Attributes of Information Examples

Overview Information Systems help companies achieve their goals. How do they do it? By processing raw data into information By adding value to information by enhancing key attributes (11 of them).

11 Attributes of Information Usability Relevant Simple Flexible Economical Delivery Timely Accessible Secure Core Data Quality Accurate Verifiable Complete Reliable

Information Spectrum Data  processing  Information Information  intelligence  Knowledge Knowledge  experience  Wisdom

Accurate Verifiable Complete Reliable Often confused My calculator always does multiplication correctly in never makes an error. My calculator is __________ What attribute is described? However, I dropped it in the sink and sometimes it won’t turn on. My calculator is not _________ Core Data Quality Accurate Verifiable Complete Reliable

Accuracy vs. Reliability Accuracy – true, free from error Precision – refers to the level of accuracy 1/3 = 1.333 is accurate 1/3 = 1.333333 is more precise Reliability – in this context, reliability refers to how often accurate information can be computed. An information source could be error free but might not be able to produce data all the time.

Accurate vs. Reliable Weatherman A can predict tomorrows temperature to the exact degree but only 40% of the time. other 60% he cannot interpret the raw data Weatherman B can predict tomorrows temperature but it may be off by 5 degrees But, his system works 95% of the time Who is more accurate? Who is more reliable?

Delivery of Information TPS – transaction processing system I upload the TPS reports to the website every week so everyone can see them. This makes the TPS reports more ________. I created a script that updates the TPS reports on the website every day, so the people can stay up to date. This make the data more ___________. Delivery Timely Accessible Secure

Delivery of Information I put the TPS reports on our private server where only those with a userid and password can login This makes the TPS reports more ________. The TPS reports are in XML format, which is hard for people to open and read. The TPS reports are _________ ___________. Delivery Timely Accessible Secure

Delivery is essential to information value What if I have an algorithm that can look at today’s data and predict if the Dow Jones will increase or decrease. The algorithm is 95% accurate But, the algorithm takes 4036 hours to calculate its prediction. It has no value. What attribute is lacking? Delivery Timely Accessible Secure

Usability of Information The TPS reports include every single transaction detail. I filtered the report so it only shows details that matter to us. This makes the TPS reports more ________. The TPS reports are PDF files which cannot be modified easily, so we also provide the TPS data in standard XML format which can be easily converted to any other format. The XML format is more ___________. Usability Relevant Simple Flexible Economical

Usability of Information The TPS reports includes millions of records. I created a summary report that is much easier to interpret. The summary report is ________. The TPS data is entered manually. We can capture the data with less work using a scanner. This new process is ___________. Usability Relevant Simple Flexible Economical

Relevant Simple Flexible Economical Usability of data Removing PCBs from Hudson River will cost $4B Only parts of the river (perhaps 50%) are believed to be contaminated Testing the sediment to determine exactly which parts are contaminated will cost $2B Then you still might have to remove half costing $2B. What if the test indicates that 60% contamination? The test data is not _________________? Usability Relevant Simple Flexible Economical

Accurate Verifiable Complete Reliable Core quality Lab company tests water for quality and purity. But, throws out the sample after testing Customer gets report that their smelly water is high quality. The data in the report are not _______________. Core Data Quality Accurate Verifiable Complete Reliable

Some attributes are enemies! My student evaluation report includes raw data with 23 answers from all 31 students. From the raw data it is hard for me to tell if my evaluations are good or bad, but at least the data is __________. In the past, I would only get a a summary report with my average score, which was a very _______ report and easy to interpret, but I’d like all the data. Core Data Quality Accurate Verifiable Complete Reliable Usability Relevant Simple Flexible Economical

Which attributes are enemies (sometimes cannot have both)? Usability Relevant Simple Flexible Economical Delivery Timely Accessible Secure Core Data Quality Accurate Verifiable Complete Reliable

Some attributes are friends! Siena uses a new system to post live game stats to their new mobile app. People who cannot watch the game can get the score instantly from anywhere. Which attributes are working together as friends? ______ and ______. Usability Relevant Simple Flexible Economical Delivery Timely Accessible Secure

Which attributes are friends (i.e., compliment each other)? Usability Relevant Simple Flexible Economical Delivery Timely Accessible Secure Core Data Quality Accurate Verifiable Complete Reliable