Briefs 1-3: Guide to AI-Enabled Digital Transformation: Business Information Systems, Agile Consulting, and Microsoft Teams

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering AI-enabled digital transformation concepts, agile consulting methods (Scrum, Kanban, Design Thinking, Systems Thinking), and Microsoft Teams collaboration lab infrastructure.

Business Information Systems

A coordinated combination of people, processes, data, technology, and organizational practices used to support business operations, decision-making, and value creation.

Digital Transformation

The strategic redesign of an organization's operations, processes, customer experiences, decision-making, or business models through the strategic use of digital technologies.

4th Industrial Revolution

The current era of technological change in which physical, digital, and biological systems are becoming increasingly connected, transforming work, competition, and organizational design.

Artificial Intelligence

Technologies that perform tasks normally associated with human intelligence, such as recognizing patterns, generating language, making predictions, classifying information, recommending actions, or supporting decisions.

Augmentation

Using technology to enhance human work, judgment, creativity, or productivity rather than completely eliminating human involvement.

Automation

Using technology to perform routine or rule-based tasks with limited or no human intervention.

Business Process

A sequence of structured activities or tasks that produces a specific business outcome for an organization or stakeholder.

Business Value

A measurable or explainable benefit created for an organization, customer, employee, or stakeholder through decisions and actions.

Cybersecurity

The practice of protecting systems, networks, data, and digital operations from unauthorized access, misuse, disruption, or attack.

Data-Driven Decision-Making

The practice of using accurate data, analysis, and evidence to support managerial decisions rather than relying on intuition alone.

Data Product

A reusable, trusted, well-governed set of data designed to support analysis, AI applications, decisions, or business processes across an enterprise.

Generative AI

Artificial intelligence technologies capable of creating new content, including text, images, code, summaries, or presentations.

Governance

The rules, roles, controls, ethical standards, and accountability structures that guide technology, data, and AI usage.

Technology Platform

A shared set of technology, data, and AI capabilities that teams can reuse across multiple processes, products, or business units to achieve scale.

Adoption at Scale

The process of getting people, teams, or business units across an organization to consistently use a new digital or AI-enabled way of working.

Agentic AI

Emerging AI systems capable of pursuing defined goals and completing multi-step tasks with autonomy, operating within human-set boundaries and rules.

Five Components of a Business Information System

The integrated framework consisting of People, Processes, Data, Technology, and Organizational Practices working together to create business value.

Business Value Scorecard

An evaluation framework that assesses digital transformation by measurable outcomes across Customer Experience, Operations, Financial Performance, Risk Reduction, and Innovation.

Agile

A mindset and way of working that emphasizes collaboration, adaptability, frequent feedback, and incremental delivery of useful value under conditions of uncertainty.

Agile Manifesto

A foundational statement of four core values prioritizing individuals and interactions, working software, customer collaboration, and responding to change over rigid plans and documentation.

Scrum

A lightweight agile framework that organizes complex project work into short, fixed cycles called sprints, supported by defined roles, events, and artifacts.

Product Owner (Course Adaptation)

In the course Scrum model, played by the instructor, who keeps the consulting team focused on the business problem, stakeholder needs, project scope, and measurable value.

Scrum Master (Course Adaptation)

In the course Scrum model, played by the Team Project Manager, who coordinates sprint planning, task tracking, check-ins, blockers, and retrospectives without acting as the boss.

Developers (Course Adaptation)

In the course Scrum model, the student consultants who produce research, process analysis, process models, AI work, data artifacts, prototypes, writing, and presentations.

Product Backlog

An ordered list of all potential project tasks, research needs, deliverables, and improvement ideas needed over the course of a project.

Sprint Backlog

The specific set of tasks selected and committed to by the team for completion during a given sprint cycle.

Increment

The completed, usable work artifact produced during a sprint that demonstrates concrete progress and can receive stakeholder feedback.

Sprint

A short, fixed cycle of focused project work that produces a usable increment tied to milestones.

Sprint Planning

A Scrum event where the team selects sprint tasks, assigns responsibilities, and updates its project task board for the upcoming work cycle.

Daily Scrum / Check-In

A brief meeting or digital check-in to inspect progress, identify task blockers, and clarify immediate next actions.

Sprint Review

A Scrum event where the team presents its completed usable increment to gather feedback from instructors, peers, or stakeholders.

Sprint Retrospective

A structured team reflection event held at regular intervals to improve collaboration by reflecting on what the team should stop, start, and continue doing.

Kanban

A visual workflow method that tracks work items as they move through stages such as To Do, Doing, and Done to manage work-in-progress and reveal bottlenecks.

Design Thinking

A human-centered problem-solving approach that starts with stakeholder needs and moves iteratively through problem definition, ideation, prototyping, and testing.

Systems Thinking

A holistic analytical approach that evaluates how interconnected parts of an organization interact, helping identify intended value and unintended ripple effects across people, process, data, technology, and governance.

Design Thinking Process

An iterative problem-solving cycle comprising Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test stages centered around continuous inspection and adaptation.

Systems Thinking Framework

A multi-layered evaluation framework that traces ripple effects from Technology change down through Process effects, People effects, Governance effects, and Business value.

Scrum Roles, Events, and Artifacts

The core operational elements of Scrum, pairing Roles (Product Owner, Scrum Master, Developers), Events (Sprint, Sprint Planning, Check-Ins, Review, Retrospective), and Artifacts (Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Increment).

Microsoft Teams Collaboration Site Architecture

The required structural layout for the consulting workspace, dividing project governance into a General Channel (Home Tab, Team Resume & Contract) and a Sprints Channel (Planner Kanban Board, Sprint Folders, Retrospectives, Evidence & Sources, AI Work Log, Final Deliverables).

Home Tab (OneNote)

The executive entry page created in OneNote within the General channel containing team identity, client context, problem statement, selected process, and collaboration goals.

Sprints Channel

The central project operating channel in MS Teams used for semester-long project management, task tracking, source evidence, draft work, AI logs, retrospectives, and final deliverables.

AI Work Log

An Excel workbook in the Sprints channel that tracks date, AI tool used, task, prompt, output usage, verification method, human judgment applied, and report section for transparent AI usage.

Evidence and Sources Folder

A dedicated repository in MS Teams for storing SEC filings, 10-K reports, investor presentations, web sources, benchmarking data, and research notes to ensure traceablity of report claims.

Definition of Done (Planner Task)

The standard requiring each Planner Kanban task to have a named owner, due date, short description, Sprint # reference, current status, and a linked or named artifact.