Introduction to

Information Systems
 Information Concepts

 Data vs. Information

 Data
• Raw facts
• Distinct pieces of information, usually formatted in
a special way
 Information
• A collection of facts organized in such a way that
they have additional value beyond the value of the
facts themselves
 Data are simply facts or figures — bits of
information, but not information itself.
When data are processed, interpreted,
organized, structured or presented so as to
make them meaningful or useful, they are
called information. Information provides
context for data.
 Examples

 Data – thermometer readings of

temperature taken every hour:
16.0, 17.0, 16.0, 18.5, 17.0,15.5….
Transformation

 Information – today’s high: 18.5

today’s low: 15.5
 Types of Data
Data Represented by
Alphanumeric data Numbers, letters, and other characters

Image data Graphic images or pictures

Audio data Sound, noise, tones

Video data Moving images or pictures
 Data  Information

Data Transformation Information

 Characteristics of
Valuable Information
 Characteristics
 Accurate, complete, economical, flexible,
reliable, relevant, simple, timely, verifiable,
accessible, secure
 Types or Levels of Information

 Strategic information
 Tactical information
 Operational information
 1. Strategic information

• Strategic information is used at the very top

level of management within an organization.
These are chief executives or directors who
have to make decisions for the long term.
• Strategic information is broad based and will
use a mixture of information gathered from
both internal and external sources.
 2. Tactical information

• Tactical information will be mostly internal

with a few external sources being used. 
• Tactical information is used by middle
management (employees) when managing or
planning projects.
• Tactical plans have a medium level of detail
and will be very specific; they deal with such
matters as who is doing what and within what
specific budgets and timescales.
 3. Operational information
• The lowest level of management or workers
in an organization implements operational
plans.  These may be section leaders or
foremen in a large organization or workers
such as shop assistants, waiting staff, and
kitchen staff, etc., in smaller businesses where
there is no supervisory layer.
 Information System
An information system is a collection of
hardware, software, data, people and
procedures that are designed to generate
information that supports the day-to-day,
short-range, and long-range activities of
users in an organization.
 Business Information Systems
 Types
 Transaction processing systems
 E-commerce systems
 Management information systems
 Decision support systems
 Expert systems
Transactions Processing Systems
 Transaction
 Any business-related exchange
 E.g., generating a weekly payroll
 Transaction processing system (TPS)
 An organized collection of people, procedures,
software, databases, and devices used to record
completed for for business related exchanges
 Payroll Example

Hours
worked
Payroll
Payroll
transaction
checks
processing
Pay
rate
 Information Systems
 Types
 Transaction processing systems
 E-commerce systems
 Management information systems
 Decision support systems
 Expert systems
 E-Commerce System
 E-commerce
 Involves any business transaction executed
electronically
 Conducting business on-line
 For example, between…
• Companies
• Companies and consumers
• Business and the public sector
• Consumers and the public sector
 Example for placing a purchase order
Purchase Order - Traditional
Purchase Order – E-commerce
 Information Systems
 Types
 Transaction processing systems
 E-commerce systems
 Management information systems
 Decision support systems
 Expert systems
Management Information Systems
 An MIS is…
 An organized collection of people, procedures,
software, databases, and devices used to
provide routine information to managers and
decision makers
 Schematic of MIS
Marketing Manufacturing
management management
information Information
system system

Common
databases
Financial Order
management management
Information information
system system
TPS
 MIS ‘Discussion’
Short for management information system or management
information services, and pronounced as separate letters, MIS
refers to a class of software that provides managers with tools for
organizing and evaluating their department. Typically, MIS systems
are written in COBOL and run on mainframes or minicomputers.

Within companies and large organizations, the department

responsible for computer systems is sometimes called the MIS
department. Other names for MIS include IS (Information Services)
and IT (Information Technology).
 Business Information Systems
 Types
 Transaction processing systems
 E-commerce systems
 Management information systems
 Decision support systems
 Expert systems
 Decision Support Systems
 A DSS is…
 An organized collection of people, procedures,
software, databases, and devices used to
support problem-specific decision making
 A DSS helps a manger “do the right thing”
 Business Information Systems
 Types
 Transaction processing systems
 E-commerce systems
 Management information systems
 Decision support systems
 Expert systems
 Expert Systems
 An expert system is…
 A computer application that performs a task that
would otherwise be performed by a human expert
 gives the computer the ability to make suggestions and
to act like an expert in a particular field
 Examples: diagnose human illnesses, make financial
forecasts, schedule routes for delivery vehicles
 Expert systems typically include “artificial
intelligence” (next slide)
 Artificial Intelligence (1)
The branch of computer science concerned with making computers
behave like humans. The term was coined in 1956 by John McCarthy
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Artificial intelligence
includes
 games playing: programming computers to play games such as
chess and checkers
 expert systems : programming computers to make decisions in real-life
situations (for example, some expert systems help doctors diagnose
diseases based on symptoms)
 natural language : programming computers to understand natural
human languages
 Artificial Intelligence (2)
 neural networks : Systems that simulate intelligence by attempting
to reproduce the types of physical connections that occur in animal
brains
 robotics : programming computers to see and hear and react to
other sensory stimuli

Currently, no computers exhibit full artificial intelligence (that is, are

able to simulate human behavior). The greatest advances have
occurred in the field of games playing. The best computer chess
programs are now capable of beating humans. In May, 1997, an IBM
super-computer called Deep Blue defeated world chess champion
 Artificial Intelligence (3)
Gary Kasparov in a chess match.

In the area of robotics, computers are now widely used in assembly

plants, but they are capable only of very limited tasks. Robots have
great difficulty identifying objects based on appearance or feel, and
they still move and handle objects clumsily.

Natural-language processing offers the greatest potential rewards

because it would allow people to interact with computers without
needing any specialized knowledge. You could simply walk up to a
 Artificial Intelligence (4)
computer and talk to it. Unfortunately, programming computers to
understand natural languages has proved to be more difficult than
originally thought. Some rudimentary translation systems that
translate from one human language to another are in existence, but
they are not nearly as good as human translators. There are also
voice recognition systems that can convert spoken sounds into
written words, but they do not understand what they are writing;
they simply take dictation. Even these systems are quite limited --
you must speak slowly and distinctly.
 Artificial Intelligence (5)
In the early 1980s, expert systems were believed to represent the
future of artificial intelligence and of computers in general. To date,
however, they have not lived up to expectations. Many expert
systems help human experts in such fields as medicine and
engineering, but they are very expensive to produce and are helpful
only in special situations.

Today, the hottest area of artificial intelligence is neural networks,

which are proving successful in a number of disciplines such as voice
recognition and natural-language processing.
 Artificial Intelligence (6)
There are several programming languages that are known as AI
languages because they are used almost exclusively for AI
applications. The two most common are LISP and Prolog.
 Working with Systems (1)
 Systems development
 The activity of creating or modifying an existing
business system
 Systems investigation and analysis
 Defines the problems and opportunities of an existing
system
 Systems design
 Determine how a new system will work to meet
business needs
 Working with Systems (2)
 Systems implementation
 Creating and acquiring system components
defined in the design
 Systems maintenance and review
 Checks and modifies the system so that it
continues to meet changing business needs
End of Chapter 2