Info systems 1

3 Business objectives of IT Investments

Automate processes

Democratize data

Reduce user friction

Automate processes

offload low value work

Automate processes + business value

IT lowers the cost of production and services

IT increases personal and organizational productivity

Democratize data

make information accessible

Democratize data + business value

IT connects people; allows them to operate globally

IT enables network efforts

Reduce user friction

make doing things easier

Reduce user friction + business value

IT enables global commerce

IT connects people; allows them to operate globally

Digital transformation

"...the fundamental rewiring of how an organization operates...to build a competitive advantage by continuously deploying tech ats cale to improve customer experience and lower costs."

Functional / Personal Information Systems

supports personal productivity

facilitates everyday personal or professional tasks

ex: Grammarly

Enterprise Information Systems

Supports business process across organization

Facilitates the workflows and processes of an organization

ex: Salesforce CRM

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)

software system that helps organizations streamline their core internal business processes (digitize)—including finance, HR, manufacturing, supply chain, sales, and procurement—with a unified view of activity and provides a single source of truth

type of EIS

Network Information Systems

Supports interaction and collaboration

Facilitate communication and information sharing among employees

ex: Zoom

4 Pillars of Digital Transformation

New ventures

IT uplift

Digitizing operations

Digital marketing

New ventures

new business models and products

IT uplift

modernizing existing IT

Digitizing operations

optimizing existing business

Digital marketing

digital tools for marketing, e-commerce, customer acquisition

Customer Relationship Management

Manages customer-facing processes, including sales, marketing, and service. Focused on improving relationships and revenue

Relationship between the cloud and the Internet

internet = infrastructure, cloud is a service using the internet

Cloud

global network of servers around the world acting as one massive hard drive doing data storage + processing

Computer

input, storage, processing, output

Processor

Processes data using the instructions contained in application programs (software)

Random Access Memory (RAM)

Contains running programs and current data

Volatile, expensive, fast

Storage

Preserves programs and data programs

Non-volatile, low-cost, slow (relatively!)

Internet

Global network

- public/private network that connect smaller networks

- host the services we use everyday

- built-in redundancy

Built-in Redundancy

designed to keep data flowing even when parts of the network fail

- there are multiple paths for data to travel

- Multiple Paths, Packet Switching, Distributed Servers, Protocols with Error Checking

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

Virtualized computing resources available through the Internet

Give servers + network connectivity (the basics) and i will build the rest

(ex: AWS)

Platform as a service (PaaS)

Services that support application development and deployment

Give all the things + tools (components to access database, make visually appealing) to build applications

(ex: Salesforce)

Software as a service (SaaS)

Software delivered over the internet

Complete application, you are not building anything

(ex: Gmail)

Business case for the cloud

- puts focus on the application not on infrastructure

- simplifies application acquisition, deployment, and maintenance

- simplifies application development

The cloud puts the focus on the

application

- Infrastructure is "undifferentiated heavy lifting"

- Applications drive competitive advantage ( source of unique value for company)

Simplifies application acquisition, deployment, and maintenance

Cloud services are typically subscription-based or pay-as-you-go, so companies can access software without large upfront costs

Simplifies application development

Shorter development cycles, faster innovation, and easier experimentation

API makes this possible

Application Programming Interface

a set of rules and tools that allows different software applications to communicate with each other

(ex: verification services, waiter is interface between customer and kitchen)

API Economy is possible by

computers, connected to the Internet, making services available through cloud

How would you describe the API economy?

the business and economic activity that emerges from using APIs to create, share, and monetize digital services and data

The role of APIs in cloud-based software services

Enable Communication Between Services

Facilitate Integration

Enable Automation

Support Modularity and Scalability

Drive Innovation

Computational Thinking

View the problem as a set of separate components

Formulate structured solutions based on patterns and repeatable logic

Computational Thinking Process

Decomposition

Pattern recognition

Abstraction

Algorithmic thinking

Decomposition

Break up the task into smaller actions (complication to manageable)

ex: make chore list

Pattern recognition

Identify actions that are similar or repeat

ex: grouping items based on same characteristics

Abstraction

Taking a step back from the specific details of a given problem to create a more generic solution

ex: telling a story without saying a character had a snack break

Algorithmic Thinking

Strategy that can be used to determine the step-by-step instructions on how to solve the problem

ex: recipes

Systems Thinking

View the problem as an integrated whole

Formulate structured solutions based on cause-and-effect relationships

Systems Thinking Process

Interconnectedness & synthesis

Feedback loops & causality

Emergence

Interconnectedness & synthesis

List elements involved in accomplishing the task. How are they connected?

ex:

Feedback loops & causality

Identify how those elements affect each other.

Emergence

Observe or extrapolate behaviors that (might) develop over time

Feedback Loop

System behavior emerges from circular causality rather than linear cause-effect chains

Reinforcing loops (R)

amplify change, exponential growth or decline

ex: More users join a social media platform →

More content is created →

Platform becomes more attractive →

Even more users join → repeat

Balancing loops (B)

counteract growth, stabilizing systems

ex: inventory level drops →

Reorder more stock →

Inventory increases →

Reduce ordering → stabilizes inventory levels

Business Process

"...an activity or set of activities that accomplish a specific organizational goal."

carried out by info systems

Ex: payroll, hiring, procurement, sales, order fulfillment

Front-office processes

customer-facing activities

ex: sales, marketing, customer service, and support

Back-office processes

internal operations

ex: finance, HR, procurement, supply chain, and IT

Business process modeling

a visual representation of a business process

manage existing processes & manage process change

Business process modeling notation (BPMN)

One standard notation for modeling business processes

objective: describe a process in a common way to all users, regardless of the tool used to describe the process

BPMN Common symbols

actors, activity, flow, gateway, swim lanes, pool

Start and end nodes BPMN

Circle

Indicates where the process starts and ends

Can have multiple end points depending on outcomes

Activities BPMN

Rectangle

Named activity, process, or task that occurs over time

Inputs to outputs

Performed by participant

Flows BPMN

Arrow

Sequence and/or movement of data or materials

Gateways BPMN

Diamond

Model decision points (diverging flows)

Label with question

Pools and swim lanes BPMN

Defines the perimeter of the process; its name identifies the modeled process

Subdivided into swim lanes that represent the actors; this allows us to associate activities

Common mistakes in data flows

Black hole

Miracle

Black hole

Process that has inputs but no outputs

Miracle

Process that has outputs but no inputs

Business Process Modeling Steps

Document process in writing

Annotate the narrative

Complete a business process organizer

Create the diagram

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

a software bot uses...automation,computer vision, and machine learning to automate repetitive, high-volume tasks that are rule-based and trigger-driven

ex: payroll processing

Agentic Automation

enables software 'agents,' powered by large language models, generative AI, and largeaction models...to take autonomous action; best for ambiguity

ex: insurance claims, fraud detection

Check offs for RPAs

Rule-based

Repeated at regular intervals, or have a pre-defined trigger

Defined inputs and outputs.

Sufficient volume

AI agent orchestration

coordination and management of specialized AI agents to work together toward completing a task or goal

Business case for AI agent orchestration

Tackles Complex, Multi-Step Processes

Increases Efficiency and Reduces Costs

Enhances Decision Quality and Speed

Drives Innovation and Customer Value

business case for process automation tools like Power Automate

Streamlines and Automates Repetitive Tasks

Increases Efficiency and Productivity

Reduces Operational Costs

Improves Consistency and Compliance

Enables Integration Across Systems

Information Technology Product

something that delivers value (business or personal) through the application of technology, long-term

ex: Microsoft Office 365

Tradeoffs of IT Products

UX, Technology, Business

Information Technology Project

a temporary effort to create value through a unique product, service, or result

ex: Upgrading a company's network security system

Role of the product manager

shaping, delivering, and improving products that create business and customer value (outcomes)

Waterfall methodology

well-defined sequential steps

Efficient, reliable delivery based on initial specifications, can not go back

Agile methodology

sequential steps of limited scope that repeat (iterations)

Quick and continuous delivery, testing as we go along

Waterfall type projects

Projects with well-defined, stable requirements.

Industries requiring strict compliance and documentation (e.g., construction, aerospace, healthcare).

Large systems integrations or infrastructure projects.

Agile type projects

Projects with evolving or unclear requirements.

Software development, digital products, AI/ML initiatives.

Startups or innovation-driven projects where experimentation is key.

Environments where customer feedback loops are critical.

Scrum

most popular agile framework

Cross-functional and self-managing, focused on delivery in short cycles (sprints)

Scrum roles

product owner, developers, scrum master

Scrum artifacts

product backlog, sprint backlog, increment

Scrum events

sprint planning -> daily scrum -> sprint review -> sprint retrospective

Data

observations, symbols, or representations that are recorded

ex: raw numbers

Information

data placed into a meaningful context

ex: numbers are labeled

Knowledge

application of information to achieve a goal

ex: grow patterns from chart made from numbers

Business Analytics Process

Prepare (collect)

Perform (analyze)

Use (make recommendations)

Types of data analytics

Descriptive

Diagnostic

Predictive

Prescriptive

Descriptive Data Analytics

What has happened?

Summarize and aggregate raw data

Often basic math is all you need (sum, average)

ex: Website traffic dashboard showing visits last quarter

Diagnostic Data Analytics

Why did it happen?

Find relationships in the data (causes of outcomes)

Can require statistical techniques (correlation,regression)

ex: Christmas decoration-related ER visits

Predictive Data Analytics

What is going to happen?

Use past data to make predictions about the future

Uses artificial intelligence to"learn" patterns

ex: Fraud detection, credit card transactions

Prescriptive Data Analytics

What should we do?

Uses both descriptive and predictive analytics

Uses AI, but with a focus on recommendation

ex: Forecasting next month's product demand

Pitfalls of analytic initiatives

Tyranny of averages

Decisions precede data

Multiple versions of the truth

Misguided data driven incentives

Tyranny of Averages

Organizations rely on averages which hides important variations.

How to Avoid:

use segmentation

report distribution metrics

Decisions Precede Data

Leaders make decisions first, then use data selectively to justify them (confirmation bias).

How to avoid:

Frame clear business questions before analysis

Encourage a hypothesis-driven approach

Multiple Versions of the Truth

Different teams create different reports or metrics from the same data, leading to inconsistencies.

How to avoid:

Establish data governance

Use centralized data warehouses/lakes

Misguided Data-Driven Incentives

Incentives tied to the wrong metrics lead to distorted behavior

How to avoid:

Align metrics with long-term business outcomes

Datasbase

A collection of files, organized as tables

Tables are made up of

records (rows)