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Information & Decision Sciences Courses

Sample courses offered by the Information and Decision Sciences department. Check the University registration system for availability.

IDSC 3001 - Information Systems for Business Processes and Management

Developing/using IS to support business processes, managerial decision making, and organizational strategy. Technology components of IS. Impact on organizations. Creation/change processes. Managerial issues. Techniques for designing, developing, and implementing IS. Databases and user interfaces. Computer/communications network platforms. Internet, e-business, and e-commerce applications.

 

IDSC 3101 - Introduction to Programming

Computer programmings used by companies to build sophisticated information systems. Variables, control structures. Data structures such as arrays/collections. Programming style, graphical user interfaces (GUIs).

 

IDSC 3102 - Intermediate Programming

Programming concepts to develop large, full-featured applications. Object-oriented programming, database applications, Web applications. Style, performance, UI design.

 

IDSC 3103 - Data Modeling and Databases

Concepts for designing, using, and implementing database systems. Normalization techniques. Structured Query Language (SQL). Analyzing a business situation. Building a database application.

 

IDSC 3104 - Enterprise Systems

Management aspects of Enterprise Systems. Vendor/vendor management options. Technologies, organizational readiness. Hands-on access to software solutions from ERP software provider. End-to-end processes. Measurement of key performance indicators. Analytics, workflow. prereq: 3001

 

IDSC 3202 - Analysis and Modeling for Business Systems Development

Improving/automating key business processes in manufacturing and service industries. Roles of business management and MIS. Selecting business process opportunities, business process analysis, process modeling of work/data flow, decomposition, software tools. Traditional/object analysis methods. prereq: 3001

 

IDSC 4110 - Data Engineering for Business Analytics

Modern organizations increasingly base their decisions on data which is becoming more abundant by each day. The first step of using data for decision making is to prepare data in a suitable format for analysis, a step commonly known as data engineering. Typical data engineering tasks may include data acquisition, parsing, handling missing data, summarization, augmenting, transformation, subsetting, sampling, aggregation, and merging. Data engineers also frequently use basic data visualization tools to detect and fix data issues. Most recently, there is increasing demand for data engineers to handle big data and unstructured data. A good data engineering process ensures quality, reliability, and usability of data. In fact, data engineering is such a critical and time-consuming step of data-driven decision making that many data scientists and analysts spend more than 60% of their time doing data engineering related tasks.

 

IDSC 4204W - Information Services Management

Information services as service function. Investing resources to support strategy. Managing IS resources. Project Management, Human Capital Management, Infrastructure Management. Emphasis on cloud/big data infrastructures, outsourcing. prereq: 3202

 

IDSC 4210 - Interactive Data Visualization for Business Analytics

IDSC 4210 is an elective course for the undergraduate Business Analytics minor at the Carlson School of Management. It focuses on the fundamental and widely used exploratory data analysis technique of interactive visualization that is integral to modern business analytics. The key goal of this course is to prepare students for the rapidly changing digital environment faced by companies as it pertains to data-driven decisions. The students will also have hands?on experience with interactive data visualization using modern, state-of-the-art software on real-world datasets.

 

IDSC 4310 - Prescriptive Analytics

Prescriptive Analytics answer the question "What should I do?" This class of analytical techniques focuses on moving beyond simply analyzing the data to providing an optimal action plan. Prescriptive techniques combine learnings from the descriptive and predictive disciplines with a new layer of insight and computer algorithms that suggests an action plan rather than just describing the data or predicting what might happen. prereq: IDSc 4110 & 4210 recommended

 

IDSC 4301 - MIS in Action: A Capstone Course

The course is designed for students to integrate a large number of concepts they have studied in previous course work within the department and school. The class uses a live-case/project-based design that requires students to identify and develop a detailed managerial analysis of an information technology and/or management information system (IT, MIS) project for a local corporation.

 

IDSC 4401 - Information Security

Concepts/issues of security and data integrity threats that undermine utility, robustness, and confidence in electronic technologies in facilitating business transactions. prereq: 3001

 

IDSC 4411 - Accounting Information Systems and IT Governance

Information technology audit function, internal control, audit process, smart operations, network security, systems development life cycle, enterprise resource planning risk, compliance issues. IT governance, business continuity, frameworks/methodologies. Lectures, case studies, real-world examples. prereq: 3001

 

IDSC 4431 - Advanced Database Design

Reviews ER/relational modeling and normalization, then focuses on fact modeling (ORM) to produce advanced richer business data models. "Flipped" class, fully online, including all lectures & final exam. Weekly in-class review session is recorded and online for questions, discussion, and results of assignments & quizzes. prereq: 3103 or CSCI 4707 or CSCI 5707 or instructor consent

 

IDSC 4441 - Electronic Commerce

Issues/trends in applying e-commerce initiatives. Technological infrastructure, revenue models, web marketing, business-to-business strategies, online auctions, legal and ethical aspects, hardware/software, payment systems, security. Conceiving, planning, building, and managing e-commerce initiatives. prereq: 3001

 

IDSC 4444 - Descriptive and Predictive Analytics

Data mining/personalization techniques. Exploratory/ predictive data mining techniques. Data preparation, data visualization, online analytical processing (OLAP), recommender systems. How business analytics techniques are applied in variety of business applications/organizational settings. prereq: 3001

 

IDSC 4455 - Web 2.0: The Business of Social Media

Business use of social media technologies. Blogs, wikis, online social networks. Readings, forum discussion, case analyses. How technologies engage consumers, market products or services, benefit from open innovation, foster collaboration among employees. prereq: 3001

 

IDSC 4490 - Information Systems Special Topics

Discussion and analysis of current topics and developments in information systems.

 

IDSC 4491 - Independent Study in Information Systems

Independent study in informations systems. prereq: instructor consent

 

IDSC 6003 - Accounting and Information Systems

IS/IT infrastructure assessment methods, technology solutions, management issues. Digital data sources. Systems design in accounting and financial reporting information systems. Internal control requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Experiential learning, hands-on use of accounting enterprise software other packages. prereq: IDSC 3001 or equivalent

 

IDSC 6040 - Information Technology Management

Management of information systems, information technology (IT) in global organization. Strategic uses of IT. Alignment of IT, organizational strategy, internet/Web technologies, e-commerce customer services. Integration of e-business applications, interorganizational systems, systems implementation. Management of information as resource. Lecture, case analysis, classroom discussion. prereq: MBA student

 

IDSC 6050 - Information Technologies and Solutions

Current/emerging technologies in modern Net-enhanced organizations. Internet/Web technologies, including Internet fundamentals, Web communications, Web 2.0/social media, information security, cloud computing, IT-driven innovation, emerging IT trends.

 

IDSC 6423 - Enterprise Systems

Requirements of architectures of information systems that help integrate business processes and optimize performance across diverse organizations/divisions. Capabilities of information systems in enterprise integration and supply chain management. Linkages necessary between information systems and business processes.

 

IDSC 6442 - E-Sourcing and E-Auctions

Traditional firms' planning process to establish e-business operational, sales, and Web-based marketing capabilities. Bundling, aggregation, digital product pricing policies. Technology standards, sponsored technologies. Industry infrastructures for e-commerce. Enabling technologies in business-to-business contexts. Web server and content management. Design issues. Hands-on with software development tools.

 

IDSC 6444 - Business Analytics for Managers I

Use of information technologies to gather, store, analyze, and access data to help managers make decisions about their business and the way they serve customers. Data mining, personalization, recommender systems. prereq: 6040 or 6050 or MBA 6240, MBA student

 

IDSC 6446 - Business Analytics for Managers II

Builds upon IDSC 6444 Business Intelligence course. Cost-aware data analytics, mining text/Web data, best practices in data visualization. Practical data-analytic thinking/decision making. Apply techniques in different settings, using real-world data sets. Value of advanced data analytics in variety of organizational contexts/business applications. prereq: 6444

 

IDSC 6455 - Web 2.0: The Business of Social Media

Business use of social media. Web 2.0/driving forces, social media marketing/advertising, engaging customers, peer production/open innovation. Ways businesses can leverage social media to foster collaboration, engage customers, build brand loyalty. prereq: MBA student

 

IDSC 6465 - Global Sourcing of IT and IT Enabled Services

Outsourcing IT and IT enabled services. Sourcing business/knowledge processes: finance/accounting, human resources, engineering services, data analytics. Strategic global sourcing planning/implementation. Managing offshore service relationships. prereq: 6040 or 6050 or MBA 6240, MBA student

 

IDSC 6471 - Knowledge Management

Design, evaluation, use of knowledge in organizations. Leveraging knowledge in workers, structures, processes. Assessment of knowledge needs. Evaluation of key decision processes, information demands, usage patterns, content requirements. Behavioral/cultural barriers. Use of technology for knowledge management. prereq: MBA student

 

IDSC 6490 - Advanced Topics in MIS -- Mathematical Foundations for Business Analytics

Discussion and analysis of topics and developments in managing information systems.

 

IDSC 8511 - Conceptual Topics and Research Methods in Information and Decision Sciences

Relationships to underlying disciplines; major research streams; seminal articles, survey literature, and major researchers. Provides framework for organizing knowledge about information and decision sciences. prereq: instructor consent

 

IDSC 8521 - System Development

Why it is hard to develop efficient/effective information systems, what can be done to improve situation. Defining efficiency/effectiveness in development process and in systems. Producing/evaluating artifacts (constructs, models, methods, tools) that enable more efficient/effective information systems to be developed. prereq: Business Administration PhD student or instructor consent

 

IDSC 8531 - Organizational Theory and Research in Information Systems

Introduction, adoption, use/exploitation of information systems in organizations. Critically examine empirical work. Formulate research questions. Conduct research. prereq: Business Administration PhD student

 

IDSC 8541 - Introduction to Economics of Information Systems

Classical research questions. Methods/findings that form backbone of economics of IS. Online auctions, electronic markets, offshoring, human capital issues. prereq: PhD student in Business Administration or instructor consent

 

IDSC 8620 - Data Mining and Personalization

IDSC 8620 is intended primarily for research-oriented graduate students who are interested in learning about current data mining / machine learning methodologies and how to use them in research. The course will provide a comprehensive overview of the exploratory and predictive analytics techniques, focusing on the fundamentals but covering a number of advanced issues as well, and will demonstrate how these techniques can be applied various application areas (including the increasingly important areas of text analytics and recommender systems). The course puts significant emphasis on practical, hands-on experience applying data mining techniques in different settings using real-world datasets, but will also discuss the use and value of data mining in a variety of research contexts.

 

IDSC 8721 - Behavioral Decision Theory

Traditional/current research. Major models/methodologies. Issues of preference, judgment, and choice under conditions of certainty/uncertainty. Seminar format. prereq: Business Administration PhD student or instructor consent

 

IDSC 8892 - Readings in Information and Decision Sciences

Readings useful to a student's individual program and objectives that are not available through regular courses. prereq: Business Administration PhD student or instructor consent

MSBA 6120 - Introduction to Statistics for Data Scientists

Introduction to statistics for data scientists.

 

MSBA 6250 - Analytics for Competitive Advantage II

Case/discussion-based introduction to variety of analytics-related issues/examples in business. Business value, impact, benefits/limitations, as well as ethical, legal, privacy issues. Use of case studies, examples, guest speakers.

 

MSBA 6310 - Programming and Application Development

Fundamentals of structured and object-oriented programming using C# and .NET environments. Development of web-based and mobile applications. Programming for statistical and scientific computation.

 

MSBA 6320 - Data Management, Databases, and Data Warehousing

Fundamentals of database modeling/design, normalization. Extract, transform, load. Data cubes/setting up data warehouse. Data pre-processing, quality, integration/stewardship issues. Advances in database/storage technologies.

 

MSBA 6330 - Big Data Analytics

Big data infrastructure and ecosystem, ingesting and managing big data, analytics with big data; Hadoop, MapReduce, Sqoop, Pig, Hive, Spark, SQL for Big Data, Machine Learning for Big Data, Real-time Streaming for Big Data; cloud computing and other recent developments in big data.

 

MSBA 6345 - Project Management of Analytics Projects

Project Management of full-stack analytics projects: identifying deliverables and a methodology; gathering requirements (use cases, user stories); estimating and staffing the project; monitoring project status (earned value and visual methods); team roles in an agile project. prereq: MSBA student

 

MSBA 6355 - Building and Managing Teams

Examine individual, group and organizational aspects of team effectiveness; learn and practice basic skills central to team management; develop appreciation for team leadership function; learn the tools for effective team decision making and conflict management; develop general diagnostic skills for assessment of team issues within and across organizations and national boundaries.

 

MSBA 6410 - Exploratory Data Analytics and Visualization

Fundamentals of data exploration. Detecting relationships and patterns in data. Cluster analysis. Hierarchical and partition-based clustering techniques. Rule induction from data. Advances in multidimensional data visualization.

 

MSBA 6420 - Predictive Analytics

Fundamentals of predictive modeling and data mining. Assessing performance of predictive models. Machine learning and statistical classification and prediction. Logistic regression. Decision trees and random forests. K-nearest neighbor techniques, naive Bayesian classifiers, and neural networks.

 

MSBA 6430 - Advanced Issues in Business Analytics

Analysis of unstructured data, fundamentals of text mining, sentiment analysis. Fundamentals of network analysis, mining digital media/social networks, peer effects/social contagion models. Personalization technologies/recommender systems.

 

MSBA 6440 - Data-Driven Experimentation and Measurement

Controlled experiments in business settings, experiment design, A/B testing. Specialized statistical methodologies. Fundamentals of econometrics, instrument variable regression, propensity score matching.

 

MSBA 6450 - Modeling and Heuristics for Decision Making and Support

Fundamentals of decision analysis, optimization, linear/integer programming, risk analysis, heuristics, simulation, decision technologies.

 

MSBA 6510 - Business Analytics Experiential Learning

This course involves hands-on application of the analytics methodologies, techniques, and tools learned throughout the program to a real-world problem (such as consulting for a real-world business client in the area of marketing, strategy, operation/supply chain, information technology, finance, accounting, or human resources) as well as the development and presentation of results, interpretations, insights, and recommendations.

 

MSBA 6515 - Capstone Project in Analytics

Hands-on, integrative application of analytics methodologies, techniques, and tools learned throughout the program in the context of a specific analytics problem. Experience with the entire data analytics cycle, starting from business and data understanding as well as data cleaning and integration and ending with the development and presentation of results, interpretations, insights, and recommendations.