Information systems legacy and evolution
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| 2 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| Examination | No residential school |
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Summary
Information systems are now seldom built from scratch. They are modified from or built on top of existing ones or bolted together from third-party components. In practice, the old division between design, implementation and maintenance has largely disappeared. What has replaced it is the process of IS evolution, which this course examines. It is suitable if you are concerned with making decisions about information systems as they evolve; if you need to understand the process by which they evolve, or simply if you are interested in developing trends in organisational and technical change in the twenty-first century.
Course content
IS evolution can be seen in two ways, planned and unplanned. This course will discuss both, helping you to understand their nature and giving you techniques to work with both within your organisation.
Planned evolution is the process by which strategic decision-makers, and/or IT departments, work to determine the ways in which their information systems should develop over time. It involves issues of evaluating the impact and appropriateness of existing information systems; examining the value and ‘maintainability’ of legacy systems (ageing information systems that serve a purpose but are out of step with the needs or capabilities of the organisations that use them); decision-making about which changes to existing systems are appropriate; and understanding how future changes to the organisation’s environment could require changes to information systems. In each of these cases, issues will be considered from a socio-technical perspective, looking at organisational, social and technical issues. This part of the course draws on concepts and techniques from the areas of IS strategy, evaluation, software engineering, decision-making, and scenario planning.
Unplanned evolution, by contrast, is a way of looking at changes within information systems that happen without them being intended by the ‘owners’ of those systems. The technology may change; the business needs may change; the people involved may change; the organisation may change. This area is less well-understood but equally important. The course will examine this by looking at the dynamics of the way information systems evolve; by analogy with natural evolution; by considering trends of evolution in information systems, and their organisational and societal contexts, over time; and by looking at what trends might arise in the future. This part of the course draws on systems theory, the history of IT and organisations, forecasting and scenario planning.
This course is suitable for you if you're concerned with making decisions about, or working with, information systems as they evolve; if you need to understand the process by which they evolve; or simply if you're interested in developing trends in organisational and technical change in the 21st century.
Entry
This is a postgraduate-level course. If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Preparatory work
Relevant professional experience will provide you with a good foundation for studying the course. This course takes a broad view of ‘information systems’ and assumes no past study of the subject.
Qualifications
T853 is a compulsory course in our
- Postgraduate Certificate in Information Systems (C51)
- Postgraduate Diploma in Information Systems (E10)
- Postgraduate Diploma in Management of Software Projects (E19)
- MSc in Information Systems (F37)
- MSc in Management of Software Projects (F43)
T853 is an optional course in our
- Postgraduate Certificate in Systems Thinking in Practice (C72)
- Postgraduate Certificate in Technology Management (C49)
- Postgraduate Diploma in Computing for Commerce and Industry (C02)
- Postgraduate Diploma in Systems Thinking in Practice (E28)
- Postgraduate Diploma in Technology Management (E08)
- MSc in Computing for Commerce and Industry (F05)
- MSc in Strategic Management of Information Systems (F54)
- MSc in Systems Thinking in Practice (F47)
- MSc in Technology Management (F36)
Some postgraduate qualifications allow study to be chosen from other subject areas. These qualifications allow most postgraduate courses to count towards them. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
You will need to spend considerable amounts of time using a personal computer and the internet. You may wish to visit libraries. Diagrams are used extensively. The course materials are available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Large print versions of the course materials can be provided on request. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our booklet Meeting Your Needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Course materials
What's included
Course text, a course reader of relevant papers especially compiled to accompany the course, other printed materials.
Computing requirements
This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will be responsible for monitoring your progress on the course, marking and commenting on your written work and whom you can contact for advice and guidance. Your tutor will also mediate an online forum for your tutor group in which participation is optional. There is also a separate online forum for all students on the course. Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper.
You will have to achieve a pass mark on both the continuous assessment and the examination in order to pass the course.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in May 2010. We expect it to be available once a year.
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
About this page
A postgraduate course in Engineering and Technology.
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