K201 Exam 1 Terms

Data

Raw, unorganized facts like numbers, words, or symbols that have no meaning on their own

Information

Data that has been organized, processed, or structured in a way that gives it meaning and usefulness

Knowledge

What is gained when information is combined with experience, context, and judgment to draw conclusions or make decisions

Information System (IS)

A set of interrelated components (people, processes and procedures, data, and technology) working together to collect, process, store, and distribute information to support decision-making, coordination, and control

Sociotechnical System

A system in which social elements (people, culture, processes) and technical elements (hardware, software, data) are interdependent and must be designed to work together

People

The users, managers, developers, and decision-makers who interact with an information system

Processes and Procedures

The rules, workflows, and routines that guide how people complete work within an information system

Technology

The hardware, software, and networks that make an information system function

Transaction Processing System (TPS)

An operational system that handles routine, repeatable tasks to process large volumes of work quickly and accurately

Management Information System (MIS)

A system that provides summarized performance data to middle managers to guide tactical decisions

Decision Support System (DSS)

An interactive system that provides decision-makers with tools and data to analyze patterns, compare alternatives, and evaluate outcomes

Business Process Reengineering

The practice of using new technology as an opportunity to completely redesign inefficient processes

Competitive Advantage

The ability to outperform rivals by offering greater value, lower costs, or unique capabilities that are difficult to copy

Porter’s Five Forces Model

A framework identifying five competitive factors that shape an industry: Threat of New Entrants, Bargaining Power of Suppliers, Bargaining Power of Buyers, Threat of Substitutes, and Competitor Rivalry

Cost Leadership Strategy

A competitive strategy where an organization serves a broad market by operating at a lower cost than rivals

Differentiation Strategy

A competitive strategy where an organization serves a broad market by offering unique or highly valuable features

Cost Focus Strategy

A competitive strategy targeting a narrow market segment while keeping costs low

Differentiation Focus Strategy

A competitive strategy targeting a narrow market segment with specialized products or services

Switching Costs

The expense or disruption a customer experiences when moving from one system or competitor to another

Network Effects

A phenomenon where a system becomes more valuable as more people use it

First-Mover Advantage

The benefit gained by establishing brand recognition and customer loyalty by being the first to introduce a new system or service

System Development Lifecycle (SDLC)

A structured handoff system used to move from a business problem to a working, supported system through six key stages: planning/analysis, design, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance

Return on Investment (ROI)

A calculation or framework used to determine if the value created by a system justifies what the organization spends in money, time, risk, disruption, training, and effort

Tradeoff Triangle

The project management balance between cost, scope, and time (or cost, quality, and speed)

5 Ws

A discovery technique (Who, What, Where, When, Why) used during problem framing to understand an issue before choosing a tool

Symptom

What people notice first when an operational issue arises

Cause

The underlying reason a problem keeps occurring

Business Requirement

A clear, testable statement of what a system must accomplish or support to achieve a business goal

Buy (Software Approach)

Purchasing vendor software when a process is standard, product fit is high, and deployment speed is needed

Configure or Customize

Adapting an existing vendor platform with an organization's specific roles, rules, fields, and permissions

Build (Custom Development)

Creating unique software from scratch for a strategic or specialized capability

Prototype

A concrete mockup used to clarify requirements and gather feedback, which lacks production-level security, scaling, and error handling

Integration

Connecting existing systems so data and workflows move across tools without duplicate manual entry

Waterfall

A traditional linear development methodology where each phase is completed before the next begins

Agile

An iterative development approach that shortens feedback loops by working in small increments and adapting to change

Scrum

A structured method for managing Agile work through short, iterative work cycles

DevOps

A practice connecting system development with operations and support to reduce gaps in delivery

CI/CD

A DevOps continuous integration and deployment practice used to test and release changes frequently and consistently

Vibe Coding

Building software primarily by describing requirements in natural language and letting AI tools generate the underlying code

Normal Use Case

A test scenario or description representing standard, expected workflow conditions

Edge Case

A test scenario covering unusual, boundary, or high-risk conditions

Acceptance Test

A specific, verifiable condition that must be met for a feature to be considered complete

Given/When/Then

A structured format for writing acceptance tests detailing the starting condition (Given), action (When), and observable outcome (Then)

Deployment

Moving a tested system into active operational use

Production

The live state where a system runs with real users, real data, and real business consequences^[31]

Production Signals

Measurable indicators monitored after launch (e.g., error rates or support tickets) to confirm whether a system is producing value

Change Management

The discipline of preparing, training, and supporting people as they adopt new systems and processes

Enterprise Information System (EIS)

Organization-wide software designed to integrate core business processes and shared data across multiple functional departments

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Software that consolidates customer interactions, contact records, support tickets, and sales pipelines into a central database

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Software that coordinates the movement of products, information, and funds from raw material suppliers to the final customer

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

An integrated software platform that connects core business functions (such as finance, HR, manufacturing, sales, and inventory) within a single unified database

Systems Mapping

The process of visually tracking how software applications, databases, and user workflows connect and pass information

Information Silo

An isolated environment where data is trapped in one department's system and cannot flow smoothly to others

Best-of-Breed

An integration strategy where an organization selects top-rated individual software applications for each separate business function

Integrated Suite

An integration strategy where an organization uses a single vendor’s unified ERP platform for all operational needs

Hybrid Strategy

An integration strategy combining a core ERP platform with specialized applications connected via tools like APIs