Review for Final Exam

1. Review for Final Exam

2. Materials Covered - I • All Articles on reading List: • Brancheau, et al. (1996) "Key Issues in Information Systems Management: 1994-95 SIM Delphi Results", MIS Quarterly, Vol. 20, Number 2, June 1996. • Goodwin, Nancy C. (1987), "Functionality and Usability," Communications of the ACM , March 1987, 229-233. • Gorry and Scott Morton, (1989) "A Framework for Management Information Systems", Sloan Management Review, Spring 1989. (A reprint of the classic article first published in 1971). • Grudin, (1994) "GroupWare and Social Dynamics: Eight Challenges for Developers", Communications of the ACM, Vol. 37, Number 1, January 1994. • Van den Hoven, John (1996) "Executive Support Systems & Decision Making" Journal of Systems Management, March/April 1996. 48-55. • Wetherbe, (1991) "Executive Information Requirements: Getting It Right", MIS Quarterly, Vol. 15, Number 1, March, 1991.

3. Materials Covered - II • Lectures/Chapters Since Exam II • Evaluating Information systems • Determining Executive Information Requirements • Alter, Chapter 12 - Much of this is covered in lecture (but not all!). • Work-Centered Analysis • Alter - Chapter 2 • Differences Between Information Systems • Chapter 5

4. Materials Covered - III • Any question or concept I asked on the first two exams is fair game for the final exam. Please note that I may ask the question in a different context. • I will not cover a topic on the final that I have not covered here. • Please realize that if I cover a concept here in the review, it would be a good idea to review any previous discussion of it (e.g. lecture notes, text book).

5. Suggested Study Approach • In Groups review all articles. Try to formulate 3 or 4 questions on the primary points of each article. • Review previous exams. Make sure you understand the concepts being asked, and not just memorizing answers or terms. • Review WCA concepts. (Alter Chapter 2) • Last two slide series and Chapter 12.

6. Gorry and Scott Morton Framework Robert Anthony Herbert Simon

7. Information Requirements by Management Level

10. Building and Maintaining Information systems • What are the phases in building and maintaining information systems?

11. Phases in Building and Maintaining Systems

12. IT-Based Innovation • What are some of the areas in which IT-based innovations have affected the following functional areas of business?

13. IT-Based Innovation • What are some of the areas in which IT-based innovations have affected the following functional areas of business? • Product design systems • procurement systems • manufacturing systems • sales and marketing systems • delivery systems • customer service systems • finance systems

14. Technology Trends • How technology trends enabled IT-based innovation in business?

15. Technology Trends • How technology trends enabled IT-based innovation in business? • Greater miniaturization, speed and portability • greater connectivity and continuing convergence of computing and communications • greater use of digitized information and multimedia • better software techniques and interfaces with people.

16. Obstacles to IT-Based Innovation • What obstacles to real world limitations have slowed the pace of implementation for IT-based innovations?

17. Obstacles to IT-Based Innovation • What obstacles to real world limitations have slowed the pace of implementation for IT-based innovations? • Unrealistic expectations and techno-hype • difficulty building and maintaining information systems. • Difficulty integrating IT-based systems. • Organizational inertia, resistance and problems with change • genuine difficulty anticipating what will happen

18. Work Systems • What six elements can be used to summarize any work system?

19. Work Systems

20. Work Systems • What is the relationship between information systems and work systems?

21. Work Systems

22. Work Systems • What five perspectives can be used for thinking about work systems?

23. Five Perspectives for Understanding a Work System • ARCHITECTURE • What are the components of the system that performs the work and who uses the work product? • How are the components linked? • How do the components operate together? • PERFORMANCE • How well do the components operate individually? • How well does the system operate? (How well is the work performed?) • How well should the system operate? • INFRASTRUCTURE • What technical and human infrastructure does the work rely on? • In what ways does infrastructure present opportunities or obstacles? • CONTEXT • What are the impacts of the organizational and technical context? • In what ways does the context present opportunities or obstacles? • RISKS • What foreseeable things can prevent the work from happening, • can make the work inefficient, or can cause defects in the work product? • What are the likely responses to these problems?

24. Work Systems • What is the relationship between process architecture, process performance, and product performance?

25. Work Systems • What is the relationship between process architecture, process performance, and product performance? • Improvements in a work system are usually related to the links between the architecture and the performance perspectives. • Customer satisfaction is largely determined by product performance. • Product performance is determined by a combination of product architecture and the internal work system performance

26. From work system architecture to customer satisfaction

27. Systems Analysis • What are the steps in systems analysis and how can business professionals apply these steps?

28. Systems Analysis

29. The 10 Issues in the Work-Centered Analysis Method Systems analysis step 1. Define the problem 2. Describe the current work system in enough depth and 3. Design potential improvements 4.Decide what to do Corresponding issues for thinking about a system Issue 1: Problem Definition Issue 2: Improvements from product changes Issue 3: Improvements from process changes Issue 4: Improvements related to work system participants Issue 5: Improvements from better information Issue 6: Improvements from better technology Issue 7: Improvements from shared infrastructure Issue 8: Improvements related to the business context Issue 9: Improvements from risk reduction Issue 10: Recommendation

30. Business Processes • What is the role of data flow diagrams in process modeling?

31. Business Processes • What is the role of data flow diagrams in process modeling? • Represent the flow of data between different processes in a work system. • They reflect nothing on decision criteria, timing of sub-processes, and other details. • Context diagram is a first-level DFD.

32. Business Processes • What business process characteristics can be used to describe system design choices impacting business process success?

33. Business Processes • Seven Characteristics that often affect business process performance: • Degree of Structure • Range of Involvement • Level of Integration • Complexity • Degree of Reliance on Machines • Attention to Planning, Execution, and Control • Treatment of Exceptions, Errors, and Malfunctions

34. Business Processes • What are different levels for imposing structure on work?

35. Business Processes • What are different levels for imposing structure on work? DEGREE TO WHICH STRUCTURE IS IMPOSED Highest: Substitution of technology for people High: Enforcement of rules or procedures Low: Access to information or tools

36. Business Processes • What are the five possible levels of integration of business processes? • Level of integration - the level or degree of mutual cooperation or responsiveness between distinct activities or processes.

37. Management Support • In what ways do information systems support various management roles?

38. Information systems related to Mintzberg’s management roles

39. Common Sources of Management Information FORMAL, COMPUTER-BASED Internal sources: Key indicators generated by internal tracking systems External sources: Public databases FORMAL, DOCUMENT-BASED Internal sources: Planning reports, internal audits External sources: Industry reports, books, magazines FORMAL, VERBAL Internal sources: Scheduled meetings External sources: Industry forums INFORMAL Internal sources: Lunch conversations, gossip, management-by-walking-around External sources: Trade shows, personal contacts

40. Data Modeling • What is the role of entity-relationship diagrams in data modeling?

41. Data Modeling • What is the role of entity-relationship diagrams in data modeling? • From a user’s perspective, most issues about organizing and accessing information boil down to: • What information is in the system? • How is the information Organized? • How can users obtain whatever information they need? • Important aspects of E-R diagrams are entities, relationships, and attributes.

42. Data, Information, and Knowledge • What is the relationship between data, information, and knowledge?

43. Data, Information, and Knowledge

44. Multidimensionality • What role does dimensional modeling play for senior management? • What are typical dimensions in a business? • What are typical facts or measures? • How does this relate to drill-down analysis?

45. Dimensional Modeling • Dimensional Modeling gives us a way to visualize data. • The CEO’s perspective: • “We sell products in various markets, and we measure our performance over time.” • From the data warehouse designer’s perspective, we hear three dimensions: • We sell Products • in various Markets • and measure performance over time.

46. Dimensional Model of the Business e m i T M a r k e t Product

47. Typical Dimensional Model Product Dimension Sales Fact Product_key description brand category Time_key product_key store_key dollars_sold units_sold dollars_cost Time Dimension Time_key day-of-week month quarter year holiday_flag Store Dimension Store_key store_name address floor_plan_type

48. Fact Table • Fact Table is where numerical measurements of the business are stored. • Each measurement is taken at the intersection of all the dimensions. • The “best” facts are numeric, continuously valued and additive. • For every query made against the fact table may use hundreds of thousands of individual records to construct an answer set.

49. Dimension Tables • Dimension tables are where textual descriptions of the business are stored. • Each textual description helps to describe a member of the dimension. • Example: each member in the product dimension is a specific product. The product dimension database has many attributes to describe the product. A key role of the dimension table attribute is to serve as the source of constraints in a query.

50. Example