English

Design team members: Shannon McLaren

Supervisor: Professor Paul Guild

Background

The Management of Technology, Distance Education Option is a masters program available to engineers, and scientists who's jobs involve technology management. The program, offered through the Management Sciences department is part time and is taken through the Internet.

The program appeals to people who wish to pursue a masters degree while working full-time. It is also convenient as it allows people to pursue course work at their own convenience.

There is no formal support system in place. Currently, one can contact staff or faculty in the Management Sciences department. Often, people seeking assistance do not know how to best direct their questions. The result being that responses can take some time, especially if the questions must be redirected.

Project description

The program requires a comprehensive support system for those students who are currently enrolled and for customers seeking further information about the program. A needs analysis was performed to determine the type of setup best suited to students, potential applicants and staff. It was determined that all would benefit from the design and implementation of remote support system.

The system designed must not provide the same level of detail to potential applicants as it does to students that are enrolled in the program. The main reason for this is that until they are enrolled, they do not require the same type of assistance. The system will be easy to expand upon and will improve the turn around time associated with most types of questions.

Design methodology

What is needed?
In order to develop a tool that will actually be used by those for whom it is intended, it is necessary to know the "customers". To achieve this a questionnaire was employed. The questions requested information regarding the types of questions people would like to answered. Wherever possible questions involved a seven point scale. The means indicating the extent to which students would like to be able to access help in a particular domain.

Interviews were also carried out with the faculty and staff that are involved in the Management of Technology program. These provided insight as to the types of problems students have encountered in the past, as well as how to direct questions that require staff assistance.

Design
The help system will be designed such that students can access the information that they need when they need it. Security concerns must be addressed for anything implemented. Some areas require greater security than others. For instance, receiving a student's marks through the help system must be restricted to only the student involved, while a comparison of the Management of Technology program to an MBA should be available to anyone interested.

Based on the Needs Analysis questionnaires and the interviews with staff and faculty, certain areas will receive more initial effort. Areas of high priority to students will be developed first, with some consideration given to ease of implementation.

The initial Management of Technology support system should be available for use in the Summer 2000 term. If there are areas that require further attention, these will be addressed and a design will be provided for implementation at a later time.