Gaining an understanding of Information Systems and improving IS education has become a serious issue for the IS discipline. Prior to undertaking Management of Information Systems (MIS) in an MBA course, students sometimes cannot explain clearly exactly what information systems are and what they should do in practice. This paper begins by considering the various influences on the MIS curriculum and some of the conventional approaches to curriculum design, selection and organisation of teaching materials. It then offers an alternative approach by presenting a three question framework for understanding and explaining the IS field. From this basis the paper argues that these three questions can be used to guide the study, teaching and practice of MIS.