Chapter 1: Business Driven Technology – Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the lecture notes on the information age, data, information, BI, analytics, knowledge, MIS, systems thinking, and organizational departments.

Data

Raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event or object.

Structured data

Data stored in traditional systems (e.g., relational databases or spreadsheets) and organized for easy querying.

Machine-generated data

Data created by machines without human intervention.

Human-generated data

Data produced by humans in interaction with computers.

Unstructured data

Data that is not defined and does not follow a specified format.

Snapshot

A view of data at a particular point in time.

Big data

A collection of large, complex data sets including structured and unstructured data that cannot be analyzed with traditional methods.

Information

Data that has been transformed into meaningful and useful context.

Information age

The present time, characterized by widespread access to vast amounts of data and information via computers.

Business intelligence (BI)

Information gathered from multiple sources that analyzes patterns, trends, and relationships to support strategic decision making.

Analytics

The science of fact-based decision making.

Predictive analytics

Techniques that extract information from data to forecast future trends and behaviors.

Behavioral analytics

Uses data about people’s behaviors to understand intent and predict future actions.

Knowledge

Skills, experience, and expertise combined with information and intelligence to form a person’s intellectual resources.

Knowledge worker

An individual valued for the ability to interpret and analyze information.

Management Information Systems (MIS)

A business function that moves information about people, products, and processes across the company to facilitate decision making and problem solving.

Systems thinking

A way of monitoring an entire system by viewing multiple inputs being processed to produce outputs, while continually gathering feedback on each part.

Interdependent departments

Departments that work together rather than in isolation to enable organizational success.

Department

A functional area within a company (e.g., Sales, Operations, Accounting, Marketing, Finance, Human Resources) responsible for specific activities.

Goods

Material items that customers buy to satisfy wants or needs.

Services

Tasks performed by people that customers buy to satisfy wants or needs.

Input-Process-Output model

A basic systems-thinking model: Input materials and data, processing to create a product or outcome, and Output.

What is the DIKW pyramid?

The DIKW (Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom) pyramid is a model that illustrates the structural or functional relationships between data, information, knowledge, and wisdom.

What is Descriptive Analytics?

Techniques that describe past events, identifying trends and patterns (e.g., 'What happened?').

What is Diagnostic Analytics?

Techniques that examine data to understand the root causes of past events (e.g., 'Why did it happen?').

What is the role of feedback in Systems Thinking?

Feedback is crucial in systems thinking as it provides information about outputs, allowing for continuous monitoring and adjustment of processes to achieve desired outcomes.

What is Data?

Raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event or object.

What is Information?

Data that has been transformed into meaningful and useful context.

What is Business Intelligence (BI)?

Information gathered from multiple sources that analyzes patterns, trends, and relationships to support strategic decision making.

What is Management Information Systems (MIS)?

A business function that moves information about people, products, and processes across the company to facilitate decision making and problem solving.

What is Systems Thinking?

A way of monitoring an entire system by viewing multiple inputs being processed to produce outputs, while continually gathering feedback on each part.

What is Structured Data?

Data stored in traditional systems (e.g., relational databases or spreadsheets) and organized for easy querying.

What is Unstructured Data?

Data that is not defined and does not follow a specified format.

What is Analytics?

The science of fact-based decision making.

What is Knowledge?

Skills, experience, and expertise combined with information and intelligence to form a person’s intellectual resources.

Who is a Knowledge Worker?

An individual valued for the ability to interpret and analyze information.

What are the common characteristics of Big Data?

Big Data is often characterized by its Volume, Variety, Velocity, and Veracity (the 4 Vs).