Online Master's in IT Management

Students will master analytical and integrative tools to perform in-depth analyses of industries, firms, and competitors. Course material includes methods to predict competitive behavior and develop and implement strategic plans to achieve and sustain a competitive profile in the emerging global marketplace.

Students are introduced to the design and development of relational databases from conceptual models of a requirement to a database. The course covers external view of the relational database model to include administration and architecture.

This course covers the logical and physical design of relational database management systems implementation using conceptual modeling. It includes study of conceptual modeling, use of CASE tools and security design consideration. Concepts of conceptual database modeling, such as data warehousing and distributed database management systems, are covered.

Networks are vitally important to today's organizations. Networking technologies continuously change and network professionals must integrate those changes without disrupting existing network traffic. Students will examine current networking architectures and explore networking applications, and protocols to assess their impact on a business organization. The course covers the basic concepts of data communications and design. This includes discussions on network operating systems as well as transmission media, communications hardware, network topologies, switching methods and network analysis. Students will research emerging technologies such as wireless networking, multi-media networking, virtual private networks, cloud computing and IPSec security.

This course presents the principles and practices of network administration. Students will evaluate and recommend specific IT infrastructure processes and current best practices in areas such as network configuration, user management, backup management, high-reliability configuration, and system security. Network issues such as UNIX interoperability, addressing, and routing are examined.

This course covers the life cycle development and management of systems using state-of-the-practice tools and techniques. Provides a foundation in the techniques used to specify and design systems of software and hardware components. Provides an overview of the tools used in systems engineering. Includes topics relating to elicitation of requirements and developing the specification and design of today’s business systems.

Study for this course covers the testing, implementation and maintenance of computer systems to support business processes. Topics include test planning, test procedures and test activities. Management activities and technical support necessary for successful implementation are discussed.

This course emphasizes the development and integration of project management in organizations. It provides an overview and introduction to the discipline of project management, coupled with an examination of the techniques that project managers use to complete their projects on schedule, within budgeted cost, and according to specified scope and quality. With materials presented by the Project Management Institute (PMI®) in its Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), students explore the theoretical and operational framework of project management relating to the project life-cycle of project initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing.

This course offers a practical approach emphasizing the project knowledge areas and process groups presented by the Project Management Institute (PMI®) in its Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). The course provides an overview of aspects related to the project life-cycle and project management techniques that are used to manage projects successfully by delivering them on schedule, within budget and quality and customer acceptance.

This course emphasizes a hands-on approach to using project management tools to facilitate scheduling, estimating, tracking and controlling the schedule and costs of the project. Working with a given or chosen project schedule, a project baseline will be established so that actual schedule and cost variances can be compared to the project baseline, and corrective actions can be developed to address the variances. Specific project management tools covered include Gantt, PERT, Milestone Charts, Critical Path Method (CPM), Earned Value Management (EVM), Present Value (PV) and Internal Rates of Return (IRR). Specific topics covered include developing contingency plans, incorporating risk and quality factors into project cost and schedule and establishing ways to communicate project status to various stakeholders at various points in the project life-cycle.

This course includes writing, negotiating and adhering to contracts, as well as legal and ethical considerations. Procurement, including writing, clarifying and communicating specifications, is covered. There is an emphasis on Contract Administration and dealing with subcontractors. Topics include bidding, types of bids (e.g., RFQs, IFBs, and RFPs), types of contracts (e.g., fixed price, cost plus, and time and materials), and their respective purposes and impact on risk and project contract negotiations. Changes in contracts, methods to resolve disputes, and writing clear statements of work (SOW) are discussed.

As the Capstone course in the Project Management program, this course requires students to demonstrate how to synthesize and apply the concepts, knowledge, skills, tools, and to a real world scenario project. Students will be required to demonstrate the ability to produce a complete project plan, understand project integration and management of projects within a program, use project management software to manage cost, time, and resources, and manage project stakeholder expectations.