Diploma in IT Syllabus
Professional Issues in Information Systems Practice
To understand the context – ethical, social, legal, financial and organisational – in which professional Information Systems Engineers work.
Objectives:
Show an understanding of the role of professional codes of conduct and apply them to specific situations
Understand the nature and legal standing of a range of organisations
Understand the range of functions that exist in an organisation, the need for organisational structure and the characteristics of various types of structure
Understand and read, at a basic level, a balance sheet, a profit and loss account, and a cash flow statement
Understand and calculate, in simple cases, the basic information needed for day-to-day financial management
Understand the main pieces of legislation that apply to the profession and recognise situations to which they are relevant
Understand the mechanisms used to protect computer software and the reasons for such protection
Prior Knowledge Expected:
Content:
PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTIONS
The role of professional institutions and their characteristics: established by Royal Charter, self-governing, controlling entry to the profession and maintaining discipline; reservation of title and reservation of function. Some familiarity with the best-known professional institutions (e.g. those governing the law, medicine and accounting) will be expected. The development and structure of the engineering profession; the roles of the Engineering Council and the professional engineering institutions. Regulation of the engineering profession outside the UK. The British Computer Society and its membership structure; branches and specialist groups.
ORGANISATIONS AND THEIR STRUCTURE
Limited companies and the roles of directors and members; the advantages of limited company status for commercial organisations. Other legal forms of organisation. The concept of delegation and specialisation. Management structures: structure by function, by product, by market sector, and by region.
FINANCE
The financial structure of companies. The requirements for financial disclosure imposed by statute and by stock exchanges. Capital items and depreciation. The balance sheet, the profit and loss account, and cash flow statement.
MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING
Costing: direct and indirect costs; fixed and variable costs; overheads, corporate and divisional. Treatment of overheads in costing. Costing of labour. Costing (as opposed to estimating) of IT projects. The effect of cost and other factors on the pricing of software. Cash flow and its importance; cash flow forecasts, the need for working capital. Discounted cash flow analysis and its use in the assessment of capital projects. Simple budgeting.
LEGAL OBLIGATIONS
The Data Protection Acts 1984 and 1998, the Computer Misuse Act 1990, the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. Relevant provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 1987, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, the Special Education Needs and Disability Act 2001, the Consumer Protection Distance Selling Regulations 2000, and the Police and Criminal Justice Act 2006 (sections 39 to 41).
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The concept of intellectual property; software, documentation and designs as intellectual property. The mechanisms available to protect intellectual property. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The EC directive on the Legal Protection of Computer Programs, 91/250.
THE INTERNET
The application of the law relating to issues such as privacy, defamation, and intellectual property rights to the Internet.
PROFESSIONAL CODES OF CONDUCT AND THEIR LIMITATIONS
Professional Codes of Conduct, their strengths and weaknesses. The BCS Code of Conduct and its application in practice.
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
The statutory framework of employment. Contracts of employment. Legal issues arising from outsourcing.
The SFIAplus™ (Skills Framework for the Information Age) model; continuing professional development.
Recruitment and selection. Equal opportunities practices. Human resources planning. The effect of information systems on jobs. Job design: specialisation, rotation, enlargement and enrichment. Job evaluation.
Appraisal and Management by Objectives. Continuing professional development. Remuneration schemes, planning and control.
Books:
The following book has been written especially to support this module.
Bott M. F., Professional Issues in Information Technology, The British Computer Society, 2005. ISBN: 1902505654 and ISBN 13: 9781902505657
Bott. Frank et al, Professional Issues in Software Engineering, Taylor and Francis (3rd Ed), 2001, ISBN-13: 978-0748409518
Ayres, Robert, The Essence of Professional Issues in Computing, Prentice Hall, 1999, ISBN-13: 978-0139087400
Myers C., Hall T. and Pitt D., (Eds), The Responsible Software Engineer: Selected Readings in IT Professionalism, Springer, 1997, ISBN: 3540760415 (out of print)
The financial material (sections 1c and 1d of the syllabus) is well covered in
Atrill, Peter and McLaney, Eddie, Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists.(Fifth Edition), Pearson Education, 2006, ISBN-13: 9780273702443
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