Lesson 1: Foundations of Information Systems

FOUNDATIONS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS - Lesson 1 -

Angelina Njeguš, PhD Associate Professor at Singidunum University

Belgrade - Serbia, 2013

Prof. dr Angelina Njeguš

System Concept

Entity 1 Entity 2

Entity N Entity 3

System boundary

Environment

Input Output

Feedback


Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom

Source: Swindoll, 2011 (Available at: http://www.pursuant.com/blog/tag/dikw-model/)

http://www.pursuant.com/blog/tag/dikw-model/






Information Systems (IS)

Organised and integrated set of:

Data

Processes

Interfaces

Networks

Technologies

People

that are correlated in order to support

and improve everyday business

operations and decision making


Information Systems

Real life system

Information System


Basic IS Activities

Output

Input

Processing

Storage

Control

Source: O-Brien et al., 2010


Information Processing Cycle

Source: Morley et al., 2013


Types of Information Systems

Information Systems

Operations Information Systems

Transaction Processing

Systems

Business Process

Management Systems

Office and Collaboration

Systems

Business Intelligence Systems

Management Information

Systems

Decision Support Systems

Executive Information

Systems

Business Operations

Support

Decision making support

Systems for Process Modelling, Simulation, Execution, Control and

Optimisation

Processing Business Transactions

Prespecified Reporting for Managers (OLAP cubes,

Operational BI…)

Interactive Decision Support (Data

Mining method analysis ...)

Critical Information for Senior

Management (BSC, KPI, Strategic BI …)

Expert Systems Knowledge

Management Systems

Manage Organisational Knowledge (ITIL, ISO

Standards …)

Office and Team and Workgroup Collaboration

Systems

Specialised Information

Systems

Virtual Reality

3D Simulation of a Real or Imaginary Environment

(tool for communication, entertainment, and learning)

Emulates Expert Problem Solving

Geographic Information

Systems

Intelligent Maps



Information Systems



Systems

Business Process

Management Systems


Systems



Systems



Systems

Business Operations

Support



Optimisation



Operational BI…)






Management Systems


Standards …)


Systems


Systems

Virtual Reality





Systems

Intelligent Maps


Operations Information Systems (OIS)

Organised set of:

─ hardware

─ software

─ databases

─ telecommunications

─ people

─ procedures

that are configured to:

─ collect

─ manipulate

─ store

─ process

data into information, and support an organisation’s day-to-day business activities

Any organised combination of …

Data

Processes

Policies and procedures

Interfaces Communi-

cation networks

Technologi-es

People


Operations Information Systems (OIS)

Support operational processes that constitute the core business and create the primary value stream

Typical operational processes are:

Finance

Manufacturing

Marketing

Human Resources ...

Source: Rosen, 2006


Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)

TPS collects, store, modify, and retrieve business trasactions

A transaction is an event that generates or modifies data that are stored in an information system

Any business-related exchange, such as payments to employees, sales to customers, payments to suppliers ...


Ways to Process Transactions

Batch processing

• Accumulate transactions over time and then process periodically

• Example: During the night, all

daily OLTP database changes are all at one time extracted, transformed, and loaded into the data warehouse

Online processing

• Process all transactions immediately

• Example: A bank system processes ATM withdrawals immediately


Some TPS features

The main purpose of the TPS is to ensure the consistency and integrity of data

For example: In case of e-payment amount must be withdrawn from one account and added to another. If transaction fails, than rolleback function deletes all data changes that have occurred since the beginning of the transaction.

Source: IBM, 2012


Some TPS features (cont.)

Transaction systems must be able to support a large number of concurrent users and transaction types For example: Multiple operators simultaneously access airline reservation

system. When one operator access, booking is locked until it is completed. Otherwise, another operator could access the same data and make double booking.



Information Systems



Systems

Business Process

Management Systems


Systems



Systems



Systems

Business Operations

Support



Optimisation



Operational BI…)






Management Systems


Standards …)


Systems


Systems

Virtual Reality





Systems

Intelligent Maps


Business Process Management Systems

Business process is a collection of related, structured, and coordinated value-added activities that combine available resources (input) to produce a specific output (product or service)

For instance, the process of filling a customer order involves several related tasks.

Source: Interfacing, 2011


Business Process

A business process transforms inputs into outputs, according to guidance (business policies, standards, procedures, business rules, etc.) employing resources of all types

Input Output

Guidance

Resources


Examples of Business Processes

Accounting Business Processes:

– Accounts payable

– Accounts receivable

– Cash receipts

– Invoice billings ...

Finance Business Processes:

– Account collection

– Bank loan applications

– Business forecasts

– Customer credit approval and credit terms ...

Marketing Business Processes: – Customer satisfaction surveys

– Customer service contracts

– Customer compliant handling

– Sales order entry ...

Production/Operations Business Processes:

– Bill of materials

– Quality control for finished goods

– Packing, storage, and distribution

– Shipping and freight claims ...

Human Resources Business Processes:

– Disabilities employment policies

– Employee hiring policies

– Files and records management

– Health care benefits

– Pay and payroll

– Training/tuition reimbursement

– Workplase rules and guidelines ...

Source: Rainer et al., 2011


Why are BPM systems important?

Business processes are strategic assets of an organization that must be understood, managed, and improved to deliver value-added products and services to clients – the goal of BPM systems

Economics: globalization demands flexibility

Business processes: changing quickly, shrinking cycle times

Revenue growth: at the top of CEO agenda

Reusable assets: can cut costs

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) – continuous process improvement

Business process management (BPM) systems give organisations the flexibility to quickly respond to changes in the competitive environment


Business Process Management

Discover, document, automate, and continuously improve business processes to increase efficiency and effectiveness while striving for innovation, flexibility, and integration with technology



Information Systems



Systems

Business Process

Management Systems


Systems



Systems



Systems

Business Operations

Support



Optimisation


Prespecified Reporting for Managers

(Operational BI…)






Management Systems


Standards …)


Systems


Systems

Virtual Reality





Systems

Intelligent Maps


Office and Collaboration Systems

A suite of applications (Software packages) for creating, editing, and sharing text, spreadsheet, presentations and other documents in order to facilitate and speed up the daily office tasks, as well as mutual business communication


Collaboration Systems

Support communication, and coordination among teams and work groups over geographic distances

Depending on the level of collaboration, can be divided into three categories:

Communication tools - interchange of messages, files, data, or documents in order to facilitate the sharing of information

─ Examples: e-mail, voice mail, chat, Wikis, Web publishing ...

Conferencing tools - refers to interactive work toward a shared goal

─ Examples: Internet forums, online chat, Internet telephony, video conferencing, electronic meeting systems, Webcast ...

Collaborative management tools – facilitate and manage group activities

─ Examples: Time management software, Document Management Systems, Project management systems, Social software systems ...







Information Systems



Systems

Business Process

Management Systems


Systems



Systems



Systems

Business Operations

Support



Optimisation



(Operational BI…)






Management Systems


Standards …)


Systems


Systems

Virtual Reality





Systems

Intelligent Maps


Operational data

Information


Set of tools and systems for gathering, extracting, storing, analyzing and translating business information into knowledge to support decision-making and improve overall business effectiveness

Knowledge workers


Operations vs BI systems


Decisions


Business Intelligence System


Decisions are based on


Why Business Intelligence?

• What happened?

• What is happening?

• Why did it happen?

• What will happen?

• What do I want to happen?

ERP CRM 3Pty SCM

Past

Present

Future

Data


Frontend tools

34


Decision structure


BI Pyramid

KPIs, Scorecards, Dashboards

OLAP, Mining, Forecasting

Management Reports

Detailed Operational Reports

INVOICES, SHIPPING DOCUMENTS, PICK LIST

SALES TOTALS, LEADS ANALYSIS, CLICK THROUGH RATIOS, BUDGETS

PERFORMANCE, PRODUCTION TIMES, CUSTOMER CHURN

METRICS

Complexity

Quantity

Executives, Top Managers

Professionals, Problem solvers, Middle manager

Front-line manager

Transactors

OPERATIONAL

TACTICAL

STRATEGIC

REAL TIME


Types of Business Intelligence Systems Operational BI: Management Information Systems (MIS)

Provides routine information to managers and decision makers

Primary focus is operational efficiency

Reports and displays

Example: daily sales analysis reports

Tactical BI: Decision Support Systems (DSS) Used to support problem-specific decision making

Focus is on decision-making effectiveness

Interactive OLAP and ad hoc decision support, data mining method analysis, predictive analytics

Example: where to spend advertising dollars

Strategic BI: Executive Information Systems (EIS) Critical information for executives and senior managers

Example: easy access to actions of competitors, BSC, KPI ...



Information Systems



Systems

Business Process

Management Systems


Systems



Systems



Systems

Business Operations

Support



Optimisation



(Operational BI…)






Management Systems


Standards …)


Systems


Systems

Virtual Reality





Systems

Intelligent Maps


Expert Systems (ES)

Field of Artifical Intelligence (AI)

AI focuses on the development and study of systems that support human behavior and intelligence (learning, understanding, problem solving, reasoning, knowledge, etc.)

The most important subdomains of AI are:

Natural Language Processing

Interpretation and processing of visual information and signals (Biometrics ...)

Robotics

Knowledge based systems or Knowledge Engineeering (Expert Systems ...)

Software Agents or Intelligent Agents

Machine Learning (Data Mining, Speech recognition, Text analysis ...)


Expert Systems

Simulate the knowledge, and reasoning process in solving complex problems and emulates the decision-making ability of an expert in order to arrive at the same conclusions as a human expert would

Expert in a specific field:

has a high-degree of knowledge, skill, and experience

Understands the problem and recognizes structured and typical problem-solving process

Has heuristic knowledge (resillience, good judgment ...)

Recognizes the fastest way to come up with the soultion ...

Some knowledge representation techniques are:

Rules: IF you are hungry THEN eat

Semantic nets: graph with logically connected nodes ...


ES Architecture

Source: Abacus, 2009



Information Systems



Systems

Business Process

Management Systems


Systems



Systems



Systems

Business Operations

Support



Optimisation



(Operational BI…)






Management Systems


Standards …)


Systems


Systems

Virtual Reality





Systems

Intelligent Maps


Geographic Information Systems

Source: Bisag, 2009.


Storing GIS Data for the Web

The steps of serving a map are:

Data are aggregated in a database

Data are transformed into an image using a rendering engine

The image is served through a map server

The main types of GIS data:

Vector data (points, lines, and polygons) are stored in tables as sets of geographic coordinates and attributes .

Raster data - collections of pixels that make up images

XML has become an important language for transferring geographic data over the internet

Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) defined a Geography Markup Language (GML) standard

Source: Bisag, 2009.


GIS Applications

Source: Abukhater, 2011.



Information Systems



Systems

Business Process

Management Systems


Systems



Systems



Systems

Business Operations

Support



Optimisation



(Operational BI…)






Management Systems


Standards …)


Systems


Systems

Virtual Reality





Systems

Intelligent Maps


Knowledge Management Systems

IT-based systems developed to support, manage and enhance the organisational processes of knowledge creation, storage/retrieval, transfer, and application

Source: ITSM, 2008


Information Technology Infrastructure Library - ITIL Documented set of best practices for IT service management

(ITSM) that focuses on aligning IT services with the needs of business

ITSM is a discipline for managing IT systems

ISO/IEC 20000 standard - the first international standard for IT service management

ISO/IEC 20000 certification is an assessment of IT department as a means of showing that organization reached a level of maturity for services delivery


Best practises



Information Systems



Systems

Business Process

Management Systems


Systems



Systems



Systems

Business Operations

Support



Optimisation



(Operational BI…)






Management Systems


Standards …)


Systems


Systems

Virtual Reality





Systems

Intelligent Maps


Virtual Reality

3D simulation of a real or imaginary environment

Tool for communication, entertainment, and learning

Virtual Reality in Tourism can be used:

to recreate historic sites and events

to provide a means of protecting the fragile state of some heritage

to create virtual experiences (virtual tours) for tourists

to create virtual guides

for marketing, planning and management, entertainment, education, accessibility ...


Second Life I-Room

Virtual Space for Intelligent Interaction


Trends in Information Systems

Source: O’Brien, 2010


References

1. Swindoll, C. (2011) „Redefining Fundraising – Data“, Pursuant [Online]. Available at: http://www.pursuant.com/blog/tag/dikw-model/ (accessed: 1.11.2012)

2. O’Brien, J.A., Marakas, G.M. (2010) Introduction to Information Systems, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

3. Rosen, S. (2006) „Information Systems in the Enterprise“, Santa Rosa Junior College [Online]. Available at:http://www.santarosa.edu/~srosen/CIS66/ch2notes.htm (accessed 2.11.2012)

4. IBM (2012) „Rolling back work“, IBM [Online]. Available at: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/dzichelp/v2r2/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.db2z10.doc.intro%2Fsrc%2Ftpc%2Fdb2z_rollbackwork.htm (Accessed, 2.11.2012)

5. Interfacing Technologies Corporation (2011) „What is Business Process Management (BPM)?“, ODESIA Co. [Online]. Available at: http://www.interfacing.com/Literature/what-is-bpm (accessed: 2.11.2012)

6. Rainer, R. K., Cegielski, C.G. (2011) Introducing to Information Systems: Enabling and Transforming Business, 3rd edition, Wiley & Sons, Inc.

7. Kaur, E.B, Kaur, E.S. (2012) „Overview of Intelligent Systems“, International Journal of Computing & Business Research.

8. Abacus (2009) „Artificial Intelligence Systems“, Abacus Programming Corporation. Available at: http://www.abacuscorp.com/artificial_intelligence_systems.htm (accessed: 7.11.2012)

9. IT Service Management (2008) „ITIL Service Management“. Available at: http://itservicemngmt.blogspot.com/2008/03/iso-20000-rediscovered.html (accessed 7.11.2012)

10. Morley, D., Parker, C. (2013) Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 14th Edition, Course Technology Cengage Learning, Boston, MA, USA.

11. Bisag (2009). Thrust Areas for Geo-informatics Applications. Bhaskaracharya Institute For Space Applications and Geo-Informatics. Available at: http://www.bisag.gujarat.gov.in/research.htm (accessed 16.07.2013)

12. Abukhater, A. (2011). GIS for Planning and Community Development: Solving Global Challenges. Directions Magazine. Available at: http://www.directionsmag.com/articles/gis-for-planning-and-community-development-solving-global-challenges/149245 (accessed 16.07.2013)

13. GISC (2013). Storing GIS Data for the Web. Available at: http://giscollective.org/tutorials/web-mapping/wmsfive/ (accessed 16.07.2013)




http://www.santarosa.edu/~srosen/CIS66/ch2notes.htm

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/dzichelp/v2r2/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.db2z10.doc.intro/src/tpc/db2z_rollbackwork.htm




http://www.interfacing.com/Literature/what-is-bpm





http://www.abacuscorp.com/artificial_intelligence_systems.htm

http://itservicemngmt.blogspot.com/2008/03/iso-20000-rediscovered.html





http://www.bisag.gujarat.gov.in/research.htm

http://www.directionsmag.com/articles/gis-for-planning-and-community-development-solving-global-challenges/149245



















http://giscollective.org/tutorials/web-mapping/wmsfive/


