Course Syllabus
Contact Information
Dr. Theodore Larson, a.k.a. Bjorn, is a long-time educator and industrial professional. He has been at the forefront of the Business Analytics educational development for the better part of a decade. He has a Master's degree in Computer Science and Intercultural Communication. Research interests involve understanding how to understand things better, although he is most interested in what others are interested in. All questions welcome—inquire within!
Course Details
For a list of course activities, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Course Prerequisites
- MIS 5602 Management Information Systems
- MIT 5612 Database Design and Administration or 5772 Principles of Data Warehousing
- Familiarity with database structure and queries (MIT 5612)
- Familiarity with information systems as a business function (MIT5602)
Course Materials
- Factfulness by Hans Rosling, ISBN 978-1250123824 (Consider eBooks or audiobook variants. Tie-in website: https://www.gapminder.org/)
- Software as necessary for assignments (Excel or Acces, Tableau or PowerBI, Python or R recommended)
- OU Create account http://create.out.edu
- Articles and Resources provided by Instructor
Grades
Breakdown
| Activity | Description | Individual Points |
Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-Class Assignments | During the class meetings, students will discuss various topics related to Business Intelligence. They will be asked related questions requiring immediate, self-reflective, or researched answers generally taking a professional, well-thought out position on the matter. These may be submitted immediately after class or within a few days for more refined answers. | 6 x 50 pts | 300 pts |
| Out-of-Class Assignments | Student Groups will be responsible for producing a research memo regarding topics or problems within Business Analytics and Business Intelligence. These assignments will decrease in structure as the students are encouraged to identify and define their own research problems and answer the question in a concise, easy-to-deliver format. | 6 x 50 pts | 300 pts |
| Group Projects | Student Groups will be responsible for producing various visualization products using several different platforms. They will identify the strengths and weakness in both approach and platform. | 4 x 100 pts | 400 pts |
| Total | 1000 pts |
Scale
| Percentage | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 90.00–100% | A |
| 80.00–89.99% | B |
| 70.00–79.99% | C |
| 60.00–69.99% | D |
| Below 60% | F |
Course Components
Discussion Boards
Students will have non-graded discussion boards available for discussion and communication regarding the assignments and projects. The goal is to assist each other, provide resources, or draw attention to areas that may need special attention.
Live Sessions
The format of the live sessions will be interactive. The instructor will reserve a short period of time for a lecture related to new developments or further explanation, there will be a guided exercise or a whole-class discussion period, and then a breakout session by group to plan or execute group projects with instructor guidance.
You will also complete an assignment every week during the Live Session. You are welcome to finish it after the Live Session, if you need to, or complete a make-up assignment if you miss the Live Session. The assignment is intended to be completed during the Live Session, but submitting it by the end of the week is typically acceptable.
In-Class Assignments
One of the hallmarks of expertise is a facility with the subject matter. Consider watching a guitar player who has 40 years of experience, their warmup exercises are more impressive than a novice's practiced work! Part of this expertise is having made decisions about how to handle situations, questions, or problems before they come up. The goal of these assignments is to begin to address some of these issues of facility.
This is also an excellent opportunity for experienced professionals to share their knowledge! It is expected that many students will have levels of understanding, either in-field or out-of-field that will inform good decision making. These in-class assignments will be largely focused on solidification and explicit description. They will be a series of shorter questions that do not have right or wrong answers, so much as a measure of how well-researched or well-considered they are.
Out-of-class Assignments
Similar to the In-class assignments, these out-of-class assignments will tackle problems or issues within the broader Business Intelligence industry. Like any field, Business Intelligence decision making can operate at the operational, managerial, or strategic level. Strategic decision making is a difficult skill to measure or even conceptualize. For the framework of this class, strategic decisions are unstructured problems with unstructured answers where there is no methodological way of demonstrating the correctness of the answer.
Within student groups, questions related to Business Intelligence will be posed that will begin as more structured and becomes less structured towards the end. The goal is to provide the students with the opportunity to practice defining the question, defining the method towards finding a solution, and then finding that solution in decreasing levels of structure. This answer may be purely research-based or may require some demonstrative practice (such as creating a dashboard mockup, or an example visualization).
A secondary goal will be to begin to develop an individualize framework for the unstructured problem of defining unstructured problems. This will only be lightly incorporated into the problems, but students are encouraged to engage in self-reflection or discussion with the instructor on this method.
A tertiary goal will be to practice concise writing. Just like being able to give an 'elevator pitch' for any subject is a skill that can be developed, writing fully-explanatory but to the point memos for easy consumption of the intended audience is a skill that is worth developing.
Group Projects
This class is about Business Intelligence. The modern paradigm for Business Intelligence currently revolves around Business Analytics and data visualization. As a result, this class will also spend some time producing data visualization. However, this is not a technology-learning class. The visualization platforms used are only the medium. The goal of these assignments will be to put into practice the ideas and positions generated in the assignments, to understand the limits and uses of the technology platforms, and to gain practice making recommendations on which platforms are most appropriate for a given task. The assignments will be graded on the efficacy of the visualizations produced, but the primary learning objective will be on understanding the utility of the visualization medium within the broader information systems environment.
Course Policies
Communication
E-mail is the best way to contact me: bjorn@ou.edu. My typical response time is 24 business hours (Monday–Friday), and I frequently respond much faster. If you do not feel I have responded to your e-mail in a timely fashion, please resend it with a gentle reminder that you would still like a response.
Assignment Feedback
For most assignments, my goal is to provide feedback within one week, and I will provide it sooner when possible.
Late Policy
For assignments due not on the last week of class, you may freely consider the weekend to be flex-time. Your best course of action is to let the instructor know when you plan to submit the assignment. For the last week of class, that Friday will be the absolute last day for any submissions, as grades will need to be submitted. If you find yourself consistently relying on the weekend flex time, you should consider whether you can re-evaluate your workflow. For qualified reasons, the instructor may provide extra time.
University Academic Policies and Student Support
Course Catalog
Search the OU Course Catalog.
Student Handbook
Please familiarize yourself with the OU Student Handbook.
Online Library
Access digital materials and other resources at OU Libraries.
Academic Misconduct
In addition to the course conduct policies outlined by your professor in the Course Syllabus in the online classroom, please review the Graduate Student Handbook.
It is the responsibility of each student to be familiar with the definitions, policies, and procedures concerning academic misconduct. The Student Code is available from the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, and is contained in the Student's Guide to Academic Integrity.
This site also defines misconduct, provides examples of prohibited conduct, and explains the sanctions available for those found guilty of misconduct.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the most common form of academic misconduct at OU. There is basically no college-level assignment that can be satisfactorily completed by copying. OU's basic assumption about writing is that all written assignments show the student's own understanding in the student's own words. That means all writing assignments, in class or out, are assumed to be composed entirely of words generated (not simply found) by the student, except where words written by someone else are specifically marked as such with proper citation. Including other people's words in your paper is helpful when you do it honestly and correctly. When you don't, it's plagiarism.
For more information about plagiarism, watch this video and then take this short course offered by University Libraries.
Diversity Statement
The University of Oklahoma is committed to achieving a diverse, equitable, and inclusive university community by embracing each person's unique contributions, background and perspective. The University of Oklahoma recognizes that fostering an inclusive environment for all, with particular attention to the needs of historically marginalized populations, is vital to the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of our institutional mission. This enhances the OU experience for all students, faculty and staff and for the communities we engage.
Land Acknowledgement
Long before the University of Oklahoma was established, the land on which the University now resides was the traditional home of the “Hasinais” Caddo Nation and “Kirikirʔi:s” Wichita & Affiliated Tribes.
We acknowledge this territory once also served as a hunting ground, trade exchange point, and migration route for the Apache, Comanche, Kiowa and Osage nations. Today, 39 tribal nations dwell in the state of Oklahoma as a result of settler and colonial policies that were designed to assimilate Native people.
The University of Oklahoma recognizes the historical connection our university has with its indigenous community. We acknowledge, honor and respect the diverse Indigenous peoples connected to this land. We fully recognize, support and advocate for the sovereign rights of all of Oklahoma’s 39 tribal nations. This acknowledgment is aligned with our university’s core value of creating a diverse and inclusive community. It is an institutional responsibility to recognize and acknowledge the people, culture and history that make up our entire OU Community.
Non-Discrimination Policy
The University does not discriminate or permit discrimination by any member of its community against any individual based on the individual’s race, color, religion, political beliefs, national origin, age (40 or older), sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, disability, or veteran status in matters of admissions, employment, financial aid, housing, services in educational programs or activities, or health care services that the University operates or provides. For more information, please contact the Institutional Equity Office.
Reasonable Accommodation for Disabilities
The University of Oklahoma is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for all students with disabilities. Students with disabilities who require accommodations in this course should contact their professor as early in the semester as possible.
Students with disabilities must be registered with the Accessibility and Disability Resource Center prior to receiving accommodations in this course.
If you have a disability and would like to request reasonable accommodation, please see the Graduate Student Handbook or get in touch with the Accessibility and Disability Resource Center.
Adjustments for Pregnancy/Childbirth Related Issues
Should you need modifications or adjustments to your course requirements because of documented pregnancy-related or childbirth-related issues, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss your options. Generally, modifications will be made where medically necessary and similar in scope to accommodations based on temporary disability. Learn more about the rights of pregnant and parenting students by consulting the FAQ sheets provided by the Institutional Equity Office.
Title IX Resources
For any concerns regarding gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking, or intimate partner violence, the University offers a variety of resources, including advocates on-call 24/7, counseling services, mutual no contact orders, scheduling adjustments and disciplinary sanctions against the perpetrator. Please contact the Title IX Office at 405-325-2215 (8–5, M–F) or OU Advocates at 405-615-0013 (24/7) to learn more or to report an incident. Also, please be advised that a professor/GA/TA is required to report instances of sexual harassment, sexual assault, or discrimination to the Sexual Misconduct Office.
Religious Holidays
The university's policy is to excuse absences of students that result from religious observances and to provide without penalty for the rescheduling of examinations and additional required classwork that may fall on religious holidays. It is the responsibility of the student to make alternate arrangements with the instructor at least one week prior to the actual date of the religious holiday.
Student Grievances
In addition to any policies outlined related to submitting an informal or formal grievance by your professor in the Course Syllabus in the online classroom, please review the Graduate Student Handbook for more information about the process of submitting a formal grievance.
Copyright Policy
It is illegal to download, upload, reproduce, or distribute any copyrighted material, in any form and in any fashion, without permission from the copyright holder or their authorized agent. The University of Oklahoma expects all members of its community to comply fully with federal copyright laws. If such laws appear to have been violated by any user, the university reserves the right (1) to terminate that user's access to some or all of the university's computer systems and information resources and (2) to take additional disciplinary actions as deemed necessary or appropriate. Repeat offenders will be sanctioned and their privileges terminated.
Registration and Withdrawal
If you choose to withdraw from this course, you must complete the appropriate University form and turn the form in before the deadline. If you stop attending the course and doing the coursework without the required paperwork, your grade will be calculated with missed homework and examination grades entered as zero. This could result in receiving a grade of F in the course. Deadlines are shown in the Academic Calendar, which is available from the Office of the Registrar.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|