Teaching i* Alongside a Contrasting Modeling Framework Eric Yu 1,2 , Lysanne Lessard 3 , Zia Babar 1 , Soroosh Nalchigar 2 , and Jennifer Horkoff 4 1 Faculty of Information, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada 2 Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada 3 Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada 4 Department of Human Computer Interaction, City University London, London, UK eric.yu@utoronto.ca, lessard@telfer.uottawa.ca zia.babar@mail.utoronto.ca, soroosh@cs.toronto.edu horkoff@city.ac.uk Abstract. We briefly describe the design of a course on “Systems Analysis and Process Innovation”, focusing especially on its project assignments. Students are introduced to process modeling and data modeling, followed by i* and Val- ue Network modeling. In their project assignments, students apply these model- ing techniques to real organizational settings to analyze an as-is situation and to explore to-be alternatives. A distinctive feature in the design of the project as- signments is that student teams split into 2 sub-teams in which each sub-team uses a different modeling technique to analyze the same domain setting. After each sub-team has separately completed its own work, the two sub-teams then compare their results for the domain problem setting, and more importantly, contrast the strengths and limitations of the two modeling approaches based on their project experience. Keywords: pedagogical design, modeling approaches, project assignments 1 Motivation In learning a modeling language, it is easy to become preoccupied with language syntax and semantics while losing sight of the larger purpose of the modeling activity. One way for learners to maintain some intellectual distance from any particular lan- guage is to recognize that there can be other languages that could potentially achieve comparable objectives, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. For the past few years, in a course on “Systems Analysis and Process Innovation” [1] at the University of Toronto iSchool, i* modeling [2] has been taught alongside Value Network model- ing (VNA) [3]. Student teams apply i* and VNA to the same problem setting to ex- plore ideas for solution alternatives. They get to experience firsthand the strengths and limitations of each technique in contrast to each other. In this short paper, we describe the structure of the course and the design of the as- signments, including the final assignment in which i* and VNA are used. The “studio 1st International iStar Teaching Workshop (iStarT 2015) 25