In Search of an Information Systems Projects Course

This paper chronicles the author’s seven-semester odyssey towards a one-semester IS projects course which gives students practical software engineering experience. The course must also be manageable by the Instructor. Students gain experience practicing the disciplines of team management, quality assurance, configuration management, software documentation, testing, and the use of CASE tools. The course has evolved as attempts have been made to address deficiencies identified in the previous term. The major challenges of teaching the course relate to balancing concepts with experience, workload with learning, and old technology with new. The lessons learned can be summarized as a need for a balanced exposure to concept, experience, and technology. This balance best reflects the demands and limitations placed on IS professionals. Throughout its evolution, this course has been successful to the extent that it gives students their initial exposure to the challenges and demands they will face throughout their careers.