This course approaches the study of information systems through the lenses of systems thinking and design thinking, two skill sets that can be applied throughout management.

For over a half-century, the field of information systems has been studying the design, development, testing, and use of complex systems. Computers are just the start. The networks that connect them to create a massive communications grid, the software that runs on them, and the impact of these artifacts on organizations has each generated a large body of knowledge. Two modes of thinking have proven particularly valuable in making sense of these developments—system thinking and design thinking.

The need to deal with ever more complex systems became apparent during the two world wars. Many of the systems developed to aid in the war effort, particularly those that integrated people and technologies, could not be completely understood using the tools of analysis. Breaking a complex system down into its components—which we have been taught to do since childhood—only takes us so far. To understand the system’s purpose and the dynamics that keep it functioning requires another kind of thinking. Drawing on ideas from biology and holistic psychology, systems thinking provided principles and tools to aid in understanding such purposeful systems.

In the third edition of The Sciences of the Artificial, published in 1996, Herbert Simon expressed concern that design had been driven from the curricula of professional schools, including business schools. “The professional schools can reassume their professional responsibilities just to the degree that they discover and teach a science of design, a body of intellectually tough, analytic, partly formalizable, partly empirical, teachable doctrine about the design process (p. 113).”

In the years since, progress has been made in understanding design and design thinking. Successful designers develop skills that allow them to work on poorly structured problems. These are problems for which there is no definitive formulation and the particular formulation chosen affects the solution. Further, there’s no explicit way to know when you are done, and solutions are not necessarily correct or incorrect. These are known as “wicked problems” and the world presents managers with more and more of them all the time.

Computer applications are among the most complex things humans have devised. In this course we will use experiences developed through designing and implementing computer solutions for organizations to explore these two modes of thinking. But the overarching goal of the course will be to develop skills in systems thinking and design thinking that can be applied to all aspects of managing.

We will achieve these broad objectives by developing some specific skills. In the course of the semester you’ll gain experience in:

• Making and using systems maps to think about complex situations
• Applying a systematic approach to project planning and execution
• Developing and evaluating principles for the use of information technology
• Evaluating and improving business cases for information systems projects
• Developing an historical perspective on technology and business
• Using the Internet and other resources for ongoing professional development

This is a discussion-based course. Discussion pedagogy is effective when the educational objectives include the development of qualities of mind (curiosity, judgment, wisdom), qualities of person (character, sensitivity, integrity, responsibility), and development of the ability to apply general concepts and knowledge to specific situations. Most issues around the use of information technology in organizations do not present themselves in neat packages with clear boundaries. Nor do they usually arrive with pre-defined decision criteria. Instead they often involve difficult choices since they are not so much about the technologies as they are about people and organizational structures.

Discussion also has the advantage that it puts both students and professors in an active learning mode. It challenges each of us to accept substantial responsibility for our own learning and it gives us first-hand appreciation of, and experience with, the application of knowledge to practice. Students are encouraged to draw upon their knowledge and experience to build, test and modify management theories that they can then make their own.

For some class meetings I have provided suggestions for preparing. While I am not asking you to hand these in, I do find that the discussions are richer and more productive when people do these exercises in written form as part of their preparation. In any case you are expected to prepare for the discussion whether you use that method or some other.

The quality of your input is more important than the quantity.