternalorganizationalrequirementsinrelationtotheuniversityortheschool,andavailableresourcestodeterminethegeneraltargetcharacteristics(e.g.,jobprofiles)ofthegraduates(step1inFigure5).
2. Finalize the decision regarding the professional profile(s) for which theprogramwantstoprepareitsgraduates.MSIS2016includesasamplesetofprofessionalprofiles for theMSIS(seeSection4.6),but it isvery likely thatindividualprogramswillovertimecollectivelydevelopmanyothers.
3. Basedon theprofessional profile(s), identify the levels (awareness, novice,supporting, or independent) at which the program desires to enable itsgraduatestoattaineachoftheMSIScompetencycategories.EnsurethateachcategoryisspecifiedatleastattheminimumlevelspecifiedinSection5.
4. Makeaninitialarchitecturaldecisionregardingthetotalnumberofmodulesin the program and the approximate percentage of time dedicated to corecompetenciesandspecializedcompetencies.
5. (For existing programs only) Ensure that the current learning objectiveshavebeenappropriatelyidentifiedanddocumentedforallcurrentmodules.
6. (For new programs only) Create a draft set of modules including moduletitles,briefdescriptions,andlearningobjectives.
7. Createamappingbetweencurrent(ordraftfornewprograms)modulesandthe coreMSIS competency categories for theprofessionalprofiles specifiedabove.Withthismapping,theprogramdemonstratestheextenttowhichthelearningobjectivesofthecurrentmodulescontributetotheachievementofeachofthegraduatecompetencycategoriesatthedesiredlevel.
10. Determine themodule content and pedagogies that are required to enablestudents to achieve the module level learning objectives specified in #8above.
6.5 Examples
This section includes fourprogramexamples, twoofwhicharebasedon theCENprofiles discussed in Section 6.3 and two others on currently popular programtypes.Werecognizethattheexamplesinthissectionneedupdatingmorefrequentlythanmanyother elements of this document, andwe propose that the sponsoringorganizations consider establishing amechanismwithwhich thismaterial can beupdatedfrequentlybasedontheemergingneeds.
6.5.1 Program Focusing on an IT Consultant/Systems Analyst Profile
In this example,we assume that anewMSISprogramhasdecided to focuson anintegratedITConsultant/SystemsAnalystprofile.Anotherfoundationalassumptionis that the programwill comprise 10modules (three semester hours or six ECTScredits each), and eight of the modules will be dedicated to developing corecompetencies; two would be remaining for electives. Based on this profile, theprogramhasdeterminedthat itneeds toenable itsgraduates toattainMSIS2016competency categories at levels described in the competency level for profiles(s)area in Table 6. Please note that Table 6 includes only the first page of the fullmodel;AppendixBshowsthemodelinitsentirety.
The columns under the heading mapping between modules/courses andcompetenciesweredevelopedusingtheiterativeprocessdescribedaboveinsteps#6through#9.TheresultingcurriculumincludeseightISmodules:
In addition, it assumes that every student in the program has attained certaincompetencies related to programming, data management, systems analysis anddesign,andinfrastructureattheundergraduatelevel.
Finally, this structure leaves still two to three credit modules unspecified. Theycouldbeusedtoallowthestudenttospecializeinanareaofstudy(suchassecurityoranalytics)ortotakeadditionalcoursestostrengthenthestudent’sbackgroundinthedomainofpractice.
Themodel included inTable6 includesthemappingbetweenthecoursesandthecompetencies,indicatingwhichcoursescontributetoenablingstudentstoattainthespecifiedcompetencylevel.
1 BCIA Managingandimplementingcybersecurity N X X X X X
2 BCIA RespondingtoandmanagingISproblems S X X X
3 BCIA Monitoringsystemoperations N X
4 BCIA Managingsystem recovery A X
5 BCIA ManagingInformationSystemsrisks N X X X X X X
6 BCIA ProtectingITassets N X
7 BCIA Developinginformationassurancestrategy A X X
8 BCIA Engineeringsystemsforcontinuity A X X
9 BCIAImplementingandmanagingqualityauditprocesses A X X
10 BCIA Assuringsafetythroughoutsystemslifecycle A X
6.5.2 Program Focusing on the Project Manager Profile
This example assumes that another program that follows a similar fundamentalarchitecture model has decided to focus on the Project Manager profile. Table 7showsthefirstpageofthemappingmodel;AppendixBshowsthefullmodel.
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In this case, the resulting curriculum model includes six core IS modules (threesemestercreditseach):
10 BCIAAssuringsafetythroughoutsystemslifecycle A X P
Please note also that the model indicates for some competencies the primarymodule(withletterP)thatisthemostimportantcontributortothatcompetency.
Assuming a ten‐module program, this model leaves four three‐credit modulesunspecified.These could, forexample,beadditionaldomain courses that focusonstrengtheninggraduates’competenciesasprojectmanagers.
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6.5.3 Program Focusing on Analytics Specialist Profile
In this case, the resulting curriculum model includes five core IS modules thatensure theachievementof theminimum levelof IS competencies (three semestercreditseach):
7 BCIA Developinginformationassurancestrategy A X X
8 BCIA Engineeringsystemsforcontinuity A X
9 BCIA Implementingandmanagingqualityauditprocesses A X
10 BCIAAssuringsafetythroughoutsystemslifecycle A X
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Wealsoassume that the restof theprogramcomprises fivemodulesonanalytics(alsothreesemestercreditseach).Inthecontextofthiscompetencymodel,wedonot provide a specific recommendation regarding the modules that should beincluded in these five. Instead, we recognize that the development of specializedanalyticscompetenciesandeducationalexperiencesthatpreparestudentstoattainthemwillneedtobebasedonseparateefforts.ExcellentexamplesofthoseincludeGupta,Goul,andDinter(2015)andChiang,Goes,andStohr(2012).
Itisalsoworthpointingoutthatthissamestructuralmodelcouldbeusedforotherspecializedmaster’sdegreeprograms in IS, suchasones focusedoncybersecurityoruserexperience.
6.5.4 Program Focusing on Start‐up Entrepreneur Profile
The final example is not based on CEN (2012), either. Instead, it focuses oncompetencies for start‐up entrepreneurswith a specific focus on development ofdigital services. Unlike the previous one‐year examples, this program follows theBolognamodelof120ECTS credits (60 semester credits)over twoyearswith11modules:eightcourses,twoprojects,andthesis.ThecoursescanbeeitherfiveECTScredits (two and a half semester credits) taken during one period of eight to 11weeksor10ECTScredits(fivesemestercredits)takenduringtwoperiods.Thefirstproject isahands‐ondevelopmentofadigitalservice. In thecapstoneproject, thestudents will establish companies for running the digital service. The programstructure isdescribedbelow inmoredetail than inprevious examplesbecauseoftherichervarietyofmoduletypesandcreditspermodule.
Table 10 shows the first page of themappingmodel; Appendix B shows the fullmodel.
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We recognize that themaster’s thesis experience leads to learning outcomes andcompetenciesthathavenotbeenspecifiedintheIScompetencymodeland,thus,arenotreflectedinthemapping.Inaddition,dependingonitstopic,thethesisgivesanopportunitytofocusononeorseveralofthecompetencyareas.
10 BCIAAssuringsafetythroughoutsystemslifecycle A X X X
6.6 Teaching and Learning Strategies for Building Competencies
Differentkindsof competencies requiredifferent teachingand learning strategies.Teaching and learning approaches often differ depending on the targetedcompetencylevel.InMSIS2016,thelevelsareAwareness,Novice,Supporting(role),and Independent (contributor). At the Awareness level, knowledge needs to berecalled when needed. Often, doing so requires recognizing the context of theknowledge;thatis,theknowledgeelementanditsparentsanddescendantsshouldbe familiar to the learner. To achieve a Novice level, the student needs to haveexperiencedsituationsandcases.To learnsufficiently foragraduate tobeable toplayasupportingrole,classroomdiscussions,caseanalyses,groupassignments,andsmall projects are valuable. Such pedagogies provide an opportunity to expressone’sownknowledgeandskillsinrelationtowhattheothersknowandcando.Also
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problem solving, analysis, and design assignments contribute to this level. Tobecomeanindependentcontributor,oneneedsmuchmoreextensiveunsupervisedpractice. To gain in‐depth knowledge and understanding in a focused area,independent literature analyses and independent research are valuable. Thesisworkprovidespossiblemeanstogainsuchknowledgeprovidedthesiswritershaveaccesstoseminarsforpresentinganddiscussingtheirwork.
Alargerangeofteachingandlearningstrategiesareavailabletohelpstudentsgainthe desired competencies. Lectures are still used by many to convey newinformation and to demonstrate how it can be understood in the context of thewholeprogram.Itisessentialtousemechanismstoengagestudentsandencouragethemtobecomeactiveparticipantsinthelearningprocesswhenlecturesarechosenasoneofthemajorteachingapproaches.Keepingalearningdiaryismuchusedinsocialsciences.
Theflippedclassroomapproachrequiresstudentstowatchvideosorinotherwaysto actively engage with the course material before a class meeting. Class timetogether can then be used for discussions, and both individual and groupassignments on active collaboration on the course material. Demonstrations,simulations, documentaries, recorded interviews, and similar approaches bringtangiblepracticalknowledgetotheclass.
In general, classroom discussions engage the students to participate because theincentive toparticipate can comeat any time. Students learn tounderstandotherperspectivesandarguefortheirownviews.Caseshavelongbeenusedinbusinesseducation. They introduce a real‐life situation to the classroom and engage thestudents in a problem solving process. Company visits, guest speakers, andinternshipscanalsoexposestudentstotheirfutureworkopportunities.Toleveltheknowledge, book exams canbeused in thebeginningof the course, perhapswithstudy groups. Class assignments, in or out of the class, are favored for practicingindividuallycertainmethodsandtools.
Groupassignmentsgivestudentsanopportunitytodevelopskills inCollaborationandTeamwork,Negotiation,andOralCommunication.Courseprojectsandcapstoneprojects at the end of the program are very valuable. Group assignments andprojects can be organized to follow, for example, the cooperative paradigm. Thismeans that the result of the group task is evaluated as one product: “We sink orswim together” (Johnson & Johnson, 1987; Johnson, Johnson, & Houlubec, 1993).Thisapproachrequiresteachinggroupstoorganizetheworkindifferentways.Thecooperative paradigm is well aligned with the development of supporting‐ andcontributor‐level competencies. Projects completed for outside clients make therelevanceofwhathasbeen learnedobvious.Deming(1982)andothersclaimthatthe quality of an activity can be improved with a cyclical approach of planning,doing, checking, and acting. This approach can also be used to improve studentwork,especiallyingroups.
Manykindsof toolssupportactiveparticipation.Smartphonesand tabletscanbeused to send comments, votes, and other contributions to the shared message
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spaces. Chat programs (TodaysMeet, Twitter, etc.) can also support discussion.Facebook is one means for coordinating group work. Multiple‐choice questions,voting, and formative student evaluation during the course can be collectedwithapplicationssuchasSocrative.Thepaperflipchartcanbereplacedwithinteractiveapplications such as Padlet. Edmodo, Blackboard, and Moodle are examples ofcomprehensivelearningplatformsforcollectingallmaterialstogetherandenablingstudentcollaborationatvariouslevels.Theyalsosupportstudentparticipationandone‐to‐manymessaging.Someofthesetoolsarefreeandsomeareopensource.
MSIS2016andothersimilarrecommendationsdonotprovidedetailedguidanceonstructure, organization, or methods at the course level. However, one needs tocarefullyconsiderthesequestionsarecarefullyconsideredattheprogramlevel,andwe hope that this section has provided useful perspectives to support localconversations.
6.7 Master’s Thesis or a Research Project as a Form of Pedagogy
Amaster’sthesisisapartofamaster’sdegreeinseveralcountries(seealsoSection12), especially in Europe,where it is often one‐fourth of the program (30 ECTS).Traditionally, the thesis is an opportunity to learn how to do research. Doingresearchalsodevelopsanalytical andcritical thinkingandproblemsolving,whicharefoundationalindividualcompetenciesandimportantprofessionalskills.Matureprofessionalsconsciouslyreflectonandrevisetheirpractices9.Researcheducationenablespractitionerstorigorouslyassessthescientificvalueoftheircontributions.Asanapplieddiscipline,ISresearch(includingIStheses)shouldaimatrelevancetoprofessionalpractice.Athesisisintendedtoenablethestudenttodevelopin‐depthknowledge,advancedskills,responsibility,andautonomyaspartoftheprogramofstudy.Inthecontextofathesis,astudentworksindividuallyandindependentlyonamajor task (unlikecapstoneprojects,whichare frequentlybasedon teamwork).Thesis work is often supported by a course in research methods, an assignedsupervisor, and seminar sessions for presenting and discussing a student’s workwithotherthesiswriters.
Astudentwhohascarriedoutthesisworkwillbeableto:
Quickly become familiar with a topic in its context. During the work, thestudentwillgainadeeperknowledgeofthechosenarea.
9Reflectivepractice(Schön,1983)challengespractitionerstoconstantlyimproveontheirworkbyreflecting on their practice, learning from their experiences, and engaging in problem solving andtherebychangingtheirwork.
The individual foundational skills to which the thesis work contributes includeCritical Thinking, Problem Solving, Creativity, Ethical Analysis, Mathematical andStatistical Competencies (depending on the topic and themethods), andOral andWrittenCommunication.
In case a student does notwant a research degree, the student can do a smallerstudy to apply the acquired competencies in real‐life problems. One exampleincludes the Professional Practice and Research Project at the University ofWollongong. These projects emphasize hands‐on practice and critical thinking,whereas a traditional thesis emphasizes the novelty and significance of researchoutcome. The research component credit points equal to one‐eighth of the entiretwo‐yeardegree,whichstudentscompleteintwoseparatesemesters.Dependingonproject size, it could be either individual or group‐basedwork. The topic is quiteoften drawn from real research topics from faculty members, who then alsosupervisethestudents.
Theexpertiseoffacultymembersteachingintheprogramisacriticaldeterminantof the quality of an MSIS degree program. Such expertise can come from bothacademic training and industry experience. It is valuable to have a good mix oftenure‐track faculty with an academic focus and practice‐oriented faculty withstrong industry background. Faculty members should be given the freedom to
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determine teaching and assessmentmaterials as long as they alignwith programandcourselearningobjectives.
Facultymemberswho teach in the programmust actively update their expertisethrough continuous learning given the fast pace of change in the discipline.Therefore, the institutionneeds toprovide facultymemberswith time, funds, andotherresourcesforprofessionaldevelopment.Theseincludesupportforattendingconferences,workshops, and seminars regularly and for participating in activitiessuchastraining,consulting,andindustryexchange.
When determining the number of faculty members needed for an MSIS degreeprogram, key factors would be the expected student enrolment, the number ofrequiredcourses,thenumberofelectivecourses,andthefaculty’steachingload.Asufficient number of facultymembers should have a primary commitment to theMSIS degree program to meet its teaching and advising needs. Having adequatecourse offerings is required to ensure that students can complete the degreewithoutunnecessarydelays.
7.2 Internet and Library Resources
HavingareliableandfastInternetconnectioniscriticaltoanMSISdegreeprogram.FacultymembersneedtohaveanInternetconnectiontobeabletogatherteachingmaterials from industry and academic sources and to access students and theacademic and professional community. Students need to have an Internetconnectiontoaccessteachingmaterialsandtoparticipateindiscussionforumsthatinvolvetheclassortheirprojectgroups.
Library resources are an important part of anMSIS degree program. In a rapidlyevolving discipline, libraries need to provide faculty members and students withround‐the‐clock digital access to academic journals, conference proceedings,practitioner magazines, monographs, and reference books. Access to the AISElectronicLibraryandtheACMDigitalLibraryisessential.TheCSDigitalLibrarybyIEEE‐CSisalsoaveryusefulresource.
7.3 Computing Infrastructure and Laboratory Resources
Having a good computing infrastructure is essential to effectivelydeliver anMSISdegreeprogram.Studentsbringtoclassesawidevarietyofcomputingandmobiledevices.Itisimportantthatthecomputinginfrastructureaccommodatescomputingandmobiledevicesthatrunonmajoroperatingplatforms.Giventhatnewoperatingplatformscanemergefromtimetotime,thecomputinginfrastructureneedstokeepupwithsuchdevelopments.
Contemporaryandemergingsoftwarepackagesshouldbemadeavailabletoexposestudentstolatestindustrypracticesandstandards.Courseprojectscanbedesignedusingsuchsoftwarepackagestoenhancerealismandtobetterpreparestudentsforindustry. In recent years, therehasbeena significant increase in thenumberandvarietyofsuchsoftwarepackagesandotherresourcesavailableonthecloud.Hence,resources on the cloud need to be tapped to facilitate student learning. Having
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adequate technical support for the use of resources on the cloud lightens theburdensplacedonfacultymembersandallowsthemtofocusontheirteachingandresearchresponsibilities.Inaddition,manycloud‐basedresourcesallowaccesstoarich variety of client devices. MSIS programs should ensure that the computingresources available for their students are sufficient for simulating a professionalenvironmentfordistributedonlinework.
Itisimportantthatstudentslearnanddotheirassignmentsinanenvironmentthatreflectsthe latest industrypractices.Suchanenvironmentcanbesimulatedinthelaboratorywith up‐to‐date hardware and software resources that are replaced orupgraded on a regular basis to avoid obsolescence. The laboratory is particularlyuseful for supporting courses that require students to work with specialized orlicensedhardwareorsoftwareorwithlargedatasetsthattheirowncomputingandmobiledevicesarenotabletoaccommodate.Adequatetechnicalsupportshouldbeprovidedforthelaboratory.
7.4 Pedagogical Support Resources
Inmanyprogramcontexts, a significantproportionof students inanMSISdegreeprogramareworkingprofessionalswhohaveafull‐timejobandwhoarestudyingpart‐time.Giventheirtimecommitmentandtheoccasionalneedtotravelforwork,flexible pedagogical approaches have to be adopted to facilitate their learning. Inrecent years, there has been an increase in the use of the flipped classroomapproach for courses with students with schedule constraints. With the flippedclassroomapproach,coursematerialsaremadeavailableintheformofmanyshortvideo snippets that students can download and view at their convenience.Classroomtimeisreservedfordiscussion,presentation,debate,andotherformsofinteraction that reinforce students’ learning experience. Rather than alwaysbringingstudentsintotheclassroom,thisapproachallowsapartoftheclassroomtobe brought out to students, which helps students to overcome some of theirconstraints.
Faculty members are not always specialists in pedagogy. Therefore, whenemploying new pedagogical approaches, faculty members need the support andadvice of pedagogical specialists for creating learningmaterials, designing courseprojects and assessments, and managing online discussion forums. There is agrowing body of literature on emerging pedagogical approaches that pedagogicalspecialistscantapintheireffortstohelpfacultymembersconstructtheirmaterialsandteachtheircoursesmoreeffectively.
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Part D: Justification, History, and Current Status
8 Why an MS in Information Systems?
There are multiple stakeholder groups for whom the existence and continuedwellbeing of master’s degrees in IS is important. Those groups include students,graduatesandalumni,employers,recruiters,thedepartmentsandschoolsthatofferthe degrees, and society as a whole. Students who are interested in developingprofessionalcompetenciesbeyondthoseprovidedbyabachelor’sdegreeinISorinanothercomputingdisciplinebenefitfromamaster’sdegreeinISasawell‐definedcredential that leads to a set of competencies that employers respect and value.MSIS graduates benefit if the image of their degree and its identity stays strong.Employers benefit from graduate degrees in IS because these degrees producegraduates who are ready to join project teams that address real organizationalproblems or opportunities immediately after graduation. For the schools anddepartmentsthatofferMSIS(orequivalent)degrees,thesedegreesareanexcellentmechanismforgivingstudentsahighlyvaluedsetofprofessionalcapabilitiesand,thus,providingvaluetobothstudentsandemployers.Atthesocietallevel,graduatedegreesinISaddressthecontinuingshortageofprofessionalswhocanidentifyandimplement the best connections between problems and opportunities in variousdomains of human activity and the technology capabilities that can be used toaddressthem.
Themostimportantfactorthatdrivesthevalueofgraduate‐levelprogramsinISis,however, thathumanabilitytoproducecomputing‐basedtechnologies farexceedsthehumancapabilitytoapplythesetechnologiestoappropriateorganizationalandindividualcontexts inawaythat leadstoincreasedvalue.Master’sprogramsinISprovideenvironmentsinwhichthestudentscangaintheskillsandknowledgethattheyneedtostartasuccessfulcareerindemandingISrolesofplanning,designing,and managing solutions that enable digital transformation. These roles requireintegration of in‐depth domain knowledge with strong understanding of digitaltechnologies.
The pervasiveness of computing technologies is undeniable, and computingsolutionsare increasinglydeeplyembedded inproductsandservices thathaveanimpact on a wide variety of aspects of our lives. Transportation technologies,robotics in manufacturing, healthcare technologies, highly integrated computingandcommunicationtools,commerceplatformsthatareavailableeverywhere—thenumberofexamplesoftechnologysolutionsthataresignificantlychanginghumanlives is increasing every day. Just a few years ago, mobile, cloud computing, theInternet of Things, and social networks were new trends, and now they arefoundational components of massive numbers of information systems solutionseverywhere. The same is true for big data and analytics.Digitalization anddigitaldisruptionareamongthemostactivelydiscussedorganizationaltopicsin2016.
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Masteryoftechnologyisnotsufficientforfullyunderstandingthepotentialandtherisks of digital solutions. In addition to in‐depth command of technology,professionals responsible for digital technology solutions need to understandhumanbehavior,organizationalstructures,businessconstraintsandopportunities,ethicalimplicationsoftechnologyapplications,etc.Amaster’sdegreeinISpreparesprofessionals who can deliver technology‐based solutions that address the mostrelevantproblemsandtakeadvantageofthemostimportantopportunities.
Well‐implementedmaster’sdegreesinISwithasharedidentityalsoserveISasanacademicdisciplineandcommunity.Theprofessionalcontributionsofthegraduatesof IS programs collectively form a significant component of what the disciplineofferstoitsstakeholders(together,ofcourse,withtheimpactofitsresearchoutputovertime).Educationaloutputatthemaster’slevelisnotinherentlymorevaluablefor thedisciplinethanbachelor’sdegrees,butgraduatedegreeshavethepotentialtobemoreeffectiveincommunicatingthedistinctivecontributionsofthediscipline.This isparticularlyvaluable incommunicating thevalueand the identityof the ISdisciplinetoprospectiveemployeeswhomightstillnothaveaclearunderstandingofwhat IS graduates can offer. High‐performingmaster’s degree graduates and awell‐definedintegratedunderstandingofthekeyelementsofamaster’sdegreecanbehighlyeffectiveintellingthestoryofIS.
One of the reasons amaster’s degree in IS can offer a very important additionalqualificationcomparedtoabachelor’sdegree isthatmanyundergraduatedegreesinIS(particularlythoseofferedinbusinessschools)arelimitedtoarelativelysmallnumber of modules (such as six to eight) in the major. This type of anundergraduate degree does not make it possible to develop deep, specializedtechnical or managerial skills related to digital transformation. It does, however,formagoodfoundationontopofwhichamaster’sdegreecanbuildcompetenciesthatdemonstratebetterwhattheISdisciplinecanoffer.
ThevalueofagraduatedegreeinIScanalsobedemonstratedbyevaluatingISinthecontextofothercomputingdegrees.AstheCC2005OverviewVolume(Shackelfordet al., 2006) discusses, for example, IS as a discipline has a significantly strongerfocus on organizational‐level issues and the integration of domain expertise andcomputing than any other computing degree type (such as computer engineering(CE), computer science (CS), information technology (IT),or softwareengineering(SE)).CEandCSclearlyfocusoncomputingonly,SEintroducesconcernsofhumanbehavior typically at aproject level, and ITprimarily focusesonhumansasusersandsourcesofsecuritythreats.Althoughalldisciplinesrecognizetheimportanceofrequirements that humans specify, IS degrees (particularly at themaster’s level)specifically focusonsupportinghumangoalsat the individual,organizational,andsocietal levels. Informationscience(adisciplineemerging fromLibraryScience) isrelatedtobothISandCS,anditsharesareasofinterestwithboth.Itis,however,notoneofthecomputingdisciplinesidentifiedassuchby,forexample,CC2005.
Finally, it isalsoimportanttorecognizethatthereisnosinglemodelofamaster’sdegreeprograminIS.AswediscussinSection12,thestructureandcontentoftheseprogramsvarysignificantlydependingontheregionandthecountry.Still,manyof
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the general reasons underlying the usefulness of these programs are the same:everywhere intheworld,organizationsandindividualsworktodeterminehowtobestusedigitaltechnologytoadvancetheirgoals.
9 Expectations for an MS in Information Systems
VariousstakeholdershavedifferentoutcomeexpectationsfortheMSISdegree.Theperspectives of students, academic program and degree directors, teachingprofessors,courseadministrators,courseaccreditationagencies,studentrecruiters,university marketing staff, and future employers who will hire IS graduates arepartiallyoverlappingbutalsopartiallyindependentofeachother.Inthissection,wediscusstheexpectationsthatvariousstakeholdergroupshaveforanMSISdegree.
Students who enter the MSIS directly from a bachelor’s degree in IS or arelateddisciplinewouldexpectMSIStoupdateandexpandtheirknowledgeand professional competencies related to the IS discipline. The studentsmightalsoexpectanMSISdegreetoexpandorstrengthentheirknowledgeorskillsintopicallyspecializedareassuchasdatamanagement,analytics,orsecurity.
MSIS students expect to improve their career prospects through theirgraduatestudies.Forsome,theMSISprovidesanupgradeofknowledgeandskill levelswithapotential toachieveamoreadvanced jobplacementoracareerpathwithfasterprogression.Forothers,theMSISistheentrytotheISprofessionandafoundationforacareerchange;thus,MSISneedstodevelopessential IS skills. Delicate considerations are necessary to determine theentry requirements, mapping between the students’ existing competenciesandthoserequired for theprogram,and,ultimately,bridgecoursesneededtofillthegaps.
There are also MSIS programs targeted to experienced computingprofessionalswhoexpect toplaymore senior roles in ITmanagement. Forthesetypesofdegreeprograms,graduatecompetencies,entryrequirements,coursecontent,andpedagogieswilldifferfromthoseofprogramstargetedtofresh graduates of undergraduate programs and career changers. As wediscuss in Section 2.3, we recommend that these programs not be offeredunder the standardMSIS title. At times, these students are served throughMBAorexecutivemaster’sprograms.
Somemaster’sstudentsinISmightnotseethedegreeasameanstowardaprofessional role as a practitioner. Instead, these students could haveresearch‐focusedormoregeneralindividualdevelopmentgoals.Forthem,adegreewithamaster’sthesismightbethebestoption.
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Finally, some students interested in an MSIS may not have formal highereducation (tertiary)qualificationsbutmayhope to enter anMSISprogramsolelybasedonprofessionalexperiencewith thegoalofachievinga formalqualification. Typically, somebachelor’s degree is required as a foundationforamaster’sdegreeinIS,butprofessionalexperiencecanbeconsideredinlieuofcourseworkasamechanismtobypasstheIS‐relatedbridgecourses.
9.2 University, School, and Department Perspectives
Business and computing schools in the universities around the world havewitnessedthegrowthoftheISdisciplineinthepastfivedecades.Theseprogramscurrently serve an important role by satisfying the globally growing need forprofessionals who can address organizational needs with innovative informationtechnologysolutions.
By offering MSIS, the relevant academic departments and their degree programshave the opportunity to retain and attract more students, with or without ISbackground,whowill be able to gainmoreprofessional andadvancedknowledgeandskillsinthediscipline.
AsuccessfulandpopularMSISprogramthatmeetsdemandsfrombothprospectivestudents and IS‐drivenbusiness sectorswill bringvalue to thedegreeand courseprovidersinmanyways:
Promoted recognition from the employers in government, industry, NGO,community, and other sectors, who, in turn, benefit from recruiting muchneededISprofessionals.
TheMSISprogramsareexpected tomeet thedemand for ISprofessionals inbothtraditionalandemergingjobpositionsandopportunities.
ThenumberofavailablecareerpathsforISprofessionalshasincreasedsignificantlywith the organizational transformation and new business opportunities throughinformation technology, analytics and big data, cloud computing, and artificialintelligence (AI)/virtual reality (VR) technologies, among others. Increasingly, IT‐basedsolutionsbroadlyenableanyformoforganizedhumanactivity.
Among themany job titles, someof themost frequently associatedwith theMSISdegreeinclude(adaptedfromCEN,2012)10:
Job opportunities in IS require students to know both the technology and thedomain inwhich theywillwork.Thecareerpaths forMSgraduatesarebecomingincreasinglyvaried,andtheknowledgeandskillsexpectedfromMSISgraduatesarebecomingbroaderandmorechallenging.
AkeyelementoftheMSISmodel is thespecificationofacoresetofcompetenciesthat meet the expectations for target professions by potential employers. Asdiscussed earlier in Section 6, competency categories form a foundation forcurriculumspecificationatthecourseandtopiclevels.Therefore,thefeedbackandinput from the employers regarding the competencies are vital for mapping thedeliveredcontentoftheMSISdegreeandprofessionalexpectationsfordifferentISjobroles.
9.4 Quality Control Perspective
ThedegreeaccreditationsalsomandatethedirectioninwhichMSISshouldmovetomeet the standards and requirements specified for master’s qualifications in ISdiscipline.
We have identified European e‐Competence Framework (e‐CF) and SkillsFramework for InformationAge(SFIA)as themost importantsources tomappingthe outcome expectations. Complementary to them, various organizations (e.g.,CEPISandCENinEurope,BCS’sCFP,orSOLinAustralia)maintainanexhaustivelistof ISprofession jobprofiles,whicharerelated tosuch frameworks.Further, theseframeworks often offer a matrix to map the degrees to certain qualificationframeworks such as European Qualifications Framework (EQF) or AustralianQualificationsFramework(AQF).
These frameworks have already been adopted in various country‐levelaccreditations. For example, the Australian Computer Society uses SFIA andAQF/Bloom’s taxonomy to approve professional and advanced degrees incomputing.
MSIS 2016 is the contribution of the worldwide academic IS community to thisconversation. It specifies the academic community’s current view of theexpectations for a graduate degree program in IS and, thus, also supports theprocessofcreatingafoundationforqualitycontrolprocesses.
9.5 Societal Perspective
The IS discipline has become a driving force accelerating the innovation‐basedeconomiesaroundtheworld.Fromthemostdevelopedtothepoorestcountries,IShas significantly changed the ways societies maintain and achieve prosperity. IS
Thus,successfulMSISprogramsareanticipatedtotrainmoresuitablegraduatestofill the gap in the market demand. It is simultaneously critically important andchallenging to identify the key knowledge, skills, and competencies thatmeet theexpectationsofanISdisciplinefromthedifferentsectorsinthesociety.
10 Uses of the MSIS 2016 Competency Model
Primarily, this document provides those responsible for designing andmanaginggraduate ISprogramsof studywithasetofguidelines.Thedocumentalso fosterscollaboration, communication, and alignment between and among the variety ofstakeholdersintheIScommunitywhohaveaninterestingraduateISeducation.Inthis section, we describe in detail the benefits to each stakeholder community.Figure6depictstheroleandimportanceoftheIScompetencymodel.
Figure6.UsesoftheCompetencyModel
Program designers will find a wide variety of uses for the MSIS 2016 model. Itdefinesthree levelsof IScompetencies:competencyareas,competencycategories,andcompetencies.Collectively,thesecompetenciesencapsulateandrepresentISasa whole (including both computing/IT and IS management dimensions). Theresulting repository of IS competencies serves as a starting point for identifyingrequired and electiveprogrammaterial. The competencymodel is designed to beflexible and provides program designers with suggested approaches rather than
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prescriptive requirements. The ability to customize programs of studywill betterenableprogramdesignerstomeetuniquelocaldemands.
AdministratorsofexistingISprogramswillalso findthecompetencymodelusefulbecausethisdocumentsupportscomparisonandbenchmarking.Administratorsofexisting programs can map their program to competency categories to identifysimilarities,differences,andgaps.Inaddition,programadministratorsmaychoosetopublishtheirmappingstotheIScommunitytopromotediscussion,collaboration,and development of best practices. The competency model should also fosterinnovation and improvement regarding program structure, content, and delivery.Anunderstandingofthefullrangeofoptionstoconsiderwhendesigningagraduateprogramofstudywillleadtobetter,moreinformeddecisionsregardingindividualISgraduateprogramdesign.
Thecompetencymodelisalsodesignedtopromotealignmentwithindustryneeds.MSIS 2016 includes competency mappings for several typical IS job profiles.Defining the expected competencies of IS graduates is new to this edition ofcurriculum guidance and provides several unique benefits. Industry partnerswillbetterunderstandtheskillsandabilitiesofgraduatesand,thereby,moreefficientlyplace students in correct jobs and reduce the amount of post‐hiring trainingrequired.The competencyperspective allows students to knowwhat to expect interms of desired outcomes by providing insights into course selection and careerpaths. This perspective is designed to bridge the gap between the knowledgeacquisition focus of a typical graduate educational program to include a focus onskillsandcapabilitiesthatindustryprofessionalsintheworkplacedesire.Improvedcoordination between IS programs and industry partners should lead to moreefficient hiring processes and better prepare students who can immediatelycontributetothesuccessofthecorporateITfunction.
MSIS2016alsoprovidesameans to communicate the contentand structureof ISgraduateeducationtoabroadaudience.SenioracademicadministratorswhofundISprogramsofstudy;policymakerswhopromotescience technology,engineering,andmatheducation;andcurrentandprospectivestudentsofgraduateISeducationare all expected to have an interest in the model and benefit from itsrecommendations.Communicatingthecompetencymodelshouldleadtoenhancedcollaborationandwillhelpprogramadministratorsbetterunderstandandplanfortheresourcesrequiredtoeffectivelyimplementagraduateprogramofstudy.
Finally,themodelisintendedbeasparkforinnovation.Theresourcespresentedinthe model should provide a starting point for those looking to develop new andinnovative programs. These guidelines along with dynamic stakeholdercollaborationwill serve as a foundation for thedevelopment andevolutionof thediscipline.
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11 Information Systems Curriculum Guidance—History and Background
This document is the fifth in a series that was introduced in 1972 with the firstmaster’s level curriculum recommendation in IS (Ashenhurst, 1972). Thisrecommendation was prepared by the ACM Curriculum Committee on ComputerEducation for Management with several founders of the IS discipline, includingDaniel Couger, Gordon Davis, and James McKenney. Interestingly, while thisrecommendation provided a thorough description of the output characteristics ofgraduates (essentially graduate competencies) divided into six major categories(people, models, systems, computers, organizations, and society), it focusedprimarilyoncoursesandprograms.
In 1982, ACM published an updated IS curriculum recommendation for bothundergraduate and graduate levels, which the ACM Curriculum Committee onInformationSystemsprepared(Nunamaker,Couger,&Davis,1982).JayNunamakerchairedthiscommittee.OthermembersincludedDanielCouger,GordonDavis,andAndrew Whinston, among others. The 1982 report used the same graduatecompetencies (“knowledge and abilities”) as the 1972 curriculum with the samecategorization and essentially the same content as 10 years earlier. The generalstructure of the curriculum was divided into three main categories: informationsystems technology, information systems process, and AACSB common body ofknowledge (business as the domain). The first two categories of the degree arespecified in the recommendation and comprise 10 courses that require threesemesterhourseach; theassumption is that the total lengthof theprogram is16courses,eachthreesemesterhours.
The next comprehensive master’s level curriculum recommendation, MSIS 2000(Gorgoneetal.,2000),wasthefirstjointprojectbetweenACMandAIS.TheprojectwaschairedbyJohnGorgone(representingACM)andPaulGray(representingAIS),andtheparticipantscontinuedtoincludeleadingacademicsinIS(DavidFeinstein,GeorgeKasper,JerryLuftman,TedStohr,JoeValacich,andRolfWigand).MSIS2000paid much less attention to the graduate competencies than the earlier master’slevel curriculadid. Itdid,however, articulateexplicitly theneed to focuson threemajor individual foundational skill categories: communication, interpersonal, andteamskills;analyticalandcriticalthinkingskills;andcareerdevelopmentskills. Inaddition to these three skill categories, MSIS 2000 specified that the graduatesshouldattainacoreofISknowledge,integrationofISandbusinessfoundations,andbroadbusinessandreal‐worldperspective.ThemajorinnovationinMSIS2000wastheintroductionofcareertracksinadditiontoISfoundations,businessfoundations,IS core, and integrative business/technology material. The prescribed programstructure comprised technical foundations (three courses), business foundations(threecourses), IScore(sixcourses),andcareerelectives(fourcourses).Thecorecourses includedDataManagement,SA&D,DataCommunicationsandNetworking,ProjectManagement,ISStrategyandPolicy,andISIntegration.
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Thenext,mostrecentcurriculumrecommendationfollowedsoonafterMSIS2000in 2006. This document—MSIS 2006 (Gorgone et al., 2006)—was produced by ataskforcechairedagainbyJohnGorgoneandPaulGray. Itreducedthenumberoftechnical and business foundations courses to two each, added two core courses,and reconfigured the technical core courses (most notably by removing separatedatamanagement and networking/data communications courses and introducingcoursesinenterprisemodels,emergingtechnologies,andITinfrastructure).
The preparation for this latest volume, MSIS 2016, started in 2010 with a paneldiscussionatAMCIS2010(Topietal.,2010b).WedescribetheprocessthatledfromthisearlyconversationtothecompletionofthisdocumentinSection13.
12 Current Status—Review of Global IS Master’s Degree Program Practices by Global Region
What is the structure of the IS master’s degree, specified as a balancebetween modules such as courses, industry projects, theses, exchangeperiodsabroad,andotherlearningexperiences?
12.1 Students Entering the Programs
In general, entering amaster’s program in IS requires a bachelor’s degree. Someprogramsaredesignedtoenableauniversity’sownundergraduatestocontinueonto completeamaster’sdegree.These integratedprogramswereveryprevalent inEuropeandRussiabefore theBolognaprocessand in somecountries inAsia,andtheyarebecomingmorecommon in theUS. InEurope,a typical ISmaster’sentryrequirementistohaveatleast90ECTScreditsinISoracloselyrelateddisciplineinthethree‐yearbachelor’sdegree.Thedegreecanalsobeobtainedatuniversitiesofapplied sciences (polytechnics). Significant work experience in IS (for more thansevenyears)isalsoconsideredqualifyinginsomecountriessuchasUKandIreland.Thesetwooptionsmaynecessitatebridgestudies.
In Asia, most programs have specified a bachelor’s degree in IS or a relateddisciplineasanentryrequirement.Theseprogramsarealsoflexibleinconsideringcandidateswholacksuchqualificationsbuthaverelevantexperience.Thissupportsthe necessary buildup of the computing professions; most Asian economies facepersonnel shortages in computing. In Australia and New Zealand, entering amaster’s degree in IS requires an equivalent three‐year bachelor’s degree, which
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may not necessarily be in a computing discipline, or a shorter subdegree plussubstantialworkexperience in ISor IT.Becauseofpersonnel shortages,Australiarecruitsstudentswithavarietyofpriordegreesandthenprovidesbridgestudies.
Studentswhoentermaster’sdegreeprogramsinNorthAmericaareallrequiredtohave a four‐year bachelor’s degree, but they come from a variety of disciplinarybackgrounds. That is, the entering students are not required to have any kind ofbackgroundinISorrelatedsubjects,although,inmanycases,somebridgemodulesthatextend theundergraduateexperienceareneeded. In sum, in countrieswheretherearesufficientnumbersofapplicantswithbachelor’sdegrees,theuniversitiesfocusonthenatureofthedegreeandthequalificationsoftheapplicant.IncountriesbuildinguptheISworkforce,theentryrequirementstendtobemoreflexible.
12.2 Length of Program and Amount of Student Work
Typically, ISmaster’sprogramsrequireoneor twoyearsof full‐timestudy,whichsuggestssignificantdifferencesbetweenprogramrequirements.Someschoolsalsoofferpart‐timeoptions forworkingprofessionals. Inaddition to theon‐site study,distance education appears often as an option. Doing comparisons based on theamountof studentworkwas challenging.However, inEurope, the introductionofECTS credits gives considerable comparability. A typical European two‐yearmaster’s degree is 120 ECTS credits, which corresponds to 3200 hours studentwork, with a one‐year degree half of that. Three‐semester degrees also exist. InFrance,theMIAGEdegreesemphasizethreepossiblemodesofattendance:full‐timefollowed by internship after the academic year; apprenticeship, where periods atuniversityarecombinedwithperiods in industry;andcontinuous,wherestudentsworkforacompanyandattendcoursesduringtheirfreetime.
InAsia,programsare typicallybetweenone to twoyears induration for full‐timestudents and twice as long for part‐time students. There are plenty of programstaughtintheeveningsandduringweekends.Theworkloadrequiredforonecreditvaries.Forexample,attheNationalUniversityofSingapore,onecreditis32.5hours,but, in reality, students spend about 50 percent more time.While the calculatedworkloadis1400hours,therealrequirementcanbeeven2800hours.ThelengthofdegreesinAustraliaandNewZealand(ANZ)iseither1.5ortwoyears,thoughtwoyears is more popular because it aligns better with migration requirements.Regarding student working hours, New Zealand universities follow a standardmodel in which a typical student workload per year is 1200 hours. AmongAustralian universities, the credit system varies significantly. The workload forAustralian master’s degree students may range from 900 hours to 1600 hours,though1200hoursofworkloadismostcommon.
InNorthAmerica,onecredithourismostoftenequivalentto15classroomcontacthours, with the assumption that students will work externally for at least twohours11foreachhour in theclassroom(leading toa totalworkrequirementof45
hoursperonecredithour).Thecredithourrequirementsforprogramsrangefrom30 to 53, which equates to 1350 to 2385 hours of total student work; mostprogramsarebetween30and36credithours.Thisrangeofcreditandassociatedwork hours is represented in programs lasting 11 to 24 months for full‐timestudents.IfwetakeintoconsiderationtheamountofISstudiespriortoenteringtheprogramandaddtothattheworkloadoftheprogram,thepotentialforvariationintermsofISknowledgeandskillsbyamaster’sdegreeholderisconsiderable.
12.3 Degree Structures
Amaster’sdegreeinISusuallycomprisesseveralcoremodulesinISandthedomainof practice, augmented with elective modules. In North America and Asia, thedegrees are usually course based. In Australia, the Australian Computer Society(ACS)mandatesthat themaster’sdegrees incomputingshould includeacapstoneprojectunit,whichisoftenapracticalcomponentratherthanaresearchthesis.Theprojectoftenrequiressupervisionbyand interactionwith industry. InFrance, theMIAGEdegree emphasizesprofessional training, including always internships andpossiblyprojectswith industry. InGermany, severalprograms includea sixor12ECTSprojectinadditiontothethesis.
TheBolognaprocesshassignificantlyincreasedthepopularityofexchangeperiodsin Europe because the credits can be included in the degree. Employers alsoappreciateinternationalexperience.InNorthAmericaandAsia,athesisisanoptionforstudentsinterestedinaresearchcareer.InEurope,thethesisisanessentialpartof the degree and usually worth 30 ECTS credits (an equivalent of 15 semesterhours). To support the independent work required, usually a course in researchmethods and a seminar is required. In the seminar, each student presents theresearchcarriedoutsofar.
13 MSIS 2016 Design Process
ThissectionprovidesabriefdescriptionofthekeyeventsthattookplaceduringtheMSIS2016developmentprocess.PaneldiscussionsatAMCIS2010inPeru(Topietal.,2010b)andAISSIG‐ED2011inShanghai(Topietal.,2014)setthestagefortheprocess so that, in 2012, ACM andAIS set a preliminary task force to review theneed for revising MSIS 2006. This task force completed its work in 2013 andrecommended toAISandACMthat they launchacomprehensiverevisionofMSIS2006.
The program directors and other members of the IS community who providedfeedback to thepreliminary task force indicatedoverwhelmingly that therewasaneedtoreviewandreviseMSIS2006.MembersoftheIScommunityhadfoundMSIS2006 to be a useful resource and suggested that future revisions of the modelcurriculumwouldbe likely toserve inasimilarway.Thereareseveral significantdifferencesbetween the current practice in the leadingprograms andMSIS 2006.The richvarietyof theprogramsand the lackof the intellectual core isa concern
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from theperspectiveof thediscipline. It is verydifficult forMSprograms in IS toachieve their fullpromise ifprospectiveemployersandotherkeystakeholdersdonothaveaclearideaoftheidentityoftheprograms.ArevisionoftheMSISmodelcurriculumcouldservearoleinmovingclosertoasharedidentity.
AIS (AIS Council Meeting in Milan, Italy in December 13–14, 2013) and ACM(EducationCouncilmeeting inOctober2013)made thedecision tomove forwardwith the revision process. The ACM/AIS MSIS task force was launched in July 1,2014, andwas set to continue for three fiscal years (2014–2015,2015–2016, and2016–2017). ACM selected Heikki Topi (Bentley University, USA) as co‐chair inMarch 2014 and AIS selected Helena Karsten (Åbo Akademi University, Turku,Finland)as theirco‐chair in June2014.Starting inAugust2014, theco‐chairshadweeklyconferencecallsthroughouttheprocess.
BothACMandAISwantedthetaskforcetobeglobalasopposedtoearlierU.S.taskforces.Inaddition,thetaskforcewasformedbasedonanopencallforexpressionsof interest. The co‐chairsmade amembership recommendation in October 2014,which the ACM and AIS approved in November 2014. Three members representACMandthreeAIS.Ofthemembers,threearebasedinUS,threeinEurope,andtwointheAsia‐Pacific.
The task force started its work in January 2015. In addition to the monthlyconferencecalls,thetaskforcehadthreeface‐to‐facemeetingsinApril24–25,2015(Amsterdam,Netherlands),December11–12,2015(FortWorth,USA),andAugust12–14,2016(SanDiego,USA).Thetask forceproducedthree interimdeliverables(June 2015,March 2016, and July 2016), whichweremade available on the taskforcewebsite(http://www.msis2016.org)withworldwidecallsforfeedback.
OneofthefirsttasksthetaskforceundertookwastoidentifythecharacteristicsofISprogramsglobally(seeKarstenetal.,2015).Basedonthevarietyofprograms,acourseortopicbasedapproachwasfoundveryproblematic.DuringtheAmsterdammeeting,thetaskforcewasintroducedtotheongoingworkinEuropeandAustraliaonthecompetenciesof ISandITprofessionals(suchase‐CFandSFIA),which ledthetaskforcetoconsidergraduatecompetenciesasthemainfocusofthework.Thetask force ended up consulting several international and national competenceframeworks and related professional profiles. During thismeeting, the task forcediscussedtherequiredbackgroundandthetypeofthedegreeto focusonandtheroleandplaceofathesis.Thisworkwasdocumentedandsharedinthefirstinterimreport.Theworkwasalsopresentedanddiscussed inpanels inECIS2015,PACIS2015, AMCIS 2015, and MIS Academic Leadership Conference (MALC) 2015 inaddition tonationalevents. InOctober2015, the task forceconductedasurvey tosolicitresponsesfrombothacademicandindustryexperts.
During the FortWorthmeeting (organized in the context of ICIS 2015), themainfocuswasonidentifyingthecorecompetenciesofMSISgraduates.Theoutcomeofthisworkwas the identificationof prerequisite competencies to theprogramandthecompetencyareasandcategoriesthatISgraduatesareexpectedtohave.InFortWorth,thetaskforcepresentedtheirworkasapanelintheAISSIG‐EDconference.
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After further refinement, the competency structure was presented in the secondinterim report in March 2016. Soon after this interim report, the task forceconducted its second major survey to solicit feedback from both the academiccommunity (through the AISWorld list and social media networks) and industryexperts (through the Society for Information Management community and apurchasedlist).
Thetask forcecontinued itswork fromMarch2016untilAugust2016byrefiningand assessing the competencies based on the feedback it received through thesurveys,website,andpresentationsanddiscussionsatvariousconferences.Amajoreffort was creating a procedure for forming a degree program with thecompetencies, target job profiles, and local requirements as the starting point.Again,panels inECIS2016,PACIS2016, andAMCIS2016gavevaluable feedback.DuringtheSanDiegomeeting,thetaskforcefinalizedthecompetencystructureandworkedtocompletethemodel.
14 Key Differences between MSIS 2006 and MSIS 2016
In this section, we discuss key differences between the previous master’s levelcurriculum recommendation MSIS 2006 and the current document. The maindifferences exist in the geographic scope, diversity in domains of practice,prerequisites,andthecontent.
14.1 Geographic Scope
TheMSIS2006reportexplicitlyacknowledges that thecurriculumwasdevelopedwiththegraduateprogramsintheUnitedStatesandCanadainmind.Astheauthorsput it, this approach “avoids the difficulties of considering a large number ofeducational systems” (Gorgoneet al., 2006,p.124).However,despite thisnarrowgeographic focus, the authors claim that theMSIS 2006 curriculum rationale andstructurecanstillserveasrelevantinputforcurriculumdesignersinotherregionalcontexts.
Considering the increasingly global orientation of AIS and ACM, global reach ofacademicdegreeprograms in IS, and theglobalnatureof the IS supply chain, theMSIS 2016 competencymodel aims to be recognized as global—that is, free fromanyparticularregionalconstraints.
What is the structure of the IS master’s degree, specified as a balancebetween elements such as courses, industry projects, thesis, exchangeperiodsabroad,andothers?
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Do the students continue directly to master’s studies after a bachelor’sdegree,oraretheyexpectedtohaveworkexperiencebefore?
Theawarenessof thediversityof situations influenced several of thedecisionsofthetaskforce.
1. An ISmajor: studentwith an undergraduatemajor conforming to IS 2002andlittleexperience
2. Business major: student with a BA in business, including a generalintroductoryIScourse
3. Computer science major: a computer science undergraduate with no IScoursesandlittleexperience
4. Other undergraduate major: undergraduate in science, social science, orhumanities,and
5. Professional: professional returning to institution with extensive practicalexperience.
MSIS 2016 has been developed based on a specific set of required pre‐master’scompetenciesinIS,computing,andthedomainofpractice.Thesecanbeacquiredinvariousways.Themaintenet isthatthecompetenciesneedtobeverifiedpriortoentryandthatsufficientbridgestudiesareprovidedforthestudenttoaccomplishearlyonduringthestudies.Tobeabletostudyonthemaster’slevel,inadditiontothelanguageofinstruction,thekeyindividualfoundationalcompetenciesincludeatleastoralandwrittencommunication.
A bachelor’s degree in IS (using IS 2010 as reference) is the primary degreebackgroundforenteringanMSISprogram.TheundergraduatedegreecanbealsoinacomputingdisciplineplusbridgecoursesinIS.MSIS2016doesnotrequirepriorworkexperience. If theundergraduatedegreedoesnot includesufficientcoverageof the domain of practice, appropriate bridge studies need to be included in theprogramearlyon.Considerableworkexperiencecanalsobeusedasawaytosatisfy
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domain of practice coverage, but the experience‐based competencies need to bemappedwiththemodulesintheundergraduateprogramtoallowforsubstitution.
14.4 Content
The most significant difference between MSIS 2006 and MSIS 2016 is thefundamental architecture of the curriculum.MSIS 2006was built around coursesandtheirknowledgecontent,whereasthefundamentalstructuringelementofMSIS2016 is a graduate competency.Thus,MSIS2016doesnot specify the curriculumtopicsthatshouldbeincluded;instead,thetopicswillbedeterminedwhenanactualcurriculumimplementationisdesigned.
ThefocusoftheMSIS2006curriculumwasontheknowledgethatshouldbetaught.MSIS 2006 included detailed descriptions of courses that fitted in the knowledgeareas.MSIS2006 identifieda setofpossible careerpaths inanon‐exhaustive list.MSIS2006didnot,however,providedetaileddescriptionsofthesecareerpathsoranexplicitassociationbetweenthecareerpathsandtheirknowledgerequirements.
IntheMSIS2016competencymodel,theapproachisquitedifferent.TheMSIS2016development process identified and developed a set of competency areas withcompetencies thatMSIS graduates should attain by the time of graduation. Thesecompetencies are associated with three broad realms: information systems(includingbothcomputing/ITandISmanagementdimensions),domainofpractice,and individual foundational competencies. The competency areas are refined incompetency categories with examples of actual competencies. A competency isunderstood as the ability to use knowledge, skills, and attitudes to successfullyperformatask.
A possible procedure and some guidelines are given for how to formulate acurriculumbasedon jobprofilesandtheircompetencyneeds.Examplesofhowtobuildacurriculumforaspecific jobprofilearegiven.Twoof theseexamples—ITConsultant/Systems Analyst and Project Manager—are based on ICT job profiles(CEN2012)andone,basedonthefeedbackreceived,onmappingaprogramforISstartups to the competency categories. Again, we emphasize that the actualstructure of the program needs to be locally decided due to the wide variety ofrequirementsforprogramsaroundtheworld.
15 Maintaining the Currency of MSIS 2016
Thereisadangerthatcurriculumguidancecreatedatonepointintimewillquicklybecomeoutdated,particularlyone thatpurports topreparepeople fora career intechnology‐related disciplines.We have taken care to build in somemechanismsthatwill,hopefully,enablethevariousprogramsthatadopttheMSIS2016modeltohavebothacoreandameansofaddressingnew,relevanttopicsandcompetenciesthatwillunavoidablyemergeinthenearfuture.
Therecommendation isbasedoncompetencies.Rather than focusingon topicsormodules, we aimed to identify the competencies that graduates should have
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attainedduringtheirstudies.Weprovideaframework—notamandatedstructurebut rather an organizing mechanism for the competencies. Some have suggestedthattheterminologyusedincompetencyareasandcategoriesisalltoofamiliar.Weagree that many terms are, indeed, familiar. However, in looking at thecompetenciesneededbyprofessionalswholeadandimplementorganizationaluseof information technology, the core ideashavenot changed. Students still need toknow the techniques for acquiring, storing, and analyzing data; they still need toknowhowtoelicitrequirementsanddesignsystems.Today,theymayhavetoalsoengage in advanced analytics and/or mapping sourcing strategies that not onlyinclude offshoring but might also include crowdsourcing. But the need todifferentiateacrossthesourcingstrategiesremains.
Inour investigationof theglobal curricula,we found that thecredit requirementsfor a degree varied greatly. In this competencymodel,we identify the core set ofcompetencieswhilealsorecognizingthatthewidevarietyofjobsavailableinISwilllead students to specialize in different areas. For example, although all graduatesneedtounderstandthebasicsofdataandthebasicsofsecuritysystems,studentswhospecializeinanalyticswillneedtolearnmoreadvancedskillsassociatedwithanalyzing unstructured data and sophisticated statistical and visualization tools.Likewise, students aiming to specialize in security will need more and deepercompetencies in security‐related topics. The curriculum guidelines are flexibleenough to enable programs to do both while also staying in line with therecommendations.
Somehave suggested that these recommendations shouldevolve as thedisciplineevolves.Inmanyways,thisapproachmakessensebecauseitallowsustoleveragethevery thingweteach.Anonlineopendialogueamongthecommunitymemberswould certainly enable curricula to be flexible and to evolve. There are also anumberofchallengesassociatedwiththisapproach.
Onecritical challenge is thatuniversitiesdonotmoveasquicklyasourdisciplinedoes.Anyonewhohasbeeninvolvedinacurriculumrevisionknowsalltoowellthatittakestimeforcoursestobechangedandnewonestobeadded.Further,curriculaareoftentightlyinterwoven.Coursesrequireprerequisiteknowledge,andachangein one can lead to cascading effects. Further, many universities have alignedcurricular priorities with the needs of major recruiters. Thus, a change can havelong‐term(potentiallynegative)impactsonstudents’jobprospectsincertainareas.In the end, the ability of a particular department to respond to guidance that iscontinuallyupdatedislikelytobequitelow.
It is our intention that the competency‐based approach of this recommendationprovidesasolidfoundationofknowledgerelevantforindividualswhowillleadandimplement IT‐based capabilities in organizations. In addition to the corecompetencies,we identify potential additional competencies thatwould be usefulfor graduates. Ultimately, in order to continue providing education that preparesourstudents for theevolvingsortsof jobs inavarietyofprofessional IS roles,weencourageopen,ongoingdialogueregardingteaching‐relatedissues.Theresultsofsuch community collaboration could periodically be captured in competency and
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curriculum documents, which would provide the optimal compromise ofinteraction, evolution, and sufficient stability to enable programs to use therecommendationsinthebestmannerfortheirsituation.
Finally, we acknowledge the important role of the EDUglopedia platform(http://www.eduglopedia.org), whichmaintains an updatedworldwide collectionofeducationalprograms,courses,andpedagogical resources.Theprogramdata ispublished annually in theAISGlobal EducationReport (vomBrocke, Tan, Topi,&Weinmann,2016).
16 Conclusion
TheMSIS2016 task forcehopes that this competencymodelwillbecomeausefulresourceforarichvarietyofmaster’sdegreeprogramsinISaroundtheworld.Weexpect thatallprogramsthatuse itwillmodify it to fit theirownpurposesbetter,and we applaud this—the guidance this document provides is intended to beinspirational and supportive instead of being normative. We also hope thatprograms will share their experiences and give back to the IS community in thespiritofcontinuouseducationandcollaborative learning.Thankyouforusingthisdocument—ifyou find ituseful,pleaseshare itwith thosewhomightalsobenefitfromit!Wewelcomeyourfeedbackandthankyouforit.
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VomBrocke,J.,Tan,B.,Topi,H.,&Weinmann.M.(Eds.).(2016).AISglobaleducationreport. Eduglopedia. Retrieved from eduglopedia.org/report/ais‐global‐is‐education‐report/2016
MSIS 2016 Appendix A. Detailed Competency Specifications12 CompetenciesintheareaofBusiness13ContinuityandInformationAssurance(BCIA)Areadescription:theBusinessContinuityandInformationAssurancecompetencyarea mainly concerns the continuity, auditing, and assurance of informationsystems.Itgenerallycoversareassuchasriskavoidance,securitymanagement,andquality auditing. The challenging issues related to business continuity andinformationassurancespanfromtacticalandstrategictotechnicalandoperationallevels.Theyofteninvolvearangeofprocessesfrommanagement,suchaspolicyandstandard setting, to hands‐on skills, such as system contingency and recoveryplanning.High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
b. Integrateprotectionfromrisksandsecuritythreats.8. Engineeringsystemsforcontinuity
a. EnsurecontinuousoperationofITassetsinallphasesofthelifecycleoftheinformationsystems.
b. Applytechniquesofcontinuity‐awareplanningtopITprocurement.c. Executeremedialandcontingencyplanning.d. Considerhumanresourcesimplicationsofcontinuityplanning.
9. Implementingandmanagingqualityauditprocessesa. Assessandaudit the integrityandqualityof the ITprovisions in the
organization.
MSIS‐69
b. Monitorandanalyzerisksanddomainobjectivesinordertoimprovedomain and IT alignment so that the organization may achievecontinuityindomainactivities.
c. Useauditingandmonitoringtoolsandmeasures.d. Performimpactanalysisandassessment.
CompetenciesintheareaofData,Information,andContentmanagement(DATA)Area description: theData, Information, and Content management area coverscompetencies that enable graduates to be effective contributors in processes thatimprovethedomain’sabilitytoachieveitsgoalsusingstructuredandunstructureddataandinformationeffectively.High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
1. Identify data and information management technology alternatives, selectthemostappropriateoptionsbasedontheorganizationalinformationneeds,andmanagetheimplementationoftheselectedoptions.
2. Identify,create,andmanageorganizationalpoliciesandprocessesrelatedtodata and information management by balancing multidimensionalrequirements, such as legal and regulatory requirements, ethicalconsiderations and implications of technology decisions, organizationalbusinessrequirements,dataqualityissues,andrequirementsofoperatinginaninternationalenvironment.
a. Explainthedifferencesbetweendata,information,andknowledge.b. Explain the reasons why data, information, knowledge, data
management, and content management solutions are essential forhumanactivity.
c. Separatethelifecyclestagesfromeachotherconceptually.d. Explaintheactionsrequiredduringeachstage.e. Explain the connection between systems lifecycles and data
managementlifecycles.12. Capturing and structuring data and information requirements using
a. Distinguish between technologies for operational databases,structureddatawarehouses,andrepositoriesforunstructureddata.
b. Designatechnologyarchitecturefororganizationaldatamanagement.c. Select appropriate technology options for each of the architectural
categories.17. Securing domain data and protecting both user privacy and organizational
intellectualpropertyusingappropriatetechnicalsolutionsa. Identifyappropriatedataencryptiontechnologies.b. Implement data access policies in the context of a database
managementsystem.18. Designing and implementing a data warehouse using a contemporary
a. Makeexplicitthespatialandtemporaldimensionsofinformation.b. Designorganizationalstructurestocategorizeinformation.c. Developlabelingsystemstorepresentinformation.d. Develop navigation systems to enable users to browse or move
a. Identify appropriate data sources in a heterogeneous environmentwithmultipledatatypes.
b. Designprocessesforextracting,transforming,andloading(ETL)datatotheanalyticalenvironment.
c. ImplementETLprocessesinanorganizationalenvironment.23. Selectingandusingappropriateanalyticsmethods
a. Identifyappropriateanalyticsmethodsforgiventasks.b. Useananalyticsplatformtoperformbasicanalyticstasks.c. Reporttheresultsofananalyticstask.
24. Analyzingdatausingadvancedcontemporarymethodsa. Select and apply advanced computational approaches to identify
meaningfulpatternsandtrends.b. Buildmodelstosupportdecision‐makingactivities.c. Create visualizations of large complex data sets to understand
meaningfulpatternsandtrends.25. Designing and implementing architectures for organizational content
managementsystemsa. Identify content providers and identify users’ needs, goals, and
expectations in documenting, sharing, and publishing organizationalcontent.
b. Design informationarchitectures for contentmanagement system inanorganization.
c. Implement application architectures and systems, either throughwebsites or mobile applications, for presenting and managing thecontentmanagementsysteminternallyandexternally.
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d. Useandmanagecontentmanagementsoftware runningondifferentplatforms, such as Software as a Service, off‐the‐shelf software, andopen‐sourcesoftware.
MSIS‐74
CompetenciesintheareaofEnterpriseArchitecture(EARC)Areadescription:Enterprisearchitecturehastwoaims:managingthecomplexityof information systems and technologies and aligning these systems/technologieswiththeorganization’sstrategy.Theareacoverscompetencesthatenablegraduatesto participate in planning, building, using, maintaining, and evaluating thearchitectures.High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
1. Design an enterprise architecture (EA). This involves identifying andapplying a formal approach to EA development, performing themultistageprocessofdevelopinganEA, identifyingtheEAchangeneeds,andapplyingthem to the EA. Graduates are able to incorporate information, domainactivity processes, technology platforms, applications, software, andhardware in the EA while considering the alignment between domainrequirementsandtechnologydevelopment.
2. Deploy and maintain an EA. This involves conveying the architecture todomain process owners, software development and maintenance projects,andinfrastructureplannersandtakingintoaccountthecurrentstatusoftheprojects and infrastructure. This also includes gathering input from theenterprise and from technology developments for maintaining thearchitectureandperformingarchitecturemaintenance.
26. Explaining enterprise architecture principles to justify the value enterprisearchitectureprovidestoorganizationswithinvarioustypesofdomains
a. JustifythevalueofbuildingandmaintaininganEA.b. MeasureandanalyzevalueaccruingfromanEA.c. Distinguishvariousarchitecturalforms(suchasSOA,event‐driven,
a. Select and justify an appropriate deployment strategy (such asreplacementorincremental).
b. Managenecessaryorganizationalchanges.c. EstablishanEApractice.d. CommunicatetheEAeffectivelytorelevantstakeholders.
29. Using an enterprise architecture to influence IS‐related organizationalimprovementprojects
a. BringtheEAviewintoorganizationalimprovementprojectsthatarelikelytoaffect(andbeaffectedby)theEA.
b. UsetheEAeffectivelytosupportthe interoperabilityofsystemsandservices.
c. Use the EA effectively to support the scalability of systems andservices.
d. Supporthigh‐levelsystemusabilityusinganEA.e. Ensure that thedevelopmentof information systems is alignedwith
domainchanges.f. Ensure alignment between domain architecture, information
architecture,andITarchitecture.
MSIS‐76
CompetenciesintheareaofEthics,Impacts,andSustainability(ETIS)Areadescription:theEthics, Impacts, and Sustainability competency area coversthe conceptualization and implementation of environmentally and sociallysustainable IT solutions that are alignedwith the responsibilitiesof organizationsand in compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements and industrystandards. This competency area addresses key questions such as environmentalandsocialsustainability,safetyandhealth,privacy,andintegrity.Italsocoverstheimpactof ITon thenatureofworkandworkplacesandexploreshowcultureandethics(internalpertainingtoorganizationsandexternalpertainingtostakeholders)shapebehavior.Theseareastendtobealignedwithastrategicoratacticalleveloforganizationaldecisionmaking.High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
a. Plan and manage IT physical facilities, including conductingenvironmentalmonitoringforadverseeffectsandadheringtohealthandsafetystandardsatwork.
b. ManagetheITestateinaccordancewithorganizationalsustainabilitytargets.
c. Takeresponsibilityforadherencetohealthandsafetyregulations.33. Managingsustainableprocurementpractices
a. Make recommendations to enhance organizational procurementprocesses to include sustainability, ethical, and complianceperspectives.
b. Analyze the energy efficiency and environmental aspects ofprocurementproposals.
c. Verify that procurement processes comply with laws such asintellectualpropertyrights.
34. Managingcontractsethicallya. Negotiatecontractsinaccordancewithorganizationalguidelines.b. Comply with laws and regulations as well as health and safety
CompetenciesintheareaofInnovation,OrganizationalChange,andEntrepreneurship(IOCE)Area description: the Innovation, Organizational Change, and Entrepreneurshipareacoversthecapabilitytorecognizeandexploitthepotentialaffordedbycurrentand upcoming technologies to address existing and new business opportunities.This area also includes competencies required to understand and to intervene indifferent forms of domain activities (e.g., work units, work teams, processes,organizations,markets,societysetting)inordertouseinformationtechnologiestoimprovethewaythosebusinessactivitiesarestructuredandperformed.High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
1. Monitor theenvironment inorder to identifyandevaluatenewISmethodsandtrendsintermsoftheirappropriatenessforanorganization.
3. Develop aplan to exploit newand emergingmethods and technologies fornewpurposesinanorganization.
4. Devisenewwaysofstructuringandperformingdomainactivitiesatdifferentlevels (individual, team, process, and organization) while considering theenablingandenhancingeffectsofinformationtechnologyapplications.
5. Estimate the benefits of the newdesigns, assess the consequences of theirimplementation,andanticipatepotentialadverseconsequences.
a. Listthecomponentsofabusinessplan.b. Articulateavaluepropositionforabusinessidea.c. PrepareaSWOTanalysis.d. Performfinancialassessment(e.g.,ROI,IRR,etc.).e. Articulatetherisksandrewardsofbusinessplans.f. Proposeasetofmetricsforevaluatingabusinessplan.
42. Innovatingbyexploitinganemergingmethodortechnologya. Identify opportunities to transform a domain of human activity by
applyingemergingtechnologiesinnovatively.b. Identifytheappropriatepeopletoinvolveinaninnovationplan.c. Articulateplanmilestones—includingkeydecisionpoints.d. Describe keymetrics thatwill be used to informparticipants at the
43. Promotingdiffusionbyleveragingdifferencesbetweenadoptergroupsa. Explorediffusionandadoptionfromdifferentperspectives.b. Analyzetheinterestsofdifferentadoptercategories.c. Develop a plan to engage adopters at various stages along the
fororganizationalprocessimprovements.c. Deployprocesschangesthroughouttheorganization.d. Articulate high‐level systems requirements to enable organizational
CompetenciesintheareaofISManagementandOperations(ISMO)Areadescription:theISManagementandOperationsareacoversthecapabilitytodevelop,maintain, andconsistently improvedomainperformancewhileprovidingappropriate information systems, services, and infrastructure. The capabilityfocuses externally on creating value for the domain and internally on IS staffmotivation,performance,andaccountability.High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
1. Applyprofessionalmanagementskills to thedesignandmanagementofaneffectiveISorganization.
2. Ensureoperationalefficiencyandeffectivenessinservicedelivery.3. Govern IS project management principles and support their use in the
53. Managingandcoordinatinginformationresourcesa. Identifyrelevantcategoriesofinformationresources.b. Determine the relevant focus of control for various information
resources(suchascentralized,decentralized,mobile).c. Identify and select from various technology options for information
resourcemanagement.d. Manageprocessesforinformationresourcemanagement.e. Identify and implement approaches to maximize the value of
a. Identifylocallyandgloballyrelevantlawsandregulations.b. Complywithlawsandregulations.
56. ManagingISprojectsandprogramsa. SelectISprojectstoexecute.b. DetermineISprojectfeasibility.c. IdentifyandmanageISprojectrisks.d. Plan and initiate an IS project, including project scheduling and
creationofaworkbreakdownstructure.e. DetermineandacquireISprojectresources.f. ManageISprojectexecution,includingschedule,scope,andresources.g. CloseanISproject.h. OrganizesimilarorrelatedISprojectsintoprograms.i. Manage allocation of resources, schedules, and conflicts between
a. Organize ISprojects intomeaningfulportfolios thatarealignedwithorganizationalobjectives.
b. IdentifyandmanageISprojectinterdependencies.c. OptimizeprojecttimelineswithinandbetweenISprojectportfolios.d. IntegrateISprojectsforcoordinateddeliveryofnewcapabilities.e. Allocateresourcesamongprojectswithinaportfolio.
a. Managesoftwaredevelopmentandupgradeprocesses.b. Managesoftwareprocurementandupgradeprocesses.c. Managehardwareprocurementandupgradeprocesses.d. Managesystemsmaintenance.e. Managesystemstuningandbalancing.
MSIS‐84
CompetenciesintheareaofISStrategyandGovernance(ISSG)Area description: the IS Strategy and Governance area covers the creation andimplementation of long‐term plans for designing, delivering, and usingorganizational information systems to achieve strategic domain goals andobjectives. This area also covers monitoring and controlling organizational ISresources to ensure alignment with and achievement of strategies, goals, andobjectives.High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
1. Analyze the effect and impact of IS on industries, firms, and institutions;develop and implement plans of action for maximizing firm benefitsassociated with IS design, delivery, and use; and manage IS resourcesfinancially.
2. Create and manage the oversight mechanisms by which an organizationevaluates, directs, andmonitors organizational IT. Thesemechanismsmayleverage one or more governance frameworks; hence, understanding theprocess of applying and analyzing a framework is a critical competency.Distributionofdecisionrightsandorganizationaldecision‐makingpracticesareotherkeycomponentsofthiscompetencyarea.
a. Develop strategic plans of action for minimizing the environmentalimpactoffirmproducts,operations,andpersonnelinaneconomicallyviablemanner.
b. MeasuresustainabilityimpactofISoperationsandpersonnel.
MSIS‐86
CompetenciesintheareaofITInfrastructure(INFR)Areadescription: the IT Infrastructure area covers competencies that allow thegraduates to contribute to needs analysis for and design and implementation ofeffective,technicallycorrectITinfrastructuresolutions.High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
1. Design integrated communication networks for small‐ and medium‐sizeorganizations, including local area networks and the use of wide‐areanetworktechnologiestoconnectthelocalnetworks.
2. Specifyrequirementsforlarge‐scalenetworksolutions.3. Design an implementation architecture for organizational data processing
and systemsolutions,usingboth internalhardware resources andexternalservicesolutions.
a. Analyzethebenefitsanddisadvantagesofvariousclientdevicetypes.b. Selectanappropriatesetofacceptableclientdevicesforadomain.c. Determine whether or not the “bring your own device” model is
ofITresources.b. IdentifyITstandardsappropriateforthedomain.c. Identify and monitor laws and regulations relevant for the
domain.75. Monitoring emerging technologies to understand their potential to
supportthedomaina. Identify emerging technologies that have the potential to
transformthedomain.
MSIS‐88
b. Align the use of potential emerging technologies with theneedsofthedomain.
c. Maintain a mechanism to systematically evaluate emergingtechnologies.
MSIS‐89
CompetenciesintheareaofSystemsDevelopmentandDeployment(SDAD)Area description: the Systems Development and Deployment area covers thedesign of information systems and services, including the design of how humansinteractwith and how they experience IT artifacts. It also includes competenciesrelatedtosystemsimplementationandthedeploymentofsystemstoorganizationaluse.High‐levelareadimensions:Graduateswillbeableto:
1. Analyze and specify requirements for IT artifacts through studying anddocumentingthewholeorpartofsomeformofdomainactivities(e.g.,workunit,work team, process, organization,market, society setting) in terms ofthe actions they involve and the information they deal with. Definerequirements for IT artifacts that can enhance the way existing domainactivities are structured and performed or enabling new forms of domainactivities
2. Design and document IT artifacts that meet specified requirements takingintoaccountnon‐functionalrequirements(includinguserexperiencedesign)andorganizational,technical,infrastructural,andotherconstraints.
3. In the context of iterative processes that integrate analysis, design,implementation, and operations, develop and deploy IT applications thatsatisfyuserneeds.
a. Identify scenarios of IS artifact use to enable and support domainactivities.
b. Document the requirements for IS artifacts based on the domainneeds.
c. Make and document formal agreements with relevant stakeholdersregardingprojectrequirementsinaformappropriatetothesystemsdevelopmentapproach.
d. Manage system change requirements in a form appropriate to thesystemsdevelopmentapproach.
MSIS‐90
78. Identifying and selecting from systems design and implementationalternatives
a. Identifymultiplealternativesforsystemsdesignandimplementationbasedonrequirementsandthesystemsdevelopmentapproach.
b. Select the most appropriate systems design and implementationapproachinaspecificorganizationalandsystemcontext.
79. Designingsystemsandservicesa. Determine a design plan based on the requirements, organizational
context,andthesystemsdevelopmentapproach.b. DesignthearchitectureandthecomponentsofISartifacts.c. Validate the compatibility of the designwith the user requirements
using a mechanism appropriate to the systems developmentapproach.
d. Establishandmaintainacommunicationmodelthatisappropriatetothesystemsdevelopmentapproachwithvariousstakeholders.
e. Applyorganizationaldesignmethods,tools,andstandards.80. Designinguserexperiences
a. Designhuman‐computer interfacesand interactionsequences takingintoaccounttheenvisioneduserexperience.
b. Refine user interface design based on results of user experienceevaluationandfeedbackfromusers.
a. Manage a simple project following one of the key developmentapproaches.
b. Apply key DevOps concepts to integrate between development andoperationsanddeterminewhentheyarerelevantforapplicationinaspecificdomain.
c. ApplyDevOpseffectively.84. Implementingandtestinganapplication
a. UseamodernapplicationdevelopmentenvironmenttoproduceanISartifactbasedonrelevantdesigndocumentation.
b. Select a development approach appropriate to the characteristics ofthe IS applicationunder consideration and to the existing resourcesanddevelopmentteamandconditions.
c. Plandevelopmentworkaccordingtotheprinciplesandguidelinesoftheselecteddevelopmentapproach.
MSIS‐91
d. Document the implemented product for later reference andmaintenance.
e. Plan and carry out tests for functional and non‐functionalrequirements.
f. Carryoutvarioustests(unit,integration,migration)ofnewsoftware,newsoftwaremodules,andupgradesinarealisticenvironment.
85. Installingandintegratingapplicationsa. Performacceptancetestingoftheapplication.b. Installtheapplicationontoacomputingplatform.c. Configure the application so it fits with the supporting computing
platformandwithotherapplicationswithwhichitmustinteract.d. Configuretheapplicationsoitfitstotheorganizationalenvironment.e. Planandcarryoutteststoinstallationandconfiguration.f. Migrate information stored in pre‐existing applications to the new
