Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Introduction To MIS Management Information Systems Robert Monroe August 23, 2009

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Agenda Introductions –Distribute books and reading Review course goals, structure, and expectations A quick tour of the course What is an information system? For Tuesday…

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Course Philosophy This course focuses on three business challenges: –How should I invest my scarce resources in Information Systems so as to maximize my overall return? –How can I use information systems to run my business more effectively? –How can I make better decisions about managing my organization’s Information Systems This is not a programming or systems design course Let’s have some fun. Life’s too short to do otherwise…

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Syllabus Review Course goals Office hours Expectations and etiquette Course materials and resources –Blackboard –Wiki –Readings Academic integrity

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Syllabus Review – Grading Grades will be computed as follows: –Homework assignments25% –Hourly exams (2 x 15% each)30% –Final exam30% –Quizzes 5% –Class participation 5% –Wiki participation5%

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems A Quick Tour Of The Course

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Module 1: Strategic IT Use and Investment What is Information Technology (IT)? What is a Management Information System (MIS)? Does IT matter? How can MIS be used to solve business problems? How should I invest my resources in MIS?

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Module 2: Enterprise Systems What is an Enterprise Information System? What do SCM, ERP, and CRM mean? What do I need to know about them? Why are Enterprise Systems so difficult to build, deploy, and manage? Why are these projects so difficult and risky?

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Module 3: Developing Custom Information Systems How do IT professionals specify, design, and build information systems? Why is it so hard to effectively design and deploy information systems? What do I need to know to effectively buy or build an enterprise information system?

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Module 4: Managing and Leveraging Data How can my business make effective use of its data? What is an information asset? Why should I care? How does a database work? What do I need to know to use one effectively? What are: –Business Intelligence? –Data Warehousing? –Data Mining?

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Module 5: Information Security How do I keep my organizations information ‘secure’? How much should I spend to do so? What role does technology play in information security and what role do people and processes play?

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Module 6: Evaluating Emerging IT Opportunities How do I decide which cool new technologies our business should invest in (and which ones to ignore?) How do I make investment decisions if the outcome of the investment is so unpredictable? What frameworks are available for evaluating emerging information technologies?

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Definitions Information Technology (IT) Hardware, software, telecommunications, database management, and other information processing technologies used in computer based information systems. Information System 1.A set of people, procedures, and resources that collects, transforms, and disseminates information in an organization. 2.A system that accepts data resources as input and processes them into information products as output. Class Exercise: Identify some Information Technologies / Information Systems Definitions Source: James O’Brien, Management Information Systems, 6 th ed.

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Information System Resources Source: James O’Brien, Management Information Systems, 6 th ed.

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Management Information Systems: support, enable, (and sometimes) define, business processes.

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Information System Components And Functions Source: James O’Brien, Management Information Systems, 6 th ed.

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Case Study: MOI Traffic Violations Website Identify the site’s: Data inputs Processing activities Information Products (outputs) Resources: –People –Software –Network –Hardware –Data What processes does this site support and/or automate? What Information Technologies are required for this IS to work?

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Case Study: Facebook Identify the site’s: Data inputs Processing activities Information Products (outputs) Resources: –People –Software –Network –Hardware –Data What processes does this site support and/or automate? What Information Technologies are required for this IS to work?

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems For Tuesday 8/25: We will discuss a variety of models for evaluating IT investments Required preparation for class: –No required reading! –Choose an organization and/or information systems with which you are familiar. Be prepared to do the following in class on Tuesday: Describe the organization in class Describe what the information system does and how the organization makes use of it Describe the benefits that the information system provides to the organization Think through the costs that the organization incurred in creating or buying the system Think through the costs and risks that the organization faces to keep the system running Do you think that the organization has received a positive return on their investment in the system? How do you think they justified making the initial investment? Do you think they would make that investment again if they could go back in time for a ‘do-over’? –Log on to course wiki and identify your chosen organization and their information system by10:30am on Tuesday. Don’t forget to update the page quickly, as others will be waiting to do the same!

Carnegie Mellon University © Robert T. Monroe Management Information Systems Resources Charts and definitions used from: –James O’Brien, Management Information Systems, 6 th ed., McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2004, ISBN