Bots and insights: Combining perspectives of analytics and software development in systems analysis and design projects

Many management information systems (MIS) faculty have adopted a project-oriented approach in their systems analysis and design courses. In these courses, students use a software development methodology to create a web or mobile application project, which can be based on a predefined case or developed for an external stakeholder. Because most information systems programs emphasize cybersecurity, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI), traditional systems analysis and design courses for web applications may seem one-dimensional in comparison. To address this limitation, we developed and implemented a project based on Merrill's Pebble-in-the-Pond instructional design. In this project, students were required to build an application with two key components: a chatbot and a dashboard, both integrated with the same database. These components cater to multiple user groups, allowing us to combine perspectives from analytics and AI within a single project. Drawing from our experience and feedback from students, we have compiled a set of recommendations for successfully implementing such a project.