Information system
An
information system (IS) is a system composed of people and computers that
processes or interprets information. The term is also sometimes used in more
restricted senses to refer to only the software used to run a computerized
database or to refer to only a computer system.
1 Importance
2 Evolution
3 Kinds of Information Systems
4 System development methodologies
5 Functional Information System (FIS)
1 Importance
1. To
control the creation and growth of records
Despite
decades of using various non-paper storage media, the amount of paper in our
offices continues to escalate. An effective records information system
addresses both creation control (limits the generation of records or copies not
required to operate the business) and records retention (a system for
destroying useless records or retiring inactive records), thus stabilizing the
growth of records in all formats.
2. To
reduce operating costs
Recordkeeping
requires administrative dollars for filing equipment, space in offices, and
staffing to maintain an organized filing system (or to search for lost records
when there is no organized system).It costs considerably less per linear foot
of records to store inactive records in a Data Records Center versus in the
office and there is an opportunity to effect some cost savings in space and
equipment, and an opportunity to utilize staff more productively - just by
implementing a records management program.
3. To
improve efficiency and productivity
Time
spent searching for missing or misfiled records are non-productive. A good
records management program (e.g. a document system) can help any organization
upgrade its recordkeeping systems so that information retrieval is enhanced,
with corresponding improvements in office efficiency and productivity. A well
designed and operated filing system with an effective index can facilitate
retrieval and deliver information to users as quickly as they need it.
Moreover,
a well managed information system acting as a corporate asset enables
organizations to objectively evaluate their use of information and accurately
lay out a roadmap for improvements that optimize business returns.
4. To
assimilate new records management technologies
A good
records management program provides an organization with the capability to
assimilate new technologies and take advantage of their many benefits.
Investments in new computer systems whether this is financial, business or
otherwise, don't solve filing problems unless current manual recordkeeping or
bookkeeping systems are analyzed (and occasionally, overhauled) before
automation is applied.
5. To
ensure regulatory compliance
In terms
of recordkeeping requirements, China is a heavily regulated country. These laws
can create major compliance problems for businesses and government agencies
since they can be difficult to locate, interpret and apply. The only way an
organization can be reasonably sure that it is in full compliance with laws and
regulations is by operating a good management information system which takes
responsibility for regulatory compliance, while working closely with the local
authorities. Failure to comply with laws and regulations could result in severe
fines, penalties or other legal consequences.
6. To
minimize litigation risks
Business
organizations implement management information systems and programs in order to
reduce the risks associated with litigation and potential penalties. This can
be equally true in Government agencies. For example, a consistently applied
records management program can reduce the liabilities associated with document
disposal by providing for their systematic, routine disposal in the normal
course of business.
7. To
safeguard vital information
Every
organization, public or private, needs a comprehensive program for protecting
its vital records and information from catastrophe or disaster, because every
organization is vulnerable to loss. Operated as part of a good management
information system, vital records programs preserve the integrity and
confidentiality of the most important records and safeguard the vital
information assets according to a "Plan" to protect the records. This
is especially the case for financial information whereby ERP (Enterprise Resource
Planning) systems are being deployed in large companies.
8. To
support better management decision making
In
today's business environment, the manager that has the relevant data first
often wins, either by making the decision ahead of the competition, or by
making a better, more informed decision. A good management information system
can help ensure that managers and executives have the information they need
when they need it.
By
implementing an enterprise-wide file organization, including indexing and
retrieval capability, managers can obtain and assemble pertinent information
quickly for current decisions and future business planning purposes. Likewise,
implementing a good ERP system to take account of all the business‘ processes
both financial and operational will give an organization more advantages than
one who was operating a manual based system.
9. To
preserve the corporate memory
An
organization's files, records and financial data contain its institutional
memory, an irreplaceable asset that is often overlooked. Every business day,
you create the records, which could become background data for future
management decisions and planning.
10. To
foster professionalism in running the business
A
business office with files, documents and financial data askew, stacked on top
of file cabinets and in boxes everywhere, creates a poor working environment.
The perceptions of customers and the public, and "image" and
"morale" of the staff, though hard to quantify in cost-benefit terms,
may be among the best reasons to establish a good management information
system.
2 Evolution
The first
business application of computers (in the mid- 1950s) performed repetitive,
high-volume, transaction-computing tasks. The computers‖ crunched numbers‖
summarizing and organizing transactions and data in the accounting, finance,
and human resources areas. Such systems are generally called transaction
processing systems (TPSs).
Management
Information Systems (MISs): these systems access, organize, summarize and
display information for supporting routine decision making in the functional
areas.Office Automation Systems (OASs): such as word processing systems were
developed to support office and clerical workers.
Decision
Support Systems: were developed to provide computer based support for complex,
non routine decision. „ End- user computing: The use or development of
information systems by the principal users of the systems‘ outputs, such as
analysts, managers, and other professionals.
Intelligent
Support System (ISSs): Include expert systems which provide the stored
knowledge of experts to non experts, and a new type of intelligent system with
machine- learning capabilities that can learn from historical cases. „ Knowledge
Management Systems: Support the creating, gathering, organizing, integrating
and disseminating of organizational knowledge.
Data
Warehousing: A data warehouse is a database designed to support DSS, ESS and
other analytical and end-user activities. „ Mobile Computing: Information
systems that support employees who are working with customers or business
partners outside the physical boundaries of their company; can be done over
wire or wireless networks.
3 Kinds of Information Systems
Organizational
Hierarchy
Organizational
Levels
Information
Systems
Four
General Kinds of IS
Operational-level
systems
Support operational managers by monitoring the
day-to-day‘s elementary activities and transactions of the organization. e.g.
TPS.
Knowledge-level
systems
Support knowledge and data workers in designing
products, distributing information, and coping with paperwork in an
organization. e.g. KWS, OAS
Management-level
systems
Support the monitoring, controlling,
decision-making, and administrative activities of middle managers. e.g. MIS,
DSS
Strategic-level
systems
Support long-range planning activities of senior
management. e.g. ESS
Executive
Support Systems (ESS)
Management
Information Systems (MIS)
Decision
Support Systems (DSS)
Knowledge
Work Systems (KWS)
Office
Automation Systems (OAS)
Transaction
Processing Systems (TPS)
Transaction
Processing Systems (TPS)
Computerized
system that performs and records the daily routine transactions necessary to
conduct the business; these systems serve the operational level of the
organization
TYPE:
Operational-level
INPUTS:
transactions, events
PROCESSING:
updating
OUTPUTS:
detailed reports
USERS:
operations personnel, supervisors
DECISION-MAKING:
highly structured EXAMPLE: payroll, accounts payable
Office
Automation Systems (OAS)
Computer
system, such as word processing, electronic mail system, and scheduling system,
that is designed to increase the productivity of data workers in the office.
TYPE:
Knowledge-level
INPUTS:
documents, schedules
• PROCESSING:
document management,scheduling, communication
• OUTPUTS:
documents; schedules
• USERS:
clerical workers
EXAMPLE: document imaging system
Knowledge Work Systems (KWS)
Information system that aids
knowledge workers in the creation and integration of new knowledge in the
organization.
TYPE:
Knowledge-level
INPUTS:
design specifications
PROCESSING:
modelling
OUTPUTS:
designs, graphics
USERS:
technical staff; professionals EXAMPLE: Engineering workstations
Decision
Support Systems (DSS)
Information
system at the management level of an organization that combines data and
sophisticated analytical models or data analysis tools to support
semi-structured and unstructured decision making.
TYPE:
Management-level
INPUTS:
low volume data
PROCESSING:
simulations, analysis
OUTPUTS:
decision analysis
USERS:
professionals, staff managers
DECISION-MAKING:
semi-structured EXAMPLE: sales region analysis
Management
Information Systems (MIS)
Information
system at the management level of an organization that serves the functions of
planning, controlling, and decision making by providing routine summary and
exception reports.
TYPE:
Management-level
INPUTS:
high volume data
PROCESSING:
simple models
OUTPUTS:
summary reports
USERS:
middle managers
DECISION-MAKING:
structured to semi-structured EXAMPLE: annual budgeting
Executive
Support Systems (ESS)
Information
system at the strategic level of an organization that address unstructured
decision making through advanced graphics and communications.
TYPE:
Strategic level
INPUTS:
aggregate data; internal and external
PROCESSING:
interactive
OUTPUTS:
projections
USERS:
senior managers
DECISION-MAKING:
highly unstructured EXAMPLE: 5 year operating plan
Classification
of IS by Organizational Structure
Departmental
Information Systems
Enterprise
Information System
Inter-organizational
Systems
NYCE
SABRE or
APOLLO
Classification
of IS by Functional Area
The
accounting information system
The
finance information system
The manufacturing
(operations, production) information system
The
marketing information system
The human
resources information system
4 System development methodologies
Introduction
A system
development methodology refers to the framework that is used to structure,
plan, and control the process of developing an information system. A wide
variety of such frameworks have evolved over the years, each with its own
recognized strengths and weaknesses. One system development methodology is not
necessarily suitable for use by all projects. Each of the available
methodologies is best suited to specific kinds of projects, based on various
technical, organizational, project and team considerations. CMS has considered
each of the major prescribed methodologies in context with CMS‘ business,
applications, organization, and technical environments. As a result, CMS
requires the use of any of the following linear and iterative methodologies for
CMS systems development, as appropriate.
Basic
Principles:
Project
is divided into sequential phases, with some overlap and splashback acceptable
between phases.
Emphasis
is on planning, time schedules, target dates, budgets and implementation of an
entire system at one time.
Tight
control is maintained over the life of the project through the use of extensive
written documentation, as well as through formal reviews and approval/signoff
by the user and information technology management occurring at the end of most
phases before beginning the
next
phase. Strengths:
Ideal for
supporting less experienced project teams and project managers, or project
teams whose composition fluctuates.
The
orderly sequence of development steps and strict controls for ensuring the
adequacy of documentation and design reviews helps ensure the quality,
reliability, and maintainability of the developed software.
Progress
of system development is measurable.
Conserves
resources.
Weaknesses:
Inflexible,
slow, costly and cumbersome due to significant structure and tight controls.
Project
progresses forward, with only slight movement backward.
Little
room for use of iteration, which can reduce manageability if used.
Depends
upon early identification and specification of requirements, yet users may not
be able to clearly define what they need early in the project.
Requirements
inconsistencies, missing system components, and unexpected development needs
are often discovered during design and coding.
Problems
are often not discovered until system testing.
System
performance cannot be tested until the system is almost fully coded, and
under-capacity may be difficult to correct.
Difficult
to respond to changes. Changes that occur later in the life cycle are more
costly and are thus discouraged.
Produces
excessive documentation and keeping it updated as the project progresses is
time-consuming.
Written
specifications are often difficult for users to read and thoroughly appreciate.
Promotes
the gap between users and developers with clear division of responsibility.
Situations
where most appropriate:
Project
is for development of a mainframe-based or transaction-oriented batch system.
Project
is large, expensive, and complicated.
Project
has clear objectives and solution.
Pressure
does not exist for immediate implementation.
Project
requirements can be stated unambiguously and comprehensively.
Project
requirements are stable or unchanging during the system development life cycle.
User
community is fully knowledgeable in the business and application.
Team
members may be inexperienced.
Team
composition is unstable and expected to fluctuate.
Project
manager may not be fully experienced.
Resources
need to be conserved.
Strict
requirement exists for formal approvals at designated milestones.
Situations
where least appropriate:
Large
projects where the requirements are not well understood or are changing for any
reasons such as external changes, changing expectations, budget changes or
rapidly changing technology.
Web
Information Systems (WIS) primarily due to the pressure of implementing a WIS
project quickly; the continual evolution of the project requirements; the need
for experienced, flexible team members drawn from multiple disciplines; and the
inability to make assumptions regarding the users‘ knowledge level.
Real-time
systems.
Event-driven
systems.
Leading-edge
applications.
4.1 Prototyping
Basic
Principles
Not a
standalone, complete development methodology, but rather an approach to handling
selected portions of a larger, more traditional development methodology (i.e.,
Incremental, Spiral, or Rapid Application Development (RAD)).
Attempts
to reduce inherent project risk by breaking a project into smaller segments and
providing more ease-of-change during the development process.
User is
involved throughout the process, which increases the likelihood of user
acceptance of the final implementation.
Small-scale
mock-ups of the system are developed following an iterative modification
process until the prototype evolves to meet the users‘ requirements.
While
most prototypes are developed with the expectation that they will be discarded,
it is possible in some cases to evolve from prototype to working system.
A basic
understanding of the fundamental business problem is necessary to avoid solving
the wrong problem.
Strengths:
―Addresses
the inability of many users to specify their information needs, and the
difficulty of systems analysts to understand the user‘s environment, by
providing the user with a tentative system for experimental purposes at the
earliest possible time.‖ (Janson and Smith, 1985)
―Can be
used to realistically model important aspects of a system during each phase of
the traditional life cycle.‖
Improves
both user participation in system development and communication among project
stakeholders.
Especially
useful for resolving unclear objectives; developing and validating user
requirements; experimenting with or comparing various design solutions; or
investigating both performance and the human computer interface.
Potential
exists for exploiting knowledge gained in an early iteration as later
iterations are developed.
Helps to
easily identify confusing or difficult functions and missing functionality.
May
generate specifications for a production application.
Encourages
innovation and flexible designs.
Provides
quick implementation of an incomplete, but functional, application.
Weaknesses:
Approval
process and control is not strict.
Incomplete
or inadequate problem analysis may occur whereby only the most obvious and
superficial needs will be addressed, resulting in current inefficient practices
being easily built into the new system.
Requirements
may frequently change significantly.
Identification
of non-functional elements is difficult to document.
Designers
may prototype too quickly, without sufficient up-front user needs analysis,
resulting in an inflexible design with narrow focus that limits future system
potential.
Designers
may neglect documentation, resulting in insufficient justification for the
final product and inadequate records for the future.
Can lead
to poorly designed systems. Unskilled designers may substitute prototyping for
sound design, which can lead to a ―quick and dirty system‖ without global
consideration of the integration of all other components. While initial
software development is often built to be a
―throwaway‖,
attempting to retroactively produce a solid system design can sometimes be
problematic.
Can lead
to false expectations, where the customer mistakenly believes that the system
is ―finished‖ when in fact it is not; the system looks good and has adequate
user interfaces, but is not truly functional.
Iterations
add to project budgets and schedules, thus the added costs must be weighed
against the potential benefits. Very small projects may not be able to justify
the added time and money, while only the high-risk portions of very large,
complex projects may gain benefit from prototyping.
Prototype
may not have sufficient checks and balances incorporated.
Situations
where most appropriate:
Project
is for development of an online system requiring extensive user dialog, or for
a less well-defined expert and decision support system.
Project
is large with many users, interrelationships, and functions, where project risk
relating to requirements definition needs to be reduced.
Project
objectives are unclear.
Pressure
exists for immediate implementation of something.
Functional
requirements may change frequently and significantly.
User is
not fully knowledgeable.
Team
members are experienced (particularly if the prototype is not a throw-away).
Team
composition is stable.
Project
manager is experienced.
No need
exists to absolutely minimize resource consumption.
No strict
requirement exists for approvals at designated milestones.
Analysts/users
appreciate the business problems involved, before they begin the project.
Innovative,
flexible designs that will accommodate future changes are not critical.
Situations
where least appropriate:
Mainframe-based
or transaction-oriented batch systems.
Web-enabled
e-business systems.
Project
team composition is unstable.
Future
scalability of design is critical.
Project
objectives are very clear; project risk regarding requirements definition is
low.
4.2 Incremental
Basic
Principles
Various
methods are acceptable for combining linear and iterative system development
methodologies, with the primary objective of each being to reduce inherent
project risk by breaking a project into smaller segments and providing more
ease-of-change during the development process:
A series
of mini-Waterfalls are performed, where all phases of the Waterfall development
model are completed for a small part of the system, before proceeding to the
next increment;
OR
Overall
requirements are defined before proceeding to evolutionary, mini-Waterfall
development of individual increments of the system, OR
The
initial software concept, requirements analysis, and design of architecture and
system core are defined using the Waterfall approach, followed by iterative
Prototyping, which culminates in installation of the final prototype (i.e.,
working system).
Strengths:
Potential
exists for exploiting knowledge gained in an early increment as later increments
are developed.
Moderate
control is maintained over the life of the project through the use of written
documentation and the formal review and approval/signoff by the user and
information technology management at designated major milestones.
Stakeholders
can be given concrete evidence of project status throughout the life cycle.
Helps to
mitigate integration and architectural risks earlier in the project.
Allows
delivery of a series of implementations that are gradually more complete and
can go into production more quickly as incremental releases.
Gradual
implementation provides the ability to monitor the effect of incremental
changes, isolate issues and make adjustments before the organization is
negatively impacted.
Weaknesses:
When
utilizing a series of mini-Waterfalls for a small part of the system before
moving on to the next increment, there is usually a lack of overall
consideration of the business problem and technical requirements for the
overall system.
Since
some modules will be completed much earlier than others, well-defined
interfaces are required.
Difficult problems
tend to be
pushed to the
future to demonstrate
early success to management.
Situations
where most appropriate:
Large
projects where requirements are not well understood or are changing due to
external changes, changing expectations, budget changes or rapidly changing
technology.
Web
Information Systems (WIS) and event-driven systems.
Leading-edge
applications.
Situations
where least appropriate:
Very
small projects of very short duration.
Integration
and architectural risks are very low.
Highly
interactive applications where the data for the project already exists
(completely or in part), and the project largely comprises analysis or
reporting of the data.
4.3 Spiral
Basic
Principles:
Focus is
on risk assessment and on minimizing project risk by breaking a project into
smaller segments and providing more ease-of-change during the development
process, as well as providing the opportunity to evaluate risks and weigh
consideration of project continuation throughout the life cycle.
―Each
cycle involves a progression through the same sequence of steps, for each
portion of the
product
and for each of its levels of elaboration, from an overall concept-of-operation
document down to the coding of each individual program.‖ (Boehm, 1986)
Each trip
around the spiral traverses four basic quadrants: (1) determine objectives,
alternatives, and constraints of the iteration; (2) evaluate alternatives; identify
and resolve risks; (3) develop and verify deliverables from the iteration; and
(4) plan the next iteration. (Boehm, 1986 and 1988)
Begin
each cycle with an identification of stakeholders and their win conditions, and
end each cycle with review and commitment. (Boehm, 2000)
Strengths:
Enhances
risk avoidance.
Useful in
helping to select the best methodology to follow for development of a given
software iteration, based on project risk.
Can
incorporate Waterfall, Prototyping, and Incremental methodologies as special
cases in the framework, and provide guidance as to which combination of these
models best fits a given software iteration, based upon the type of project
risk. For example, a project with low risk of not meeting user requirements,
but high risk of missing budget or schedule targets would essentially follow a
linear Waterfall approach for a given software iteration. Conversely, if the
risk factors were reversed, the Spiral methodology could yield an iterative
Prototyping approach.
Weaknesses:
Challenging
to determine the exact composition of development methodologies to use for each
iteration around the Spiral.
Highly
customized to each project, and thus is quite complex, limiting reusability.
A skilled
and experienced project manager is required to determine how to apply it to any
given project.
There are
no established controls for moving from one cycle to another cycle. Without
controls, each cycle may generate more work for the next cycle.
There are
no firm deadlines. Cycles continue with no clear termination condition, so
there is an inherent risk of not meeting budget or schedule.
Possibility
exists that project ends up implemented following a Waterfall framework.
Situations
where most appropriate:
Real-time
or safety-critical systems.
Risk
avoidance is a high priority.
Minimizing
resource consumption is not an absolute priority.
Project
manager is highly skilled and experienced.
Requirement
exists for strong approval and documentation control.
Project
might benefit from a mix of other development methodologies.
A high
degree of accuracy is essential.
Implementation
has priority over functionality, which can be added in later versions.
Situations where least appropriate:
Risk
avoidance is a low priority.
A high degree
of accuracy is not essential.
Functionality
has priority over implementation.
Minimizing
resource consumption is an absolute priority.
4.4 Rapid Application Development (RAD)
Basic
Principles
Key
objective is for fast development and delivery of a high quality system at a
relatively low investment cost.
Attempts
to reduce inherent project risk by breaking a project into smaller segments and
providing more ease-of-change during the development process.
Aims to
produce high quality systems quickly, primarily through the use of iterative
Prototyping (at any stage of development), active user involvement, and
computerized development tools. These tools may include Graphical User
Interface (GUI) builders, Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools,
Database Management Systems (DBMS), fourth-generation programming languages,
code generators, and object-oriented techniques.
Key
emphasis is on fulfilling the business need, while technological or engineering
excellence is of lesser importance.
Project
control involves prioritizing development and defining delivery deadlines or
―time boxes‖. If the project starts to slip, emphasis is on reducing
requirements to fit the time box, not in increasing the deadline.
Generally
includes Joint Application Development (JAD), where users are intensely
involved in system design, either through consensus building in structured
workshops, or through electronically facilitated interaction.
Active
user involvement is imperative.
Iteratively
produces production software, as opposed to a throwaway prototype.
Produces
documentation necessary to facilitate future development and maintenance.
Standard
systems analysis and design techniques can be fitted into this framework.
Strengths:
The
operational version of an application is available much earlier than with
Waterfall, Incremental, or Spiral frameworks.
Because
RAD produces systems more quickly and to a business focus, this approach tends
to produce systems at a lower cost.
Engenders
a greater level of commitment from stakeholders, both business and technical,
than
Waterfall,
Incremental, or Spiral frameworks. Users are seen as gaining more of a sense of
ownership of a system, while developers are seen as gaining more satisfaction
from producing successful systems quickly.
Concentrates
on essential system elements from user viewpoint.
Provides
the ability to rapidly change system design as demanded by users.
Produces
a tighter fit between user requirements and system specifications.
Generally
produces a dramatic savings in time, money, and human effort. Weaknesses:
More
speed and lower cost may lead to lower overall system quality.
Danger of
misalignment of developed system with the business due to missing information.
Project
may end up with more requirements than needed (gold-plating).
Potential
for feature creep where more and more features are added to the system over the
course of
development.
Potential
for inconsistent designs within and across systems.
Potential
for violation of programming standards related to inconsistent naming
conventions and inconsistent documentation.
Difficulty
with module reuse for future systems.
Potential
for designed system to lack scalability.
Potential
for lack of attention to later system administration needs built into system.
High cost
of commitment on the part of key user personnel.
Formal
reviews and audits are more difficult to implement than for a complete system.
Tendency
for difficult problems to be pushed to the future to demonstrate early success
to
management.
Situations
where most appropriate:
Project
is of small-to-medium scale and of short duration (no more than 6 man-years of
development effort).
Project
scope is focused, such that the business objectives are well defined and narrow.
Application
is highly interactive, has a clearly defined user group, and is not
computationally complex.
Functionality
of the system is clearly visible at the user interface.
Users
possess detailed knowledge of the application area.
Senior
management commitment exists to ensure end-user involvement.
Requirements
of the system are unknown or uncertain.
It is not
possible to define requirements accurately ahead of time because the situation
is new or the system being employed is highly innovative.
Team
members are skilled both socially and in terms of business.
Team
composition is stable; continuity of core development team can be maintained.
Effective
project control is definitely available.
Developers
are skilled in the use of advanced tools.
Data for
the project already exists (completely or in part), and the project largely
comprises analysis or reporting of the data.
Technical
architecture is clearly defined.
Key
technical components are in place and tested.
Technical
requirements (e.g., response times, throughput, database sizes, etc.) are
reasonable and well within the capabilities of the technology being used.
Targeted performance should be less than 70% of the published limits of the
technology.
Development
team is empowered to make design decisions on a day-to-day basis without the
need for
consultation with their superiors, and decisions can be made by a small number
of people who are available and preferably co-located.
Situations
where least appropriate:
Very
large, infrastructure projects; particularly large, distributed information
systems such as corporate-wide databases.
Real-time
or safety-critical systems.
Computationally
complex systems, where complex and voluminous data must be analyzed, designed,
and created within the scope of the project.
Project
scope is broad and the business objectives are obscure.
Applications
in which the functional requirements have to be fully specified before any
programs are written.
Many
people must be involved in the decisions on the project, and the decision
makers are not available on a timely basis or they are geographically
dispersed.
The
project team is large or there are multiple teams whose work needs to be
coordinated.
When user
resource and/or commitment is lacking.
There is
no project champion at the required level to make things happen.
Many new
technologies are to be introduced within the scope of the project, or the
technical architecture is unclear and much of the technology will be used for
the first time within the project.
5 Functional Information System (FIS)
Supports
a functional area by increasing its internal effectiveness and efficiency.
Typically found for:
Finance
(FIN): provide internal and external professional access to stock, investment
and capital spending information.
Accounting
(ACC): similar to financial MIS more related to invoicing, payroll,
receivables.
Marketing
(MKT): pricing, distribution, promotional, and information by customer and
salesperson.
Operations
(OPS): regular reports on production, yield, quality, inventory levels. These
systems typically deal with manufacturing, sourcing, and supply chain
management.
Human
Resources Management (HR): employees, benefits, hiring‘s, etc.
A summary
of capabilities of a FIS are organized by functional area in the following
chart:
From the
pyramid Each vertical section represents a functional area of the organization,
and thus a vertical view can be compared to a functional view of the
organization
Information
systems can be designed to support the functional areas or traditional
departments
such as,
accounting, finance, marketing, human resources, and manufacturing, of an
organization
Such systems are classified as ‗functional
information systems‘. Functional information systems typically follow the
organizational structure
Functional information systems are typically
focused on increasing the efficiency of a particular department or a functional
area.
One disadvantage of functional systems is that
although they may support a particular functional area effectively, they may be
incompatible to each other (NO interaction between internal systems).
Such systems, rather than aiding organizational
performance will act as inhibitors to an organization's development and change.
Organizations have realized that in order to be
agile and efficient they need to focus on organizational processes
A process may involve more than one functional
area.
Some Information Systems are cross-functional
Example: A TPS can affect several different business
areas: Accounting, Human Resources, Production, etc.
Some Information Systems concentrate on one
particular business area (Accounting for example)
These systems are:
Marketing Systems
Manufacturing Systems
Human Resource Systems
Accounting Systems
Financial Management Systems
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