ISYS 2103 - Exam #1 Review

Information System

• Set of interrelated components that work together to create, collect, process, store, and disseminate (spread) information.

• Used by organizations to gain a competitive advantage.

Competitive Advantage

The ability of a company to outperform its competitors by:

1. Cost - Provide same value at lower price

2. Differentiation - Provide superior products or services, even if it is at a higher price

3. Focus - Provide superior products or services for a target market better than anyone else

Leavitt’s System Model

• Used to understand the connection between key components in an organization (People, Process, Technology Infrastructure, and Structure).

• Helps to assess the impact of proposed changes to other components and increase likelihood of success.

Shadow IT

IT solutions purchased/built & deployed by organizations outside of the IS org

• Pro: Flexibility

• Con: Cost & Security

Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)

• Collect, process, and store transactions/events that occur in the day-to-day operations of a company.

• Can handle very large volumes of transactions simultaneously.

  • ex: Hotel Reservation System, Payroll Systems, Student Registration Systems

Decision Support Systems (DSS)

• Provide analysis tools and access to databases to support decision-making process.

• Compile information from several sources to support decision-making.

Management Information Systems (MIS)

• Provide detailed information to help managers ensure the organization runs efficiently.

  • ex. Inventory management, Process controls, Sales and Marketing

Intelligent Systems

• Advanced computer systems that collect data from their environment.

• Emulate or enhance human capabilities .

  • ex. Artificial Intelligence

Business Intelligence Systems

• Analyze Big Data to better understand various aspects of a business

Big Data - Extremely Large data sets that are analyzed to reveal patters and trends.

Customer Relationship Management

Manages business relationships and interactions with existing and potential clients.

Electronic Commerce Systems

• Enable customers to buy goods and services from a company’s website

  • ex. Ebay, Amazon, Nordstrom

Effective vs. Efficient

(Definition of Effective)

To produce a better result, that delivers more value or achieves a better outcome.

Effective vs. Efficient

(Definition of Efficient)

To produce an intended result in a way that results in the least amount of waste: time, effort, and/or resources (not always effective).

Ethics

• Set of principles defining what is right and wrong

• Individuals use them to make choices or guide their decision

Ethical vs. Legal

• Legal Acts conform to the Law, while Ethical Acts conform to what an individual believes to be the right thing to do.

• Legal activity may or may not be ethical.

Reasons to promote a work environment that encourages employees to act ethically when making business decisions:

1. Gain the goodwill of the community.

2. Create an organization that operates consistently.

3. Foster good business practices

4. Protect the organization from Legal Action.

Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

Used to identify and locate a particular webpage.

3 components: Host Name, Domain Name, Top-Level Domain Name (Suffix)

Host Name

Web server that will respond to the request

• ex. (www)

Domain Name

Helps people recognize the company or person.

• ex. google, amazon

Top-Level Domain Name

Represent certain types of websites

• ex. .com, .gov, .org, etc.

Internet Protocol (IP) Address

• URL is translated into an IP address.

• 32-bit number that uniquely identifies a host, such as a computer, printer, or router.

Internet Censorship

Control or suppression of the publishing or accessing of information on the internet.

Internet Filter

Software that block access to certain Web sites containing material deemed inappropriate or offensive.

Defamation

An oral or written statement that is false and harms another person.

Hate Speech

Persistent or malicious harassment aimed at a specific person.

Fake News

False news presented as being factually accurate and appearing to be news.

Application Software

Applies the power of a computer system to enable people, workgroups, and enterprises to solve problems and perform specific tasks.

Databases

Collections of related data organized in a way that facilitates data searches

• Essential for all elements of a business.

• Applications interact with Databases.

Infrastructure

Set of IS components, typically physical components, that enable an IS service.

Proprietary/Custom Software

• Developed to meet specific needs of organization.

• Intellectual property stays in house.

• Provides a competitive advantage.

Off-the-Shelf (Packaged)

• Written by third-party vendors, more generic.

• Used to support common business practices.

• Opportunity to migrate Industry Best Practices.

External Acquisition

• Packaged software must be licensed for use.

• End User License Agreement (EULA) is the legal agreement between the manufacturer and the user.

Open-Source Software

• Created, maintained, and updated by thousands of volunteers all over the world.

• Ability to leverage the ‘wisdom of crowds’.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

• Third-party provider hosts applications available to subscribers.

• Can be accessed from any computer or any device.

• SaaS provider manager service levels and availability so scaling is not an issue.

Hardware

Computers that run the applications and databases necessary for processing transactions or analyzing business data.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

• Core of the computer.

• Receives instruction and performs calculations or actions based on the instruction.

Memory

• Storage is measured in Bytes

• 8 bits make up 1 Byte.

• Data is stored as a combination of On/Off circuits.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

Memory where instructions or data can be temporarily stored

• Volatile storage - Loose contents if the current is disrupted.

Cache Memory

• High speed memory.

• Processor can access more rapidly than main memory.

• Frequently used data is stored in Cache.

Read-only Memory (ROM)

• Nonvolatile - Contents are not lost if power is interrupted.

• Provides permanent storage for data an instructions that do not change.

  • ex. Programs and data from manufacturer.

System Software

Collection of programs that control the basic operations of computer hardware

• Includes Operating Systems, Utilities, and Middlewear.

Secondary Storage

• Used to store large amounts of data, instructions, and information.

• More permanent and less expensive than main memory.

• Not directly accessible by CPU.

Networking

Interconnects devices that can exchange data and share resources with each other.

Use a system of rules called communication protocols to transmit information over physical or wireless devices.

Data Centers

Building or dedicated space within a building used to house computer systems and associated components.

Types of Data

Alphanumeric - Numbers, letters

Audio - Sounds, noises, tones

Image - Graphic images and pictures

Video - Moving images or pictures

Data, Information, and Knowledge

• Data are raw facts, which alone, are not useful.

• When organized or processed, data transforms into information.

• When information is understood and applied, it becomes knowledge.

Database Hierarchy

Database → File/Table → Entity → Attribute → Data Item → Domain → Record

File/Table

Collection of entities.

Entity

Person, place, or thing for which data is collected, stored, and maintained.

Attribute

Characteristic of an entity.

Data item

Specific value of a data attribute.

Domain

Range of allowable values in an attribute.

Record

Collection of attributes about a specific entity.

Schema

Description defining the database’s logical and physical structure.

• Identifies the tables and the attributes in each table.

• Identifies the relationships between attributes and tables.

Data Model

Tool used to design a database.

• First step after business requirements have been designed.

• Abstract/conceptual model without a great deal of detail.

Relational Databases

Collection of 2-Dimensional tables linked via relationships.

• Reduced redundancy.

• Allows data to be organized more logically.

Structured Query Language (SQL)

Special-purpose programming language used for accessing and manipulating relational database data.

Big Data

Data collections that are both massive and complex.

Used by organizations to meet the challenges of operating within their industry.

Characteristics of Big Data

High volume, High velocity, High value, High variety, High veracity.

Data Warehousing

Large database.

1. Date is captured via TPS.

2. Data from multiple databases are integrated into a single repository.

Data Marts

Subset of a Data Warehouse

• Brings the concept of Data Warehouses to small and medium-sized companies.

Business Intelligence

Wide range of applications, practices, and technologies.

• Shows “what happened”.

• Can also be referred to as “Advanced Analytics”

Digital Dashboards

Used to visually present key performance indicators used by management.

Advanced Analytics

Designed to help users gain a deeper understanding of why things happen and then build predictive models to support decision-making.

Data Science

The Advanced Analytics field of study and practice.

Descriptive Analysis

Produces insights from unrecognizable data by identifying data patterns.

• Answers the “5 W’s”

• Techniques include: Visual analytics and regression analysis.

Predictive Analysis

Set of techniques used to analyze current and historical data to identify future probabilities and make predictions about the future.

Data Mining

Complicated algorithms run on large data warehouses.

Discover “hidden” patterns/relationships to predict future trends and behaviors.

Self-Service Analytics

Training, techniques, and processes.

• Empower end users to work independently and perform their own analyses.

Computer Network

Connections two or more computer systems or devices.

Consists of communications media, devices, and software.

Time-Series Analysis

Use of statistical methods to analyze data points over a period of time and determine useful statistics about the data.

Personal Area Network (PAN)

Connects devices close by such as a laptop or portable printers.

Local Area Network (LAN)

Connects systems and devices within a small area such as a home office or small business.

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

Connects users and their computers in a geographical area that spans a campus or city.

Wide Area Network (WAN)

Connects large geographic regions, often crossing national borders.

Channel Bandwidth

Capacity of a communications channel to carry traffic.

• Measured in megabits per second

Network Latency

Represents the time it takes for data to transfer across the network.

Communications Media

Can be Wired or Wireless.

Wired: Communications signals are guided along a solid medium

Wireless: Communications signals is broadcast over airwaves as a form of electromagnetic radiation.

Near field communications (NFC)

Short-range wireless connectivity technology that enables two devices placed within a few inches of each other to exchange.

Bluetooth

Wireless Technology standard that uses radio waves to directly connect devices that are near each other.

Wi-Fi

Allows devices to connect to the internet or communicate with one another wirelessly.

Internet

Collection of interconnected networks.

Infrastructure on which the World Wide Web exists.

Internet Backbone

The combined hardware over which the Internet traffic flows forms high-speed communication links.

Internet Service Provider

Any organization providing internet access to people, such as Comcast and AT&T.

World Wide Web

An interconnected system of interlinked documents or public webpages accessible through the internet.

Domain Name System (DNS)

System that maps the name people use to locate a website to the IP address that the computer uses to locate a website.

Website

A collection of web pages and related content.

Web Page

Simple document on the Web that uses a unique URL.

Hyperlinks

Highlighted text or graphics that, when clicked, opens a new Web page.

Connects bullions of Web pages, stored on millions of servers around the world.