Systems: Defining, Building, and Using

for

MBAC 6080

Kenneth A. Kozar

Spring, 1998

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Some Questions

• Why build an IS? - serve customers better
• Do systems always have these effects?
• "successful" systems?
• Why do businesses succeed/fail?
• Can IS help? How?
• Does IS allow innovation? Doing things we otherwise couldn't do?
• Effects on time? space?
• Systems come from? shrink-wrap? People role?
• Back to top.......

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"The Dream?"

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Tom Landauer, former Director of Cognitive Science Research at Bellcore, now a Professor in the University of Colorado Psychology Department wrote an award winning book in 1995 that challenges some common beliefs about computers and systems. He claims that little economic evidence can be found to support investments in computing. Landauer's thinking drives some of our material on information systems. He believes that we must focus on the system user and exhibit care when considering usefulness and usability of systems. For an interesting article related to Landauer's book, see an article by Gary Chapman.

The reference for Landauer's book is Landauer, Thomas K., The Trouble With Computers: Usefulness, Usability, and Productivity, The MIT Press, 1995.

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What's happening today?

• "C" words - computer, communication, competition, etc. or you might consider capturing data, cradling data, creating information, conveying information, and communicating information

• Journalistic approach - 5W's and H

• "RE" words indicate change from "what was"

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Defining Systems

• Next minute, list all systems you can think of besides info and computer systems
• Components of all systems?

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Representing Systems

• I's and O's
• P's
• Data - Moving and Resting

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Examples

• Context Diagrams
• Data Flow Diagrams

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Context Diagram

For more on context diagrams look here

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A Data Flow Diagram

For more on data flow diagrams look here

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These diagrams fit together. Want to see the relationship between context and data flow diagrams.?

For those working on IS projects, see more information on creating data flow diagrams.

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Info. System Types

1. Transaction Support
2. Decision Support
3. Communication Support
   • Organizational
   • Interorganizational

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Building Systems

• The Classical Life Cycle
• Methodologies
• Repositories-IS for IS

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A Closer Look at Packages

• Package Perspectives - Reuse
• Selecting a Package
• Changes to Development Process

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A Closer Look at User Developed Systems

• Why?
• Why Not?
• Cautions?

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Prototyping

• What is it? Philosophy?
• Process?
• When is it used?
• Whole system or deliverable?

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Tendencies toward:

• Life Cycle or Packages if many users, batch, many other system interfaces, large size, production focus, 3GL
• Prototyping or User Developed if one user, interactive, isolated system, small size, output focused, 4GL/WWW

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System Components

• Hardware
• Software
• People
• Procedures

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Technologies?

• Inputs
• Outputs
• Processors - MIPS/Mhz
• Storage
• Connections/Networks

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Exercise

Form two groups and Complete

"we see us as ......"

"we see them as ... "

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