1. Chapter One Developments in the Application of Information Technology in Business Presented by James Weimholt

2. Goals Describe how IT has changed and how organizations have reacted to change Identify transition points Review past that it may be a foundation for future progress Avoid past mistakes and build on successes

3. Assumptions About Information Technology Can change the very nature of business Can be seen as a necessary evil or as a source of strategic opportunity Changes rapidly and makes business even more unpredictable People play a significant role in IT

4. Early Days of Data Processing 1950s – basically a giant calculator 1960s - automated well-defined clerical processes High cost of hardware and systems development Limited selection of applications

5. The First Sign of Maturity Merits Cost savings mitigated by replacing clerical staff with expensive hardware and highly paid professionals Cost savings mitigated by replacing clerical staff with expensive hardware and highly paid professionals Costs of maintenance Costs of maintenance User dissatisfaction because systems are inflexible User dissatisfaction because systems are inflexible Three Areas of Concern

6. The First Sign of Maturity Side Effects Most implementations were not the best Poorly defined specs Unproven approaches Three Areas of Concern

7. The First Sign of Maturity Inherent Limitations Batch processing rather than online Data was fragmented across the organization in various systems Three Areas of Concern

8. The First Sign of Maturity Concerns led to emergence of software engineering Advances in technology, drop in cost Mid 1970s – minicomputers become common

9. Practical Solutions to Practical Problems 1970s “Big is Beautiful”

10. Practical Solutions to Practical Problems Problems with Large Projects Technical specs developed in isolation Specs were considered infallible HR issues: technical staff worked in isolation Projects over budget and timescale Assembly line approach to development did not work

11. Practical Solutions to Practical Problems Emergence of Project Management No two programmers are the same

12. Practical Solutions to Practical Problems Project team approach to solve complex problems Project management method focus on milestones rather than the activity itself 1970s project team

13. Practical Solutions to Practical Problems Emergence of Structured Programming Programs lacked control structures Spaghetti logic, use of GO TO statement Little, out of date, or no documentation Development of languages such as PASCAL

14. From Processes to Data Changes in Focus Emphasize data and users Data is separate from applications Distributed systems rather than central More flexibility

15. From Processes to Data Databases Different data representations Network Network Hierarchical Hierarchical Relational Relational New professions emerge Database designer Database designer Data analyst Data analyst Database administrator Database administrator

16. From Processes to Data Programming Specialization in coding apps or operating systems Programmers specialize in different languages

17. Towards Management Information Systems Info considered a fundamental and major resource Initial approach was to put MIS on top of corporate database Problems Impossible to integrate Impossible to integrate Only historical information Only historical information Needed external data Needed external data Needed ad hoc reporting Needed ad hoc reporting Not geared to handling unstructured problems Not geared to handling unstructured problems

18. Towards Management Information Systems Technology can only solve technical problems, not managerial problems MIS focused on information management rather than management information Approach changed by the 1980s Information focused Information focused Audience was middle managers Audience was middle managers Integrated data flows Integrated data flows Inquiry and report generation tools Inquiry and report generation tools

19. Questions?