UBC COMM 205 - Exam A - K version

Information Systems

collects, processes, stores, analyzes, and disseminates information for a specific purpose

Explain this curve and what section is represented by what group

Information Technology (IT)

Any computer-based tool that people use to work with information and support the information and information-processing needs of an organization

What are the components of Information Systems

hardware (actors), software (intrusctors), data (bridge), procedures (instructors), people(actors)

Data

raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event or object

information

Data converted into a meaningful and useful context

knowledge

information that facilitates action (explicit vs tacit knowledge)

wisdom

The combination of knowledge and experience to make sound decisions or judgements

tacit knowledge

strategies for success that are not explicitly taught but that instead must be inferred

explicit knowledge

knowledge that is easily communicated and available to everyone

Who are the people in IS?

Creators, Operators, Managers, Users

Creators

System Analysts, Programmers, Comp Engineers

Operators

Operations and Administrations - involved in the day to day operations. Computer operator

Capabilities of Information Systems

1. Perform high-speed, high-volume computations

2. Provide fast, accurate communication and collaboration

3. Store huge amounts of information in a small space

4. Allow quick and inexpensive access to info, worldwide

5. Interpret vast amounts of data quickly and efficiently

6. Automate business processes and manual tasks

Generation 1 - Vacuum Tubes

late 1930s - mid 1950s

Large, fragile, complex and expensive

Requires cooling system

One program at a time

Housed at universites

e.g. ENIAC

Gen 2 - Transistors

Mid 1950s - Mid 1960s

First digital computing machines used in businesses and government

Simpler, smaller, faster

Lower power required and less heat

Simpler and smaller.

e.g. IBM 650 -> first mass-produced computer

Gen 3 - Integrated Circuits

Mid 1960s - Early 1970s

Silicon Chips

Smaller, faster, cheaper

Keyboard input, monitor output

e.g. CICS, IBM TPS

Gen 4 - Microprocessors

Early 1970s - Present

CPU (central processing unit)

GUI (graphical user interface)

Mouse

Floppy drive

e.g. Apple Macintosh

Gen 5 - AI

Early 2000s - Present

Parallel processing and superconductors

Nanotechnology

Natural language input

e.g. Siri

Networking Personal Computers

mid 1980-Present

-Critical to the rapid adoption of personal computers and rise of

social networks

Local Area Networks (LANs)

-linking many personal computers together

-shared access to data, printers, and other peripheral devices

Wide Area Networks (WANs)

-the Internet

-email

-web browsing

Mobile Computing

Late 1990s to Present

A real-time connection between a mobile device and other computing environments, such as the Internet or an intranet.

Cloud Computing

Mid 2010s-Present

- customers do not own the computer

- the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer.

- rent usage from 3rd party provider and consume computing resource as a service

Computer Hardware

The physical components of a computer.

Inputs (keyboard, mouse, etc) --> Process (CPU, main memory) --> Output (printer, video display)

input hardware

Accept or capture data.

Direct: keyboard, mouse, document scanner, bar code, microphones.

Indirect: Scanners, Digital Cameras, Biometric Systems

output hardware

Hardware that is used to create outputs, data flows out of the hardware (speakers, printers, Screen projections etc.)

Bits

binary digits (0s and 1s)

Bytes

8 bit chunks (represents one character)

In 1024 - mostly rounded down to 1000 for simplicity.

Motherboard

A circuit board that contains all of the computer system's main components.

- Socket for the CPU

- Primary Memory

- Buses

discrete values

only occur in whole numbers (integers)

What components must connect to the motherboard?

Socket for the CPU (Microprocessor)

Primary Memory

Buses

Ports and Expansion Slots

buses (computer)

Data channles within the motherboard that move data

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

The internal operating unit or "brain" of a computer.

Moves instruction from main memory via data channel or bus

Speed expressed in Hertz (Hz)

Has small amount of very fast memory called cache

cache

Very fast memory that keeps frequently used instructions.

The type of memory which helps speed up the overall throughput of the CPU.

Memory

Main Memory (RAM)

- Contains Operating System instructions

- Contains program instructions

Memory Swapping

- Main memory too small to hold all data

- CPU loads programs into memory in chunks

program instructions, operating system instructions.

What happens if I have too little RAM

Constant memory swapping, slows processing, needs more memory if processing many programs.

Primary Storage

The computer's immediate internal memory, RAM and ROM.

When a CPU needs data: goes to RAM

RAM

Random Access Memory

Volatile - Deleted when turned off

Working Memory

ROM

Read Only Memory

Non-Volatile

Stores Permenant instructions

Use to boot up machine

Secondary Storage Devices

Non Volatile - Compact Disk, Digital Versatile (Video), DVD, Blu-ray Disk, Hard disk, floppy disks, CD, jump drives

flash memory (secondary storage)

Type of nonvolatile memory that can be erased electronically and rewritten.

Solid State Drive (SSD), Flash Memory Drive,

Client computer

Computer on a network that uses services provided by a server. Connects to internet to check email, databases, etc

Server Computers

provide access to information and application

-faster, larger, more powerful

-serve resources to client computers

-the Cloud is a term assigned to servers accessible anywhere and anytime (over the internet)

-dedicated: mail, file, web, applications, database, etc.

What are the 2 types of computer software?

OS and Application Software.

Firmware

Software that is permanently stored in a chip. The BIOS on a motherboard is an example of firmware. Required because all volatile memory is lost when the computer is shut down.

BIOS

Basic Input/Output System

Required because all volatile memory is lost when the computer is shut downFirmware

Used when a computer is booted up

Operating Software

software that operates the computer

- Windows

- MacOS

- Linux

- Movile (iOS, Android)

Applicaiton Programs

Perform Specific user tasks.

Buy off Shelf vs Custom Developed

proprietary software

Software that has been developed by a company and has restrictions on its use, copying, and modification.

Users buy license to use program

open source software

noncommercial software shared freely and developed collectively on the internet

3 Types of Application Software

Application Software consists of programs that perform a business function: MS Office, Canvas

horizontal market application

vertical market application

one-of-a-kind custom application software

Horizontal-market application

software provides capabilities common across all organizations and industries

Word Processing, spreadsheets.

Vertical Market Application Software

serves the needs of a specific industry

Appointment scheduling

One-of-a-kind Custom Software

For a specific need.

Moore's Law

the observation that computing power roughly doubles every two years.

Conceptual Design vs Logical Design

Includes:

Entity Relationship Diagrams (ERD) and Relational Database (Schema)

Database

A database is an organized collection of logically related data, typically stored electronically, and designed to support rapid retrieval, manipulation, and management by users or software applications.

ER diagram (ERD), what is it and what are the basic components?

A graphical representation of database requirements

Entities: Entities are distinct objects (people, events, places, or things) that are represented within a database

Attributes: Each entity can have a set of attributes describing some aspect of the object that is to be recorded

Relationships: Provide links between entities. Cardinality shows the type of relationship between two entities.

Cardinality Diagrams

One-to-One (1:1)n Each entity in the relationship will have exactly one related entity

One-to-Many (1:M)n An entity on one side of the relationship can have many related entities, but an entity on the other side will have a maximum of one related entity

Many-to-Many (M:N)n Entities on both sides of the relationship can have many related entities on the other side

4 types of cardinality constraints

1) mandatory one

2) mandatory many

3) optional one

4) optional many

Steps for Drawing ERD

relational database model

a structured collection of data acces and utilized by many different applications and users.

Components include Tables/Files + Relationships among Rows in Tables + Metadata

Primary Key

A field (or group of fields) that uniquely identifies a given entity in a table.

Atomic Key or Composite Key (2 or more)

- Atomic Primary Key: consist of only one field

- Composite Primary Key: consist of more than one field

Foreign Key

A primary key of one table that appears as an attribute in another table and acts to provide a logical relationship between the two tables

A way to make a relationship between tables. Null FK are okay.

Metadata

Data that describes other data. For example, a digital image may include metadata that describe the size of the image, number of colors, or resolution.

DBMS (Database Management System)

a product used for the storage and organization of data that typically has defined formats and structures

Flat file database

One large single table; used if the amount of data that is being recorded is fairly minimal

Field

A column in a database table.

record

A row in a database table.

attributes (database)

Describing some aspect of the object or entity

Data Normalization

When you normalize the data, you want to eliminate repeating groups to create normalized tables, each containing only one relation

- Within one table, each row must be unique and identified by primary key

- Within each row, each value is each col must be single-valued

- Multiple variables are not allowed

Why do we normalize data?

To resolve undesirable dependencies, remove redundancies, eliminate repeating groups.

NoSQL

A new generation of database management systems that is not based on the traditional relational database model.

Database vs. Spreadsheet

database: stores more data, user-friendly interface, data linkage complex relationships, creates reports...

spreadsheets: small amount of data, cannot relate multiple tables, uncomplicated data relationships, good for calculation and visualization

entities

Data contained in the database (students, course, grade)

SQL (Structured Query Language)

A language that provides a standardized way to request information from a relational database system.

SELECT * (The attribute)

FROM (table to be used)

WHERE (speicify conditions)

Can dragging and dropping different fields.

QBE (query by example)

Using a grid to form queries where fields can be added, sorted, compared, etc.

Parent table and child table

The master table vs the subset table (related by foreign keys).

Do ERDs have keys?

No, they only have unique identifiers that are usually underlined.

No attribute is repeated, it is all joint with cardinality legends.

Business Intelligence

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

operational decisions

short-run decisions to help implement strategies

Supported by TPS Transaction Processing Systems

day-day activities

TPS (Transaction Processing System)

supports the monitoring, collection, storage, and processing of data from the organization's basic business transactions, each of which generates data

What do managers need to make decisions

Managerial Decisions

decisions about the allocation and utilization of resources

Supported by MIS

Management Information Systems (MIS)

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

Strategic Decisions

those that support broad-scope, organizational issues

EIS

Executive information system (EIS)

A specialized DSS (Decision Support System) that supports senior level executives within the organization

structured decisions

Situations where established and accepted methods for making a decision

More so TPS (operational)

unstructured decisions

Occurs in situations in which no procedures or rules exist to guide decision makers toward the correct choice

More so EIS systems (Strategic)

i.e: Who should I marry?

OLTP (online transaction processing)

Capturing and storing data from ERP, CRM, POS

Day-to-day business transactions

The main focus is on efficiency of routine tasks

OLAP (online analytical processing)

Manipulation of information to create business intelligence in support of strategic decision making

Ability to sum, count, average,

BI

data warehouse

a large repository database that supports management decision making

Prepares data for BI Processing

Extract and clean data from opeational systems and other sources

data mart

a data collection, smaller than the data warehouse, that addresses the needs of a particular department or functional area of the business

data mining

the process of analyzing data to extract information not offered by the raw data alone

How do you identify a continuous field in Tableau

Green Pill in a visualization

What data type contains a Tableau workbook along with local data

.twbx

T/F - Can Tableau automatically create the correct data types, once uploaeded?

False - Have to double check to make sure.

What colour in Data Panes are discrete values?

Blue

IT projects

Temporary Goal-Oriented Initiatives

renew and adapt the IT infrastructure to keep IT working effectively

- Have a large information technology component (in terms of budget or personnel)

- Such projects affect data, people, and processes

Risks with IT projects