Karolina Muszyńska
Based on http://www.csun.edu/~dn58412/IS431/IS431_SP13.html
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Information system applications - WHAT
Information systems and their stakeholders –
WHO
Definition of a system
Role of systems analysts
Knowledge and skill set for system analysts
IS Building Blocks
Business modeling – why, what, how?
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Information System (IS): People, data, processes,
and information technology that interact to
collect, process, store, and provide as output the
information needed to support and improve
operational, tactical, and strategic activities of an
organization (business).
Information Technology (IT): A combination of
computer technology (hardware and software)
with telecommunications technology (data,
image, and voice networks)
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Data – raw facts about people, places, events, and
things that are of importance in an organization.
Information – data that has been processed or
reorganized into a more meaningful form for
someone.
Knowledge – data and information that is further
refined based on the facts, truths, beliefs,
judgments, experiences, and expertise of the
recipient.
Wisdom – when to apply a certain knowledge
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Executive Level
◦ Long-term decisions (Strategies)
◦ Unstructured decisions (Competitions)
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Managerial Level
◦ Decisions covering weeks and months (Tactics)
◦ Semi-structured decisions (Effectiveness)
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Operational Level
◦ Day-to-day decisions (Operations)
◦ Structured decisions (Efficiency)
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Information Systems in Organization
STRATEGIC
EXECUTIVE INFORMATION SYSTEMS
TACTICAL
MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS
TRANSACTION PROCESSING SYSTEMS
OPERATIONAL
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VALUE CHAIN
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Information System in Context
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Transaction Processing Systems
Management Information Systems
Executive Information Systems
Decision Support Systems
Expert Systems
Functional Area Information Systems
(Accounting, HR, Sales, Production …)
Office Automation Systems (Personal Productivity
Software)
Collaboration Systems (Groupware)
Enterprise Systems
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Front-office information systems support business
functions that extend out to the organization’s
customers (or constituents).
◦ Marketing
◦ Sales
◦ Customer management
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Back-office information systems support internal
business operations of an organization, as well as reach
out to suppliers (of materials, equipment, supplies, and
services).
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Human resources
Financial management
Manufacturing
Inventory control
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Stakeholder: any person who has an interest in an
existing or proposed information system.
Stakeholders can be technical or nontechnical
workers. They may also include both internal and
external workers.
Information workers are those workers whose jobs
involve the creation, collection, processing,
distribution, and use of information.
Knowledge workers are a subset of information
workers whose responsibilities are based on a
specialized body of knowledge.
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Perspectives on an Information System
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System owners – an information system’s
sponsors and executives advocate, usually
responsible for funding the project of
developing, operating, and maintaining the
information system. They define the SCOPE
of a system: what business problem is to be
solved
◦ They view the system in terms of cost/benefit to
solve business problem
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System Users
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System users – use or are affected by an
information system on a regular basis –
capturing, validating, entering, responding to,
storing, and exchanging data and information.
They define the REQUIREMENTS of the system.
◦ Internal users
 Clerical and service workers
 Technical and professional staff
 Supervisors, middle managers, and executive managers
 Remote and mobile users (internal but disconnected)
◦ External users
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System designers translate system users’
business requirements and constraints into
technical solution: computer databases, inputs,
outputs, networks, and software meeting the
system users’ requirements. Their activities
relate to the DESIGN of a system
System builders construct information systems
based on the design specifications from the
system designers. Their activities relate to
building the COMPONENTS of the system.
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Systems analysts study the problems and needs
of an organization to determine how people,
data, processes, and information technology can
best accomplish improvements for the business.
They are FACILITATORS of the system
development project.
• A programmer/analyst (or analyst/programmer)
includes the responsibilities of both the computer
programmer and the systems analyst.
• A business analyst focuses on only the nontechnical
aspects of systems analysis and design.
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What “problems” to solve: (Project Definition)
◦ True problem situations, either real or anticipated, that
require corrective action
◦ Opportunities to improve a situation despite the absence of
complaints
◦ Directives to change a situation regardless of whether
anyone has complained about the current situation
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Why: (Project Justification)
◦ Effective: Do right thing
◦ Efficient: Do thing right
◦ Competitive: Do thing differently
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In traditional businesses
◦ Working in traditional information services
organizations
(permanent project teams)
◦ Working in contemporary information services
organizations (dynamic project teams)
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In outsourcing businesses
◦ Contracted to traditional businesses
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In consulting businesses
◦ Contracted to traditional businesses
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In application software businesses
◦ Building software products for traditional businesses
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Working knowledge of information technology
Computer programming experience and expertise
General business knowledge
General problem-solving skills
Good interpersonal communication skills
Good interpersonal relations skills
Flexibility and adaptability
Character and ethics
Systems Analysis and Design Skills
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Information systems architecture - a unifying
framework into which various stakeholders with
different perspectives can organize and view the
fundamental building blocks of information
systems.
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KNOWLEDGE (Data) — the raw material used to create
useful information.
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PROCESSES — the activities (including management) that
carry out the mission of the business.
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COMMUNICATION (Interfaces) — how the system interfaces
with its users and other information systems.
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System owners’ view
◦ Interested not in raw data but in information that adds
new business knowledge and information that help
managers make intelligent decisions.
◦ Data entities and business rules.
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System users’ view
◦ Something recorded on forms, stored in file cabinets,
recorded in books and binders, organized into
spreadsheets, or stored in computer files and databases.
◦ Focus on the business issues as they pertain to the data.
◦ Data requirement – a representation of users’ data in
terms of entities, attributes, relationships, and rules
independent of data technology.
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System designers’ view
◦ Data structures, database schemas, fields, indexes,
and constraints of particular database management
system (DBMS).
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System builders’ view
◦ SQL
◦ DBMS or other data technologies
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System owners’ view
◦ Concerned with high-level process called business
functions
◦ Business function – a group of related processes that
support the business. Functions can be decomposed
into other subfunctions and eventually into processes
that do specific tasks. (e.g. Sales Function)
◦ A cross-functional information system – a system that
supports relevant business processes from several
business functions without regard to traditional
organizational boundaries such as divisions,
departments, centers, and offices. (e.g. Production
Function)
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System users’ view
◦ Concerned with work that must be performed to provide
the appropriate responses to business events.
◦ Business processes – activities that respond to business
events.
◦ Process requirements – a user’s expectation of the
processing requirements for a business process and its
information systems.
◦ Policy – a set of rules that govern a business process.
◦ Procedure – a step-by-step set of instructions and logic
for accomplishing a business process.
◦ Work flow – the flow of transactions through business
processes to ensure appropriate checks and approvals
are implemented.
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System designers’ view
◦ Concerned with - which processes to automate and
how to automate them
◦ Constrained by limitations of application
development technologies being used
◦ Software specifications – the technical design of
business processes to be automated or supported
by computer programs (off-shelf, in-house) to be
written by system builders.
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System builders’ view
◦ Concerned with programming logic that
implements automated processes
◦ Application program – a language-based, machinereadable representation of what a software process
is supposed to do, or how a software process is
supposed to accomplish its task.
◦ Prototyping – a technique for quickly building a
functioning, but incomplete model of the
information system using rapid application
development tools.
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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?
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System users’ view
◦ Concerned with the information system’s inputs
and outputs (Interface Requirements).
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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.
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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.
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System initiation – the initial planning for a project to
define initial business scope, goals, schedule, and budget.
System analysis – the study of a business problem domain
to recommend improvements and specify the business
requirements and priorities for the solution.
System design – the specification or construction of a
technical, computer-based solution for the business
requirements identified in a system analysis.
System implementation – the construction, installation,
testing, and delivery of a system into production.
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System Development as Problem Solving
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An IS professional can add value in helping an
organization to define and improve its business
processes and design appropriate IS.
What are business processes and how can they be
designed to support an organization’s objectives?
How do we design information systems that
collect, maintain, and process the data needed to
generate the outputs required by management to
effectively manage business processes in the
information age?
REAL Business Process Modeling
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Acquisition/Payment
Conversion
Business Process
Business Process
Human Resources
Financial Resources
Supplies
Inventories
Property, Plant and
Equipment
New Ideas (R & D)
Miscellaneous services
Operations
(Varies widely
depending upon
the industry)
Sales/Collection
Business Process
Marketing and Sales
Service
Promotion
Outbound logistics
Collection and Credit
E-Commerce
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Regardless of the type of good or service being
acquired, the following are typical operating events
in the acquisition/payment business process:
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Request goods or services.
Order goods or services.
Receive and inspect goods or services.
Store and/or maintain goods.
Pay for goods or services.
Return goods.
Specifics may vary
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Although there is some diversity across the types of
goods and services sold, the sales/collection process
typically includes the following events:
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Receive an order for goods or services.
Select and inspect goods or services to be delivered.
Prepare goods or services for delivery.
Deliver goods or services.
Receive payment for goods or services.
Accept customer returns of goods.
Specifics may vary
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General activities in the conversion process include:
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Assembling.
Growing.
Excavating.
Harvesting.
Basic manufacturing (e.g., metals, woods, and chemicals).
Finished manufacturing (e.g., tools, instruments,
components).
Cleaning.
Transporting.
Distributing.
Providing (e.g., power, water, protection, communication).
Training.
Discovering (e.g., research and development).
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A business process is “a series of activities intended to
accomplish the strategic objectives of an organization.”
Operating Events are the operating activities performed
within a business process to provide goods and services
to customers.
Information Events include three activities: recording
data about operating events, maintaining reference data
that are important to the organization, and reporting
useful information to management and other decision
makers.
Decision/Management Events are activities where
management and other people make decisions about
planning, controlling, and evaluating business processes.
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Event 1:
Marketing
Event 2:
Take Customer
Order
Event 3:
Ship the
Goods
Event 4:
Collect
Payment
Business Process: Delivering Goods and Collecting Payment
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Decision/
management
events
Define &Trigger
Operating
events
Trigger
Trigger
Information
events
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Business
events
Information Needs
of Decision Makers
Record (event data)
Trigger
Trigger
Information
processes
Maintain
(agent, resource,
location data)
Information
processes
Report
(in many formats)
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Decision/Management
Operating Events
 Analyzing the
market,
competitors, and
customers.
 Deciding what
pizzas to place on
Golden’s menu.
 Determine if the
cooked pizza is
correct for
presenting order
form.
 Receive customer
pizza order.
 Receive customer
payment.
 Make pizza.
 Deliver pizza to
customer.
Trigger
Information Events
 Generate a customer
analysis report.
 Generate a report of
sales by pizza type.
 Generate a gross
margin analysis.
 Generate a report of
lost sales (due to the
20 minutes
guarantee.)
Trigger
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REAL Business Process Modeling is a formal
method of identifying and representing the
essential characteristics that collectively describe
business processes and events.
REAL = Resources, Events, Agents, and
Locations.
Preparing a REAL Business Process Model
requires the identification of strategically
significant business activities and essential
characteristics about these business activities.
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Step 1: Understand the organization’s
Environment and Objectives
Step 2: Review the business process and identify
the strategically significant operating events
Step 3: Analyze each event list in #2 to identify
Resources, Events, Agents, and Locations
Step 4: Identify the relevant behaviors,
characteristics, and attributes of REAL
Step 5: Identify and document direct relationships
within REAL
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REAL modeling is an aid in analyzing an
organization and its activities.
Collect data and insights about the organization’s
objectives, industry, value chain, strategies,
product lines, and customers.
Pay attention to the organization’s people,
structure, technologies, and measurements.
A better understanding of these factors will
enhance the evaluation of effective and efficient
business processes valuable, competitive, meeting
the organization’s objectives.
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Industry
Objectives
The Company
Competitors
Strategies
Technologies
Measurements
People
Capital
Technology
Value Chain
Structure
Products
Economic
Forces
Customers
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Begin by dividing the organization into its business
processes. “What happened? How and Why? ”
REAL graphical model—include the strategically
significant operating events that comprise a
business process. (The ones that the organization
wants to plan, evaluate and execute/or control)
Begin REAL graphical model by representing events
with a descriptor.
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Events
Sell
merchandise
Receive
customer
payment
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Describe essential characteristics of the
Events—the characteristics which:
◦ if omitted, would render an inaccurate or incomplete
description of the event.
◦ form the basis for generating outputs for information
customers to plan, execute, control and evaluate
organization activities.
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What kinds of Resources were involved?
What roles are performed and who/what
Agents perform the roles?
Where did the event occur? (Location)
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RESOURCES/
LOCATION
EVENTS
Merchandise
Sell
Merchandise
AGENTS
Salesperson
Register
Cash
Receive
Customer
Payment
Customer
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At what time or sequence in the process should
the event occur?
What are the exceptions to the “normal”
ordering of events in the process?
What is the proper authorization or approval to
execute this event?
What is a reasonable amount of resources
associated with this event?
What are the acceptable locations for executing
this event?
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What is an acceptable time period between
events in a business process?
How might the order of events vary by customer?
Does the location from which goods are shipped
matter?
How many salespeople are assigned to each
customer?
Should a sales order clerk have custody of cash?
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Ship merchandise
Receive payment
OR
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Receive payment
Ship merchandise
Provide Credit
Cash in Advance
The sequence of events may also be a function of the
physical characteristics of the event (in production)
Sometimes the sequence of events is dictated by
business policy
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Each sale takes place at a specific register
(location).
Each sale involves only one customer
(external agent).
Only one salesperson (internal agent) is
responsible for each sale.
Each sale involves one or more items of
merchandise (resource).
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Additional rules:
◦ The salesperson and customer do not have a direct
relationship, The customer and salesperson are
related only through the sale.
◦ Sales can only involve merchandise, not fixed
assets.
◦ Sales cannot involve more merchandise
(quantity) than McKool has on hand.
◦ Sales cannot involve merchandise McKool does
not offer.
◦ The store keeps records on who sold which
merchandize to whom at a specific cash
register
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Draw a line from each event to each resource, internal
agent, external agent, and location associated with that
event. On the line, add a meaningful term or phrase that
describes the relationship between the objects.
Graphically display events that are related to other
events to show the required sequence of events in a
business process. Draw lines from event to event in the
correct sequence
Document direct relationships between pairs of agents,
locations, and resources that exist independently of an
operating event. Connect the pairs with a line.
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Merchandise
Salesperson
Sell
Merchandise
results in
Register
Customer
Receive
Customer
Payment
internal agent
Cash
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Business processes are linked together in
two ways:
◦ sharing common resources or
◦ an event in one process triggering an event in
another process.
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Collectively business processes result in the
acquisition of goods and services  the
conversion of acquired goods and services
into goods and services for customers 
the delivery of the goods and services to
customers  the collection of payment
from customers.
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Acquisition
Inventory
(Share a common Resource)
Sales
(One triggers another)
Collection
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Summary:
A Model of Business Events
Internal
Agents
Resources
Event
Location
•
•
•
•
•
External
Agents
What happened?
When did it happen?
Who was involved?
What resources were involved?
Where did it occur?
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Resources
Events
Agents
Inventory
Sales
Salesperson
Customer
Cash
Cash
Collection
Cashier
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Inventory
M
Include
M
M
Sales
Sell
1
Salesperson
M
M
Sell to
1
Pay for
M
Cash
1
Include
M
Cash
Collection
1
M
Customer
Receive
from
M
Receive
by
1
Cashier
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