Business Information Systems Chapter 1

Fact

The confirmation or validation of an event or object.

Information age

A time when infinite quantities of facts are widely available to anyone who can use it.

Internet of Things (IOT)

A world where interconnected Internet-enabled devices or ‘things’ can collect and share data without human intervention.

Machine-to-machine (M2M)

Refers to devices that connect directly to other devices.

Data; information; business intelligence; and knowledge

Core drivers of the information age:

Data

Raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event or object. Ex: Order date, amount sold, customer number, quantity ordered.

Big data

A collection of large complex datasets, including structured and unstructured data, which cannot be analyzed using traditional database methods and tools.

variety, veracity, volume, and velocity

4 characteristics of big data:

Volume

The scale of data

Variety

Different forms of data

Velocity

Analysis of streaming data.

Veracity

Trustworthiness of data

Structured data

Data that has a defined length, type, and format and includes numbers, dates, or strings such as Customer Address. Stored either in a database or a spreadsheet.

Machine-generated data

Created by a machine without human intervention Ex: POS data, sensor data, and a weblog.

Human-generated data

Data that humans, in interaction with computers generate. Ex: Input data, click-stream data, or gaming data.

Unstructured data

Data that is not defined and does not follow specified format and is typically free-form text such as email, X tweets, and text messages.

Machined-generated unstructured data

Includes satellite images, scientific atmosphere data, and radar data.

Human-generated unstructured data

Includes text messages, social media data, and emails.

Snapshot

A view of data at a particular moment in time.

Information

Data converted into a meaningful and useful context.

Variable

A data characteristic that stands for a value that changes or varies over time.

Report

A document containing data organized in a table, matrix, or graphical format allowing users to easily comprehend and understand information.

Dynamic report

A report that changes automatically during creation. Ex: Stock market prices.

Static report

A report created once based on data that does not change.

Business Intelligence (BI)

Information collected from multiple sources such as suppliers, customers, competitors, partners, and industries that analyzes patterns, trends, and relationships for strategic decision making.

Data analyst

Collects, queries, and consumes organizational data to uncover patterns and provide insights for strategic business decision making. 3 skills are needed of data analysts: understanding math/statistics; coding; and business subject areas.

Analytics

The science of fact-based decision making.

Business Analytics

The scientific process of transforming data into insight for making better decisions.

Data Scientist

Extracts knowledge from data by performing statistical analysis, data mining, and advanced analysis on big data to identify trends, market changes, and other relevant information.

Descriptive analytics

Describes past performance and history. Trendspotting.

Diagnostic analytics

Examines data or content to answer the question, Why did it happen?

Predictive analytics

Extracts information from data to predict future trends and identify behavioral patterns.

Prescriptive analytics

Creates models indicating the best decision to make or course of action to take.

Knowledge

Includes the skills, experience, and expertise, coupled with information and intelligence, that creates a person’s intellectual resources.

Knowledge assets (Intellectual capital)

The human, structural, and recorded resources available to the organization.

Knowledge facilitators

Help harness the wealth of knowledge in the organization.

Knowledge worker

Individuals valued for their ability to interpret and analyze information.

Business unit

A segment of a company (such as accounting, production, marketing) representing a specific business function.

Data silo

Occurs when one business unit is unable to freely communicate with other business unit making it difficult or impossible for organizations to work cross-functionally.

Data democratization

The ability for data to be collected, analyzed, and accessible to all users (the average end user).

System

A collection of parts that link to achieve a common purpose.

Goods

Material items or products that customers will buy to satisfy a want or need. Ex: Clothing, groceries, cell phones, and cars.

Services

Tasks performed by people that customers will buy to satisfy a want or need.

Production

The process where a business takes raw materials and processes them or converts them into a finished product for its goods or services.

Productivity

The rate at which goods and services are produced based upon total output given total inputs.

Systems thinking

A way of monitoring the entire system by viewing multiple inputs being processed or transformed to produce outputs while continuously gathering feedback on each part.

Feedback

Information that returns to its original transmitter (input, transform, or output) and modifies the transmitter’s actions.

Management information systems (MIS)

A business function, such as accounting and human resources, which moves information about people, products, and processes across the company to facilitate decision making and problem solving.

Value-added

The term used to describe the difference between the cost of inputs and the value of price of outputs.

Input

Data that is entered in a computer

Process

Computer program that processes the data.

Output

The resulting information from the computer program.