Tech Alert on Software (Ch 11 or 12)
Chapter 11: Understanding Software or Chapter 12: Software in Flux
• Find an article that focuses on managerial advice or trends relating to Cloud Computing, Open Source Software, Service-Oriented Architecture (SoA), Enterprise systems, ERP, Software as a Service (SaaS), or;
• Look for an article that covers user interface design and/or trends/advances in the user interface (speech, gesture recognition, mobility, etc.), or;
• Find an article that discusses new system development or implementation in an organization--Success or Failure; or
• If you have participated in the implementation of a new information system deployment at work (even as an end-user), you can write up your experiences. No article is required if you choose this option, but the rest of the tech alert requirements must be followed (quote from text, etc.)
REQUIRED FORMAT & CONTENT OF TECH ALERTS
Technology alerts are one full-page (no more or less) memos addressed to the instructor. The focus should be to
1) introduce the article by first explaining why it is relevant to our chapter topic,
2) summarize the main points of the article, and
3) provide a ‘response' to the article.
Unless otherwise specified, the source used should be an article published within the last 6 months from a credible source. Acceptable sources are published articles in magazines, newspapers, scholarly journals, or on- line publications.
Company web sites, personal sites, blog entries, Wikipedia entries, etc. are not valid sources of information for this assignment. Do not use company press releases or product announcements.
Rule of thumb: If you can't find an article title, date when published, AND author name(s), then you are not looking at a suitable article for this assignment.
I recommend finding in-depth articles in business magazines or newspapers that focus on USE of technology rather than the technology itself.
An appropriate article selection with clear relevance to the chapter content is required. The business databases available from may be helpful. Another good option is to browse or search specific on-line IT/business publications - links to some of these are provided in Moodle.
The callouts on the following page highlight the format and content requirements for each tech alert.