MIS Ch2: Decision Support Systems and Business Processes

Analytical Information

Organizational information used to support managerial analysis
and semi-structured decision-making.

Algorithm

A set of instructions for problem solving or completing a task using a defined sequence of steps.

As-IS Process Model

Rep of current state of a business process

Automation

Using tech to replace manual tasks and improve efficiency

Benchmarking

Comparing biz processes and performance metrics to industry best practices

Business process

Collection of related, structured activities or tasks performed by people or equipment in a specific sequence to produce a service/ product for a particular customer(s)

Business Process Improvement (BPI)

Incrementally improving existing business processes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness

Business Process Management (BPM)

Systematic approach to managing and improving business processes

Business process modeling

Creating visual rep of a business process

Flowcharts

Business Process Reengineering (BPR)

Radically redesigning core biz processes to achieve dramatic improvements

Critical Success Factors (CSFs)

Key areas of activity that must be performed well for an org to achieve its goals

Decision support system (DSS)

Info system that supports managerial decision making by providing tools for analysis, modeling, and simulation

Often uses OLAP

Digital Dashboard

A visual display that tracks KPIs and CSFs

Effectiveness

degree to which an org achieves its goals

ex: customer satisfaction rate

Efficiency

optimal use of resources to achieve a desired outcome

ex: avg transaction processing time

Executive information system (EIS)

Specialized DSS to support senior-level executives in making strategic decisions

Goal-seeking analysis

Technique used in DSS to determine the inputs required to achieve a specific gaol

Granularity

level of detail in data/ info

Key Performance Indicator (KPI)

quantifiable metric used to track progress towards critical success factors

Model

Simplified rep of reality used for analysis and decision making

Online analytical processing (OLAP)

Technique for analyzing data from multiple dimensions

Optimization analysis

Technique used in DSS to find the best solution to a problem, given a set of constraints

Semi-structured decision

Decision that has some elements of structure but also requires judgement and intuition

Sensitivity analysis

Technique used in DSS to assess the impact of changes in one variable on other variable

Streamlining

Simplifying or eliminating unnecessary steps

Structured decision

Routing, repetitive decision that can be made using pre-determined rules

To-Be Process Model

Rep of a desired future state for a business process T

Transaction Processing System (TPS)

Information system that processes and records routine business transactions

Unstructured decision

Non-routine decision that requires judgement, evaluation, and insight V

Value of information

Usefulness of information in improving decision-making

What-if analysis

Technique used in DSS to assess impact of hypothetical changes in variables or assumptions

Workflow

sequence of steps involved in creating a biz process

IT and Business Process Integration

IT serves as a crucial tool for supporting biz processes

Facilitates capturing, storing, retrieving, and manipulating data generated by various transactions

Hardware

provides infrastructure for software S

Software

Supports processes by enabling data mgmt and model creation

Processes

Real-world activities that generate data and utilize IT for support

What are the three main challenges managers face when making decisions?

• analyzing large amts of info

• making decisions quickly

• applying sophisticated analysis techniques

How can the same information have different value to different people?

• relevance to decision maker

• tools and techniques for analysis

• personal experience and expertise

Three levels of decisions in an org:

• operational: structured

• managerial: semi-structured

• strategic: unstructured

Difs between TPS, DSS, and EIS?

• TPS: support operational → processing and recording routine transactions (payroll, etc.)

• DSS: support managerial → analytical tools and models (financial modeling, sales forecasting)

• EIS: supports executive → high-level summaries and visualizations (strategic focus)

Key steps in business process modeling

• document as-is process

• analyze as-is process

• design to-be process

• implement and monitor to-be process

AI agents

autonomous systems that can perceive their environment, process info, make decisions, and take actions to achieve specific goals without constant human intervention 

perceive, process, and act

Four step process

Observe, think, act, learn

Robotic Process Agent (RPA)

Good at automating repetitive tasks and following rules

Tokenization

Text input is broken down into smaller parts called tokens, which are then
processed by the AI. The relationship between these tokens creates a contextually
accurate output.

Neural network

attempts to emulate the way the human brain works 

Artificial Intelligence

simulated human thinking and behavior, such as the ability to reason and learn

Virtual reality

a computer-simulated environment that can be a simulation of the real/ imaginary world

Machine learning

enables computers to understand concepts in the environment and also to learn

Weak AI

Machines can still make their own decisions based on reasoning and past sets of data

Strong AI

Refers to the field of AI that works toward providing brainlike powers to AI machines; in effect, it works to make machines as intelligent as the humans

Steps in BPI

1. document as-is process

2. establish measures

3. follow process

4. measure performance

5. identify and implement improvements

Consolidation

Aggregating data from simple roll-ups to complex groupings

Drill-down

Enables users to view details, and details of details, of information

Slice-and-Dice

Looking at it from different perspectives