Information System Building Blocks: Understanding Front- and Back-Office Systems

1. C H A P T E R 2 INFORMATION SYSTEM BUILDING BLOCKS

2. Chapter Two Information System Building Blocks • Differentiate between front- and back-office information systems. • Describe the different classes of information system applications (transaction processing, management information, decision support, expert, communication and collaboration, and office automation systems) and how they interoperate to supplement one another. • Describe the role of information systems architecture in systems development. • Identify three high-level goals that provide system owners and system users with a perspective of an information system. • Name three goal-oriented perspectives for any information system. • Identify three technologies that provide system designers and builders with a perspective of an information system. • Describe four building blocks of the KNOWLEDGE goal for an information system. • Describe four building blocks of the PROCESS goal for an information system. • Describe four building blocks of the COMMUNICATIONS goal for an information system. • Describe the role of network technologies as it relates to Knowledge, Processes, and Communications building blocks.

3. Chapter Map

4. Front- and Back-Office Information Systems • Organizations are served by a federation of information systems (not by a single IS). • Two perspectives of a federation of IS • Conceptual picture in next slide.. • Front-officeinformation systems: • support business functions that extend out to the organization’s customers (or constituents). • Back-officeinformation systems: • support internal business operations of an organization, aw well as reach out to suppliers (of materials, equipment, supplies, and services).

5. A Federation of Information Systems

6. Information System Applications ( by Costco tape) A collection of applications serve as a foundation for a federation of information systems…… A transaction processing system (TPS) is an information system that captures and processes data about business transactions. A management information system (MIS) is an information system that provides for management-oriented reporting based on transaction processing and operations of the organization. A decision support system (DSS) is an information system that either helps to identify decision making opportunities or provides information to help make decisions.

7. Information System Applications ( by Costco tape) An Executive Information System (EIS) is an information system designed for top-level managers that integrates data from all over the organization into “at-a-glance” graphical indicators and controls. An expert system is an information system that captures the expertise of workers and then simulates that expertise to the benefit of nonexperts. A communications and collaboration system is an information system that enables more effective communications between workers, partners, customers, and suppliers to enhance their ability to collaborate. An office automation system is an information system that supports the wide range of business office activities that provide for improved work flow between workers.

8. Operational view of Information System Applications

9. Information Systems Architecture Information systems architecture • Highest-level of framework term for understanding different views of the fundamental building blocks (next slide) of an information system. • Provides a foundation for organizing the various components of IS. Three ultimate goals of IS • Improve business knowledge -- using Db tech. • Improve business processes and service – using SW tech. • Improve business communications and people collaboration – using interface tech.

10. Information System Building Blocks

11. KNOWLEDGE Building Blocks

12. Views of KNOWLEDGE • System owners’ view • Interested in (not raw data) information that adds new business knowledge to make more intelligent and accurate decisions. • identify relevant business entities and rules • SA: get the scope and vision for the project • System users’ view • Actual user of data: tend to focus on the business issues as they pertain to the data. • Provide details of each entity and rule that was provided by systems owners. • Customer: active customer, inactive customer….. • SA: get data requirements

13. Views of KNOWLEDGE • System designers’ view • have a technically-oriented view • Translate users’ data requirements into database designs • SA: translation of data requirements (in business terms) • System builders’ view • Represent data in very precise and unforgiving language such as SQL. • SA: provide a direction and monitor progress of works

14. PROCESS Building Blocks

15. Views of PROCESS • System owners’ view • Concerned with high-level processes called business functions such asaccounting, sales, manufacturing, service…. • SA: identify how functions are supported by IS based on the scope and vision • System users’ view • Concerned with work that must be performed to provide the appropriate responses to business events. • SA: identify details of the business process in terms of activities, data flow, and work flow (process requirements) • Process requirements are frequently defined in terms of policies and procedures. Continued ...

16. Views of PROCESS (continued) • System designers’ view • Concerned with which processes to automate and how to automate them • Constrained by limitations of application development technologies being used • System builders’ view • Concerned with programming logic that implements automated processes • SA: • Translate process requirements ( in business terms) • provide a direction and monitor progress of works

17. COMMUNICATION Building Blocks

18. Views of COMMUNICATION • System owners’ view • Concerned with communications scope of an information system. • Who (which business units, employees, customers, and partners) must interact with the system? • Where are these business units, employees, customers, and partners located? • What other information systems will the system have to interface with? • SA: define scope of communication • System users’ view • Concerned with the information system’s inputs and outputs. • SA: develop a interface guideline (GUI) for user satisfaction Continued ...

19. Views of COMMUNICATION (continued) • System designers’ view • Concerned with the technical design of both the user and the system-to-system communication interfaces. • Interface specifications – technical designs that document how system users are to interact with a system and how a system interacts with other systems. • User dialogue – a specification of how the user moves from window to window or page to page, interacting with the application programs to perform useful work. • System builders’ view • Concerned with the construction, installation, testing and implementation of user and system-to-system interface solutions. • Middleware – utility software that allows application software and systems software that utilize differing technologies to interoperate. • SA • Translate process requirements ( in business terms) • provide a direction and monitor progress of works

20. Network Technologies and the IS Building Blocks