Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition 2 C H A P T E R INFORMATION SYSTEM BUILDING BLOCKS

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition Chapter Two Information System Building Blocks What are information systems, and who are the stakeholders in the information systems game? Differentiate between front- and back-office information systems. Describe five classes of information system applications (transaction processing, management information, decision support, expert, and office automation systems) and how they interoperate. Describe the role of information systems architecture in system development. Name six groups of stakeholders in information system development. Name three focuses for information systems. Describe four perspectives of the DATA focus for an information system. Describe four perspectives of the PROCESS focus for an information system. Describe four perspectives of the INTERFACE focus for an information system. Describe the role of a computer network as it relates to DATA, PROCESSES, and INTERFACES.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition Data and Information Data are raw facts about the organization and its business transactions. Most data items have little meaning and use by themselves. Information is data that has been refined and organized by processing and purposeful intelligence. The latter, purposeful intelligence, is crucial to the definition—People provide the purpose and the intelligence that produces true information.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition Information Systems & Technology These are repeated from the last chapter: An information system (IS) is an arrangement of people, data, processes, communications, and information technology that interact to support and improve day-to-day operations in a business as well as support the problem-solving and decision making needs of management and users. ‘computer application’ is really a subset of an information system Information technology is a contemporary term that describes the combination of computer technology (hardware and software) with telecommunications technology (data, image, and voice networks). Computer technology – really, a subset of Information technology

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition Front- and Back-Office Information Systems Popular usages from trade literature: Know these. –Front-office information systems support business functions that reach out to customers (or constituents). –Marketing –Sales –Customer management –Back-office information systems support internal business operations and interact with suppliers (of materials, equipment, supplies, and services). –Human resources –Financial management –Manufacturing –Inventory control Office automation – can either be front-office or back-office.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition A Federation of Information Systems Visually illustrates front- and back office applications. Highlights most organizations purchase their back-office systems in the form of enterprise resource planning (ERP) products, like SAP, PeopleSoft, and Oracle ERP is trying to expand into front-office applications. Note that e-commerce and business extensions are being added to both front- and back-office applications in order to streamline interfaces to both customers and suppliers. E-commerce is being driven by the Internet (and private extranets)

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition Classes of Information Systems Transaction processing systems Management information systems Decision support systems Expert systems Office automation systems KNOW THIS…

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition Transaction Processing Transaction processing systems are information system applications that capture and process data about business transactions. –Includes data maintenance, which provides for custodial updates to stored data. Examples: Adding, changing, deleting accounts, loans, orders, etc. –Business process redesign (BPR) is the study, analysis, and redesign of fundamental business (transaction) processes to reduce costs and/or improve value added to the business.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition Management Information Systems An Management Information System (MIS) is an information system application that provides for management-oriented reporting. Reports are usually generated on a predetermined schedule and appear in a prearranged format.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition Decision Support Systems A Decision Support System (DSS) - an information system application that provides its users with decision-oriented information whenever a decision-making situation arises. Applied to executive managers, systems are sometimes called executive information systems (EIS). A Data Warehouse: read-only, informational database populated with detailed, summary, and exception data and information generated by other transaction and management information systems. –The data warehouse can then be accessed by end-users and managers with DSS tools that generate a virtually limitless variety of information in support of unstructured decisions. –The design of a data warehouse differs significantly from traditional, operational databases.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition Expert Systems An Expert System is a programmed decision-making information system that captures and reproduces the knowledge and expertise of an expert problem solver or decision maker and then simulates the “thinking” or “actions” of that expert. –Expert systems are implemented with artificial intelligence technology that captures, stores, and provides access to the reasoning of the experts.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition Office Automation Systems Office automation (OA) systems support the wide range of business office activities that provide for improved work flow and communications between workers, regardless of whether or not those workers are located in the same office. –Personal information systems are those designed to meet the needs of a single user. They are designed to boost an individual’s productivity. –Work Group information systems are those designed to meet the needs of a work group. They are designed to boost the group’s productivity.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition Information Systems Architecture Information systems architecture provides a unifying framework into which various people with different perspectives can organize and view the fundamental building blocks of information systems.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition Perspectives or Stakeholders – Roles NOT Job Titles… System owners pay for the system to be built and maintained. System users use the system to perform or support the work to be completed. System designers design the system to meet the users’ requirements. System builders construct, test, and deliver the system into operation. Systems analysts facilitate the development of information systems and computer applications by bridging the communications gap that exists between nontechnical system owners and users and technical system designers and builders. IT vendors and consultants sell hardware, software, and services to businesses for incorporation into their information systems. Role can be accommodated by more than one person….

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition Focuses for Information Systems Data—the raw material used to create useful information. Processes—the activities (including management) that carry out the mission of the business. Interfaces—how the system interfaces with its users and other information systems.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition Information System Building Blocks Note the columns

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition The DATA Focus The Data Focus:

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition The DATA Focus System owners’ perspective –Business knowledge is the insight that is gained from timely, accurate, and relevant information. (Recall that information is a product of raw data.) System users’ perspective –Data requirements are a representation of users’ data in terms of entities, attributes, relationships, and rules. Data requirements should be expressed in a format that is independent of the technology that can or will be used to store the data. System designers’ perspective –Database schema System builders’ perspective –Database management system

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition The PROCESS Focus Focus on Process….

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition The PROCESS Focus System owners’ perspective –Business functions are ongoing activities that support the business. Functions can be decomposed into other subfunctions and eventually into processes that do specific tasks. –A cross-functional information system supports relevant business processes from several business functions without regard to traditional organizational boundaries such as divisions, departments, centers, and offices. Continued...

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition The PROCESS Focus (continued) System users’ perspectives –Business processes are activities that respond to business events. Business processes are the “work” performed by the system. –Process requirements are a representation of the users’ business processes in terms of activities, data flows, or work flow. –A policy is a set of rules that govern a business process. –A procedure is a step-by-step set of instructions and logic for accomplishing a business process. Continued...

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition The PROCESS Focus (continued) System designers’ perspectives –An application schema is a model that communicates how selected business processes are, or will be, implemented using the software and hardware. –Software specifications represent the technical design of business processes to be automated or supported by computer programs to be written by system builders. System builders’ perspectives –Application programs are language-based, machine-readable representations of what a software process is supposed to do, or how a software process is supposed to accomplish its task. –Prototyping is a technique for quickly building a functioning, but incomplete model of the information system using rapid application development tools.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition The INTERFACE Focus Many of you have written programs for GUIs using languages such as Access, VB, and html. While conceptually and practically useful to separate Interface from Process, note that many of today’s contemporary application development environments (such as VB) effectively integrate the technology used to construct both the user interface and the application logic. Interface elements may be written in HTML, while the app logic is written in C++ or Java.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition The INTERFACE Focus – places with stakeholders… System owners’ perspective System users’ perspectives –Interface requirements are a representation of the users’ inputs and outputs. System designers’ perspective –User dialogues describe how the user moves from window-to-window, interacting with the application programs to perform useful work. System builders’ perspective –Middleware is a layer of utility software that sits in between application software and systems software to transparently integrate differing technologies so that they can interoperate.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights reserved Whitten Bentley DittmanSYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN METHODS5th Edition Information System Building Blocks ALL building blocks are relevant to ALL information systems. The building blocks MUST be synchronized both horizontally and vertically when building information systems. Vertically – ensures each building block represents fully the perspectives of the other blocks in column. e.g., a database schema must implement the intended data requirements. Horizontal – ensures each block in given row is consistent and complete with respect to other blocks in row. e.g. each table in a database schema requires application software and specifications to maintain the data stored in those tables.