SMU Information Systems (Y3S1)

Modules taken this semester:

1. IS212 Software Project Management (Compulsory IS Core Module) -- Prof Chris Poskitt

2. IS484 IS Project Experience (FinTech track) -- Prof Dennis Ng & Alan Mergargel

3. IS444 Digital Banking Enterprise Architecture (FinTech track) -- Prof Alan Mergargel

4. IS430 Digital Payments and Innovations (FinTech track) -- Prof Alan Mergargel

5. IS434 Social Analytics and Applications (Business Analytics track) -- Prof Gao Wei

Individual Modules (thoughts and review):

1. SPM: A lot of coding is involved. Project heavy. We had to code out a whole web application as per the product manager's request. We also had to follow certain frameworks taught, such as scrum. Documentation was critical, supposedly much more important than the code itself. 

+ Pros: I feel like I've really learned a lot more useful things that are applicable in real-life jobs. Scrum framework, user stories, unit testing, automated testing, white/black box testing,TDD, planning and estimation, daily stand-up, and much more. I also got to stimulate working in sprints to deliver working code at the end of every sprint.

- Cons: The project was way too heavy. In addition to coding and delivering a working solution with the required functions, we also had to set up Jenkins and deploy our code, which was not required for WAD2. Extremely heavy documentation too if you want to score well (it needs to be error-free too). The grading was very ambiguous and not transparent at all, I feel like the Professors simply find faults and constantly penalize accordingly. I was very much unlucky as we only had 3 members (including me) out of 5 that are actually contributing, which made it worse. In addition, there's also a lot of individual assignments with around 1 week to complete. Overall, this module is extremely heavy.

There are no mid-terms and finals require some memorization and application of theory.

2. IS Proj Exp: A lot of coding is involved. Project Heavy. Grading is not transparent. There is a bi-weekly meeting with Professor Dennis Ng and do take his feedback with a pinch of salt. Despite saying my group is doing very well, excellent, and so on, his grading does not correspond with what he said. 

+ Pros: Able to work with Citibank and choose from a list of available projects to work on. I feel that working with real-world clients is very valuable and interesting. 

- Cons: Very heavy. Weekly / Bi-weekly meetings with both Professor and then with Citibank take up a lot of time. Professor was unfamiliar with the project technology and could not provide valuable feedback, though instead, he gave more advice with regards to our presentation content. Sponsors from Citibank are extremely busy with their own work, which made it hard to arrange meetings (constantly postponed, canceled, late) but this is definitely understandable and reflective of the real working world.

No mid-terms nor finals examinations but instead replaced with a presentation respectively. Once again, grading is not transparent and few As are allowed (I quote: It's similar in the corporate world as well. You will be graded during your performance appraisal and it does not mean that there is something wrong if you get a (grade) for your performance appraisal). Please take note. 

3. DBEA: No/Minimum coding involved. The project is extremely manageable. Grading seems ambiguous to me. Professor Alan is good as he's really knowledgeable and gives a recap at the start of every lesson, which has helped me a lot.

+ Pros: Interesting to know what is the huge problem behind banks and their architecture. The project is super manageable and Professor Alan guides well during project consultation to make sure we are on the right track. Finals exam was manageable as well.

- Cons: Repetitive in the sense that Professor Alan will keep emphasizing the same point throughout the entire course (spaghetti architecture...). A lot of labs to do but the labs' documents are helpful but outdated which makes it hard to follow at times. 

4. DPI: No/Minimum coding involved. The project is extremely manageable. Grading seems ambiguous to me.  Professor Alan gives a recap at the start of every lesson, which has helped me a lot.

+ Pros: Content taught is relatable, such as payments like PayNow, Direct debit, Cheque and also mobile wallets like Singtel Dash. The mid-term examination was manageable as well, many scored well but this means the bell curve is there. The project is manageable with 2 presentations, with a list of options to choose from. 

- Cons: Conflicting information taught. In week 1, the professor says this and then in week 2, the professor says another thing. Slides content contradicted the mid-term answers as well. Overall this may get confusing. 

5. SA: High coding involved, analytical-wise. As it is an SMU-X module, we had to find a real-world client to work with, which we decided to go with a non-profit organization. Interesting and useful content but a lot of self-learning is required.

+ Pros: Project with a real-world client, which makes it very insightful. I know I have been saying ambiguous / not transparent grading and this is because I compared it with this module. Grading is transparent, there are rubrics and the professor gives a mark for each assessment in the rubric. The professor left comments as to why we were penalized, which allowed us to clarify with him and eventually give the mark that was penalized back. No mid-term nor final examination.

- Cons: A lot of assignments and quizzes to make up for the lack of examinations. Questions are sometimes vague and the professor penalizes marks for going beyond what was taught. Certain quiz questions were never taught in class. The professor always exceeded the class duration, speaks very slowly, and was unable to answer questions posed well. Did not learn much from the professor, mostly self-taught.