THE TECHNOLOGY CHOICE FOR A SYSTEM DESIGN COURSE P

THETECHNOLOGYCHOICEFORASYSTEMDESIGNCOURSE:PROPRIETARYvsOPENSOURCESOFTWAREA.GrahamPeaceCollegeofBusiness&[e-mail]fBusiness&EconomicsWestVirginiaUniversityABSTRACTManyInformationSystems(IS)programsincludeaSystemsDesigncoursethatrequiresstudentstodevelopandimplementaweb-basedapplication.Theinstructorfacestwochoices,whenconsideringthetechnologytobeused.Ontheonehand,softwarevendorsofferproprietarysolutions.Ontheother,theopensourcemovementprovidesbothinstructorsandprofessionalswithseveralalternatives.Thispaperanalyzesbothoftheseoptions,usingacasestudyofaSeniorlevelundergraduateSystemsDesigncourse.Theinstructorsofferedtwoversionsofthecourse,oneutilizingtheproprietaryMicrosoft.NETplatform,theotherusingaselectionofopensourcepackages.Benefitsandlimitationsofeacharepresented,alongwithrecommendationsforaninstructorfacedwiththedecisionofwhichplatformtouse.Itwasfoundthateachcanbeaneffectiveplatform,aslongastheconceptsofsystemsanalysisanddesignareemphasizedoveraparticulartechnology.Keywords:IScurriculum,ISdesignI.INTRODUCTIONInmanyISprogramstoday,studentsarerequiredtodevelopaweb-basedapplicationthatinteractswithadatabase[Catanio,2006;ChungandMcLane,2002].ThismaybeinaWebDevelopmentoraSystemsDesigncourse.IntheManagementInformationSystems(MIS)programatamajormid-AtlanticJournalofInformaticsEducationResearchPeaceandSurendra29Spring/Summer2007Volume9,Number1(SystemsAnalysisistakeninthefirstterm,withSystemsDesigntakeninthesecondterm).StudentshavepreviouslycompletedaDatabaseManagementSystemscourse,alongwithothertypicalMIScourses,suchasProgramming.IntheSystemsDesigncourse,thedevelopmentofaweb-basedinformationsystemthatallowstheusertoqueryadatabaseisthekeyproject.However,twomajortechnologicalplatformsareavailabletotheinstructorwhowishestoteachsuchacourse:aproprietaryenvironment,suchasMicrosoft’s.NETplatform(Sun’sJavadevelopmentenvironmentandMacromedia’sofferingsareotherproprietaryoptions),andanopensourceenvironment,usuallybasedonaUnixplatform.Caremustbetakentoselectthetechnologythatprovidesthebestexperienceandeducationforthestudents,whileallowingtheinstructortofulfillthegoalsofthecourse.Proprietarysoftwareisdefinedinthispaperassoftwarepurchasedfromavendor,withthetypicalcontractualagreementsthatplacelimitsontheinstructor’sabilitytoalterand/orsharethecode.Microsoft’sproductsareatypicalexample.Opensourcesoftware,ontheotherhand,generallycomeswithacontractualagreementthatallowstheusertomodifythesourcecode,distributethecode,andgenerallyusethecodeasheorsheseesfit[O’HaraandKay,2003].Opensourcesoftwareisusuallyfreeofchargetoacademicinstitutions,althoughthisisnotalwaysthecase.AlloftheopensourcesoftwarediscussedinthispaperwaslegallydownloadedfromtheInternetatnocost.Whileproprietarysoftwaredoesincludeapurchaseorleaseprice,thereisusuallyasupportstructureprovidedbythevendor.Intheopensourceworld,thesupportstructuremustbepiecedtogetherbytheuser,oftenrequiringaninvestmentoftimeandeffort.However,therearemanybooks,webpages,onlinecommunitiesandotherresourcesreadilyavailabletohelp.Formoreinformationontheopensourceconcept,werecommendvisiting://(andsuccessful),indicatingthateithercanprovideanexcellentlearningenvironment,iftheinstructorfocusesontheprocessesandtechniquesofanalysisanddesign,asopposedtothespecifictechnologyused.Itishopedthatthispaperwillprovideotherinstructorswithusefulinformation,whentheyfacethedecisionofwhattechnologytouse,inasimilarsituation.II.CASESTUDYRESEARCHMETHODThisresearchwasconductedasanintensivecasestudy[Lee,1989;Yin,2003].Yin[2003]statesthat“Acasestudyisanempiricalinquirythatinvestigatesacontemporaryphenomenonwithinitsreal-lifecontext,especiallywhentheboundariesbetweenphenomenonandcontextarenotclearlyevident.”ThisresearchmeetsYin’sdefinition.Weinvestigateacontemporaryphenomenon(useofsoftware/platforminaSystemsDesigncourse)withinitsreal-lifecontext(whenthecourseisbeingtaught),wheretheboundariesbetweenphenomenon(useofasoftwareplatform)andcontext(theSystemsDesigncourse)arenotclearlyevident.Weusedseveralsourcesofdataforthecasestudy,enablingustocross-validateourinferences.Theauthorswereparticipantobservers,observinghowthestudentslearnedandreactedtomaterialdevelopedandpresentedbyusinourroleasinstructors.Wehadfrequentinform