CS 418 MANAGEMENT

INFORMATION SYSTEM
An Introduction
By
Fatima Tariq
www.sites.google.com/site/tariqfatima005

Course Overview

Framework & Definitions

System Analysis skills

Managing IS projects

CASE tools

Identifying and selecting system development projects

Initiation & planning

Preparing project proposal

Requirement determination

Requirement structuring

Designing the interface

Implementation

Maintenance

Reference book: Modern system analysis and design (3E) Addison Wasley

What is management?
Management is the process of reaching organizational goals by working
with and through people and other organizational resources.
Management has the following 3 characteristics:
1. It is a process or series of continuing and related activities.
2. It involves and concentrates on reaching organizational goals.
3. It reaches these goals by working with and through people and other
organizational resources.

Need for information

Information is required in day to day decision making
Without the availability of right quantity of information at the right time, the
process of decision making is highly affected
For this reason various sources of information are used to extract
information
Newspapers

Internet
Marketing Brochures
Friends & Relatives

What is a system?
System has a very long history traced back to Plato and Aristotle
It is derived from a word sunistemi meaning putting or uniting things
together
Definition 1: An ordered or comprehensive combination of facts or
principles. E.g. education system
Definition 2: Any formulated, regular or special method or plan of
procedure is known as a system. E.g. project

What is system? (cntd)

Definition 3: A system is a set of interrelating or independent components
forming an integrated object. E.g. hospital system
Definition 4: system is a collection of element or components that are
organized for a common purpose. The word sometimes describes the
organization or plan itself or sometimes describe the part of a system. E.g.
Computer system.

Characteristics of a System
Some systems share common characteristics:
o Structure: A system has a structure. It contains parts or components that are
directly or indirectly related to each other.
o Behavior: A system has a behavior. It contains processes that transforms
input into output.
o Interconnectivity: A system has interconnectivity. The parts and processes
are connected by structural or behavioral relationships. A systems behavior
or structures can be decomposed into sub system or sub processes.

Elements of a system
Followings are considered as an element of a system in terms of IS:
o Input: It involves capturing and assembling elements that enter to system to
be processed
o Output: Those elements that exists in the system due to the processing of
the input is known as output. The major objective of the system is to
produce the output that has a value to its users. It may be in the form of
cash, document, or reports.
o Processor: The processor is the element of system that involves the actual
transformation of input into output. It is the operational component of the
system.

Elements of a system
o Control: The control element guides the system. It is the decision making sub
system that controls the patterns of activities governing input, processing
and output. It also keeps the system within the boundary set.
o Feedback: control in a dynamic system is achieved by feedback.
Feedback measures the output against the standards. It can be positive or
negative
o Boundary/Interface: A system should be defined by its boundaries, the limit
that identify its components, processes and its interrelationship when it
interface with another system.
o Environment: The environment is the super system within which an
organization operates. It is the source of external elements that impinge on
the system.

Types of Systems
Open system
Closed system

Open loop system

Closed loop system

Open Systems
A system that is connected to its environment by means of resource flows is
called an open system.
The environment exerts influence on the system and the system also
influences the environment.
Example
Business is a system where management decisions are influenced by or
have an influence on suppliers, customers, society as a whole
Computerized system of a manufacturing entity, that takes influence from
the society.

Closed Systems
A system that is not connected with its environment
Neither environment exerts any influence on the system nor does system
influence the environment
Examples
An information system designed to control data in a research laboratory is
a closed system.

An information system designed to record highly sensitive information is a

closed system so as to accept no input for amendment, to give no output
for disclosure

Open-Loop System
The determinant factor is in an open loop system is that the information
from the system not used for control purpose
This is done by using the output to generate feed back for control purposes.
The output is not coupled to the input for measurement.
The components of open loop system do not include control and feedback
mechanism due to non-existence of internally defined objectives i.e. Input,
Process, Output
Example
An information system that automatically generates report on regular basis
and are not used to monitor input or activities

Closed Loop System

System where part of the output is fed back to the system to initiate control
to change either the activities of the system or input of the system
It has the ability to control the output due to existence of control
mechanism
Example
Budgetary control system in a company by which the results are
communicated through feedback system and results are compared with
the objectives/budget through controls mechanism

Some more examples

Book Store

Open system any and everyone is allowed to view and purchase the books available.

School Library

Closed system entry to the library is restricted to the students only

THE BOOK STORE may have:

An Open loop if customer feedback is not taken for the purchase of books for the store

A Closed loop if Customer feedback/interest is taken into account when selecting the
books to be purchased and displayed in the store

The SCHOOL LIBRARY may have:

An Open loop if students feedback is not taken for the kind of books to be stocked in
the library

A Closed loop if students interest is the determinant criteria for the kind of books that are
to be carried out in the library

What are Information Systems?

Interrelated components working together to
collect, process, store and disseminate
information to support decision making,
coordination control, analysis and visualization in
an organization

What is Information System?

IS is a system that collects and stores processed data.
IS is the study of complementary network of H/W & S/W that people and
organization use to collect, filter, process, create & distribute data.
An IS is typically considered to be the set of interrelated elements that
collect (input), manipulate(process) & disseminate(output) data and
information, & provide a feedback mechanism to meet an objective.

Manual Vs Computerized Information

Systems
As advancement was made in every field of life, manual information
systems were converted to computerized systems
In manual environment, the concept of transformation was difficult to
apply, since input of data into records was by itself the output which also
included simple computations
Concept of control mechanism grew stronger as computerized information
systems emerged
Now the concept of Information system exists with the usage and benefits
of Computers as an inevitable part.

What is Computer based Information

System (CBIS)?
CBIS is an Information System that uses computer & telecommunications
technology to perform its intended tasks
The terms Information System (IS) and Computer Based Information System
(CBIS) with the extensive use of computers in almost every field renders it
inevitable to think of an IS as CBIS

Why Information Systems?

Emerging Global Economies

High level of foreign trade has resulted in imports and exports which require inter
linkage for smooth coordination

Transforming Industrial Economies

Industrial economies have started merging as knowledge-and-informationbased economies

Transformed Business Enterprise

The structure of business enterprise have also changed, initially the organizations
used to be Hierarchical, Centralized, Structured following a Fixed Set of SOPs.

Emerging Digital Firms

Firms where all significant business process and relationships with customers and
suppliers and employees are digitally enabled and key corporate assets are
managed through digital firms

Attributes of an IS/CBIS
Efficient Processing
CBIS helps in updating every change being triggered in less time and with
less effort
Large Storage Capacity & Instant Access
Availability of processed corporate data occurrence of every event
relating to a company affects policy making and implementation, thus
recording and processing of every data results in huge amount of
information
Instant access to right chunk of information presented in comprehensible
format

Attributes of an IS/CBIS
Reduced Information Load
With such huge amounts of information available, managers can feel
overloaded, hence taking more time in decision making. CBIS/IS help to
tailor loads of information w.r.t. every managers requirements
Cross-Functional Coordination
Every department has its own responsibilities relating Manufacturing,
Purchasing, Warehousing, Marketing, Accounts, Finance and Human
Resource
In every transaction, every department has its own share of responsibility

Attributes of an IS/CBIS
Competitive Tool
Businesses invest to earn profits or for other non-profit based objectives

Paper Free Environment

Information overload enhances paper work.
Maintenance of records in hard form has always proven to be a
cumbersome task.
An IS/CBIS should be efficient enough to properly manage of documents
electronically

Difference between IT & IS

IS

IT involves
H/W, S/W, DB,N/W
and other related
components

Which is used to
built

Payroll system,
LMS, SMS,
customer service
system etc..

Nature of the Business and Information

Requirements
Manufacturing Sector
Service Sector

Trading Sector

Manufacturing Sector
Manufacturing process involves more than one sub-processes, detailed
information is required before transferring materials for warehousing,
manufacturing and sale to final consumer
Information Requirements of Manufacturing Sector

Management is concerned with the day to day costs, production targets,

quality of the product, delivery schedules, etc.

Service Sector
Final product is intangible, so information is critical at various steps, e.g.
preparation, delivery and customer satisfaction
Information requirements of Service Sector
Quality of service provided.
Mode of delivery
Customer Satisfaction
Time Scheduling
Resource Management

Trading Sector
Monitoring requires information for each product, e.g.
Customer profiles

Customer Comments
Volume of sales
Profitability
Stock movements Manufacturing/Procurement Cycle
Market needs