Introduction to Information Systems

Introduction to Systems

• A system is a group of interrelated components working together to achieve a desired outcome
• An Information System(IS) includes people, data, processes, communications, and IT to support and improve business operations
• Information Technology (IT) combines different computer technologies
• Systems Analysis and Design provides structure for analyzing and designing information systems
• Installing a system without proper planning often leads to user dissatisfaction and possible disuse

Types of workers

• Information workers are involved in the creation, collection, processing, distribution, and use of information, often called white collar workers and outnumber blue collar workers since 1957
• Knowledge workers are a subset of information workers with responsibilities based on a specialized body of knowledge and are often subject matter experts
• System owners are the sponsors and advocates for an information system, funding its development, operation, and maintenance
• System users use or are affected by the information system regularly for capturing, validating, entering, responding to, storing, and exchanging data and information
• Growth of web use is increasing the number of remote and external users
• System designers translate user requirements into technical solutions, designing computer files, databases, inputs, outputs, screens, networks, and programs
• System designers are often referred to as systems analysts

System Builders and Problem Solving

• System builders construct components based on design specifications and are often programmers
• System analysts study organizational problems and needs to improve business through IT
• If IT is used, the analyst handles data capture, flow, processing, storage, and information retrieval
• Business analysts specialize in business problem analysis and tech-independent requirements
• The increasing number of end-users assigns system analysts roles to knowledge workers, increasing the popularity of business analysts

Synonyms and Problem Solving Steps

• Synonyms for systems analyst include systems consultant, architect, engineer, information engineer, and systems integrator
• Problem-solving involves identifying the problem, analyzing it, determining requirements, identifying alternative solutions, designing the best solution, and evaluating the results through the following steps:
• Identify the problem
• Analyze and understand the problem
• Identify solution requirements or expectations
• Identify alternative solutions and decide a course of action
• Design and implement the "best" solution
• Evaluate the results and repeat if needed

IS Services Organizations

• Traditional IS Services Organizations assigned analysts and programmers to specific business functions
• Contemporary IS Services Organizations pool analysts, programmers, and specialists for dynamic assignment to project teams
• These service organizations improve quality management and better business trends and drivers

Business Trends and Drivers

• Total Quality Management (TQM) comprehensively improves quality and management in a business
• Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) monitors business processes for small improvements to reduce cost and add value
• CPI is essentially the opposite of Business Process Redesign (BPR) but can complement it
• Legacy systems are older applications crucial to business operations but use outdated technologies
• Business Process Redesign (BPR) studies, analyzes, and redesigns fundamental processes for cost reduction or improved value
• Globalization of the economy also can assist Business Trends and Drivers
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a fully integrated IS spanning basic business functions and an important concept

More Concepts in Business

• Examples of ERP software vendors include Baan, J.D. Edwards, Oracle, Peoplesoft, and SAP
• Systems analysts working on ERP projects are considered systems integrators
• Electronic commerce (EC or E-commerce) involves conducting business over the Internet, intranets, & extranets
• Three electronic commerce applications include marketing, business-to-consumer (B2C), and business-to-business (B2B)

System and Program Skills

• System Analysts need to:
  • Work with various people and perspectives on the application
  • Communicate effectively with all stakeholders
  • Be a people person and good communicator
  • Represent the corporation
• Programmers need to:
  • Typically work in a defined peer group
  • Not require diverse people/ communication skills
  • Require technical skills
  • Have a defined scope of responsibilities

System Analysts as Facilitators

• System analysts can act as facilitators and must work with:
  • Steering committees
  • IT vendors
  • Application programmers
  • Network and Database Administrators
  • Interface Design Experts
  • Management/System Owners
  • Various users

Required Skills

• System Analysts require the following skills:
  • Working knowledge of IT
  • Computer programming expertise
  • General Business Knowledge
  • Problem-solving
  • Interpersonal Communication
  • Relation skills
  • Adaptability and Flexibility
  • Ethics
  • SAD Skills

Computer Ethics

• The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics state the following:
  • Do not use a computer to harm people
  • Do not interfere with other's computer work
  • Do not snoop around computer files
  • Do not use a computer to steal
  • Do not use a computer to bear false witness
  • Do not copy or use proprietary software
  • Do not use other peoples computer resources without authorization
  • Do not appropriate other people's intellectual output
  • Think about the social consequences
  • Always consider other humans

Information Systems Building Blocks

• Data are raw facts about an organization's business transactions without context
• Information is data refined and organized by processing and intelligence with context
• Data is Summarized, Organized, and Analyzed
• Types of Systems include:
  • Transaction Processing
  • Management Information
  • Decision Support
  • Executive Information
  • Expert
  • Communication and Collaboration
  • Office Automation

Systems and their applications

• Data maintenance provides updates to stored data
• Transaction processing systems (TPS) capture and process data about business transactions
• Examples of TPS are ATMs, Point-of-sale systems, Online shopping, Stock exchanges, Hotel reservations, and Payroll systems
• Management Information Systems (MIS) provide management-oriented reporting
• Examples of MIS are customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management (SCM), and human resource information systems (HRIS)
• Decision Support Systems (DSS) provides users with decision-oriented information
• When applied to executive managers, systems are called executive information systems (EIS)
• Data Warehouse: is read-only, an informational database populated from TPS and MIS with detailed, summary, and exception data
• Examples of DSS are in Healthcare, Agriculture, Weather Forecasting, Real Estate, and Navigation
• Expert Systems is a programmed decision-making IS with examples such as:
  • Medical diagnosis systems like MYCIN
  • DENDRAL (predicting molecular structures in chemistry)
  • PXDES (predicting lung cancer severity)
  • Financial analysis system like FINEVA
  • Intelligent tutoring systems
• Office Automation (OA) systems support business activities and helps single users with productivity or assists workgroups
• Email management systems, document management tools, scheduling applications, Microsoft Office Suite, Google Workspace, systems for automated data entry, and report generation all help this

Executive systems

• Executive Information Systems tailor unique executive needs
• Communication and Collaboration Systems communication and collaboration between internal and external people for the organization

Components of a communication and collaboration system

• Examples of CCS are Google Meet, Zoom, Google Workspace, Dropbox and Microsoft Teams
• Perspectives or Stakeholders can be roles but not job titles

Types of Stakeholders

• System owners pay for the system to be built and maintained
• System users use the system to perform or support their work
• System designers design the system requirements for the users
• System builders construct, test, and deliver operations
• Systems analysts facilitate the development of IS and Computer Applications
• IT vendors and consultants sell hardware, software, businesses

Data focuses

• Data is the raw material used to create useful information
• Processes are the activities within the systems
• Interfaces dictate how the systems interface with users and share information

Focus based on Stakeholders

• System owners' perspective involves business knowledge
• System users' perspective uses data requirements of relationships, attributes, and rules
• System designers use the database schema
• System builders use a database management system

Process Focus

• System owners' perspective uses business functions that support the business itself
• Cross-functional IS supports processes from multiple business functions
• Business processes are the activities that respond to these business events
• Process requirements show how a process should act in terms of activities, data and workflow
• Policy acts as a set of rules
• Procedures provide a step by step set of logical instructions

Interface

• The interface focus are places with stakeholders
• System owners show a perspective with a system owner
• System users have interface requirements
• System designers show a user dialogue
• System builders act as a form of middleware
• The use of networks is a building block to the data, process, and itnerface

SDLC

• System Development Processes are a set of activities, methods, deliverables, and automated tools
• Capability Maturity Model (CMM) framework assesses the maturity level processes
• CMM includes 5 Levels of Maturity:
  • Initial
  • Repeatable
  • Defined
  • Managed
  • Optimizing
• System life Cycle includes the 2 life-cycles of IS development and IS operations
• System Development Methodology is a very formal and precise system development

SLDC Stages

• SDLC Planning includes:
  • Project initation
  • Project management
• SLDC Analysis includes:
  • Analysis strategy
  • Gather of requirements
  • Development of a system proposal
• SLDC Design includes:
  • Design Strategy
  • Design Architecture and Interfaces
  • Develop DB and file specifications
  • Develop a program design
• SDLC Implementation includes:
  • Construct System
  • Install System (implement a training plan for users)
  • Establish support plan

Problems, oppurtunities and directives

• Problems occur when the organization is failing to achieve goals
• Oppurtunities are open for improvement
• Directives are requirements added when new requirements are made

PIECES solving frame work

• PIECES is a useful measure
• Use PIECES to solve and analyze situations
• PIECES:
  • Performance
  • Information
  • Economics
  • Security
  • Efficency
  • Service

Business Value

• Types of business value are tangible and intangible

Request elements

• System requests include a projects sponsor, business need, business requirements, business value, and any special issues that can occur

Feasibility Analysis

• Feasibility Analysis determines whether to proceed with a project
• This also identifies project risks
• Technical feasibility
• Economic feasibility
• Cost-benefit analysis
• Organizational Analysis
• Project protfolio managment supports business goals, and requires a business strategy as well as analysis
• Business goals are measured quantitatively

Methadology

• Methodologies implement SDLC, implementing aspects such as waterfall development
• Well known methodologies are:
  • Waterfall Development
  • Parallel Development
  • V-Model
  • Rapid Application Development
  • Agile Development

Catagories of different developments

• Structured Design uses waterfall and parallel development
• Rapid Application Development involves phased development, prototyping, and throwaway prototyping
• Agile Development involves XP programming
• Object-Oriented Analysis attempts to balance data and process
• It uses Unified Modeling Language (UML) and has specific characteristics such as being driven by use-case, is architecture centric and incrementally iterative
• Unified Process maps techniques for object-oriented analysis and design through phases of inception, elaboration, and construction (as well as transition)

Engineering Workflow

• Engineering work includes business modeling, requirements, analysis, design, implementation, testing, and deployment
• Supporting workflows include project management, configuration and change management, environment building, operations and support, and infrastructure management

UML

• Unified Modeling Language(UML) provides an object oriented vocabulary, and has many various diagrams ranging from structural to more behavioral

Diagrams of structure

• UML Structure Diagrams represent the data and static relationships and consists of:
  • Class
  • Object
  • Package
  • Deployment
  • Component
  • Composite structure

Terms Explained

• A USE CASE depicts a set of activities performed to produce an output result.
• An ACTOR is a separate entity that interacts and benefits from the system
• ASSOCIATION RELATIONSHIP use, cases, and actors are tied through association relationships

System Design Process

• Design Process uses "Unified Process" (UP) Methodology and is iterative
• UP breaks process into inception, planning, construction, and transition

Teams management

• These teams are e-Teams
• Managing relationships and communication is fundamental
• PROCESS a methodology steps to achieve a goal
• ROLES the responsibilities of each member of a project team
• TEAMS utilize a number of team skills

Broad Skills

• A lot of skills are required for modern softwares:
  • Graphic Design (Images, interactive elements)
  • Web Development (HTML, jscript etc)
  • Software Development (eg Java, Perl)
  • Business Analysis (Requirements)
  • Training
  • Client/Account Management
• Managers must follow, innovate, empower, and communicate

Client Consultant relationship

• Relationships can be made through:
  • Discovery
  • Requirements Analysis
  • Solution Defintion
  • Project Proposal
• Important factors are, commitment, trust, inspiration, responsility, education

Project Plans

• Project Specification Documents often include:

1. Introduction and Project Objectives
2. Project Description
3. Total Cost of Ownership for Infrastructure
4. Actors and Use Case
5. Site Map. Content Plan
6. Testing Plan, site updates and maintenance
7. Budget
8. Appendices

Risks of project creation

• Project risks include, privacy, copyright infringment, licensing changes, legal problems, lack of funds, missing skills, market changes and prices, and competitors