Κατεύθυνση: Major in Software & Data Systems: Compulsory Courses

Structured Representation of Information

Learning Outcomes

The course’s material includes standard technologies and languages of modeling/representation of data/metadata used on the web and web services and how they are implemented in practice with code development in XML, XSL, and XML Schema.

Upon successful completion of the course, the students will be in position to:

  • Explain the basic technologies and languages of data modeling/ representation of data/metadata used on the web and web services.
  • Design and develop programs using XML, XSL and XML Schema.
  • Evaluate metadata modeling and decide whether they follow the given requirements.

Course Contents

  • Introduction to markup languages and semantic web
  • Introduction to XML, basic structure of XML documents
  • Valid XML documents / Use of Document Type Definition (DTD)
  • Presentation of XML documents using CSS
  • XML namespaces
  • Presentation of XML documents using data binding
  • Presentation of XML documents using scripts of Document Object Model (DOM)
  • Transformation and presentation of XML documents using XSLΤ/XSL
  • Modelling of XML documents using XML Schema
  • XML applications

Recommended Readings

  • “XML Guide”, Edition: 1st, Author: S. Holzner, Publisher: M. Gkiourdas, 2009 (1st Book)
  • “XML step by step”, Author: M. J. Young, Publisher: Kleidarithmos Ltd, 2011 (2nd Book)
  • Notes and course slides

Business Process Management

Learning Outcomes

The objective of this course is to present fundamental principles of Business Process Management (BPM) and to study various methods and techniques for analyzing, modeling, automating, executing and optimizing business processes. The course will incorporate a laboratory component with well-known BPM software tools that allow students to practice some of the principles addressed.

Upon successful completion of this course student will be able to:

  • Create business process models by using BPMN based modelling tools
  • Execute business processes by using Business Process Management Systems
  • Analyze the performance of existing business processes and improve business processes that are not sufficient according to certain criteria
  • Create business process management strategies and business processes implementation plans within organizations

Course Content

  1. Business process definition, intra- and inter-organizational processes. Process-oriented organizations. Build processes’ business models. Virtual enterprises. Business processes and workflows.
  2. Process analysis techniques. Qualitative process analysis (e.g. Pareto analysis, value-added analysis, root-cause analysis). Quantitative process analysis (e.g. queuing analysis, simulation). Performance metrics (time, cost, quality).
  3. BPM life cycle. Discover, analyze, model, monitor, map, simulate, deploy. Business Process Reengineering-BPR and Business Process Improvement- BPI methodologies. Business Process modeling tools.
  4. The BPMN standard for business process modelling.
  5. Business process automation. Conceptual and executable process models.
  6. Business Processes Management Systems-BPMS (e.g. structure, architecture, standards).
  7. Process and activity life cycles. Workflow-based applications.
  8. Business processes and workflows, workflow categories, workflow dimensions, workflow management, workflow functional requirements, workflow specifications and execution languages.
  9. Workflow management using a specific BPMS software tool.
  10. Process Analytics. Metrics for evaluating business processes’ performance. Monitoring of standard metrics and process specific, user dined metrics.
  11. BPM methodologies (e.g. Six Sigma, Lean).
  12. Service-oriented and process-oriented information systems.

Suggested Bibliography

  • John Jeston and Johan Nelis (2008): Business Process Management, Second Edition: Practical Guidelines to Successful Implementations, Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston, ISBN: 0750669217.
  • Artie Mahal (2010): How Work Gets Done: Business Process Management, Basics and Beyond, Technics Publications, New Jersey, ISBN: 193550407.
  • Matias Weske, (2010): Business Process Management: Concepts, Languages, Architectures, Springer, New York, ISBN: 3642092640.
  • Simha Magal and Jeffry Word (2009): Essentials of Business Processes and Information Systems, Wiley, New York, ISBN: 0470418540.
  • Howard Smith and Peter Fingar (2003): Business Process Management: The third wave. Meghan Kiffer, ISBN: 0929652339.
  • Mark McDonald, (2010): Improving Business Processes, Harvard Business Review Press, Boston, ISBN: 142212973.
  • Business process management Journal, Emerald.
  • International Journal of Business Process Integration and management, Inderscience Publishers.

Database Systems

Learning Outcomes

The students upon the successful completion of the course will be able:

  • to apply the appropriate techniques for programming and managing database systems
  • to know the basic storage and data organization structures.
  • to apply query processing, query optimization and transaction management mechanisms.
  • to understand the mechanisms that ensure the integrity of the system in the case of multiple concurrent users with access to the same data and database recovery methods in case of failure.

Course Contents

  • Introduction to Database Management Systems (DBMSs). Fundamental concepts of DBMSs, database applications, overview of data models.
  • Data storage and file organization.
  • Query processing methods
  • Query optimization methods.
  • Transaction management: characteristics of a transaction management system.
  • Concurrency Control.
  • Database recovery methods.
  • Parallel and Distributed databases: design, query processing and transaction management in distributed systems.

Recommended Readings

  • Ramakrishnan R. & Gehrke J. (2002): Database Management Systems (3rd Edition), McGraw Hill.
  • Elmasri R. & Navathe S.B. (2007): Fundamentals of Database Systems (5th Edition), Addison-Wesley.