INF3012S - BPM & Enterprise Systems

Context: The course centres around a process analysis team project done in groups of 5 with a corporate partner. The groups still did their full process redesign with an assigned corporate partner, but it was done virtually, and included businesses from Johannesburg. There was a lot of technology that students had to install, but being IS students, they are used to problem solving, and everyone managed to figure it out. The course was highly structured with every week comprising the same setup and then a 4-week gap to do the project and prepare for the exam. 

Purpose: The core skill that students need to learn is process analysis. It’s an applied course, with actual business cases, and a team project designed to assess this skill.

Process: Because it’s an applied course, collusion was less of a concern. The guidelines were just changed to stipulate that no material can be cut and pasted from slides, lectures or anywhere on the internet. TurnItIn also helped in this regard. Each team had a separate channel on MS Teams with a tutor assigned. There was also an overall course Team Channel and a Workshop Channel. 

Outcomes/ Lessons learned: It’s helpful if you can pre-load all your workshops into the gradebook, release them, and put them in the calendar. Having a weekly schedule worked well and provided some structure when working with groups in remote conditions. The role that tutors play is invaluable. Giving tutors more responsibility instilled a sense of ownership and autonomy, which helped them work harder to make a difference.

Recommendations: Harnessing the value of the virtual context for setting up an applied business process redesign project worked very well - it widened the number of potential business partners available to the class, and gave students experience of working in virtual teams, which is an essential workplace skill. This approach though is dependent on a clear structure and providing support for students.