15.358 The Business of Software and Digital Platforms Spring 2010

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 The Business of Software course thought by professor Cusumano, was one of my favorite classes at MIT. The seminar styled class takes a deep dive on a separate topic each week. Each class has a lecture by professor Cusumano, followed by a student presentation on the topic, then sometimes a guest lecture from industry leaders and ending with a short lecture by co-professor Imran Sayeed. 

Overall, the course was very interesting as we explored various topics like SaaS, Cloud computing, Mobile Video, Mobile platforms, Social networks etc. Each topic was relevant to current times and as stated above was covered from multiple perspective. The class was very interactive. Only drawback was, we always ran out of time. I guess I cannot complain too much as these are very interesting topics and they are bound incite deep passion and hence the discussions. I think first few classes could be trimmed for future semesters as the discussion about products vs. services does not seem to add much value.

The course load involved 1 class presentation, 2 reaction papers and one final paper. Reaction papers are individual assignments and rest in a group of 2 - 4 students. Each submission is evaluated by Cusumano, Imran and the TA. You will find that not everyone will like your point of view in the reaction paper. Do not forget the 40% for the class participation as common with every Sloan course.

You are not allowed to sit in as a listener, so SDM students will have to burn one Sloan credit for taking the course. I think it is a very valuable course taught by one of the leading experts in the industry, so if you are interested in software, this is a must course.