Basics of Information Systems

Material from Fundamentals of Information Systems, Fourth Edition By Ralph Stair and George Reynolds

Information Concepts: Data, Information, and

Data: raw facts
Alphanumeric, image, audio, and video

Information: collection of facts organized in

such a way that they have additional value beyond the value of the facts themselves Value of Information is directly linked to
how it helps decision makers achieve their organizations goals and can be measured
in time required to make a decision Increased prots to the company

Data, Information, and Knowledge

Figure 1.2: The Process of Transforming Data into Information 3

The Characteristics of Valuable Information

Table 1.2: Characteristics of Valuable Information 4

The Characteristics of Valuable Information (continued)

Table 1.2: Characteristics of Valuable Information (continued) 5

What Is an Information System?

Figure 1.3: The Components of any Information System 6

Computer-Based Information Systems

Computer-based information system

(CBIS): single set of hardware, software, databases, telecommunications, people, and procedures congured to collect, manipulate, store, and process data into information

Computer-Based Information Systems

CBIS components
Hardware: computer equipment used to

perform input, processing, and output activities Software: computer programs that govern the operation of the computer Database: organized collection of facts and information Telecommunications: electronic transmission of signals for communications Networks: connect computers and equipment in a building, around the country, and around the world
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Business Information Systems

Most common types of information systems

used in business organizations

Electronic and mobile commerce systems Transaction processing systems Management information systems Decision support systems Specialized business information systems

Electronic and Mobile Commerce

E-commerce: any business transaction
Companies (B2B) Companies and consumers (B2C) Consumers and other consumers (C2C) Companies and the public sector Consumers and the public sector

executed electronically between parties

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Transaction Processing Systems

Transaction: business-related exchange
Payments to employees Sales to customers Payments to suppliers

Transaction processing system (TPS):

organized collection of people, procedures, software, databases, and devices used to record completed business transactions

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Additional Business Information Systems

Management Information Systems (MIS)
provide routine information to managers and

decision makers

Knowledge Management Systems (KMS)

create, store, share, and use the organizations

knowledge and experience

Articial intelligence (AI)

eld in which the computer system takes on the

characteristics of human intelligence

Decision support system (DSS)

used to support problem-specic decision

making

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Hardware and Software Basics

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Hardware Components
Central processing unit (CPU)
Arithmetic/logic unit (ALU): performs

calculations and makes logical comparisons Control unit: accesses, decodes and coordinates data in CPU and other devices
Primary memory: holds program instructions

and data for processing Secondary storage: more permanent storage Input and output devices Communications devices

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Hardware Components

Figure 2.1: Hardware Components 15

Processing and Memory Devices: Power and Speed

System unit
Houses the components responsible for

processing (the CPU and memory) All other computer system devices are linked either directly or indirectly into the system unit housing
Clock speed
series of electronic pulses produced at a

predetermined rate that affects machine cycle time Clock speed is often measured in megahertz (MHz) for millions or gigahertz(GHz) for billions of cycles per second
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Memory and Storage Characteristics and Functions

Types of Memory Random access memory (RAM)
Temporary Volatile

Read-only memory (ROM) Usually nonvolatile

Secondary storage Also called permanent storage Nonvolatile Greater capacity and greater economy than memory Measured in bytes: kilo, mega, giga, tera Different access methods
stored Sequential access storage devices (SASDs) Direct access: data can be retrieved in any order Direct access storage devices (DASDs)

Sequential access: data must be accessed in the order in which it is

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Secondary Storage Devices

Magnetic tapes Magnetic disks RAID
Secondary storage used primarily for backups Direct access secondary storage, e.g., hard disk Stores extra bits so that data can be reconstructed if

system fails

SAN Provides high-speed connections between data

storage devices and computers over a network Optical disks

Direct access optical disc, e.g., CD-ROM Stores several gigabytes of data Nonvolatile silicon computer chip

Digital video disk (DVD) Flash memory

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Input Devices

Personal computer input devices

Keyboard, mouse

Speech-recognition technology
Input devices that recognize human speech

Digital cameras
Input device used with PC to record/store images in digital form

Terminals
Input and display devices that perform data entry and input at the same

time

Touch-sensitive screens
Allow display screens to act as input devices as well as output devices

Bar-code scanners
Employs a laser scanner to read a bar-coded label

Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) devices Code data on banking forms, such as checks Pen input devices
Activate a command, enter handwritten notes, and draw objects

Radio Frequency Identication (RFID)

Employs a microchip with an antenna to broadcast its unique identier and

location to a receiver

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Output Devices
Display monitors (CRTs)
Output quality measured by number of pixels and

dot pitch

Liquid crystal displays (LCDs)

Easier on eyes, use less electricity, take up less

space than CRTs

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs)

Directly emits light rather than using backlight

Sharper colors and thinner displays Printers and

plotters: hard copy output

Printers: laser, inkjet Plotters: used for general design work

Digital audio player

Stores, organizes, and plays digital music les 20

Overview of Software
Computer programs: sequences of

instructions for the computer Documentation: describes program functions Systems software: coordinates the activities of hardware and programs Application software: helps users solve particular problems

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Systems Software

Application Software
Give users the ability to solve problems and

perform specic tasks Interact with systems software; systems software then directs the hardware to perform tasks Proprietary software: unique program for a specic application, usually developed and owned by a single company Off-the-shelf software: existing software program that can be purchased Customized package
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Personal Application Software

Serves the needs of an individual user Includes personal productivity software
Enables users to improve their personal

effectiveness

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Personal Application Software (continued)

Table 2.7: Examples of Personal Productivity Software 25

Personal Application Software (continued)

Table 2.7: Examples of Personal Productivity Software (continued) 26

Workgroup Application Software

Workgroup application software: support

teamwork, whether people are in the same location or dispersed around the world Groupware: software that helps groups of people work together more efficiently and effectively

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Enterprise Application Software

Software that benets an entire organization Enterprise resource planning (ERP)

software: programs that manage a companys vital business operations for an entire multisite, global organization

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Enterprise Application Software (continued)

Table 2.10: Examples of Enterprise Application Software 29

Information, Decision Support, and Specialized Software

Used in businesses of all sizes and types to

increase prots or reduce costs Available in every industry

cancer

Example: analysis to increase the cure rate for

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Data Management

Data Management
Without data and the ability to process it, an

organization could not successfully complete most business activities Data consists of raw facts For data to be transformed into useful information, it must rst be organized in a meaningful way

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The Hierarchy of Data

Bit (a binary digit): a circuit that is either on or

off Byte: eight bits Character: basic building block of information

Each byte represents a character Can be an uppercase letter, lowercase letter,

numeric digit, or special symbol

Field: typically a name, number, or combination

of characters that describes an aspect of a business object or activityRecord: a collection of related data elds File: a collection of related records Database: a collection of integrated and related les Hierarchy of data: bits, characters, elds, records, les, and databases 33

The Hierarchy of Data

Figure 3.1: The Hierarchy of Data 34

Data Entities, Attributes, and Keys

Entity: a generalized class of people, places,

or things (objects) for which data is collected, stored, and maintained Attribute: characteristic of an entity Data item: value of an attribute Key: eld or set of elds in a record that is used to identify the record Primary key: eld or set of elds that uniquely identies the record

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Data Entities, Attributes, and

Figure 3.2: Keys and Attributes 36

The Database Approach

Traditional approach to database management
separate data les are created for each

application

Results in data redundancy (duplication) Data redundancy conicts with data integrity

Database approach to database management:

pool of related data is shared by multiple

applications

Signicant advantages over traditional approach

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The Database Approach to Data Management

Figure 3.3: The Database Approach to Data Management 38

The Database Approach

Table 3.1: Advantages of the Database Approach 39

The Database Approach

Table 3.1: Advantages of the Database Approach (continued) 40

The Database Approach Disadvantages

Table 3.2: Disadvantages of the Database Approach 41

Data Modeling and the Relational Database Model

When building a database, consider:
Content: What data should be collected, at

what cost? Access: What data should be provided to which users and when? Logical structure: How should data be arranged to make sense to a given user? Physical organization: Where should data be physically located?

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Data Modeling
Building a database requires two types of

designs

Logical design Abstract model of how data should be structured and arranged to meet an organizations information needs Data model: a diagram of data entities and their relationships Entity-relationship (ER) diagrams: data models that use basic graphical symbols to show the organization of and relationships between data Physical design Fine-tunes the logical database design for performance and cost considerations
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ER diagram for a Customer Order Database

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ER diagram Showing the Relationship between the

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Implementing the Relational Database Model

data elements are placed in two-dimensional

tables (relations), which are the logical equivalent of les Each row of a table represents a data entity Columns of the table represent attributes The domain of the database model consists of all of the allowable values for data attributes i

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The Relational Database Model

Figure 3.5: A Relational Database Model 47

Manipulating Databases
Selecting: eliminates rows according to

criteria Projecting: eliminates columns in a table Joining: combines two or more tables Linking: relates or links two or more tables using common data attributes

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Manipulating Data (continued)

Figure 3.7: Linking Data Tables to Answer an Inquiry 49

Database Management Systems (DBMS)

Interface between:
Database and application programs Database and the user

Creating and implementing the right database

system ensures that the database will support both business activities and goals DBMS: a group of programs used as an interface between a database and application programs or a database and the user

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Overview of Database Types

Flat le
Simple database program whose records have

no relationship to one another

Single user
Only one person can use the database at a time Examples: Access, FileMaker, and InfoPath

Multiple user
Allows dozens or hundreds of people to access

the same database system at the same time Examples: Oracle, Sybase, and IBM

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Distributed Databases
Distributed database
Data may be spread across several smaller

databases connected via telecommunications devices Corporations get more exibility in how databases are organized and used
Replicated database
Holds a duplicate set of frequently used data

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Telecommunications

Basic Concepts of Telecommunications

Telecommunications: electronic transmission

of signals for communications Computer network: communications media, devices, and software needed to connect two or more computer systems or devices Network types: personal area network (PAN), local area network (LAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), wide area network (WAN), and international networks

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The Internet
Internet: collection of interconnected

networks, all freely exchanging information Internet Protocol (IP): communication standard that enables traffic to be routed from one network to another as needed Uniform Resource Locator (URL): an assigned address on the Internet for each computer

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Business Networks
Intranet: internal corporate network built

using Internet and World Wide Web standards and protocols Extranet: network based on Web technologies that links selected resources of a companys intranet with its customers, suppliers, or other business partners

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Systems Development

An Overview of Systems Development

Managers and employees in all functional

areas work together in a business information system Users help and often lead the way with development process Participants in systems development:

Determine when a project fails Are critical to systems development success

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Participants in Systems Development

Development team consists of the following:
Project managers: coordinate system development

effort Stakeholders: directly or indirectly benet from the project Users: interact with the system regularly Systems analysts: analyze and design business systems Programmers: modify or develop programs to satisfy user requirements Various support personnel: specialists, vendors

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Information Systems Planning and Aligning Corporate and IS Goals

Information systems planning: translating

strategic and organizational goals into systems development initiatives Aligning organizational goals and IS goals is critical for any successful systems development effort Determining whether organizational and IS goals are aligned can be difficult

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Information Systems Planning and Aligning Corporate and IS Goals

Figure 8.2: Information Systems Planning 61

Systems Development Life Cycles

The systems development process is also

called a systems development life cycle (SDLC) Common SDLCs

Prototyping Rapid application development (RAD) Systems development approach that employs tools, techniques, and methodologies designed to speed application development End-user development any systems development project in which the primary effort is undertaken by a combination of business managers and users
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Systems Development Activities

Systems investigation: problems and opportunities are identied and considered

in light of the goals of the business

Systems analysis: study of existing systems and work processes to identify

strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement to obtain the problem solution

Systems design: denes how the information system will do what it must do Systems implementation: creation or acquisition of various system components

detailed in the systems design, assembling them, and placing the new or modied system into operation the system so that it continues to meet changing business needs
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Systems maintenance and review: ensures that the system operates as intended and modies