Information systems power data-driven transformation in every corner of our modern economy. This field determines how we collect and store huge volumes of data and how that data influences major business decisions.
Enter the modern IS professional. This multi-talented individual acts as a leader in both technological and strategic matters, helping transform raw data into impactful initiatives. Opportunities abound, but given the sheer scope of this field (and the skills involved), it can feel intimidating to break into information systems and project management. Thankfully, help is available, especially if you enroll in the right degree program.
Interested in exploring project management for information systems? A structured approach can help you develop crucial competencies in both areas. We’re here to guide this effort. Below, we explore the contemporary project management information systems dynamic, revealing how these fields influence one another and why developing expertise in both areas may be worthwhile.
We’ll also highlight the skills developed while pursuing a bachelor’s in information systems and the complementary competencies that can be expected when concentrating on project management.
What Is an Information Systems Degree?
The growing field of information systems (IS) blends computer science, data management, and business strategy to support data-driven decision-making, which in turn supports streamlined operations and innovation.
As a discipline, IS reveals how various professionals, workflows, and technological tools coalesce to collect, analyze, and disseminate complex information that, if properly managed, has the potential to deliver considerable organizational value.
An information systems degree takes a multidisciplinary approach to preparing for diverse professional opportunities in IS. It encourages students to develop a range of technical competencies while also exploring business principles and applications. This degree promotes applied learning, with the recognition that IS principles and strategies can play out differently in various fields and niches.
The Power of Combining IS and Project Management
The information systems degree is, by nature, adaptable, reflecting the cross-disciplinary realities of the IS field. There are many ways to adjust the curriculum to reflect personal interests and professional intentions. One of the most compelling opportunities involves an IS-focused introduction to the wide world of project management.
This multi-faceted approach to earning a degree reflects the growing reliance on project management in fields that once seemed strictly technical. Today, however, we recognize that it takes both technical competencies and robust leadership skills to drive positive outcomes in the demanding IT space. Therein lies the value of the information systems project management degree programs, which promise these advantages:
You’ll Understand the Tech and the Team
Understanding technological infrastructure is essential, but this knowledge only goes so far if you struggle to coordinate or inspire the teams responsible for building, maintaining, or optimizing crucial systems.
Suppose you possess a strong technical understanding of IS, including databases, networks, and enterprise systems, coupled with the ability to lead teams and establish milestones. In that case, you are ideally positioned to bridge the gap between IT teams and executive leadership. This allows you to facilitate the full potential of systems.
While many IS courses touch on the business concepts that support data-driven strategies, project management coursework expands on this, revealing the tools and techniques needed to coordinate a complex array of resources across various project phases. Through project management training, you will learn what it takes to balance competing priorities while ensuring that teams are sufficiently aligned to produce key deliverables.
You’ll Be Ready to Lead IT Projects From Start to Finish
The IT ecosystem has adopted a project mindset, in which teams work together to achieve clearly defined outcomes while abiding by specific timelines or budgetary restrictions. These projects involve many moving parts, and, without project management skills, even those with extraordinarily advanced technical skills may be vulnerable to major oversights.
Project management coursework prepares you to tackle all phases of tech-oriented initiatives, while IS classes reveal how technology and data intersect throughout these many phases. When these disciplines join forces, you should feel empowered to handle team dynamics and technical demands while steering projects towards desired outcomes.
You’ll Increase Your Career Flexibility
IS may be a versatile field, but this can be further enhanced by developing project management competencies, which can help you pivot to a diverse range of business roles with ease. For example, project management expertise could form the basis for a successful career in consulting, which promises greater autonomy and flexibility compared to other IS roles.
Beyond this, you have the freedom to apply your IS and project management skills within numerous industries, as both types of competencies are highly advantageous in diverse fields such as healthcare, finance, and manufacturing.
You’ll Stand Out to Employers
IS offers a wealth of opportunities but remains a highly competitive field, in which only highly skilled professionals can expect to advance — and we’re not simply talking about technical abilities. With employers consistently citing problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication as the most in-demand professional skills, there is clear value in pursuing coursework that encourages you to integrate soft skills and technical expertise.
You’ll Be Positioned for Leadership Roles
Integrating project management within your Information Systems (IS) curriculum and coursework equips you with the specific competencies and knowledge essential for confidently assuming leadership and management positions. This concentration may make it easier for you to climb the IS career ladder, eventually moving into senior or leadership positions, and inspiring change once you take on these influential roles.
Key Skills You’ll Gain in Baker’s Information Systems Program
Baker College’s information systems management degree program promotes comprehensive skill development, using both theoretical coursework and applied activities to prepare you for the real-world demands presented by today’s dynamic IS landscape. If you concentrate on project management, you can expect to develop these key competencies:
Core Information Systems Skills
Business acumen can amplify a deeply technical skill set, but there’s no substitute for mastering foundational concepts such as database management or systems analysis. IS programs cover these and other essentials through core courses, which delve into information systems’ theoretical elements and promote hands-on learning. Foundational courses will introduce you to these essentials:
Systems Analysis and Design
Success in IS begins with thoroughly understanding business needs so that IS teams focus on tackling the right problems. Objectives can be translated into system requirements through systems analysis (covered in multiple IS courses). As IT consultant Michael Erbschloe explains, this involves “requirements gathering, system modeling, and design specifications” to promote a “functional, efficient, and user-friendly” final product.
Database Management
The database is at the heart of IS success. Database management brings a structured approach to organizing and storing digital information. This begins with knowing how to write and optimize Structured Query Language (SQL) statements, which form the basis for a myriad of tasks within relational systems such as MySQL.
These essentials take center stage in introductory courses, which allow you to survey relevant database platforms and even get you actively invested while installing and maintaining relational database management systems (RDBMS).
Networking Basics
From network topologies to protocols, IS coursework provides the chance to take a deep dive into the world of networking and telecommunications. A foundational networking course will introduce you to the helpful conceptual framework known as the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. You will also learn about the Internet addressing scheme known as TCP/IP.
Business Intelligence and Data Analytics
As an increasingly data-driven field, IS draws on diverse and sizable datasets to uncover hidden patterns and insights. Business intelligence tools such as Tableau support this effort via intuitive visualizations, facilitating clear communication and informed decision-making.
Techniques such as statistical analysis provide even deeper insights and can be unleashed using the popular programming language Python, which is explored in detail through analytics-focused IS coursework.
IT Governance and Policy
IT governance provides a reliable framework to guide the many policies or processes used to align IT solutions with core business practices and objectives. Understanding this is crucial, given the outsized role IS professionals now play in shaping and supporting business strategies.
To that end, IS programs explore the COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies) framework, along with other models and standards that play an instrumental role in managing risk and promoting compliance.
Software Applications and Tools
A variety of enterprise systems streamline critical IS tasks and processes, but it takes time to truly understand these applications or their larger role within the field of information systems. To gain familiarity with these solutions, IS programs actively build industry essentials such as Tableau and Power BI into everyday coursework, all while revealing how robust integrations support diverse business functions.
Project Management Competencies
As you develop a strong technical foundation via IS coursework, you also have the chance to explore project management concepts, which help you manage resources and coordinate tasks and, in doing so, keep projects on track.
This means exploring what researcher Ruth Wienclaw refers to as the “art of project control” involving an “interactive process” for keeping projects within “technical scope (i.e., not adding work to the project outside that which was originally planned), within the budget negotiated for [the] accomplishment of the project tasks, and moving along according to the predetermined schedule.”
Project Planning and Scheduling
The Project Management Institute (PMI) references a concept known as the “iron triangle” of project management: the fundamental importance of budgeting, scoping, and scheduling. All three areas call for precise planning. The cliché about failing to plan and planning to fail comes to mind, but in project management, this absolutely rings true.
Because planning is so important and so complex, foundational project management courses introduce you to critical responsibilities such as defining project scope and setting objectives accordingly. You will also explore hierarchical systems known as Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) and timeline-focused visual representations known as Gantt charts.
Budgeting and Cost Control
Financial constraints have a huge impact on IS projects, influencing resource allocation and project scope, or even leading to quality trade-offs. Skilled project managers help teams do more with less, using advanced cost estimation and budget management techniques to optimize spending.
Project management coursework provides plenty of practice in developing project budgets and tracking costs while revealing what it takes to anticipate and plan for various financial risks. Interactive experiences bring budgeting concepts to life, so you emerge feeling fully prepared to make informed financial decisions.
Risk Management
Each project carries unique risks. With information systems, these tend to center around potential issues such as system failures, cyberattacks, or compliance violations. Risk management provides a proactive approach to identifying these potential issues and determining how they can be mitigated. As PMI points out, this can improve resilience while minimizing disruptions, boosting visibility, and improving communication.
Risk management is a top concept in project management coursework, which reveals actionable strategies for identifying and analyzing a wide range of risks. These concepts are purposefully built into projects and other interactive learning experiences to integrate essential skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving.
Agile and Traditional Methodologies
Project management once strictly followed a sequential approach known as the waterfall methodology, in which specific phases were fully completed before moving on. While familiarity with this methodology can still prove useful, it is now critical to also explore agile alternatives, which break projects into iterations while promoting continuous feedback.
Scrum is among the most recognizable of these agile frameworks, although Kanban appeals to many teams due to its uniquely flexible approach. Project management coursework touches on both methodologies, revealing how they influence everything from scoping to resource allocation, especially team collaboration.
Communication and Stakeholder Engagement
The soft skill of communication is crucial across industries, including technical fields. In project management, communication is of even greater importance. It is through communication that project managers convey priorities and manage stakeholder expectations. In fact, communications management is widely regarded as fundamental to overall project success.
To that end, professional correspondence is built into every project management course, with every project and discussion helping you learn to communicate persuasively. You will learn negotiation strategies that help you navigate conflict and even build consensus while exploring the essential components of stakeholder communication.
Leadership and Team Coordination
In today’s project economy, project managers are highly influential, leading sizable, diverse teams that may include various technical experts, team leads, business analysts, or specialists. These many professionals are bound to bring distinct perspectives to the forefront, and this, paired with differing priorities, may occasionally result in conflict.
For this reason, project managers must understand how to resolve conflicts, even using them as fuel to promote innovative solutions. Project management coursework provides a solid introduction to conflict resolution and mediation techniques, along with opportunities to practice these strategies while navigating a variety of immersive learning experiences.
Project Monitoring and Evaluation
Project planning and proactive risk management can set the stage for a successful IS project. Still, progress must be continually monitored to ensure that teams can respond effectively to emerging challenges. Key progress indicators (KPIs) provide valuable insight, revealing where progress may fall short and which issues should be addressed based on these findings.
Evaluation is just as critical, ensuring that project managers and their teams uncover opportunities for improvement. Comprehensive project management coursework addresses these topics and reveals how metrics can be defined, measured, or interpreted.
Tools and Technology Proficiency
A variety of advanced tools help IS project managers streamline workflows and communicate with their teams. For example, Trello, Jira, and Asana support real-time collaboration and offer helpful visualization tools. While pursuing an information system project management degree, you will enjoy ample opportunities to experiment with these tools and discover firsthand how they help you thrive as you put leadership skills into action.
Why Project Management Skills Are in High Demand
Project management skills spark increased demand as we move toward a new vision of the workplace, driven by projects that can be adapted to reflect a rapidly changing market. Known as the “project economy,” this new vision moves beyond the operations-focused paradigm of yesteryear to reveal how organizations can drive value via flexible initiatives.
Within this framework, project management becomes increasingly vital across a wide range of fields, including information systems. Even if you do not ultimately work as a tech-focused project manager, you can leverage project management skills as you explore a variety of IS pathways.
What Makes Baker College’s Program Unique
Baker College brings an integrated and highly interactive approach to studying information systems and aligned content areas. Our career-driven program promotes active skill development, using case studies and other interactive experiences to bring IS and project management concepts to life. Instructors draw on a wealth of experience in both project management and information systems to offer unique insights that might be out of reach for those with a background in just one of these areas.
Start Your Journey in Information Systems and Project Management
Are you intrigued by the many compelling opportunities that exist within information systems project management? Gain complementary skills by pairing your information systems management degree with a project management concentration. Baker College can help by introducing you to core concepts in both areas and revealing where these practices align.Take the next step by exploring our information systems degree program and its various concentrations, including project management. Contact us today to learn more about this program and other opportunities to personalize your IS education.