inst0003 : information systems

[ work in progress ] currently done introduction to bis and bpm

what are information systems

connected networks of hardware and software that can support decision making and visualisation of data

what are the five components of information systems according to bourgeois ?

1. hardware

2. software

3. data

4. people

5. process

what is a management information system ?

tool used by small businesses to handle necessary operations

what is TPS and what does it do ?

tps stands for transaction processing system

• handle day to day business operations

• users need to interact in real-time

explain an example of a TPS

debit cards are stored within the company bank account , making it possible to see any balance at any point

what is the difference between ad-hoc and pre-defined ?

pre-defined means that the information has already been made

ad-hoc on the other hand means that information is made in real time

what is a DSS

decision support system

• users can find answers to questions and the means to evaluate before making decisions

• said questions can be from data summary reports

what is BPM?

business process modelling

what are the four stages of BPM ?

• plan

• monitor

• analyse

• manage

why do businesses need bpm ?

most of them suffer with the high 3 Vs in data

• volume

• variety

• velocity → need to be able to perform

what is a business process ?

actions to complete a task

• these set of tasks help accomplish the overall goal

what are actors in an IS ?

actors are those who interact with the information system

what is the bpm life cycle ?

business process modelling is a continuous loop

• field in operations that focus on improving performance

what are the stages of bpm ?

1. analysis

2. requirements

3. design

4. development and implementation

5. evaluation

explain the analysis part of bpm

reviewing the current situation with c/s model

• always in present state → AS-IS

• developing the initial vision

explain the requirements part of bpm

elicit the client’s vision for the future and a vision of a to-be business process

• involves talking to people and seeing their visions

• identifying critical success factors and key performance indicators

explain the design part of bpm

creating an optimised business process that meets all client’s expectations

• future state → TO-BE

• when client is happy , move to next phase

briefly explain the development and implementation part of bpm

includes the processes and IT architecture modelled

briefly explain the evaluation part of bpm

observes whether business and user expectations are met

briefly explain the optimise part of bpm

considers previous evaluation and can guide major changes or minor updates depending on severity

what are critical success factors ?

activities that must be completed to a high quality to achieve goals of the project

what are CSF’s mainly used for ?

to see what to prioritise as the project is being executed

what are KPI’s ?

key performance indicators

• set of quantifiable measures to compare performance to see if strategic and operational goals are met

what are the main aspects of kpi ?

• can measure customer value

• cost reduction

• boost productivity

• revenue made

• streamlining any processes

describe a general analysis of a supply chain

considering the following

• timely delivery

• order picking accuracy

describe how a business can integrate csf and kpi

1. business goal is general and quite vague

   providing free education to anyone

2. developing the csf determines the method the business will go about it
   offering online classes from mentors

3. seeing the kpi provides a yes or no answer
   interviews, number of students in each class , hours worked

describe the mainframes era in the 70s

data was inputted with punch cards

main functionality was data processing

users were only those who were skilled to work with the machines

describe the personal computer revolution in the 80s

hardware is smaller and personal

software could now have keyboards and mouse

functions included data processing, but also typewriting and entertainment

users could be skilled or regular people

describe the client server systems in the 90s

client would make requests so the server would respond

consisted of a local area network- LAN

start of the internet

describe cloud computing in the 2000s

many types of computers, like phones and tablets- smart devices

describe cloud computing and data in the 2010s

storage now moves onto larger servers on the cloud

access to data can be from anywhere as long as client is connected to the server → pervasive access

describe evolution of data management between 70,80,90 and 00s

70: entity-relationship model

80: use of software

90: object-relational mapping

00: fast key-value and document DB

why does IS matter in an organisation

corporate decisions made on data analysis

quick access to information

world connectivity

economy based on IT

e-commerce is reliant on IS

whats a stakeholder

individual or group affected by the activities and achievements of a business

why should stakeholder analysis be conducted

see those who need to be communicated with

discover any missed requirements like other key performance indicators

what are the three types of stakeholder

internal

connected

external

how is stakeholder analysis conducted

1. who are they

2. observe power, influence and interest

3. section them

4. develop understanding of

   • requirements

   • how likely they are to respond

   • how to win support

why are power/interest matrixes used

to see where efforts should be aimed the most and hence prioritised

describe the MoSCoW technique

m - must have, cannot do without them

s - should have over the long run

c - could have , low-cost tweaking

w- won’t have, not now

what is 80/20 rule

80% of project’s benefits are from 20% of time spend by staff

advantages of moscow technique

based on expert opinion of team

quick and easy to complete

good in defining the priorities of projects in progress

disadvantages of moscow technique

rules are subjective and opinionated

no effective cooperation with business

team need to be familiar with product features

what are the five functions of a management information system MIS

1. decision making

2. collecting information

3. compiling reports

4. front-line benefits

5. compiling data

what are the three functions of a TPS

system runtime functions → ensure integrity and security of data and fast response time

system administration functions → lets users configure, monitor and manage the components of the systems

application development function → functions to access data, perform intercomputer comms and design + manage the UI

what is a requirement

statement of what the system HAS to do or what it needs to have

what are the types of requirements

business: what it needs

user: what they need to do

functional: what the software itself needs to do

non-functional: what characteristics the system should have

system: how the system should be built

list the possible gathering techniques for requirements

• brainstorming

• focus groups

• requirement workshop

• interviewing

• survey

• document analysis

• reverse engineering

• observation

• interface analysis

• prototyping

what is a dfd

data flow diagram

• shows how data is processed by a system in terms of input and output

explain the different levels of dpd diagrams

0 = overview of the actors ie: the internal and external stakeholders

1 = shows how the system is divided into sub-systems and how each one deals with data flow to or from an external agent

2 = more detailed decomposition of the processes that make up the IS