Introduction to Information Systems Engineering: Key Concepts and Trends

1. DT249/4 Information Systems EngineeringLecture 1 Information Systems Engineering: Introduction

2. Information Systems • An information system is collection of • hardware, software, data, people and procedures that are designed to generate information that supports the day-to-day, short-range, and long-range activities of users in an organization. • Modern information systems solve a variety of data, information, and knowledge-based problems. • Have always been built in order to satisfy some purpose. • In the broad sense involve • computerized as well as manual routines, and • include people involved as agents manipulating and conveying information that concern the things that are dealt within the organization.

3. Information Systems • Information systems use information technology to collect, create, and distribute useful data • Information technology: • Hardware, software, telecommunications

4. Organizations: The Context of Information Systems • Information systems can help organizations • Be more productive and profitable • Gain competitive advantage • Reach more customers • Improve service to their customers • This holds true for all types of organizations—professional, social, religious, educational, and governmental

5. Five IT Megatrends in the Information Age The current confluence of emerging technologies and social events has created five significant trends that business managers need to manage and understand if they don’t want to be left behind:

6. Mobile Computing • Many believe that we’re living in a post-PC era • In the developing world mobile devices often leapfrog traditional PCs • Implications: • Increased collaboration • The ability to manage business in real time • New ways to reach customers

7. Social Media • Over 2 billion (and growing) Facebook users share status updates or pictures with friends and family • Organizations use social media to encourage employee collaboration or to connect with their customers

8. Cloud Computing • Web technologies enable using the Internet as the platform for applications and data • Many regard cloud computing as the beginning of the “fourth wave” • Applications that used to be installed on individual computers are increasingly kept in the cloud • e.g., Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar

9. Big Data • IDC estimated that in 2011, 1.8 zettabytes of data were generated and consumed • How much is 1.8 zettabytes? It is 1.8 trillion gigabytes, or the equivalent of 57 billion 32GB iPads (IDC, 2011) • This number is forecast to grow by 50 times by 2020 Companies in the Information Age economy are creating value not from people, but from data.

10. Big Data

11. The Rise of Information Systems Outsourcing • Outsourcing: moving of business processes or tasks to another company

12. The Rise of Information Systems Outsourcing Key Reasons for Outsourcing: • To reduce or control costs • To free up internal resources • To gain access to world-class capabilities • To increase the revenue potential of the organization • To reduce time to market • To increase process efficiencies • To be able to focus on core activities • To source specific capabilities or skills

13. Types of Information Systems • Pure communication systems • e-mail, voice-mail, synchronous and asynchronous teleconferencing systems etc. • Systems that simplify and rationalize normal office work • word processors, spreadsheet systems, and software that allows you to prepare presentations etc.

14. Types of Information Systems • Individual expert support applications • These may be knowledge-based such as in expert systems or they may be simpler systems meant to support individuals such as e.g. salesmen, in their daily work. • Systems that automate normal business transactions • i.e. modern OLTP (on-line transaction processing) systems . • Systems that provide strategic and tactic decision support • i.e. executive information systems, often based on data warehousing

15. Types of Specialist Information Systems • Office information systems • Transaction processing systems (TPS) • Management information systems (MIS) • Decision support systems (DSS) • Expert systems

16. Office Information Systems • An information system that uses hardware, software and networks to enhance work flow and facilitate communications among employees. • Supports a range of business office activities such as creating and distributing graphics and/or documents, sending messages, scheduling, and accounting.

17. Office Information Systems • Software: • word processing, spreadsheets, databases, presentation graphics, e-mail, Web browsers, Web page authoring, personal information management, and groupware. • Communications technology • voice mail, facsimile (fax), videoconferencing, and electronic data interchange (EDI) for the electronic exchange of text, graphics, audio, and video.

18. Office Information Systems • Also uses a variety of hardware, including computers equipped with modems, video cameras, speakers, and microphones; scanners; and fax machines.

19. Transaction Processing Systems • An information system that captures and processes data generated during an organization’s day-to-day transactions. • A transaction is a business activity such as a deposit, payment, order or reservation.

20. Transaction Processing Systems • Batch processing. • With batch processing, transaction data is collected over a period of time and all transactions are processed later, as a group. • Online transaction processing systems (OLTP). • The computer processes transactions as they are entered.

21. Management information systems (MIS) • An Information system that generates accurate, timely and organized information so managers and other users can make decisions, solve problems, supervise activities, and track progress. • Sometimes called a management reporting system (MRS). • as it generates reports on a regular basis

22. Management information systems (MIS) • Often integrated with transaction processing systems • e.g. To process a sales order, the TPS records the sale, updates the customer’s account balance, and makes a deduction from inventory. Using this information, the related management information system can produce reports that recap daily sales activities; list customers with past due account balances; graph slow or fast selling products; and highlight inventory items that need reordering. • Focuses on generating information that management and other users need to perform their jobs.

23. Decision Support Systems • An information system designed to help users reach a decision when a decision making situation arises. • Some decision support systems include query language, statistical analysis capabilities, spreadsheets, and graphics that help you extract data and evaluate the results.

24. Decision Support Systems • Some also include capabilities that allow you to create a model of the factors affecting a decision. • E.g. A simple model for determining the best product price would include factors for the expected sales volume at each price level. With the model, you can ask what-if questions by changing one or more of the factors and viewing the projected results. • Many people use application software packages to perform DSS functions. • E.g. Using spreadsheet software you can complete simple modeling tasks or what-if scenarios.

25. Executive Information System (EIS) • A special type of DSS • designed to support the information needs of executive management • Information in an EIS is presented in charts and tables that show trends, ratios, and other managerial statistics.

26. Executive Information System (EIS) • Data warehouses • To store all the necessary decision-making data, DSSs or EISs often use extremely large databases, called data warehouses. • A data warehouse stores and manages the data required to analyze historical and current business circumstances.

27. Expert Systems • An expert system is an information system that captures and stores the knowledge of human experts and then imitates human reasoning and decision-making processes for those who have less expertise. • Composed of two main components: • a knowledge base • the combined subject knowledge and experiences of the human experts. • the inference rules • are a set of logical judgments applied to the knowledge base each time a user describes a situation to the expert system.

28. Expert Systems • Non-management employees are the main users • help with job-related decisions. • Part of artificial intelligence (AI) branch • Used in resolving diverse problems such as diagnosing illnesses, searching for oil and making soup.

29. Integrated Information Systems • With today’s sophisticated hardware, software and communications technologies, it is difficult to classify a system as belonging uniquely to one of the five information system types. • Most of today’s application software supports transaction processing and generates management information. • Other applications provide transaction processing, management information, and decision support. • Organizations are consolidating their information needs into a single, integrated information system.

30. Information Systems Engineering • Engineering of information systems • our primary concern • The process by which information systems are designed, developed, tested, and maintained.

31. Information Systems Engineering • The application of engineering principles, founded on appropriate scientific and technological disciplines, to the creation, use and support of information systems for the solution of practical problems. • Involves structured requirement analyses, functional modeling, prototyping, software engineering, and system testing, documentation, and maintenance.

32. Information Systems Engineering • Practical • concerned with the actual doing or use of something, rather than with the theory and ideas

33. Information Systems Engineering • Involves the activities of • Specification • identifying, understanding users needs • Design • solutions / alternatives to meet those needs • Construction • building agreed solution to meet users needs • Testing • ensuring solution ‘works’ as required • Bringing into service • introducing into existing user environment • Maintenance and enhancement • ensuring solution can be enhanced to meet additional requirements & if necessary, corrected • Quality assurance applied to all above.

34. Information Systems Engineering • The scope • hardware components • processors, networks and interface devices; • software components • including operating systems software, information structure software, communications protocol and application software; and • the design, development and use of standards and tools essential for the engineering of information systems.

35. System Engineering • In many cases, the software element of a system does not integrate properly or fails altogether because software engineers treat their system element (software) as if it existed in a vacuum. • It does not.

36. System Engineering • What is a system? • A purposeful collection of inter-related components working together to achieve some common objective. • A system may include software, mechanical, electrical and electronic hardware and be operated by people.

37. System Engineering • Broader than software engineering • Concerned with • the services provided by the system, • constraints on its construction, and • operation and the ways in which it is used.

38. References • Discovering Computers 2000, Concepts for a Connected World, Web and CNN Enhanced; CourseTechnology, 1999 • Information Systems Engineering: What Is It?, B. Wangler, A. Backlund • Information Systems Today: Managing in a Digital World, Global Edition, 7/E, Joseph Valacich and Christoph Schneider, City University of Hong Kong