ISDS 351 Exam 1

What is an information system and why do we need them?

It is a solution that helps us gather, analyze, maintain, and distribute data. It consists of hardware, software, and various networks that are often used by people and organizations to streamline workflows and achieve business goals.

What are the four types of information systems?

-Personal information system: improves productivity of individual users in performing stand alone tasks

-Workgroup information systems: enables people to work together efficiently and effectively

-Enterprise information systems: facilitates organization-wide business needs

-Inter-organizational information systems: enables sharing of information across organizational boundaries

Distinguish between Business Process Reengineering and Continuous Improvement. Which of these would be classified as a project and why?

Business Process Reengineering: radical redesign of business processes, organizational structures, information systems and values of the organization

Continuous improvement: form of innovation that involves constantly seeking ways to improve business processes and add value to products and services

BPR can be classified as a project because it involves a defined beginning and end, specific objectives, and substantial resource allocation. It often requires project management methodologies to coordinate the various aspects of the redesign process.

Define the term database and identify four activities performed by a database management system

A database is an organized collection of structured information or data, typically stored electronically in a computer system. Databases are managed by Database Management Systems (DBMS), which allow users to create, retrieve, update, and manage data efficiently.

Activities Performed by a Database Management System (DBMS)

1 Data Storage and Retrieval: The DBMS provides a systematic way to store data and retrieve it efficiently using queries, often through a language like SQL.

2 Data Manipulation: It allows users to perform operations such as inserting, updating, and deleting records. This manipulation is essential for maintaining current and accurate information.

3 Data Security and Access Control: The DBMS manages user access to the data, ensuring that sensitive information is protected and that only authorized users can access or manipulate it.

4 Backup and Recovery: The DBMS provides mechanisms for backing up data to prevent loss in case of hardware failure or other issues. It also facilitates data recovery processes to restore data to its previous state.

Wha are the three primary characteristics associated with big data

1. Volume

• Definition: Refers to the vast amounts of data generated every second from various sources, including social media, sensors, transactions, and more.

• Importance: The sheer scale of data requires specialized storage and processing solutions, such as distributed databases and cloud storage, to handle and analyze effectively.

2. Velocity

• Definition: The speed at which data is generated, processed, and analyzed. This includes real-time or near-real-time data streams.

• Importance: High velocity demands rapid processing capabilities to derive insights quickly, which is crucial for time-sensitive decisions in areas like finance, marketing, and operations.

3. Variety

• Definition: Refers to the different types of data being generated, including structured data (like databases), semi-structured data (like JSON or XML), and unstructured data (like text, images, and videos).

• Importance: Variety presents challenges for data integration and analysis, requiring advanced techniques to process and extract valuable insights from disparate data formats.

These characteristics highlight the complexity and opportunities presented by big data, influencing how organizations approach data management, analysis, and decision-making.

What are the ACID properties of an SQL databse and what re their benefits?

The ACID properties are a set of principles that ensure reliable processing of database transactions in an SQL database.

Atomicity

• Definition: A transaction is treated as a single, indivisible unit. It either completes in full or has no effect at all.

• Benefit: This ensures that partial updates do not occur; if a transaction fails, the database remains unchanged, preventing data corruption.

2. Consistency

• Definition: A transaction must bring the database from one valid state to another valid state, maintaining all defined rules, such as constraints and triggers.

• Benefit: This guarantees that any transaction will always leave the database in a valid state, upholding data integrity throughout operations.

3. Isolation

• Definition: Transactions are executed in isolation from one another. Concurrent transactions do not interfere with each other.

• Benefit: This prevents data anomalies and ensures that intermediate transaction results are not visible to other transactions, leading to consistent results even in concurrent environments.

4. Durability

• Definition: Once a transaction is committed, its effects are permanent, even in the case of a system failure.

• Benefit: This guarantees that completed transactions are saved and will survive crashes or failures, providing reliability in data storage.

Summary of Benefits

• Data Integrity: ACID properties help maintain accurate and consistent data throughout transactions.

• Reliability: Users can trust that transactions are processed correctly and that the database state reflects those transactions.

• Concurrent Access: Isolation allows multiple users to work with the database simultaneously without conflicts.

• Failure Recovery: Durability ensures that data remains safe and recoverable after system failures.

Overall, ACID properties are crucial for the robust functioning of SQL databases, especially in environments requiring high reliability and data integrity.

3 categories of business intelligence and analytics tools

. Descriptive Analytics Tools

• Description: These tools provide insights into past performance by summarizing historical data. They use statistical analysis and data aggregation techniques to create reports and dashboards that help organizations understand what has happened.

• Examples: Tools like Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, and Google Data Studio are commonly used to visualize historical data and generate reports that aid in decision-making.

2. Predictive Analytics Tools

• Description: Predictive analytics tools leverage historical data, statistical algorithms, and machine learning techniques to forecast future trends and behaviors. They help organizations anticipate outcomes and make informed decisions.

• Examples: Tools such as IBM SPSS, SAS, and RapidMiner are designed to analyze patterns and predict future scenarios, enabling businesses to identify opportunities and risks proactively.

3. Prescriptive Analytics Tools

• Description: These tools provide recommendations for actions based on data analysis. They go a step further than predictive analytics by suggesting optimal solutions and strategies to achieve desired outcomes.

• Examples: Tools like IBM Watson, Oracle Analytics, and Microsoft Azure Machine Learning offer capabilities to simulate various scenarios and recommend actions based on analytical insights.

Summary

Each category serves a distinct purpose:

• Descriptive Analytics helps organizations understand past performance.

• Predictive Analytics aids in forecasting future trends.

• Prescriptive Analytics provides actionable recommendations to optimize decision-making. Together, these tools empower organizations to harness data effectively for strategic advantage.

Leavitt’s Diamond Model

Used to introduce new systems into workplace, lower stress , encourage teamwork and increase implementation

4 key components: People, Technology, Processes, Structure

Value Chain

A series of activities to transform inputs into outputs

1. Inbound Logistics

2. Operations

3. Outbound Logistics

4. Marketing and Sales

5. Services

Strategic Planning

The managerial process designed to identify initiatives and projects to achieve organizational objectives

Benefits? Provides framework and direction to guide decision making, provides effective use of organizations resources, allows organization to be proactive and improve communication

IS Strategic Planning

Identifies resources to invest in, supports corporate and business unit strategies, includes technologies, vendors, competencies, people, systems, and projects

influences new technology innovations and innovative thinkers

Shadow IT

The use of IT-related systems, software, or hardware without the knowledge or authorization of an organization's IT department. It can include the use of cloud services, software, and hardware.

Typical IS Roles

1. Chief Information Officer -employs IS dept equipment and personnel, achieves organizations goals, understands finance, accounting and ROI

2. Software Developer - develops apps and operation systems, tests and debugs and upgrade software

3. IS Security Analyst - consults with management and iusers, defines scope and requirements for new information systems

4. Programmer- converts design into working program

5. Web Developer- design and maintain websites, monitor websites

6. Business Analyst- improve company’s competitiveness and performnce, evaluate and solce business challenges

Certification

The process for testing skills and knowledge confirming individual is capable of performing particular tasks involving vender-specific or vendor-provided coursework

3 Approaches to Strategic Planning

1. Issues based - identify/ analyze key issues, set strategies to address them, and identify consistent projects and initiatives

2. Organic Strategic planning - define visions and values and identify projects and initiatives to achieve vision while adhering to values

3. Goals-based strategic planning- 4 phases: Analyze the Situation, Set Direction, Define Strategies, Deploy the Plan

Five Forces Model

Used to analyze the performance of an industry and determine its competitiveness

1.Threat of new entrants

2.Bargaining power of buyers

3.Bargaining power of suppliers

4.Threat of new substitutes

5.Competitive rivalry

SWOT Analysis

a strategic planning tool that evaluates an organization's internal and external factors to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

5 Project Classifications

1. Strategic: aligned with organization long term goals and objectives, high impact, involves significant resources

2. Compliance: focused on meeting legal, regulatory, or industry standards.

3. Operational: aim to improve efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness of orgs daily operations

4. Financial: focus on optimizing financial performance, managing resources or improving financial controls

5. Technological: involve development, implementation or enhancement of technology systems

Innovation

Application of new ideas to the products, processes and activities of a firm, leading to increased value

ex: Apple, UBER, Amazon, AirBNB

Reengineering

radical redesign of business processes, organizational structures, information systems and values of the organization

Continuous improvement

form of innovation that involves constantly seeking ways to improve business processes and add value to products and services

Strategic Planning Pyramid

a top-down approach to identify initiatives, programs, and projects that are well-suited for the organization.

Organizational Culture and Change

the set of values, beliefs, and norms that define a company's identity and influence how it operates. Organizational culture change is the process of intentionally altering a company's culture to align it with its desired values and goals

TAM Acceptance Model

Specifies the factors that can lead to better attitudes about the use of a new information system, along with its higher acceptance and usage

Perceived usefulness (U) and perceived ease of use (E) strongly influence whether someone will use an information system. Management can improve that perception by demonstrating that others have used the system effectively and by providing user training and support.

Diffusion of Innovation Theory

explains how a new idea or product gains acceptance and diffuses (or spreads) through a specific population or subset of an organization

Key point: adoption of any innovation does not happen all at once for all members of the targeted population; rather, it is a drawn-out process, with some people quicker to adopt the innovation than others

Project Management

the process of planning, organizing, and executing a project to achieve a specific goal or outcome

5 Paramters that define a project

1. Scope:Definition of which tasks are included and which tasks are not included in a project

2. Cost:Includes all capital, expenses, and internal cross-charges associated with the project’s buildings, operation, maintenance, and support

3. Time:Timing of a project is frequently a critical constraint

4. Quality: Degree to which the project meets the needs of its users

5. User Expectation:As a project begins, stakeholders will form expectations—or will already have expectations—about how the project will be conducted and how it will affect them

Outsourcing

the practice of hiring a party outside a company to perform services or create goods

Offshore Outsourcing

a business strategy where a company hires a third-party provider in a foreign country to perform tasks that are usually done in-house

Reasons for outsourcing

cut/stabilize costs, improve the firm's focus on core operations, upgrade the firm's capabilities and services, accelerated time to market

Issues with outsourcing

- Lowering of employee morale due to layoffs
-Quality issues rise as outsourcing is associated
with significant risks
-Ending outsourcing agreements prematurely
generates expensive legal fees

-Direct communication between a company and its
customers is reduced

-Maintaining data security and integrity to safeguard
against data security lapses

Special Issues associated with outsourcing

-Language barrier

-Multiple time zones and inability to meet face-to-
face

-Jurisdiction
-Data privacy
-Diminishing cost advantages
-Turnover

- Intellectual property rights
-Important technology issues

Cloud Computing

Hardware and software resources available to users over the Internet

• Public Cloud Computing :Service provider organization owns and manages the infrastructure
  – Cloud user organizations (called tenants) access
  slices of shared hardware resources via the Internet
  – Faster, cheaper, and more agile approach to building
  and managing one’s own IT infrastructure

• Hybrid: includes both private and public clouds integrated through networking
  – Used by organizations to run applications with less
  sensitive security requirements

• Private:Single tenant cloud
  – Types
  • On-premise private cloud
  • Virtual private cloud

3 Fundamental Cloud Types

1. Saas - Software as a service

   -ex:Salesforce.com, iCloud, Office 365

2. PaaS - Platform as a service

   -ex: Microsoft Azure, Oracle on Demand

3. IaaS - Infrastructure as a service

   -ex: AmazonEC2 (elastic cloud 2), AmazonS3(SimpleStorageService)

What is data?

Raw facts

What is information?

-Collection of organized and processed data
-Has additional value beyond the value of the
individual facts

What is knowledge?

• Provides awareness and understanding of a
set of information
• Shows how information can support a specific
task or be used to reach a decision

8 characteristics of High Quality Data

1. Accessible -Information should be easily accessible by authorized users so they can obtain it in the right format and at the right time to meet their needs.

2. Accurate - Accurate information is error free.

3. Complete - Complete information contains all the important facts

4. Economical - Information should also be relatively economical to produce.

5. Relevant - Relevant information is important to the decision maker.

6. Reliable- Reliable information can be trusted by users.

7. Timely - Timely information is delivered when it is needed

8. Verifiable -Information should be verifiable.

Benefits gained through use of high quality data

• Improves decision making

• increases customer satisfaction

• increase sales

• improves innovation

• raises productivity

• ensure compliance

Data Hierarchy

1. Database

2. File- collection of entities

3. Entity- person, place or thing for which data is collected, stored and maintained

4. Attribute - characteristic of an entity

Domain

Range of allowable values for a data attribute

Data item

Specific value of a data attribute

Record

Collection of attributes about a specific entity

Primary Key

Attribute or set of attributes that uniquely identifies the record

Foreign Key

Attribute in one table that refers to the primary key in another table

Schema - DBMS

a blueprint that defines the logical structure of a database, including how data is organized and stored

Storing and retrieving data - DBMS

a two part process which involves the storage of data on some kind of storage medium so it can be preserved and then later retrieved for use by another process at a later time

Concurrency Control - DBMS

• a process that manages multiple transactions accessing shared data in a database management system (DBMS) simultaneously

• ensures that simultaneous transactions on a DBMS do not interfere with each other

Security Management- DBMS

• the collection of processes and procedures used to protect and secure a database or database management software from illegitimate activity and use, malicious threats, and attacks

• Ensures data is protected against access by:
  • Unauthorized users, physical damage, operating
  system failure, and simultaneous updating

Backup and Recovery- DBMS

the process of making copies of data and restoring them to a safe location if the original data is lost or damaged

Data Cleansing

Detects and then corrects or deletes incomplete, incorrect, inaccurate, or irrelevant records residing in a database

• Methods:

  • cross-checking with a validated data set

  • data enhancement is data is made more complete by adding related information

Data Modeling

the process of creating a visual representation of an organization's data, including how it's collected, stored, and used

Enterprise Data Model

a visual representation of an organization's data that shows how it's structured and organized

• Identifies data entities and data attributes of
greatest interest to the organization
• Identifies their associated standard data
definitions, data length and format, domain of valid
values, and any business rules for their use

Entity Relationship (ER) Diagram

a visual representation of how entities relate to each other in a system, typically a database, development of ER diagrams helps ensure that the logical structure of application programs is
consistent with the data relationships in the database

• Data model used to analyze and communicate data needs
• Works at the individual project or application level
• Uses graphical symbols
• Identify data entities and their associated data attributes
• Identify the relationships among the entities of interest

Relational Database

a type of database that organizes data in tables to make it easier to understand and access how different data points relate to each other

Characteristics:

• Tables

  Data is organized into tables, with each row representing a record and each column representing an attribute. 

• Relationships

  Logical connections are established between tables based on how they interact with each other. 

• ACID properties

  Relational databases are designed to ensure the accuracy and integrity of data through ACID properties, which stand for Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability. 

• Flexibility

  Relational databases are flexible and can be used for a variety of purposes. They are often used in industries such as banking, retail, and entertainment

Manipulating Data in a Relational Database

• Selecting
  • Selecting records (rows) that satisfy certain
  conditions

• Projecting
  • Selecting attributes (columns) from records

• Joining
  • Combining two or more tables through common
  data attributes to create a new temporary table
  Note: the above 3 do not change the data in
  the database

• Data normalization
  • Eliminates data redundancy

SQL Database

a relational database that stores and organizes data in tables using a structured query language (SQL)

SQL databases conform to ACID properties

SQL is a programming language that allows users to perform operations on the database, such as: Creating data, Retrieving data, Updating data, Deleting data, and Maintaining and optimizing database performance

Database as a service (DaaS)

DaaS is a cost-effective and secure way to provide a virtual desktop environment to users, including operating systems, applications, files, and user preferences. DaaS can help organizations with hybrid work environments, as employees can access their desktops from any device

Data Mangement

• Defines the processes by which data is obtained,
  certified fit for use, stored, secured, and processed

• Ensures data accessibility, reliability, and
  timeliness meet the data users’ need

Data Governance

• Defines roles, responsibilities, and processes
• Ensures data can be trusted and used by the entire
organization
• Ensures people identified and in place who are
responsible for fixing and preventing issues with data

What is Big Data?

large and complex sets of data that are difficult to manage.

It's characterized by its volume, velocity, and variety, and is so large that traditional data management systems can't process it

Uses and Challenges of Big Data

Uses:

• Day to Day Operations

• Planning

• Decision Making

Challenges:

• Too much data - where and what to store

• Compliance and Regulations

• Privacy Concerns

Data Mart

• Subset of a data warehouse, less than 100GB
• Focused on a line of business, department or subject area
• Used by small and medium-sized businesses and departments within large companies
• Supports decision making

Data Warehouses

• Large database – Terabyte and above
• Holds business information from many sources
in the enterprise
• Covers all aspects of the company’s processes,
products, and customers

A data warehouse can help managers and executives relate information in innovative ways to make better decisions.

Data Lakes

• Takes a “store everything” approach to big data
• Saves all data in its raw and unaltered form

NoSQL Database

a non-relational database that stores data in a flexible format instead of relational tables. NoSQL databases are known for their ability to handle large amounts of unstructured data, and are a popular choice for developers

Features:

• Flexible schema

  NoSQL databases can store a variety of data types, including documents, key-value, wide columns, and graphs. This makes them ideal for semi-structured and unstructured data. 

• Scalability

  NoSQL databases are designed to scale out by adding more hardware, rather than scaling up by adding more powerful servers. 

• Performance

  NoSQL databases are optimized for specific data models and access patterns, which can lead to better performance than relational databases. 

• Ease of use

  NoSQL databases are known for being easy to develop and use. 

• Data integrity

  NoSQL databases use an approach called BASE (Basically Available, Soft State with Eventual Consistency) to manage data integrity

Four Categories of NoSQL databases

• Key-value NoSQL databases
  • Two columns (“key” and “value”)

• Document NoSQL databases
  • Store, retrieve, and manage document-oriented
  information: semi-structured data

• Graph NoSQL databases
  • Well-suited for analyzing interconnections between
  people, things, etc.

• Column NoSQL databases
  • Store data in columns - each attribute has its own
  key-value table leading to faster processing

Hadoop

An open source framework based on Java that manages the storage and processing of large amounts of data for applications

Hadoop uses distributed storage and parallel processing to handle big data and analytics jobs, breaking workloads down into smaller workloads that can be run at the same time

MapReduce Program

a programming model that processes large data sets in parallel by breaking them down into smaller tasks

Consists of two components
• Map procedure performs filtering and sorting
• Reduce method performs a summary operation

Hadoop limitation
• Can only perform batch processing

In Memory Database (IMDB)

a database that stores data in a computer's main memory, instead of on a disk drive, to provide faster response times

Some industries that benefit from in-memory databases include: telecommunications, banking, travel, and gaming

Business Intelligence

• Wide range of applications, practices, and technologies
• Extracts, transforms, integrates, visualizes, analyzes, interprets, and presents data
• Supports improved decision making

Analytics

• Extensive use of data and quantitative analysis
• Supports fact-based decision making within organizations

Benefits from Business Analytics and Intelligence

• Detect fraud
• Improve forecasting
• Increase sales
• Optimize operations
• Reduce costs

Components required for effective BI and Analytics

1. Existence of a solid data management program
   • Includes governance

2. Creative data scientists

3. Strong commitment to data-driven decision making

Structured vs. Unstructured Data

Structured data is data that fits neatly into data tables and includes discrete data types such as numbers, short text, and dates.

Unstructured data doesn't fit neatly into a data table because its size or nature: for example, audio and video files and large text documents.

Business Intelligence Tools

1. Microsoft Power BI · 2. Tableau · 3. QlikSense · 4. Dundas BI · 5. Sisense · 6. Microsoft Copilot.

Data Mining Tools

Software applications that utilize statistical and analytical capabilities to process large datasets, identifying patterns, trends, and relationships within the data to support informed decision-making by extracting meaningful insights; essentially "mining" valuable information from the data

1. Python · 2. R · 3. RapidMiner · 4. Orange · 5. Rattle GUI · 6. KNIME · 7. SAS Enterprise Miner.