Hello! I made a Y1 Guide too, if you want to check it out 👏

I am currently in Year 3, still doing the same major (small wins!)

If I had to describe my Year 2, it would be my era of ✨Developing Competency ✨ aka "I-dont-know-what-I-am-studying-but-I-am-here-daily" kind of vibe.

This blog will encompass module reviews and my study plan! This blog is made and written from solely my experience, please do your due diligence. Every year, the academic plan for Information System students changes slightly – mine is here.

I am currently interested in the Digital Product and Platform Management specialisation. As such, I have tagged the modules as:

• Core Modules: modules you need to take #core
• Specialisation Modules: modules you can take if you are interested. #spec

Y2S1 (AY22/23)

During my first semester of Y2, I took a total of 16 MCs, which included IS2102, BT2102, UTC2414, and IS2103, and taught (TA) for IS1108. It is crucial you take IS2102 and IS2103 together, as the material is complementary to one another. No specialisation modules were done in this semester.

Workload: 3/5 ⭐️ (Manageable!)

I will not be writing about UTC2414 as it is a defunct module. I dropped IS3103 to take in Y3S1 (best decision ever)

🏛️ IS2102 Enterprise Systems Architecture and Design

This module was the theory behind ⭐ modern large-scale Enterprise Systems ⭐ aka information systems used by different parts of a business. You learn about fundamental systems analysis, requirements gathering and SDLC. You will draw lots of diagrams including sequence diagrams, use case diagrams, and domain model class diagrams – all of which are visual representations to convey technical information to SWEs, designers and PMs in an Agile Team.

The course had group work and spaced-out work assignments too. Not too technical and particularly enjoyable 🕺 (plus the Prof Hsiang Hui has a flair for teaching this module)

Workload Rating: 2/5

What I wished I knew:

As I am currently aspiring to be a better product manager, I found myself referencing the course materials from this module. It taught me the basics of software development lifecycle, system architecture design and using diagrams, such as use case diagrams, to convey technical information to non-tech people in teams. Study this module well, to be a good IS kid!

👩🏻‍💻 IS2103 Enterprise Systems Server-side Design and Development

This module complements the front-end module, IS3106 (Y3S1) and theory based module IS2102 (See above). IS2103 is the technical brother of IS2102, you will apply back-end concepts like component-based development and service-oriented architecture with Jakarta EE and object-relational mapping with SQL. Lastly testing with JUnit.

You can expect weekly tutorial assignments and a pair-work project. I must give a special mention to the impeccable organisation of Prof Tan who teaches this module in a very structured and understandable (after you spend a while digesting his notes)

Workload Rating: 4/5

What I wished I knew:

The lectures are very technical and content-heavy. Each lecture took 2hr to understand (and another 2 hours in the library). I strongly suggest you practice and consult on the practices done in class. It turned out to be extremely useful for the assignment and IS3106. You will be using the same tech stack for IS3106 too.

⌗ BT2102 Data Management and Visualisation

This module teaches you about databases MySQL and NoSQL and data visualisation with Tableau. The course covers data management concepts, design and visualisation techniques.

The assignments can be broken down into:

Assignment 1A (Individual): 20 marks - ER Diagram and logical schema
Assignment 1B (Individual): 20 marks - SQL queries
Assignment 2 (Group): 30 marks - PPT presentation and Qna over Zoom
Final Quiz (Individual): 30 marks - Content-based MCQ in 30 minutes.

Workload Rating: 2.5/5

What I wished I knew:

(Read NUSMods for other reviews!) This module has a high bell curve, given the number of take-home assignments and projects. You can self-study the module with the notes provided, but nearing the end, the Prof does share more about the Final Quiz wink*

💖Jean's Y2S1 Thoughts...

⏲️Timetable Structuring

What I did well:

• Dropped IS3103, I took it in Y3S1, it was more manageable then due to the restructuring of the module.
• 10 am classes LESSGOOO

What I wish I did:

• Taken CS2040 in Y2S1 semester. It will be hell, but it will be less hell than taking it in Y2S2.

Y2S2 (AY22/23)

During my second semester, I took a total of 20 MCs, CS2040, IS3106, CS3240, IS3240, UTS2409 and TA-ed for IS1108 (again!)

My specialisation modules were CS3240 and IS3240.

Workload: 7/5 ⭐️, +2 because of CS2040.

I will not be writing about UTS2409, as it is a defunct module.

💻CS2040 Data Structures and Algorithms

Every computing student takes some variant of this module study it well to be a software engineer. This module teaches data structures, searching and sorting algorithms and basis analysis of algorithms. Visualgo is your best friend for visualising everything. This module was the bane of my existence, there are two hoorays for IS students (a) LAST CS MODULE and (b) TAUGHT in JAVA!

The most time-consuming elements are:

• learning the content
• doing the Kattis ODA and THA assignments
• crying about failing test cases

Workload Rating: 7/5

What I wished I knew:

Put more time into this module – really understand everything, it will help for securing your first internship and doing technical interviews too. (Read NUS mods reviews too!)

🏛️ IS3106 Enterprise Systems Interface Design and Development

This is the front-end module that complements IS2103. It focuses on Java Server Pages, Java Server Faces and Primefaces, before moving on to HTML, CSS, Javascript (JQuery), Bootstrap and React. This module has weekly labs, individual projects and group projects.

The individual project focuses on developing a full-stack system application, you can refer to the lab and tweak UI. The group project is developing a full-stack system too. The final exam was Open Book MCQ with Structured Qns.

Workload Rating: 3/5

What I wished I knew:

• Start your group project early, by meeting weekly to do it together. You can do feature-based task assignment aka each person is assigned the front and back end of features/ modules in the system.
• Final exam follows the PYP closely, do those first during revision.

👩🏻‍💻 CS3240 Interaction Design

I took this module because I wanted to be a UIUX babe. However, I will categorise this module as "fun but died". You will learn to apply UIUX concepts through the use of Figma over the course of the sem. I find the reviews on NUS mods extremely accurate, have a read.

Expectations of assignments were left to interpretation, and my team had to consult Prof about her requirements many times. The module had project assignment "milestones" which had many tested components like presentation, reflection, prototype, and report. I felt it to be very repetitive and had too many components.

Workload Rating: 5.5/5 (felt like 3 mods)

What I wished I knew:

• Highly recommend knowing how to use Figma before doing this project, there is no time to learn in this module – more like "apply and refining your UX skills"

🗣️IS3240 Digital Platform Strategy and Architecture

This module opened my eyes to the applications of information system strategy used by businesses, particularly digital business platforms like Netflix, Google, and Apple. Each week we were given a Harvard Business case study and a guiding question. The team would have to present their strategies, business models and trajectory in the next few years. They will be critiqued by Prof Anand and classmates about the feasibility of the strategy presented.

I found it extremely insightful to question "Why do businesses do that?" and "If using strategy A, will this give them a competitive advantage?". You have to think beyond the curriculum and be creative with your strategy - especially during Q&A.

This module consists of digestible weekly lectures, weekly presentations and finals.

Workload Rating: 3/5 + Best Team Mates!

What I wished I knew:

• Pick your teammates wisely, it's great to have teammates who are a mixed bunch of creatives, analytical and planners. Much like you are simulating the C-suite of a company!
• Most of the QnA ties back to the "Innovation S-Curve" - what happens when a product is launched, improved, matured and hopefully not dead...

💖Jean's Y2S2 Thoughts...

⏲️Timetable Structuring

• Fun, painful and intense semester, I definitely needed a mental health check after this.
• Take CS2040 in Y2S1, please...or drop CS3240.
• Reconsider taking CS3240 due to the high workload.

This is the "Dear, Diary" section of my blog. If there are three words I would describe my Year 2 experience it would be, "confused, tired but enlightened" lol.

In Year 2, I noticed a few changes:

• Modules will be harder. Your friends will be taking different modules, depending on their interests, you should too.
• Exploring beyond your academics, I joined the Developer Student Clubs @ NUS Computing as a UIUX Designer and a STEER Nepal trip! (I talk more about these below)
• Questioning what I liked and wanted to specialise in. And it's okay to be confused, it's part of learning more about yourself.

Developer Student Clubs @ NUS Computing

I am grateful for the opportunity to learn as a UIUX Designer in the Developer Student Club with the Mart For Good team! I was interested in design and wanted to hone my abilities to work in an Agile team with designers, business associates and software engineers. The most valuable lessons I learnt was:

• Designing better and faster on Figma for myself, a UIUX Designer
• Learning to work with other team mates in a cross-functional team
• Communicating with external clients.

STEER Nepal Trip with CAPT

STEER is not an exchange or winter school, but a study trip to learn more about the Nepali culture. I took a step back to learn and experience beyond the classroom – when is the next time I can explore a city with my friends and hike for a day for this gorgeous view!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoSITiXrUxL/?img_index=1

🥰Learnt something new from this blog post? Remember to jot down some notes for yourself and share this knowledge with your friends!

💕Since you are here, why not join the club? I spill the tea on university tips and more in the member's portal 😉 Join now.

Want to talk? Contact me here!

👩🏻‍💻 Jean Tay, NUS IS