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Unit outline_

INFO5991: Services Science Management and Engineering

Semester 2, 2022 [Normal evening] - Remote

The service economy plays a dominant and growing role in economic growth and employment in most parts of the world. Increasingly, the improved productivity and competitive performance of firms and nations in services relies on innovative and effective design, engineering, and management of IT-centric services. This unit offers IT graduates and professionals an understanding of the role of IT-centric services in a social, economic and business context, as well as knowledge of the principles of their design, engineering and management in a service-oriented IT framework. Delivery of the unit is driven by a critical approach to the literature, live case studies presented by industry professionals and writing a Consultants' Report. Its learning outcomes are based on industry needs. Three modules address the range of topics in Services Science, Management and Engineering (SSME). 1. Service fundamentals context and strategy: the service economy and the nature of service systems; the role IT-centric services in a social, economic and business context; IT-centric services optimisation and innovation. 2. Designing and Engineering IT-centric services: service design; service oriented enterprise and IT architecture. 3. Sourcing, governing, and managing IT-centric services: outsourcing IT-centric services (including services in the cloud); IT-centric services governance and management (COBIT and ITIL; service level agreements. Critical analysis of articles and the persuasive use of evidence in writing are cornerstones of the unit. Students learn how to apply these skills in business consulting processes to a business case drawn from a recent consulting project at a large multinational organisation. The processes include:clarifying the client's situation and problems, researching evidence related to it, analysing the evidence, developing options for solving the problems, presenting recommendations persuasively to the client both orally and in a written Consultants' Report. These steps are scaffolded for the student, with formative assessment, and increasing levels of difficulty. Students need to be able to read, critically analyse, and report on an article or case study every three weeks. If you are not confident of your skills in these areas, you can enroll in the free courses provided by the University's Learning Centre in Academic Reading and Writing and Oral Communication Skills. Some of these courses are specifically designed for students with a non-English speaking background. Familiarity with using Library reference tools and the ability to locate scholarly resources in the Library's electronic databases is also necessary. See the Library's Research and information skills page for help with this http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/skills/

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Computer Science
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

INFO5990. Students are expected to have a degree in computer science, engineering, information technology, information systems or business

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Kevin Kuan, kevin.kuan@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s) Christoph Markert, christoph.markert@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Final exam (Open book) Type C final exam hurdle task Final Exam
Written exam, open book
50% Formal exam period 2 hours
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Assignment Assignment 1 (Individual)
Professional report
20% Week 06
Due date: 11 Sep 2022 at 23:59
n/a
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Assignment group assignment Assignment 2 (Group)
Professional report
30% Week 11 n/a
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7
hurdle task = hurdle task ?
group assignment = group assignment ?
Type C final exam = Type C final exam ?

Assessment summary

Class Participation: This involves evaluation by the tutors of your active involvement in the online class sessions.

Self and peer-assessment and Reflective Portfolio: In these activities you will assess yourself against the unit intended learning outcomes, evaluate your own and others capabilities, and using these inputs build a group profile to support your teamwork in the unit.

Group article reviews: Critically review articles, peer review, discuss and present in tutorials, combine in a written summary.

Consultants report: This involves three written reports: (1) Synthesis Grid; (2) Summary & Relevance grid; (3) Final Report. The first two are submitted individually, and the third is submitted as a group.

Final Exam: A two-hour open-book exam involving applying and interpreting a case study from the unit (minimu of 40% required in the exam to pass the unit)

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

 

Distinction

75 - 84

 

Credit

65 - 74

 

Pass

50 - 64

 

Fail

0 - 49

It is a policy of the School of Computer Science that in order to pass this unit, a student must achieve at least 40% in the written examination. For subjects without a final exam, the 40% minimum requirement applies to the corresponding major assessment component specified by the lecturer. A student must also achieve an overall final mark of 50 or more. Any student not meeting these requirements may be given a maximum final mark of no more than 45 regardless of their average.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 Introduction to IT Service Management Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2
Week 02 Industry Standards (ITIL, COBIT and ISO) Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO6
Week 03 Incident Management, Service Requests and Service Catalogues Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO6
Week 04 Problem Management, Knowledge Management and Service Level Management Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO6
Week 05 Asset, Configuration, Change and Release Management Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO6
Week 06 Availability Management and Service Automation Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO6
Week 07 IT Services Architecture Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Week 08 IT Service Transformation Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Week 09 Measuring IT Services Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Week 10 Service Driven IT Organizations Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Week 11 High-velocity IT Service Management Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO6
Week 12 The future of IT Services Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO6
Week 13 Course Review Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)  

Attendance and class requirements

Students need to participate in lecture and tutorial sessions as set out in instructions and assessment criteria on Canvas

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

RECOMMENDED REFERENCE

Smith, K. J. (2017). The Practical Guide to World-Class IT Service Management (2nd Edition). The Anima Group.

 

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. Explain the role of IT services in creating organisational value
  • LO2. Understand key components of ITSM within an organisation - from planning, to realization, to operations
  • LO3. Apply a service-oriented view of the use of IT by organisations
  • LO4. Apply principles of IT governance and management to realising organisational goals and strategy efficiently and effectively
  • LO5. Evaluate an organisation's ITSM strategy and architecture in terms of congruence, strategic fit, efficiency and other defined KPIs
  • LO6. Find, critically analyse, and synthesise evidence-based material relevant to IT services
  • LO7. Clearly address a complex ITSM case study

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9
LO1         
LO2         
LO3         
LO4         
LO5         
LO6         
LO7         

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Some changes have been made in terms of structure and assessment since this unit was last offered

Work, health and safety

There are no specific WHS requirements for this unit.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.