BIS II - Recap Information Systems

Question 1

Definitions of…

• Information
• Data
• Information System

Answer 1

• Information is data that have been shaped into a form that is meaningful and useful to human beings
• Data are streams of raw facts representing events
• An information system
  o IS a set of interrelated components
  o That collect (or retrieve), proves, store, and distribute information
  o To support decision making and control in an organization
• Typology of business-related IS:
  o Office Support Systems
  o Transaction Processing Systems
  o Management Information Systems
  o Decision Support Systems

Question 2

Office Support Systems

Answer 2

o Assist employees In day-to-day tasks
o Improve communications e.g. Email, Slack, Skype
o Improve collaborations e.g. WIKIS, CSCW
o Office tools e.g. word processing, spreadsheets, database, and presentation programs

Question 3

• Transaction Processing Systems

Answer 3

Wiki: A Transaction Processing System (TPS) is a type of information system that collects, stores, modifies and retrieves the data transactions of an enterprise. Transaction processing systems also attempt to provide predictable response times to requests, although this is not as critical as for real-time systems.

Keep track of everyday business activities
 Transaction = execution of a program that performs an administrative function by accessing a shared database
 Input: transactions, events
 Simple processing: update, storage and summarization; batch or real-time processing
 Output: detailed reports; summaries
 The TPS database or its snapshot (so-called data warehouses) provide the basis for MIS or DSS)

Question 4

• Management Information Systems

Answer 4

o Provide timely and accurate information for managers to make business decisions
 Generally reporting and control oriented
 Input: data stored in databases by TPS
 Processing: Simple models
 Output: reports
• Detail report: transactions that occur during a period of time
• Summary report; consolidate detailed data
• Exception report: show unusual conditions

Question 5

• Decision Support Systems – FOCUS OF THIS COURSE

Answer 5

o DSS help managers develop solutions for specific problems
 A DSS couple the intellectual resources of individuals with the capabilities of the computer to improve the quality of decisions
 Support for decisions and problems where solutions cannot be specified in advance
 Input: data stored in databases by TPS
 Processing: Interactive, sophisticated modeling tools, e.g. simulation
 Output: decision analysis

Question 6

Definition of DSS (Decision Support Systems)

Answer 6

• Interactive, computer-based systems
• Which support decision makers by utilization of data and models
• To solve (un) semi-structured problems