ISYS2423: ace the project, not just read the notes
Your complete guide to RMIT University's information systems strategy unit. See where the marks are, work real practice questions, and study with an AI tutor that knows ISYS2423.
Sia generates ISYS2423 practice questions, walks through what is/it strategy is and business step by step, and quizzes you on the material the project that weights most heavily.
Sharpen your argument
A retailer's IT function delivers projects on time and under budget, yet the board says IT is not delivering value. What does this most likely indicate?
Separate the two things being measured. On time and under budget is an execution metric. The board is making a contribution claim. Both statements can be true at once, which is the tell.
Check the alternatives against the evidence. Option C is contradicted by the facts, since a team delivering reliably is not lacking capability. Option D treats a real problem as a presentation issue, the answer that most often feels pragmatic and is most often wrong.
Note why option B is the strongest distractor. Governance and alignment are related but distinct: governance is who decides and how they answer for it; alignment is whether the direction is right. Weak governance is a plausible root cause of misalignment, so a strong answer identifies alignment as the failure and governance as a candidate cause — it does not substitute one for the other.
The weaker choice: Reaching for the communication answer. It is the most common response in practice and the weakest analytically, because it assumes the strategy is correct and only the story is missing. The other trap is conflating governance with alignment, which the course assesses directly through CLO4. watch this!
One project decides 50% of your grade. Continual assessment. This whole page is built around that.
Overview
What ISYS2423 is, and where it sits
ISYS2423 explores, in the words of the description, the concepts, issues and opportunities in the strategic management of information systems and information technology, with delivering strategic value with IT and the alignment of business and IS/IT as core themes.
The course deliberately sits above the technical layer. the description is explicit that the focus is on IS/IT management issues as opposed to technical issues, and that critical IS/IT issues are investigated within their organisational contexts. It names IT governance, IT-enabled innovation and IT portfolio management as significant parts of current IS/IT strategy.
The method is problem-based learning built on mini cases presenting actual IS/IT strategy issues within real organisations. RMIT frames this as a simulated workplace context where feedback based on industry practice is integral, and states the course gives you the opportunity to integrate and critically reflect on what you have learnt across your program. It functions as a capstone in practice if not in name.
Always treat your own course outline and the exam timetable as authoritative.
Difficulty & time commitment
Is ISYS2423 hard, and how much time does it take?
ISYS2423 is manageable if you keep a weekly rhythm and treat the back half as the main event. The pattern is consistent: it starts gently and steepens, and the heaviest assessment is the part that separates grades.
The difficulty curve and the assessment weighting point the same way: the back half is harder and worth more. Front-loading effort there is the highest-return decision in the unit.
Is this unit for you
Who tends to do well, and who tends to struggle
You will likely do well if
- You argue from evidence in the case rather than from the framework you like best.
- You distinguish alignment from governance from execution, which the course tests directly.
- You commit to a recommendation and defend it, instead of listing options.
- You use the feedback on the earlier tasks, since RMIT states industry-practice feedback is integral.
You may struggle if
- You apply frameworks mechanically without asking what the case actually shows.
- You answer strategy questions with technical solutions.
- You hedge. A strategy answer that recommends nothing cannot be marked highly.
- You start the 50% task late; half the grade sits in one piece of reasoning.
- For every case, write the diagnosis in one sentence before reaching for a framework. The framework supports the diagnosis, it does not generate it.
- Practise the alignment / governance / execution distinction until you can place any symptom in the right layer.
- Make recommendations specific enough to be acted on and costed — 'improve governance' is not a recommendation.
- Treat the earlier tasks as rehearsal for the 50%: the feedback tells you exactly how your reasoning is being read.
Syllabus
The 12 topics, topic by topic
The exam-weight marker on each topic shows where the marks concentrate. The amber topics carry the highest exam weight.
T1 · What IS/IT strategy is
Course descriptionWhy strategic management of IS/IT is a distinct discipline from managing technology.
T2 · Business and IS/IT alignment
Course description, CLO2The core theme: making technology direction and business direction the same direction.
T3 · Delivering strategic value with IT
Course description, CLO3Moving from IT as a cost centre to IT as a source of advantage.
T4 · Analysing strategic business challenges
CLO1Diagnosing what an organisation's real IS/IT problem is before recommending anything.
T5 · Strategy frameworks and models
Course descriptionThe readily applicable models the course introduces for developing and implementing IT strategies.
T6 · IT governance
Course description, CLO4Decision rights and accountability for IT, and how governance differs from strategy.
T7 · IT-enabled innovation
Course descriptionUsing technology to change what the business does, not only how it does it.
T8 · IT portfolio management
Course descriptionAllocating finite investment across competing technology initiatives.
T9 · Case analysis method
Course descriptionWorking the mini cases: uncover, identify, analyse and resolve.
T10 · Developing an IS/IT strategy
CLO3, CLO5Producing a strategy an organisation could actually act on.
T11 · Implementation and change
CLO3Why strategies fail at execution, and what that implies for how they are written.
T12 · Working in a team on strategy
CLO2Constructively assessing and developing the business and IS/IT relationship with others.
How it's assessed
Assessment structure
| Component | Weight | Format & timing |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment Task 2 | 50% | The largest assessment task, published by RMIT with its weighting and linked course learning outcomes (1, 2, 3, 4) but without a task title. Across the semester. Continual assessment. |
| Assessment Task 1 | 30% | First assessment task, linked to course learning outcomes 1, 2 and 3. Early to mid semester. Continual assessment. |
| Assessment Task 3 | 20% | Third assessment task, linked to all five course learning outcomes. Late semester. Continual assessment. |
- The three published tasks sum to 100. RMIT publishes no hurdle requirement for this course.
- There is no examination. One task carries 50% of the grade — the most concentrated coursework component in our Australian set — and it is linked to four of the five course learning outcomes. RMIT states that feedback based on industry practice is integral to the course, so the feedback on earlier work is the main signal available before that task is marked.
This is a coursework unit. Coursework carries 100% of the grade and the assessment task 2 is the single heaviest piece at 50%, so steady work across the semester decides your result more than any one sitting. Continual assessment.
Final exam timing: No examination in this course. Confirm the exact date and venue on your exam timetable.
How to actually pass it
A weekly rhythm, two checklists, and the traps to avoid
The unit rewards consistency over cramming, and practice over re-reading. Here is the loop that works, then what to have nailed before each exam.
The weekly loop
Before the mid-semester checklist
- Explain what IS/IT strategy is and how it differs from technology management.
- Analyse strategic business challenges and needs in a case organisation.
- Assess the business and IS/IT relationship and its alignment.
- Apply strategy frameworks to a real organisational context.
Before the final heaviest topics
- Recommend and develop an IS/IT strategy that delivers value.
- Compare and contrast IS/IT strategy with IT governance and explain governance as a strategic measure.
- Evaluate IT-enabled innovation and IT portfolio management decisions.
- Elaborate on and apply the crucial elements of current IS/IT strategy.
The mistakes that cost marks
Framework before diagnosis. Applying a model to a case you have not diagnosed produces a tidy answer to the wrong question.
Governance confused with alignment. Governance is who decides and how they answer for it; alignment is whether the direction is right. CLO4 tests the difference.
Recommendations without specificity. 'Improve alignment' cannot be implemented. A recommendation names what changes, who owns it and what it costs.
Technical answers to strategy problems. The course explicitly focuses on management rather than technical issues. Proposing an architecture is not a strategy.
Teaching team
Who teaches ISYS2423
The bios below are factual. We do not rate lecturers; any star ratings are submitted by students who have taken ISYS2423.
Teaching team as listed in public course information. AskSia does not rate lecturers; star ratings are submitted by students who have taken ISYS2423.
Formula & concept sheet
The vocabulary and formulas you must own
- IS/IT strategy
- The plan for how information systems and technology will support and shape the organisation's direction.
- Strategic alignment
- The degree to which IS/IT direction and business direction reinforce each other.
- IT governance
- The allocation of decision rights and accountability for IT, distinct from strategy itself.
- Strategic value
- Contribution to competitive position, as opposed to efficiency in delivery.
- IT-enabled innovation
- Using technology to change what the business does rather than only how it does it.
- IT portfolio management
- Allocating finite investment across competing technology initiatives on a consistent basis.
- Business case
- The argued justification for an investment, stating benefits, costs and risks.
- Mini case
- A short account of a real organisational situation used as the unit of analysis in this course.
- Problem-based learning
- Learning through resolving realistic problems rather than through instruction alone.
- Execution gap
- The distance between a strategy as written and what the organisation actually does.
- Stakeholder alignment
- Agreement among decision-makers on priorities, without which a strategy does not survive contact with the organisation.
- Digital transformation
- Organisation-wide change in which technology reshapes the operating and business model.
Common acronyms: CIO · CLO · IS · IT · ROI.
Where it fits
Prerequisites, related units & why it matters
Enforced requisite published by RMIT: 002907 Business Information Systems. Worth 12 credit points, taught face to face at City Campus by the School of Accounting, Information Systems and Supply Chain.
Your ISYS2423 study toolkit
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Each tool already knows ISYS2423: your syllabus, your texts, and where the marks are. Grouped by how you study, from first contact to exam week.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is ISYS2423 hard?
It rates moderately hard, and it is the most judgement-exposed course in our Australian set. There is no examination and nothing to memorise, but one task carries 50% of the grade and is marked entirely on the quality of your strategic reasoning.
What is the assessment breakdown?
Three assessment tasks weighted 50%, 30% and 20%. RMIT publishes the weightings and linked course learning outcomes but not task titles, so we do not invent names. There is no examination.
What do I need before taking it?
The published enforced requisite is 002907 Business Information Systems.
Who coordinates the course?
The published course coordinator is Dr Roxanne Llamzon, School of Accounting, Information Systems and Supply Chain.
Is it technical?
No. the description states the focus is on IS/IT management issues as opposed to technical issues. You analyse decisions about technology rather than building it.
How does the case method work?
the description says you work from mini cases presenting actual IS/IT strategy issues in real organisations, and uncover, identify, analyse and resolve the challenges IT and business managers face. There is no answer key; the reasoning is the answer.
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