Business Information Systems BSc Honours

Course content

What will you study on the BSc Business Information Systems degree at Middlesex University?

The content is structured in ways that map explicitly on to modern technology, and includes systems design; application development in a modern industrial strength programming language; network design and management; and web-application development including both server and client side programming.

You will have the opportunity to put what you've learned to practical use and make valuable industry contacts should you decide to complete a work experience placement in your second year.

What will you gain?

Core modules such as Business Information Systems in Practice, Database Design, and Decision Support Systems are thoroughly covered in this course. You will develop a foundational understanding of how information systems occur in organisations and learn how organisational and information systems design relate to a wide range of businesses.

Modules

This module aligns the theoretical underpinnings of Business Information Systems to the practical elements of the systems development lifecycle. It exposes students to the multi-disciplinary nature of business information systems by creating an awareness and understanding of the various issues relating to the development and deployment of those systems. You will actively participate in the various stages of the systems development lifecycle, and engage in activities associated with the various professional roles in business information systems in an organisational context.

This module will provide you with an understanding of the different types of information systems that underpin the global business environment, and their respective capabilities and functions. You will learn the value of aligning these information systems with business needs at strategic and operational levels. Through practical tasks and assignments, you will also gain an understanding of data and process modelling, and system development methodologies. The module aims to give you the knowledge and skills to develop and manage information systems effectively, in order to support business processes, improve management decision-making and gain competitive advantage.

This module will enable you to differentiate between data, information and knowledge in an organisation, and investigate efficient ways of storing, preserving, searching, retrieving and displaying information in an organisation. You will learn to visualise and conceptualise information in organisations through knowledge of modelling techniques, to design and implement a database system, and to utilise a mark-up language, to reflect the information in an organisation. You will also develop proficiency in SQL in an Oracle 11g environment – in particular being able to complete the Oracle Database 11g SQL Fundamentals exam necessary to pass Oracle Database PL/SQL Certified Associate (ODCA).

This module aims to equip you, as a future information systems professional, with an understanding of how modern organisations and businesses function in a global environment. You will gain an understanding of the major business processes that occur within organisations, and how these are supported by information systems and technologies. The module presents key models and concepts of management, organisations and business, which students will apply to current case studies and scenarios. You will gain an understanding of the potential benefits of aligning organisational goals with information systems, as well as a critical awareness of the challenges, risks and issues involved.

This module focuses on deepening your understanding of database design and implementation, and the efficient use of facilities provided by a modern Database Management System. While the module emphasises the design of business systems using the relational model, other conceptual models, including object-oriented and object-relational, are also introduced. Both theoretical and practical topics relating to database modelling and use are covered, including technologies and tools for rendering databases for backend and frontend data processing purposes. This will enable you to construct dynamic web-based data queries which access back-end databases.

This module aims to provide you with an understanding of the decision-making process in business contexts, and an appreciation of how Decision Support Systems (DSS) may help in solving business problems. The module covers a range of technologies used in DSS and how these can be applied to solve semi-structured problems. The module will enable you to develop skills in building basic tools that can be used in a DSS.

This module aims to provide a firm grounding in business systems analysis and design using the Unified Modelling Language (UML) to model information systems, and the Unified Process (a disciplined approach to assigning and managing tasks and responsibilities in a development environment). On satisfactory completion of the module, you will have an understanding of information systems modelling and associated development lifecycle issues, and the skills to apply these techniques to real-life scenarios.

This module provides a foundation for the final year project by developing a range of research skills. You will learn how, and when, to use quantitative and qualitative techniques to investigate different research questions. You will practice and apply these techniques by producing research questions, conducting literature reviews, data collection, analysis and interpretation, including the use of specialist computer packages. You will be expected to present the results in a report. You will be given the opportunity to appreciate the importance of ethical, legal, organisational and environmental issues while conducting business research. In addition, you will practice how to apply skills needed to work successfully as a member of a project team.

The primary aims of the module are to consolidate and deepen the knowledge and skills that you have gained from other parts of the programme, and to provide a tangible demonstration of the your scholarship and ability work in a sustained, systematic and professional manner.

With the increasing use of information systems in all areas of life it is increasingly important for today’s graduates – who are tomorrow’s professionals - to understand and appreciate the ethical implications and social impact of current technologies, to have a working knowledge of the legislation that applies in this area, and to apply their expertise in a professional way. This module encourages students to develop an awareness of their role in the implementation of new technologies, and the knowledge and skills necessary for a professional approach. The module will take an ethical perspective to computer technology, focussing on UK legislation and standards as they relate to IS practice (for example Intellectual Property Rights in web design, database systems etc.), and will include considerations for design and the responsibilities and requirements of the IT profession – for example, as identified in The British Computer Society Code of Conduct:

• Promote equal access to the benefits of IS by all groups in society
• Have regard for the legitimate rights of third parties
• Promote public understanding of IS – its benefits and pitfalls
• Have knowledge and understanding of relevant legislation, regulations and standards.

This module aims to develop an understanding of the techniques and approaches used to develop and deploy a data warehouse for purposes of business intelligence. The module will examine data quality and data transformation methods and practices. Intelligent data mining theories and methods that aid knowledge discovery are introduced. You will also learn about information retrieval, data presentation and pattern recognition techniques that are used in business intelligence applications.

This module aims to provide you with an understanding of the role of innovation and management of technological expansion in information sciences. The module will develop your understanding of the use of technical, organisational, standardisation and user knowledge as a catalyst for innovation. It will also enable you to evaluate technical innovation with respect to societal changes.

The module aims to give you an introduction into the Open Source software ecosystem. A range of issues involving Open Source will be discussed, both technical (the Open Source development model) and non-technical (legal, ethical and political issues). In order to gain hands-on experience, you will also participate in an existing Open Source project.

This module aims to provide you with an understanding of the peripheral issues that impact on information development and management including consensus, strategic alignment and change management. The module provides you with an understanding of the framework within which information assets are used to enhance organisational decision making. It also enables you to distinguish between information and knowledge at the organisational level, and to understand the importance of protecting information assets especially within the outsourcing scenario.

This module introduces you to techniques of information management that originated in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research, and which are becoming popular in state of the art information systems. These techniques include artificial neural networks, evolutionary computation and expert systems that can help automate the solutions of some difficult problems. The module provides you with an opportunity to implement some of these techniques in a practical application, to evaluate their effectiveness, and to make comparisons between human and artificial forms of intelligence.

Healthcare Business Informatics is a discipline that brings together the expertise of three different fields: Business, Computer Science, and Information Technology. The ultimate aim of healthcare systems is to efficiently manage health information. This includes the effective collection, storage and retrieval of health data. The module address several issues of healthcare systems, including ethics, systems design, data collection and analysis, methods of evaluating HI systems, management of HI systems, HCI issues and visualization of HI systems information. The module provides you with the opportunity to not only implement several key algorithms used in HI systems, but also to create a prototype Aware Home Environment.

This module aims to critically examine methodologies, techniques and tools associated with information systems development, focussing on the analysis of context, issues and real-world problems. The module explores the criteria involved in selecting and implementing suitable approaches for development projects, from traditional to current approaches, such as Agile methods. There are a number of case studies throughout the module where students will apply advanced modelling techniques and CASE tools.

You can find more information about this course in the programme specification. Optional modules are usually available at levels 5 and 6, although optional modules are not offered on every course. Where optional modules are available, you will be asked to make your choice during the previous academic year. If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, or there are staffing changes which affect the teaching, it may not be offered. If an optional module will not run, we will advise you after the module selection period when numbers are confirmed, or at the earliest time that the programme team make the decision not to run the module, and help you choose an alternative module.