K201/K204 Exam 1 Study Guide Flashcards

Vocabulary study flashcards based on Chapters 3, 5, and 7 of the K201/K204 Foundations of Business Information Systems and Decision Making study guide.

Data

Raw, unorganized facts and figures without inherent meaning (e.g., numbers, dates).

Information

Data that has been organized, structured, or processed to give it context, meaning, and usefulness for decision-making.

Knowledge

What you get when you combine information with experience, context, and judgment to draw conclusions or make decisions.

Sociotechnical Systems

Systems in which social elements (people, processes) and technical elements (hardware, software, data) are interdependent and must work together.

Four Essential Components of an Information System

People, Processes and Procedures, Data, and Technology under the expanded PPT framework.

Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)

Information systems that handle routine, repeatable operational tasks, such as scanning barcodes at checkout, paying employees, and managing inventory.

Decision Support System (DSS)

An interactive system that helps managers analyze data, compare alternatives, and evaluate possible outcomes under different assumptions without replacing managerial judgment.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Large, integrated platforms that unify data and processes across the entire organization into a single database.

Network Effects

A phenomenon that occurs when a system or service becomes more valuable as more people use it, creating high barriers to entry for rivals.

Business Requirement

A clear, testable statement of what a system must accomplish or support so the organization can achieve a business purpose.

Testing Phase (SDLC)

The phase in the System Development Lifecycle where the team gathers verifiable evidence that the system behaves correctly under specific conditions prior to deployment.

Normal Use Case

A test condition that evaluates expected workflows under standard operational conditions.

Edge Case

A test condition that evaluates unusual, boundary, high-volume, or conflicting conditions.

Acceptance Tests

Tests written in a structured, verifiable 'Given / When / Then' pattern that anyone can execute and evaluate.

Software Acquisition Paths

The three primary routes to obtain software: Buy (commercial off-the-shelf), Configure/Customize (adapting existing software), or Build (custom software development).

Waterfall

The traditional, linear development approach where a team completely finishes one major stage before moving to the next.

Agile

Development approaches that shorten feedback loops by having teams work in smaller increments, gather stakeholder feedback frequently, and adapt as they learn.

Scrum

A common, structured Agile framework that organizes work into short, fixed-length cycles with regular progress reviews.

DevOps

The practice of connecting development, release, operations, monitoring, and ongoing support to bridge the gap between software creators and operators.

Vibe Coding

Creating software primarily by describing what to build in natural language and letting AI generate much of the code.

Production Signals

Post-launch metrics—such as error rates, customer complaints, adoption numbers, and support tickets—that managers monitor to determine if a system is delivering value.

Enterprise System

Software designed to support and integrate the core business processes of an entire organization across multiple functions and locations.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

A system that helps an organization manage customer interactions, track sales pipelines, automate marketing, and log support tickets in a central database.

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

A system used to coordinate the flow of raw materials, demand forecasting, production scheduling, warehouse inventory, and supplier logistics.

Information Silo

A state that occurs when business data is trapped within an isolated departmental system and cannot easily flow to other functions.

Systems Map

A diagram that tracks how data moves between distinct software systems, databases, and departments, as opposed to a flowchart which illustrates step-by-step human actions.

Best-of-Breed Strategy

A strategy where a company chooses the top-rated standalone software package for each individual department rather than an all-in-one suite.

Scenario Analysis

A What-If analysis performed by adjusting growth assumptions in a decision-support model to project inventory and revenue under different demand growth rates.

Student Information System (SIS)

A central system in a university ecosystem that checks prerequisites, holds seats during registration, and routes data to other platforms such as LMS and billing.