1. DT249/4 Information Systems Engineering Lecture 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
The terms information systems and information technology are often used interchangeably.
Information systems are used for many business purposes: sales, marketing, production, financial analysis, human resources, etc.
The term IS also refers to a career field that involves applying information technology to solving organizational problems.
Information technology is discussed in more detail in Chapter 3.

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
Information systems don’t exist in a vacuum, they exist in the context of varying types of organizations. Information systems play multiple roles in organizations, ranging from automating business processes and driving down costs to reaching new customers and better servicing existing ones.
The organization of information systems has changed over the years. In the past, IS was controlled in a central location composed of technical experts, but more and more the IS function is distributed across the organization as people become more tech-savvy and there is a greater understanding of the need to adjust IS to the needs of different functional units.

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
Social media has emerged as a dominant force in online socialization.
Examples: Facebook for friends and families, Google+ for “social circles.”
Businesses can leverage social media to communicate with customers
Business intelligence can be conducted, mining social media sites for good and bad sentiment toward a business and the factors driving it.
Chapter 5 focuses on social media.

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
Cloud computing is really about sharing technology resources and taking the pain out of using and sharing data and applications.
A major advantage is backup and reliability. If your computer breaks, you haven’t lost your data.
Also, you can access your files from any computer. For example, have you ever used Dropbox?
It requires connectivity to function, so the constant connectivity we see at work and play is a key enabler.
Mobile computing has further added to the value of the cloud metaphor.
It is discussed in greater depth in Chapter 3.

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
Businesses continue to gather ever larger quantities of data as they seek to have the proper data to manage their business effectively and efficiently.
This presents new opportunities if it can be properly analyzed and mined for information.
This data is often unstructured, such as natural language postings about a business.
The resources required to mine Big Data pose tremendous challenges for business.
Big Data is a key part of “business intelligence,” discussed in more detail in Chapter 6.
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
Outsourcing is when you take business process currently being performed internally by your company and have another company do them instead.
Outsourcing is typically driven by cost reduction, and is undertaken when another company can perform a process at a lower cost than yours.
Outsourcing doesn’t automatically imply moving work overseas.
The decline in telecommunication costs has significantly reduced the expenses in moving processes to businesses that are overseas.
Overseas companies may enjoy multiple competitive advantages, including lower labor costs.

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
In addition to the help information systems give to outsourcing other business processes, information system processes are also subject to outsourcing.
Information systems outsourcing is done for the same reasons for as other business processes.
The prime driver for information systems outsourcing is also cost reduction, just like for other types of outsourcing.
Other drivers include outsourcing to more effective companies and allowing a business to focus on its core business activities.

13. Types of Information Systems
Pure communication systems
, voic , 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, , 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