Analysis of Information Systems and its Influence

1. IMS1805Systems Analysis Topic 1(c): Analysis and Information Systems

2. Philosophical advice (also relevant to the study of analysis) • Your course? • Your course and your future career? • Teaching and learning @university? • IS as a career? • Analysis (and other ‘generic’ skills)

3. Some philosophical/career direction advice • You should always keep trying to broaden your outlook and actively seek to find new ways of understanding • All disciplines have something unique to offer in terms of ideas about analysis and the techniques for doing it • Wherever your career takes you, you can take with you important insights about how to view the world and understand it • IS has something to offer to any discipline, (and can learn useful lessons from other disciplines)

4. Recap of last week • Fundamental importance of analysis • Analysis in human behaviour • Types of analysis – instinctive, informal, formal • Analytical environments; varieties of formal analysis • The key elements of analysis

5. Agenda • Aim: To examine the nature of IS and how it influences the way in which we do analysis • The nature of IS • Elements of IS • Choosing a focus for analysis • (Note: dropping down still further to a 1000 ft view)

6. 1. Defining Information Systems • System: “an integrated set of components working together to achieve some specified objective” • Information System: “a system designed to provide the information needed to achieve some specified purpose” • Note the breadth of the term “Information Systems” • Scope for multiple interpretations of what IS should include and therefore how we should do analysis

7. Some elements of Information Systems • Objectives • Organisations/individuals • Information needs • Information • Information processes • Information technology • Inter-relationships between elements (systems aspects) • In studying IS, any of these things (or others) may be an appropriate basis for doing an analysis

8. 2. An example of IS analysis • This example illustrates some of the elements which may be relevant to an IS analysis • Few organisations have exactly these types of IS need, but the principles are the same • Note how each analytical focus can also be applied at different perspectives/level of detail (think of aerial views again). For example: • Student enrolments in my unit • Student enrolments in BIS • Student enrolments in FIT • Student enrolments in Monash University

9. Elements of IS: The organisation and its objectives • Top Level • Organisational objectives; how structured to achieve them? • For example: teaching, research, community service, profit, market domination, etc; faculties, schools, campuses, admin, support services, etc • Middle level • What things are needed to achieve that overall aim and how are they spread through the organisation? • For example: courses, research programs, students (customers?!); campus/faculty/central admin responsibilities • Lower level • What are the specific immediate goals and who looks after them? • For example: SIMS; courses, unit content, students, etc

10. Elements of Information Systems: Inter-relationships • Top Level • Inter-relationships between internal systems and the outside world • For example: Links with DETYA, VTAC, other universities, businesses, schools, etc • Middle level • Inter-relationships between systems • For example: Enrolments links to – marketing, fee payment, timetabling, resourcing, staffing, expenditure monitoring, etc • Lower level • Inter-relationships between elements in a specific system • For example: Links between elements in the tutorial allocation process

11. Elements of IS: Information need • Top Level • What sorts of information does the organisation need? • For example: students, disciplinary knowledge, business trends, market needs, etc • Middle level • What particular types of information are needed for specific organisational functions? • For example: enrolment, student results, fees, room allocation, timetabling, etc • Lower level • What are the precise information needs of a specific task? • For example: class list, assignment results, handouts, etc

12. Elements of IS: Information • Top Level • What are the characteristics of the different types of information which influence how they should be handled? • For example: Accessibility, privacy, level of precision, level of detail, documentary form, etc • Middle level • What are the characteristics of the information required for a specific organisational function? • For example: Student applications, personal information, course/unit enrolments, special consideration applications, results, etc • Lower level • What are the characteristics of individual information items? • For example: Student name, student ID, unit results, etc

13. Elements of Information Systems: Processes • Top Level • What information processing is needed ? • For example: Recording student information, storing student records, estimating income, assessing resource needs, disseminating student results, etc • Middle level • What are the processes needed to do a particular function? • For example: Enrol students, record exam results, prepare course information brochures, collect fees, etc • Lower level • How is a specific process done? • For example: Calculate final student result

14. Elements of Information Systems: Technology • Top Level • What is the basic information technology infrastructure needed? • For example: Processing power, data input/output, storage, communications network, printing capabilities, operating systems, database, etc • Middle level • What technologies are required for particular functions? • For example: Technology for managing enrolments, results, etc • Lower level • What is the right technology to do a specific process • For example: Which database, programming language, printer, scanner, etc?

15. 3. Choosing an analytical approach in IS • The wide range of possible analytical approaches makes life confusing …. (but also interesting!) • Many uses for IS within organisations means many different situations, requiring different analytical approaches • On-going changes in technologies and their organisational use mean constant change and innovation in analytical approach • Be receptive to new ideas; be aware of your own biases/ strengths/weaknesses in terms of the different analytical approaches

16. Examples of changing perspectives/ approaches in IS Analysis • Changing technologies (from functional programming to database to O-O programming to web-based IT, etc) • Changing types of information problem (from transaction processing to management support to enterprise systems, etc) • Changing views of what is important (from efficiency to effectiveness to innovation to adaptability, etc) • These things will all continue to change

17. Choosing the basis for analysis • What is the primary purpose of the analysis? • What are the key elements of the situation which need to be explained/represented? • What is the best analytical technique for doing it? • Note the need to overcome your own biases in deciding what suits the analytical need, rather than what suits you and your skills

18. 4. Summary • IS has many different elements which could be used as the focus for doing analysis • Each of these elements has a range of possible analytical approaches and techniques • Good IS analysis is about choosing the right elements to focus on and choosing the analytical technique accordingly • We all have our own biases about what is important (and what we can do); we must learn to recognise these and manage them