Institution
Kaunas University of Technology, Faculty of Informatics

Web Site
https://fi.ktu.edu/

Factual description
The course “Information System Design and CASE Technology” is offered for students in bachelor’s degree study programs “Information Systems” and “Data Science and Engineering”.
The complex systems covered in this module are information systems, which are defined as systems for human-machine interaction and consist of human, hardware and instruction for operating software. In addition, information system is a tool that can collect, process, store, retrieve, and distribute information needed to run an organization and make decisions. In this module, students design information systems by describing their static properties - architecture and dynamic properties - behavior.
By modelling an information system with iterative and evolutionary methods, students learn to examine it in different aspects, divide the modelled system into structural parts and create appropriate relations between them. This approach helps to develop system thinking. Students also develop their critical thinking by evaluating usability, efficiency, reliability, speed and other parameters of the created system. To develop various skills and to present different perspectives of the created system, many different teaching methods are used in training. Parts of the system model are developed in the laboratory works and presented in written and oral form as term paper and presentation. Short modelling tasks according to the given description help students to understand the importance of each individual component and its functions.
Sustainable development in complex systems is addressed in this module as students reflect on the various features of the modeled system. The system under development must be useful and practical in the long run, with possible expandability and the respective architecture. The modeled behavior of the system must be beneficial to its future users and must facilitate existing processes. In system modelling process, the main task is to properly plan and describe specific aspects of the system under development.
The ethical dimension is considered mainly by the means of application of general data protection regulation (GDPR) in creating the information system.

Relevance in complex systems
The course material covers the development of information system which are designed for human – machine interaction and consist of several components. In addition, the static and dynamic properties of each component are analyzed separately and in the context of the whole system.

Strong points
The strong point of this course is that students develop one information system during the semester and consider its various aspects while performing the special tasks. This enables students to master different methods of analysis and to present the system from different perspectives.

Transferability potential
The appropriate modelling and development of information system is an important issue nowadays. Students learn to identify separate components, define their functional relations, describe users’ roles and manage the overlapping functions. These skills help to create practical information systems which are applicable in various fields. They also help to analyze existing systems as a collection of separate components.