32990 IT Contracts and Outsourcing
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particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Subject level:
Postgraduate
Result type: Grade and marksRequisite(s): 32557 Enabling Enterprise Information Systems
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses. See access conditions.
Description
This subject deals with the management, social, legal and financial issues that arise when several parties are involved in the development of an information system. Situations considered are outsourcing, insourcing, development partnerships, support relationships and individual contracting. Students are provided with sufficient resources to plan for and evaluate their position as a client or vendor, and to assess where they need professional advice.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
| 1. | Explain the roles of clients and vendors in development of an information system. (B.1) |
|---|---|
| 2. | Identify the responsibilities of the parties involved in the provision of an IS solution. (B.1) |
| 3. | Summarize the management problems and issues that arise with a multi vendor IS solution. (B.1) |
| 4. | Evaluate and formulate strategies to manage a multi vendor corporate information system. (C.1) |
| 5. | Recognize the interpersonal skills that are essential for the success of any client / vendor relationship. (F.1) |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs):
- Socially Responsible: FEIT graduates identify, engage, and influence stakeholders, and apply expert judgment establishing and managing constraints, conflicts and uncertainties within a hazards and risk framework to define system requirements and interactivity. (B.1)
- Design Oriented: FEIT graduates apply problem solving, design thinking and decision-making methodologies in new contexts or to novel problems, to explore, test, analyse and synthesise complex ideas, theories or concepts. (C.1)
- Reflective: FEIT graduates critically self-review their own and others' performance with a high level of responsibility to improve and practice competently for the benefit of professional practice and society. (F.1)
Teaching and learning strategies
The subject will be conducted via a 3 hour block session each week. The block session will comprise of either:
- collaborative sessions consisting of a review of on-line core materials (pre-work is essential), topic presentations and interactive sessions comprising a mixture of discussions, workshop activities, case studies and informal student presentations;
- contemporary sessions featuring guest speakers from industry followed by an interactive session comprising of discussions, workshop activities, case studies and informal student presentations
Content (topics)
The major topic areas are:
- Outsourcing Background and Motivations
- The Outsourcing Process
- Due Diligence and Discovery
- The Request for Proposal
- Vendor Selection
- Contract management and Service Level Agreements
- Customer and Vendor Management
- IT Contracting
- IT Governance
- Contemporary Issues in Outsourcing
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Assignment 1 - Research Report
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1, 2 and 3 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): B.1 |
|---|---|
| Type: | Report |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 30% |
Assessment task 2: Assignment 2 - Management Report
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1, 2, 3 and 4 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): B.1 and C.1 |
|---|---|
| Type: | Report |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 35% |
Assessment task 3: Group Presentation
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): B.1, C.1 and F.1 |
|---|---|
| Type: | Presentation |
| Groupwork: | Group, group assessed |
| Weight: | 25% |
Assessment task 4: Class Activities
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): B.1, C.1 and F.1 |
|---|---|
| Type: | Case study |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 10% |
Minimum requirements
In order to pass the subject, a student must achieve an overall mark of 50% or more.
Recommended texts
Three e-Books are available in UTS Online on the Library eReadings page. They are:
1) Solli-Sæther, H. & Gottschalk, P. ,2010, Managing IT Outsourcing Performance.
2) Schniederjans, A., Schniederjans, D. & Schniederjan, M. 2007, Outsourcing Management Information Systems.
3) Frank Siepmann, F. 2014, Managing risk and security in outsourcing IT services: onshore, offshore and the Cloud.
The following books are recommended:
Aalders, R. 2001, The IT Outsourcing Guide, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, England
Brown, D and Wilson, S. 2005, The Black Book of Outsourcing: How to Manage the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities, Wiley.
Heywood, J. 2001, The Outsourcing Dilemma: The Search for Competitiveness, Prentice Hall.
Buffington, J. 2007, An Easy Out: Corporate America’s Addiction to Outsourcing, Praeger Publishers.
Rivard, S. and Aubert, B. 2008, Information Technology Outsourcing, Advances in Management Information Systems.
Tunstall, T. 2007, Outsourcing and Management: Why the Market Benchmark Will Topple Old School Management Styles, Palgrave Macmillan.
Soft copies of subject materials may be found on UTS Online - http://online.uts.edu.au/