Short description
The course focuses on systems analysis and design, including methods and approaches for developing and implementing information systems in organizations.

Topics

• Introduction to object-oriented systems
• Project planning and initiation
• Requirements analysis (i.e., requirements gathering and structuring)
• Systems modeling (i.e., UML modeling languages)
• Systems implementation

Learning objectives

• Students will know how information systems can be modeled and designed.
• Students will know basic methods of systems modeling and design (i.e. UML modeling languages) in order to analyze, design, and implement information systems.
• Students will use methods of systems modeling in order to analyze, design, and implement information systems.

Methods

• The module integrates theoretical knowledge and practical skills in an interactive lecture.
• The e-learning platform Moodle will be used throughout the course for the dissemination of course material and discussions.

Recommended previous knowledge

• Gries, P., Campbell, J., & Montojo J. (2013). Practical Programming: An Introduction to Computer Science Using Python 3. Pragmatic Bookshelf: Frisco, TX, USA.
• Hoffer, J. A., George, J. F., & Valacich, J. S. (2014). Modern Systems Analysis and Design. Person: New York.

Compulsory reading

• Rosenberg, D. & Stephens, M. (2007). Use Case Driven Object Modeling with UML. Apress: New York.

Further reading

• Booch, G., Rumbaugh, J., & Jacobson, I. (2005). Unified Modeling Language User Guide. Addison-Wesley: Boston.
• Kölling, M. (2009). Introduction to Programming with Greenfoot: Object-Oriented Programming in Java with Games and Simulations. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River.

Short description
The course covers the fundamentals of supply chain management, so it focuses on the coordination of problems related to the provision of products and services and the flow of goods.

Topics

• Demand forecasting
• Process flow analysis
• Service process management
• Inventory management
• Location planning
• Production planning
• Scheduling
• Network management

Learning objectives

• Students will know about the main concepts, theories, and methods in supply chain management.
• In a business game, students will recognize and analyze typical coordination problems along the supply chain.
• In exercises, students will use analytical methods like linear programming, dynamic programming, regression analysis, and exponential smoothing, and state-of-the-art algorithms and heuristics like Silver-Meal and Branch-and-Bound.
• In case studies, students will use these methods to identify business problems, generate solutions, and compare their solutions in terms of quality and accuracy.

Methods

• The module involves interactive lectures with exercises to integrate theoretical knowledge and practical skills.
• Case studies are used to show how the course contents are related.
• A business game is used to illustrate typical coordination problems along the supply chain.
• The e-learning platform Moodle will be used throughout the course for the dissemination of course material and discussions.

Recommended previous knowledge

• Students are expected to have basic knowledge and skills in operations management.

Compulsory reading

• Chopra, S., & Meindl, P. (2012). Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, and Operation (5th edition). Pearson: Edinburgh Gate et al.

Short description
The course focuses on developing research proposals in the field of data science.

Topics

• Conducting literature reviews
• Developing research questions
• Designing qualitative, quantitative, and design oriented research
• Writing research proposals
• Ethical issues in data science

• The module integrates theoretical knowledge and practical skills in an interactive seminar.
• The e-learning platform Moodle will be used throughout the course for the dissemination of course material and discussions.

• Students will know the professional code of conduct of the academic IS discipline.
• Students will effectively communicate academic research designs.
• Students will produce rigorous research proposals in the area of data science.
• Students will recognize and analyze ethical problems of designing and conducting research in the field of data science.

Compulsory reading

• Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage

Seminar Paper (70%), Presentation (30%)

Short description
The course focuses on developing research proposals in the field of business process management.

Topics

• Conducting literature reviews
• Developing research questions
• Designing qualitative, quantitative, and design oriented research
• Writing research proposals
• Ethical issues in business process management research

• The module integrates theoretical knowledge and practical skills in an interactive seminar.
• The e-learning platform Moodle will be used throughout the course for the dissemination of course material and discussions.

• Students will know the professional code of conduct of the academic IS discipline.
• Students will effectively communicate academic research designs.
• Students will produce rigorous research proposals in the area of business process management.
• Students will recognize and analyze ethical problems of designing and conducting research in the field of business process management.

Compulsory reading

• Bryman, A. & Bell, E. (2015) Business research methods (4th ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Creswell, J.W. (2013) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (3rd ed.). Sage Publications
• Oates, B. J. (2006). Researching information systems and computing. London, UK: Sage Publications.
• Recker, J. (2012). Scientific Research in Information Systems: A Beginner’s Guide. Springer, Heidelberg, Germany.

Further reading

• Kumar, R. (2014). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. London, UK: Sage Publications.

Seminar Paper (70%), Presentation (30%)

Short description
In their Master’s thesis, students use scientific methods and work in accordance with standards of scientific writing. The Master’s thesis is typically related to the major (BPM or Data Science) chosen by the student.

• The thesis is supervised by a supervisor who should be members of the Institute of Information Systems.The Master’s thesis is defended in an oral exam, where students may be asked questions related to their studies that may go beyond the content of their Master’s thesis. The official editing time is defined on the thesis proposal and may not exceed 22 weeks. A shorter editing time is possible.

• Students will formulate appropriate research questions.Students will identify appropriate theories to explain empirical phenomena.Students will identify suitable research methods in order to seek answers to specific research questions.Students will use appropriate qualitative, quantitative, and design-oriented approaches to seek answers to their research question/questions. Mere conceptual works are also possible.

Compulsory reading

• Bryman, A. & Bell, E. (2015) Business research methods (4th ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Creswell, J.W. (2013) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (3rd ed.). Sage Publications
• Oates, B. J. (2006). Researching information systems and computing. London, UK: Sage Publications.
• Recker, J. (2012). Scientific Research in Information Systems: A Beginner’s Guide. Springer, Heidelberg, Germany.

• Submissions and deadlines A copy of signed thesis proposal (Exposé) must be submitted until July 1st. (for the winter term) and February 1st (for the summer term).The master's thesis must be submitted until November 30th (for the winter term) and June 30th (for the summer term) to the the central service desk. The submission of master's thesis must include: Please have a look at the current "Guidelines for Writing Academic Papers in Economics".If any of the dates above falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline is automatically extended until the next working day. Please also check the opening times of the central service desk, especially during summer months.

• Short description

A three-day workshop will serve as a case study in which the students participate. This is followed by a reflection phase during which literature review and research will be applied to their experiences. Finally participants have to document their key findings and lessons learned in a written seminar work and prepare a presentation to transfer this new knowledge to their fellow students.

• Topics

Managing Human ResourcesLeadershipOperations Organisation and Organisational BehaviourProject, Change and Conflict ManagementCompetence Management and DelegationTeambuilding

• The workshop

The three-day workshop will take place in the beautiful town of Davos, Switzerland. Students will cover their own expenses for accommodation, refreshments, and logistics. Further information will be conveyed during the kick-off session. The format has been tested and refined through our more than ten years of experience and received encouraging feedback from prior participants. The estimated cost for the "workshop package" is 200 CHF.

• The concept of the workshop is to create a simulation of real business situations. Because there does not exist any absolute formula for success the students are empowered and encouraged to find their own solutions. The lecturers in this module offer active guidance and feedback during this process. The students are also given time to reflect upon their experiences as the workshop progresses by writing a personal "Leadership Diary".

• Students will know how communication and cooperation can be designed.Students will know fundamentals about motivation and rewarding schemes.In a case setting, students will learn about coordination and decision taking.

• Compulsory readingA list of references will be distributed in class in accordance with the content of the workshop.Further readingAdams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 267-299). New York: Academic Press.Armstrong, M. (2006): Strategic Human Resource Management: A Guide to Action. 3. Aufl., Thomson-Shore.Beel, J. (2007). Project Team Rewards - rewarding your project Team. First Edition. CreateSpace LLC, Scotts Valley, USA.Drucker, P. F. (1954). The Practice of Management. New York: Harper & Row.Herzberg, F. and Mausner, B. and Bloch Snyderman, B. (1993). The Motivation to Work (10th Edition). Transaction Publishers.Malik, F. (2015). Managing Performing Living (2nd ed.). Campus VerlagMaslow, A. (1943). A Theory Of Human Motivation in Psychological Review 50 (4) pp. 370-96.

Evaluation during workshop , including group presentation (30%), seminar paper (40%), and final presentation (30%).

• The participants will constantly be evaluated throughout this workshop by peer-review, performance review and the degree to which they have achieved their objectives. Project and Process Management will be applied as powerful Management Tools.

Please see moodle platform for further details about this year's workshop.

This module focuses on developing a conceptual and practical framework for approaches to urban design. Critical theory on the city and their design principles form the basis for analysis, mapping and evaluation of public urban spaces. It seeks to foster an informed personal approach for addressing contemporary discourse, urban conditions and design potentials for intervention.
Some areas explored in the framework of analysis and evaluation of urban spaces include: modernist and postmodernist urbanism theory; urban form and public space- streets, plazas, monuments; mapping and use analysis; hybrid programming and the urban landscape.

Lecture and seminar: discourse, writing, drawing, documenting, visualising, modelling

Professional competence

• Analyze and evaluate urban spaces based on a selection of appropriate criteria and assessment methods specific to the place.
• Use knowledge about an urban setting to influence and develop design work.
• Explain competently, discuss and critique own work through oral presentations, writing and visual communication to members from inside and outside the architectural profession

Methodological competence

• Identify key elements of complex problems and choose appropriate methods for their resolution in a considered manner
• Apply techniques of environmental behavior observation, formal urban analysis and mapping

Social competence

• Discuss and articulate ideas and information effectively
• Demonstrate the ability to work with other students for assignments, exercises, presentations

Personal competence

• Critically assess own work and put it into a historical, theoretical, cultural and social context
• Seek and make use of feedback

Urban Milieu:
Augé, Marc. 1992/1995. "From Places to Non-Places" in Non-Places, trans. John Howe. 75-115.
Baudelaire, Charles. 1863/1964. "Modernity" in The Painter of Modern Life: "Le Peintre de la Vie Moderne" and Other Essays by Charles Baudelaire, trans. and ed. Jonathan Mayne, 12-15. Phaidon Press.
Benjamin, Walter. 1927-1940/1968. "Baudelaire or the Streets of Paris" in Paris: Capital of the 19th Century, 84-86. The New Left Review I/48 (March-April 1968).
DeBord, Guy. 1958 /2006. "Theory of the Dérive" ed. Ken Knabb in Situationist International Anthology, 53-57. (published in Internationale Situationniste 2 in 1958; Berkeley, CA: Bureau of Public Secrets, 2006).
Florida, Richard. 2002. "Creativity and Place" in The Rise of the Creative Class, 223-234. Basic Books.
Jacobs, Jane. 1961/1994. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Vintage
Koolhaas, Rem and Bruce Mau. 1995. "The Generic City" in SMLXL, 1248-1264. Montacelli Press.
Sadler, Simon. 1998. "Defending Urban Mix" in The Situationist City, 55-66. MIT Press.
Tschumi, Bernard. 1990/1994. "Spaces and Events" in Architecture and Disjunction, 81-96, 141-152. MIT Press.
Urban Form:
Alexander, Christopher. 1965. "A City is Not a Tree" in Architectural forum 122 (1), 58-62.
Le Corbusier. 1925/1987. "A Contemporary City" in The City of To-morrow and Its Planning: "Urbanisme" trans. Frederick Etchells, 163-179. Dover Publications.
Lehnerer, Alex. 2014. "Grand urban rules". Second edition: Nai Publ.
Lynch, Kevin. 1960. "City Form" in The Image of the City. Vol. 11, 91-117. MIT press.
Rowe, Colin and Fred Koetter. 1978/1992. "Collage City and the Reconquest of Time" in Collage City, 118-181. MIT Press.
Venturi, Robert, Denise Scott Brown & Steven Izenour. 1972. "Commercial Values and Commercial Methods" in Learning from Las Vegas. 3-70. MIT Press.
Inquiry Techiniques:
Cooper Marcus, Clare and Carolyn Francis. 1998. "Post-Occupancy Evaluation" in People Places. 345-356. Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Gehl, Jan. 1987. "Senses, Communication and Dimensions", "To Assemble or Disperse: City and Site Planning" and "Spaces for Walking-Places for Staying, Walking, Standing, Sitting" in Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space trans. Jo Koch. 65-73, 83-129, 130-164. Van Nostrand.
Whyte, William H. 1980. The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. Project for Public Spaces.
Zeisel, John. 1981. "Observing Physical Traces" and "Observing Environmental Behavior" in Inquiry by Design, 89-136. Brookes/Cole.
Public Space Typologies:
Jacobs, Allan B. 1995. "Requirements for Great Streets" and "Qualitities tha Contribute" in Great Streets. 270-308. MIT Press.
Sitte, Camillo. 1889/1996. "The Relationship Between Buildings, Monuments, and Public Squares" and "The Enclosed Character of Public Space" in The City Reader, eds. LeGates, Richard T. and Frederic Stout, 413-423. Routledge.
Smart Code 9.2 "Transect" and "Civic Space". http://www.smartcodecentral.com/Wall, Alex. 1999. "Programming the Urban Surface" in Recovering Landscape: Essays in Contemporary Landscape Theory, ed. James Corner, 233-274. Princeton Architectural Press.

Portfolio, exercises, minimum 75% mandatory presence

This module allows students to compose an exposé for their Master's thesis to be undertaken in the fourth semester. The exposé contains a research question that forms the basis for an in-depth investigation and analysis of a particular issue or problem identified within the given context of the design studio topic. A literature review and a schedule of production are further essential elements to be included.

Lecture: researching, writing

Professional competence

• Independently identify a research topic and develop it coherently into a research proposal for the Master's thesis
• With minimal guidance can manage own learning using full range of resources for the discipline

Methodological competence

• Analyse new and/ or abstract data and situations without guidance, using a range of techniques and methods appropriate to the subject
• Critically evaluate evidence to support hypotheses, reviewing its reliability, validity and significance

Personal competence

• Take responsibility for own work and are able to criticise it

Literature lists are issued and updated each semester

Paper (Disposition)

“Theory of the Built Environment” introduces and discusses contemporary architectural theory and critical thinking, providing students with essential knowledge to place their own actions and designs into a historical, theoretical, cultural and social context. Through case studies of anthologies of key theoretical and critical texts on architecture, the course is set and developed in a historical, political and philosophical context. These lectures are devoted to the understanding of theories and critical interpretations as a design tool, encouraging students to be able to think across tendencies, trends and events and position themselves as conscious architects in today’s society. The different themes presented through several texts are understood as tools in the hands of architects. The architectural theories are not pure abstractions, they move between absolute positions and relative relations.

Lecture: discourse, writing

Professional competence

• Translate contemporary architectural theory into personal context and work
• Explain competently, discuss and critique own work through oral and written presentations

Methodological competence

• Identify key elements of problems and choose appropriate methods for their resolution in a considered manner
• Be able to analyse different architectural decisions in terms of their ultimate intentions

Social competence

• Discuss and articulate ideas and information fluently
• Demonstrate the ability to work with other students for assignments and readings
• Communicate and share complex ideas and intentions

Personal competence

• Assess own work and put it into a historical, theoretical and philosophical context
• Understand how own work relates to general architectural debate
• Analyse, compare and relate each project as final result of a complex and rich process
• Recognize the continuities and discontinuities between Ideas and their constructions
• Acquire the ability to discuss architectural decisions aside from personal taste and in relation to the relevant issues those decisions ultimately address

Frampton K.: Modern Architecture. A critical History, 1980
Leach N.: Rethinking architecture, 1997
Michael Hays K.: Architecture Theory since 1968, 1998
Conrads U.: Programs and Manifestoes of Architecture of the 20. Century, 2001
Jencks C.: Theories and Manifestoes of contemporary architecture, 2008

Paper

This seminar investigates the relationship between territory and settlement, providing an overview of how and where humankind settles. It also demonstrates how uninhabitable environments have been made accessible and habitable through necessary infrastructure and what impact this had on the landscape. Further, the course elaborates on natural and artificial boundaries within a geographical and political context. … Beginning with the continuous rise of human impact on the planet, the tight relationships between human land use, settlement, productivity and social development will be explored throughout the course. An overview of the history of urbanization will be traced, and processes of centralisation and decentralisation investigated. Decentralisation as one of the greatest contemporary forces shaping our environment is going to be discussed using a selection of fundamental positions in academic urban design thinking. The opportunities and risks of the global process of decentralisation, transformation and possible courses of action for the future design of the territory will be debated.

Lecture and seminar: case studies, discourse, writing

Professional competence

• Have comprehensive understanding of process of settlement in relation to territory
• Understand the impact of geographical and political boundaries on settlements and communities
• Explain competently, discuss and critique own work through oral presentations,

writing or visual communication

• Distinguish historic and contemporary models of urbanism and landscape
• Identify different settlement patterns and recognize functional connections on various scales

Methodological competence

• Identify key elements of problems and choose appropriate methods for their resolution in a considered manner
• Summarize, analyze and interpret academic literature properly

Social competence

• Discuss and articulate ideas and information fluently

Personal competence

• Assess own work and put it into a historical, theoretical and philosophical context
• Express informed own view on academic literature about settlement development

and contemporary forms of urbanization

A detailed list of the required readings will be provided as pdf files at least one week prior to the first session. Basic books:
• Diener, R.; Herzog, J.; Meili, M.; de Meuron, P.; Schmid, C.; ETH Studio Basel (2006). Switzerland: An urban portrait. Basel: Birkhäuser.
• Shane, D. G. (2011). Urban design since 1945: A global perspective. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley.
• Sieverts, T. (2003). Cities without cities: An interpretation of the Zwischenstadt. London: Spon Press.
• Waldheim, C. (2006). The landscape urbanism reader. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.

Paper, exercises, minimum 75% mandatory presence