MBA 683 - Internet Business Applications and Services (Fall 2006)
J.P. Allen (jpallen|at|usfca|dot|edu)
University of San Francisco
Malloy Hall 222

COURSE OBJECTIVES
Business IT is fundamentally restructuring around internet-based applications and services. The growth of internet-based IT (including software as a service, open source applications, web platforms, and standard data formats) is creating new opportunities for non-technology experts to solve business problems and create value. This class is designed to help you develop your skills in installing, configuring, evaluating, and delivering business value with internet-based applications and services. Specifically, we will help you:

  • Create your own internet application test bed using a LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP).
  • Develop basic Linux/Unix skills that will allow you to install and configure open source applications.
  • Implement collaboration, content management, and/or enterprise applications.
  • Load web pages and applications to a web hosting service.
  • Connect to web-based advertising, affiliate programs, and other web services.
  • Evaluate and recommend Software-as-a-Service (Saas) offerings.
  • Improve your ability to define and transform data in standard formats, using XML and XSLT.

By the end of the class, you will understand modern, internet-based, service-oriented IT at the ‘right’ level of detail to differentiate yourself as a person who understands technology products and industries, and as a person who can deliver business value by implementing internet-based applications and services.

GRADING AND ASSIGNMENTS
The course consists of 5 two-week projects, and one final project which can build upon one of the smaller projects. After the first project, the remaining projects may be done by individuals or groups of up to 3 people. The grading breakdown:

  • Five two-week projects (50%)
  • Final project (20%)
  • Log file reviews (10%)
  • Assistance to others (20%)
During individual log file reviews, JP will reward your effort, and your responsiveness to hisfeedback. Assistance to others in the class will be assessed by classroom contribution andout-of-class support.
  1. Project #1: LAMP install. Each individual student will install the LAMP stack of her/his choice, and demonstrate that it works.
  2. Project #2: Open Source Software install and evaluation. Choose an open source package of interest, install on your LAMP stack, configure and customize, and evaluate relative to competing solutions.
  3. Project #3: Software as a Service evaluation. Evaluate a set (at least 2) of SaaS solutions relative to a use case that you specify.
  4. Project #4: Data integration. Move information into, out of, or between systems using standard formats such as XML or PDF.
  5. Project #5: Web platform integration. Interface with the API of a web platform, such as Google or Amazon.
  6. Final project: Create a proof-of-concept system for a business function such as collaboration, CRM, content management, portals and supply chains, payments and e-commerce, advertising, help desk, or workflow. This project may build off of one of the previous projects. Evaluate relative to a use case that you specify.

REFERENCES
There are no required texts for this course. Much of the information you need is freely available online through web searches, and sources such as wikipedia.org . However, there are books available that make high quality information available in an accessible format. I would recommend:

“Open Source Solutions for Small Business Problems” by J. Locke, Charles River Media, 2004, ISBN 1-58450-320-3. This book is available as an electronic resource on the USF Ignacio library catalog, but the system will only allow you to see and print only a few pages at a time.

Copies of “Beginning Ubuntu Linux” by K. Thomas, Apress, 2006, and “Ubuntu Hacks” by Oxer, Rankin, and Childers, O’Reilly, 2006, will be floating around class.

If you need to review the basics of web pages and web hosts, “Creating Web Sites: The Missing Manual” by M. MacDonald, O’Reilly, 2005, provides a nice introduction in chapters 2 and 3.

“Setting up LAMP” by E. Rosebrock and E. Filson, Sybex, 2004, ISBN 0-7821-4337-7 is a useful overview of Linux and the LAMP stack, and gives step-by-step instructions for an older version of the Fedora distribution. Good if you don’t want a pre-packaged solution like XAMPP or WAMP, or just want to learn more.

“Writing Effective Use Cases” by A. Cockburn, Addison-Wesley, 2001, ISBN 0-20170-2258 has details on requirements specification.

We will use the appropriately-titled “XSLT for Dummies”, by R. Wagner, Hungry Minds, 2002, for our XML and XSLT introduction.

The Safari bookshelf is an online book collection of all the titles published by O’Reilly ( http://safari.oreilly.com/ ). Access to 10 books online costs $15-20 per month.

“A field guide to software as a service” Infoworld 4/18/05, http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/04/18/16FEsasdirect_1.html.

Additional readings will be kept on the class Blackboard site.