K201/K204 Exam 1 Study Guide Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards generated from K201/K204 Exam 1 Study Guide covering Chapters 3, 5, and 7.

Data vs. Information

Data are raw, unorganized facts and figures without inherent meaning. Information is data that has been organized, structured, or processed to give it context, meaning, and usefulness for decision-making.

Knowledge

What you get when you combine information with experience, context, and judgment to draw conclusions or make decisions.

Sociotechnical Systems

Systems in which social elements (people, processes) and technical elements (hardware, software, data) are interdependent and must work together.

PPT Framework Components

The four essential components of an information system under the expanded People-Process-Technology framework: People, Processes and Procedures, Data, and Technology.

Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)

Information systems that handle routine, repeatable operational tasks such as scanning barcodes at checkout, paying employees, and managing inventory.

Decision Support System (DSS)

An interactive system that helps managers analyze data, compare alternatives, and evaluate possible outcomes under different assumptions without replacing managerial judgment.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Large, integrated platforms that unify data and processes across an entire organization into a single database.

Network Effects

Occur when a system or service becomes more valuable as more people use it, creating high barriers to entry for rivals.

Root Cause (Problem Definition)

The underlying business problem that a team must clearly define before building, buying, or automating a system, rather than just reacting to an obvious symptom.

Business Requirement

A clear, testable statement of what a system must accomplish or support so the organization can achieve a business purpose.

Multi-Stakeholder Requirements Gathering

The process of collecting requirements from multiple groups (e.g., daily users, warehouse staff) to capture crucial daily workflows and prevent system errors, frustration, and manual workarounds.

Testing Phase

The SDLC phase where the team gathers verifiable evidence that the system behaves correctly under specific conditions prior to deployment.

Normal Use Case vs. Edge Case

A normal use case tests expected workflows under standard conditions, whereas an edge case tests unusual, boundary, high-volume, or conflicting conditions.

Acceptance Tests

Structured, verifiable tests written using the 'Given / When / Then' format that anyone can execute and evaluate.

Software Acquisition Paths

The three primary paths to acquire software: Buy (commercial off-the-shelf), Configure/Customize (adapting existing commercial software), or Build (custom software development).

Organizational System Failure

A project failure occurring when a system finishes on schedule, within budget, and without technical defects, but fails to solve the right problem, support user workflows, or gain adoption.

Waterfall Approach

A traditional, linear development approach where a team completely finishes one major stage before moving to the next.

Agile Approaches

Development methods that shorten feedback loops by having teams work in smaller increments, gather stakeholder feedback frequently, and adapt as they learn.

Scrum

A common, structured Agile framework that organizes work into short, fixed-length cycles with regular progress reviews.

DevOps

The practice of connecting development, release, operations, monitoring, and ongoing support to bridge the gap between software creators and operators.

Vibe Coding

The practice of creating software primarily by describing what to build in natural language and letting AI generate much of the code.

Prototype Limitations

Early AI-generated or low-code systems designed to explore ideas that generally lack security architecture, data validation, exception handling, scalability, documentation, and supportability.

Scope Creep Management

Flagging unlinked stakeholder feature requests as potential scope creep and subjecting them to impact analysis regarding scope, timeline, and cost.

Production Signals

Post-launch operational metrics—such as error rates, customer complaints, adoption numbers, and support tickets—monitored to ensure a system delivers value.

Enterprise Information System

Software designed to support and integrate core business processes across multiple functions and locations in an entire organization.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

A system that helps manage customer interactions, track sales pipelines, automate marketing, and log support tickets in a central database.

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

A system used to coordinate raw material flows, demand forecasting, production scheduling, warehouse inventory, and supplier logistics.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

An enterprise system implementation providing a single, unified database linking accounting, human resources, sales, and manufacturing.

Information Silo

A condition created when business data is trapped within an isolated departmental system and cannot easily flow to other functions.

Consequences of Information Silos

Operational risks including data inconsistency/errors, wasted time on manual data re-entry, lack of enterprise visibility, poor customer service, higher IT costs, and compliance failures.

Flowchart vs. Systems Map

A flowchart illustrates step-by-step actions performed by a person or role; a systems map tracks how data moves between distinct software systems, databases, and departments.

Best-of-Breed Strategy

An IT strategy where a company chooses the top-rated standalone software package for each individual department rather than using an all-in-one suite.

Shared Enterprise Transaction Data

Unified data that allows a single event (e.g., an order) to automatically adjust inventory, alert shipping, and generate invoices across multiple functions simultaneously.

Conflicting Record Risks

The operational risk of overselling and failing to fulfill commitments when departments make decisions using conflicting or uncoordinated records.

Data Inconsistency / Duplicate Data

A data quality issue where multiple conflicting profiles or records exist for the same entity across different systems.

Risk of Enterprise System Integration

The phenomenon where integration increases the speed and reach of an error, causing flawed data or bad process assumptions to spread instantly across connected systems.

Student Information System (SIS)

An enterprise platform in higher education that verifies prerequisites, holds seats, and transmits student registration data to billing and LMS systems.

Scenario / What-If Analysis

A decision-support technique where a manager adjusts assumptions or parameters in a model to evaluate and project outcomes under varying conditions.

Order-to-Cash Fulfillment Handoff

The immediate operational step following sales approval where fulfillment allocates stock, packages goods, and dispatches shipments prior to final billing.

Advanced SCM in Supply Disruptions

Capabilities within advanced supply chain systems that allow organizations to detect shortages early, locate alternative suppliers, and reroute shipments.