49013 Managing Information Technology in Engineering
Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a
particular semester, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2015 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Subject level:
Postgraduate
Result type: Grade and marksThere are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Description
The aim of this subject is to explore the influence of information technology (IT) on organisations and management, and in particular engineering management. Students critically examine both older and more recent IT innovations. Issues in IT extend to groupware, computer-aided logistic support, decisions support systems, tools for systems engineering, and communications technology, including the internet. Students use a computer-mediated conferencing tool on the internet to participate in group project work either on or off campus. Most of the support material is available from a specific, interactive information tool (UTSOnline) and the internet.
Subject objectives
Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
| 01. | Communicate professionally using both oral and written medium. |
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| 02. | Work professionally, collaboratively and productively in a team environment. |
| 03. | Conform to a systematic methodology when satisfying a set of technical requirements. |
| 04. | Display a graduate level professional engineering understanding of knowledge areas within their engineering discipline |
| 05. | Display a graduate level professional engineering understanding of classes of IT tools used in knowledge areas within their engineering discipline |
| 06. | Analyse and understand stakeholders of their engineering efforts at all areas of IT applications in the workplace |
| 07. | Prepare and create a web page outlining an IT proposal and its stakeholders |
| 08. | Interact with fellow professionals on IT based projects completely on-line. |
| 09. | Identify the influence of IT on organisations and engineering management |
| 10. | Use computer-mediated internet based conferencing tools for engineering colaboration |
| 11. | Use information technologies to support their engineering practice |
Teaching and learning strategies
This subject is mediated entirely through an electronic environment. There will be NO classroom events, as all interaction will occur within the enabling confines of UTSOnline. This approach demonstrates to students the use of information tools through direct experience with a specific information tool (UTSOnline).
The nature of information technology within Engineering is incredibly diverse. Whilst the underlying principles are very similar, the specific tools which might be used by an engineer will depend substantially upon their particular engineering discipline and/or the nature of their work (e.g. design versus project managament). Given this diversity, the subject relies on an approach which creates a general investigatory framework (driven primarily by the assessment tasks) and then requires students to take a substantial responsibility for exploring potential information tools and resources within this framework.
The subject involves two types of work: individual and group. The individual work requires students to take on a consultant-like experience, in which a task is assigned and they must exercise self-motivation in exploring potential information sources.
The group work also mimics real experience, and put students into a team for the purpose of short-term assignment, mirroring the role which they might have working within an organisation.
This subject is run entirely online. There are no formal or information class sessions and aside from an subject introductory video, there are no videos of formal lectures nor any tutorials - although some instructional material may be posted on UTSOnline from time to time and the two online quizzes may contain vectors (links/URLs) to further informational/instructional material. You should ensure that you regularly login to the subject on UTSOnline and monitor announcements etc. This should be at least once a week, but preferably more often.
Given the lack of formal class sessions, it is very important for all students to manage their time commitments to this subject very carefully. As a guideline this should involve spending an average of approximately 9 hours each week on the subject. You are also expected to participate fully in the online discussions and your group assignments.
Content
Information Tools
- Design, Analysis, Synthesis, Testing
- Modelling and Simulation
- CAD/CAM
- Project Management
- Collaboration
- Documentation management
- Quality assurance and control
Information sources
- Information repositories / portals
- Regulatory bodies
- Standards bodies
- Professional organisations
- Industry forums; industry groups
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Quiz 1
| Intent: | The intent of this assessment task is to encourage you to read the subject outline and ensure that you understand it. |
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| Type: | Quiz/test |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 5% |
| Criteria: | The quiz is marked by UTSOnline and the results are provided immediately upon completion of the quiz. |
Assessment task 2: Assignment 1 (individual)
| Intent: | The principal intent of this assessment task is to encourage you to explore, discover, reflect on and report succinctly on IT tools and resources used by practitioners in your chosen area of engineering. A further intent is to expose you to a user specification, encourage you to comply with that specification; identify any logic ordering; maintain discipline; quality of process/product; and identification of the report's ultimate stakeholder. |
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| Type: | Report |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 35% |
| Length: | Maximum 3000-6000 words (and/or 8 physical pages of assessable text, maximum). |
| Criteria: | The assessment criteria that will be used to mark your assignment (which includes a detailed breakdown of the marks to be assigned) is available for viewing on UTSOnline. Click on the view/submit link under each assignment and then click on the rubric symbol. Submissions will be checked using the ‘turnitin’ software which is embedded within UTSOnline. A short time after submitting your assignment (typically 10 minutes or so) you will be able to view the originality report for your assignment with an overall matching index. Your matching index for your submission must be less than 25%. You can submit multiple times prior to the submission deadline to ensure that you meet this requirement. Submissions not meeting this requirement will be penalised a percentage equal to the turnitin matching index. For example, if your matching index is 26%, your mark will be reduced by 26%. |
Assessment task 3: Assignment 2a: Group web page proposal
| Intent: | To get started on the group project and provide an opportunity for feedback on the proposed topic for the group project, to be finalised in the Group project report. Also for students in the group to get to know each other and their area of engineering; and to provide a mechanism for effective and productive collaboration.. |
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| Type: | Project |
| Groupwork: | Group, individually assessed |
| Weight: | 10% |
| Criteria: | The assessment criteria used to mark your ass2a submission (including the detailed breakdown of marks) is available on UTSOnline - click on the link to submit your assignment and then click on "View Rubric" |
Assessment task 4: Assignment 2b: Group project report
| Intent: | Gain experience in the design of an information architecture to address a specific need within a chosen engineering organisation as defined in Assessment Task 3. Also for students obtain experience in an information technology, feasiblity studiy, which is at a higher level than for a complete solution of the specific need. |
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| Type: | Project |
| Groupwork: | Group, individually assessed |
| Weight: | 40% |
Assessment task 5: Assignment 2c: Group project peer assessment
| Type: | Project |
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| Groupwork: | Group, individually assessed |
| Weight: | 10% |
| Length: | around 3000 words (8 pages) |
Assessment task 6: RPF - Relative Performance Factor
| Intent: | Marks from your groupwork in the subject are scaled by your individual RPF so that your final groupwork assessment reflects your individual effort and ability to work in a team |
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| Type: | Reflection |
| Groupwork: | Group, group and individually assessed |
| Criteria: | Groupwork
Writing the report
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Assessment task 7: Final Subject Mark Calculation
| Criteria: | Your final mark in the subject will be calculated as follows: Final Mark = round{ quiz1 + ass1 + RPF*[ ass2a + (ass2bi+ass2bp)/2 + ass2c] } where:
NOTE 1: The minimum passing mark for assignment 1 is 16/35. If your mark for assignment 1 is less than 16, and you achieve an overall mark of 50 or more, your subject grade will be "X" [failed a compulsory component of the subject] |
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Minimum requirements
In order to pass the subject, you must achieve an overall mark of 50% or higher. In addition, you need to achieve a mark of at least 16/35 for the individual assignment and 18/20 for the Academic Conduct Quiz.
Note that it may be possible to resubmit the individual assignment if your mark is less than the passing mark under circumstances deemed acceptable to the subject co-ordinator and is contingent on a prior successful completion (18/20) of the Academic Conduct Quiz.
Recommended texts
This subject does not have an absolutely required text. The subject is so diverse (crossing many different Engineering disciplines) and the information discussed is changing so rapidly, that there is no single textbook that is appropriate. The most appropriate source of up-to-date information will be online resources and this subject outline. Additional information will be provided, as required, throughout the semester, principally via announcements on UTSOnline for this subject. Having said that, each particpant is encouraged to consult and/or purchase:
Lester Faigley, "The Little Penguin Handbook", Australasian Edition, Pearson Australia, 2011 (or better).
Note: The Little Penguin Handbook may be cited as one of the primary sources for many of your queries on the subject and the assignments; particularly: the structure, harvard notation, grammar, data organisation, etc. Equally, The Little Penguin Handbook can be further used in your professional life and is therefore considered a desirable addition to your "professional bookshelf" - be it hard copy or etext. Please also see the "Books" folder of UTSOnline for the subject for additional information including URLs.
References
As part of this subject, you will need to make use of various electronic sources of information such as IEEE Xplore and the ACM digital library. In order to gain full access to these resources, you will need to access them through the UTS library web page and login using your student number and UTS Webmail password. Information about how to access other electronic databases is provided on UTSOnline
Other resources
Additional resources are available on UTSOnline and within the FEIT Student Guide (which should be read in conjunction with this Subject Outline).
