Comparing Perceptions of the Systems Analysis and Design Course

Abstract

Information Systems (IS) practitioners and educators have equal interest in the content of the Systems Analysis and Design Course (“SAD”). Previous research has examined instructors' perceptions regarding the skills and topics that are most important in the teaching of the SAD course and the class time devoted to each. A similar assessment evaluated SAD course content from a practitioner perspective. Both studies used entropy calculations. A comparison of these studies is presented in this paper. For traditional topics, the group (either faculty or practitioner) with greater agreement believes the topic to be deserving of less class time. For structured and object-oriented topics, the group with the greater agreement also believes the topic to be of greater importance. This analysis demonstrates that practitioners and academics agree on approximately 40% of the SAD skills and knowledge areas.