Understanding Information Systems and Their Impact on Organizations

Posted on Dec 3, 2024 in Computers

Information Systems Questionnaire
Chapter 7 and 8 and Presentations
Chapter 7 Managing Data Resources

1. What Constitutes Organizational Obstacles for a Database Environment?

A management system (DBMS) challenges existing power structures within an organization and generates political resistance. In a traditional environment, each department files and programs built to meet its needs, while with a DB, files and programs should be built taking into account the interests of the entire organization in the data.

2. How to Integrate and Ensure Data Quality?

Besides the cost of the DBMS software and hardware related to the data model, organizations need to prevent heavy spending to integrate, merge, and standardize their data to reside in a DB that can service the entire company. Organizations need to consume considerable time to merge, cleanse, and standardize data to eliminate inconsistencies, redundancies, and errors.

3. What is a Field, a Record, an Archive, and a Database?

Field: A grouping of characters in a word, words, or a complete number, such as the name or age of a person.
Record: A group of related fields. For example, names of people, courses taken, and age. It describes an entity.
File: A group of records of the same type. The records of a student could build a course file.
Database: A group of related files.

4. What is an Entity, an Attribute, and a Key Field?

Entity: A person, place, thing, or event about which information must be preserved.
Attribute: A piece of information that describes a particular entity.
Key Field: A field in a record that uniquely identifies instances of that record so you can retrieve, update, or qualify.

5. What Problems Arise When Each Area of an Enterprise System Works Separately?

The resulting problems are: data redundancy, program unit inflexibility, poor data security, and the inability to share data between functions.

6. What is Data Redundancy and Confusion?

Data redundancy is the presence of duplicate data in multiple data files. It occurs when different divisions, functional areas, and groups within an organization independently collect the same piece of information.

7. What is Program Data Dependence?

It is the close relationship between the data stored in specific files and the programs needed to update and maintain those files. Any change in the organization or the data format requires a change in all programs associated with those files.

8. What is Lack of Flexibility?

A traditional file system can send routine scheduled reports but cannot transmit ad hoc reports or timely responses to unforeseen information requirements.

9. What is Low Security?

Since there is little control or data management, access and the dispersal of information may become out of control. It is possible that the administrator does not know who is accessing or modifying the organization’s data.

10. What is the Lack of Data Sharing and Availability?

The lack of control over access to data does not help. Since the pieces of information that are on file and different parts of the organization cannot relate to one another, it is virtually impossible for information sharing; information cannot flow freely across the different functional areas or parts of the organization.

11. What is a Database?

A dataset organized to supply various applications at the same time, storing and managing data so that they appear in one place.

12. What is a Management System Database?

It’s the software that allows an organization to centralize data, manage it efficiently, and give access to the stored data to application programs. The DBMS acts as an interface between application programs and physical data files. The DBMS frees the programmer or end user from the task of understanding where and how data are actually stored by separating the logical and physical view of data. The logical view presents the data as final users should perceive it, while the physical view shows how the data are organized and structured in physical media.

13. What are the Three Components of a Database Management System?

1. Data Definition Language: The formal language used by programmers to specify the content and structure of the database. This language defines each data item as it appears in the database before the data element is translated into the formats required by application programmers.
2. Data Manipulation Language: Used in conjunction with some conventional programming languages to manipulate data in the database. This language contains commands that allow end users to export data from the database to meet information requirements and develop applications. Structured Query Language (SQL) can be used as an interactive query language to access data from the database, and SQL commands can be embedded in application programs written in conventional programming languages.
3. Data Dictionary: An automated or manual file that stores the definitions of data elements and their characteristics, such as usage, physical layout, ownership, authorization, and security. A data element represents a field. In addition to listing a standard name, the dictionary lists the names that refer to this in specific systems.

14. What is a Relational DBMS?

The relational data model represents all data from the database as simple two-dimensional tables, called relations. The data stored in a table can be linked to other data provided the two tables share a common data element.

15. What is a Tuple?

A row or record in a relational database.

16. What are the Three Basic Operations Used to Develop Useful Datasets?

Select: Creating a subset consisting of all records in the file that meet the criteria.
Join: Combines relational tables to give the user more information than is available in individual tables.
Project: Creating a subset of columns in a table allowing the user to create new tables (also called views), containing only the required information.

17. What are Hierarchical and Network DBMS?

The hierarchical DBMS presents data to users in a tree-like structure. Within each record, data elements are organized into parts called segments. For the user, each record is like a chart with a segment called the root level. An upper segment is connected logically to a lower segment in a parent-child relationship. A parent segment may have more than one child, but a child can have only one parent.

The network DBMS describes the data logically as many-to-many relationships. In other words, parents may have several children, and children can have more than one parent. It does not support ad hoc queries in everyday language.

18. What is a Legacy System?

It is a system that has existed for a long time and continues in use to avoid the high cost of replacement or redesign.

19. What are Object-Oriented Databases?

Data management methods that store both data and procedures that act on the data as objects that can automatically retrieve and share. They can contain multimedia objects and can be used to manage various media components or Java applets used in web applications. Object-oriented DBMS (OODBMS) are relatively slow compared with relational DBMS for processing large amounts of transactions.

Already available DBMS related hybrid systems – object-oriented. A hybrid approach can be done in three ways:

1. Make OO tools that offer access to the relational DBMS.
2. Employ OO extensions to existing relational DBMS.
3. Utilize a hybrid of relational database management – OO.

20. What is Structured Query Language (SQL)?

It is the main data manipulation language for a relational DBMS and a primary tool for querying, reading, and updating the relational database.

21. What are the Most Important SQL Commands?

SELECT: Lists the columns in the tables that the user wants to see in a table of results.
FROM: Identifies the tables or views from which columns are to be selected.
WHERE: Includes conditions for selecting specific rows (records) within a single table and the conditions to join multiple tables.

22. How to Use SELECT?

It is used to query data from a relational table for specific information.

SELECT column_name, column_name ...
FROM table_name;

The columns to obtain are listed after the word SELECT, and the table to be used is listed after the FROM keyword.

23. What is Conditional Selection?

The WHERE clause is used to specify that only certain rows of the table should be displayed, based on the criteria described in that WHERE clause.

SELECT Numero_Parte
FROM party
WHERE Precio_Unidad = 25.00;

24. How to Join Two Tables?

SELECT PARTE.Numero_Parte, PROVEEDOR.Numero_Proveedor,
PROVEEDOR.Nombre_Proveedor, PROVEEDOR.Direccion_Proveedor
FROM PART, SUPPLIER
WHERE PARTE.Numero_Proveedor = PROVEEDOR.Numero_Proveedor;

25. What is the Conceptual and Physical Design of a Database?

The conceptual or logical design of a database is an abstract model of the database from a business perspective, while the physical design shows the actual arrangement of the database on access storage devices directly. The logical design requires a detailed description of the information needs of end users of the actual database of the company.

The conceptual design of the database describes how to group the data elements in the database. The design process identifies relationships between data elements and the most efficient way of grouping data elements together to meet the requirements of the information. The process also identifies redundant data elements and groups of data elements required for specific application programs. The data are organized, refined, and energized until there arises a logical overview of the relationships between all elements of data in the database.

26. What is a Diagram of Relationships Between Entities?

A methodology to document that illustrates the relationship between various entities in the database. The attributes of each entity are listed next to the entity, and the key field is underlined.

27. What is Normalization?

The process of creating data structures that are small and stable from complex groups of data.

28. What is a Distributed Database?

A database that is stored in more than one physical location. Some parts of the database are stored physically in one place, and others are stored and maintained elsewhere. There are two main ways to distribute a database:

The central database can be partitioned so that each remote processor has the data necessary to supply its local area. Changes in local files can be justified by the central database from lots.
Another strategy is to duplicate the central database in all remote locations.

Distributed systems reduce vulnerability in one massive central site, increase the level of service and response for local users, and can often run on smaller and less expensive computers. However, they depend on high-quality telecommunication lines.

29. What are Critical Elements in a Database Environment?

1. Data Management
2. A Method for Planning and Data Modeling
3. Technology and Management of Databases
4. The Users

30. What is Database Administration?

A special organizational role to manage the data resources of the organization, including policies concerning information, planning data, maintaining data dictionaries, and standards of data quality. Most corporations are developing a design group and database administration within the corporate division of information systems responsible for defining and organizing the structure and content of the database and keeping it. In close cooperation with users, the design group provides the physical database, logical relations between elements, and the rules and access procedures. The functions are called database administration.

31. What is an Information Policy?

An organization needs to formulate an information policy that specifies its rules for sharing, distributing, acquiring, standardizing, classifying, and inventorying information throughout the organization. The information policy lays down specific procedures, formal responsibilities, and defines organizational units that share information, where it can be distributed, and who has personal responsibility to update and maintain it.

32. What is the Methodology of Planning and Data Modeling?

The purpose of business analysis is to identify key entities, attributes, and relationships that contribute data to the organization.

33. What is Multidimensional Analysis of Data?

It is a tool that creates multidimensional views of relational data in databases. The multidimensional analysis lets users see the same data in different ways using multiple dimensions.

34. What is Online Analytical Processing (OLAP)?

The capacity for handling and analyzing large volumes of data from multiple perspectives.

35. What is a Data Warehouse?

It is a database that stores current and historical data of potential interest to managers of the company. The data originate in several key operational systems and external sources, including transactional websites, each with different data models. They may include legacy systems, relational or object-oriented DBMS applications, and systems based on HTML or XML documents.

36. What is a Data Mart?

It is a subset of a data warehouse where a compact or highly focused part of the organizational data is placed in a separate database for a specific population of users.

37. What is Data Mining?

The analysis of large concentrations of data to find patterns and rules that can be used to guide decision-making and predict future behavior.

38. What are Hypermedia?

An approach to manage data organized as a network of nodes linked in a pattern specified by the user. The nodes can contain text, graphics, sound, full-motion video, or executable programs. It allows users to access topics on a website in the order they want.

39. What is an Application Server?

Software that manages all operations of applications, including transaction processing and access to data between computers with web browsers and business background applications processing the database of a company.

Telecommunications and Networking

40. What Challenges Exist for Administration in Terms of Networks?

Managing LANs: LANs are particularly vulnerable to disruption, loss of critical data, and access by unauthorized users. The management of these problems requires special expertise.
Managing Broadband: If more people use the networks or the company implements intensive applications that require high-capacity data transmission, the costs of a company network can rise easily. It is important that management balances the need to ensure the reliability and availability of the network against the rapid increase in maintenance costs.

41. What is Telecommunications?

They are the communication of information electronically, usually over long distances.

42. What is a Telecommunications System?

It is a set of hardware and software support packages for communicating information from one place to another. Telecommunications systems can transmit text, graphic images, voice, and video.

43. What are Essential Components of a Telecommunications System?

1. Computers to process information
2. Terminals or any device that sends or receives data
3. Communication channels, which are links by which data or voice are transmitted between receiving and sending devices on a network. Communication channels use multiple media such as telephone lines, coaxial cable, fiber optics, and wireless transmission.
4. Communication processors, such as modems, multiplexers, drivers, and front-end processors, which provide support functions for the transmission and reception of data.
5. Communication software, which controls the entry and exit activities and is responsible for other functions within the telecommunications network.

44. What are the Functions of a Telecommunications System?

The system transmits information, provides the interface between the transmitter and receiver, sends messages through the most efficient routes, performs basic processing of information to ensure that the right message reaches the correct receiver, performs the necessary tasks on the data (such as checking transmission errors and rearranging the format), and converts messages from one speed to the speed of a communications line or from one format to another. Finally, the telecommunications system controls the flow of information.

45. What is a Protocol and What is Its Function?

A set of rules and procedures governing the transmission between network components. The main functions of the protocols in a telecommunications network are to identify each device in the communication path, ensure the attention of another device, verify the correct reception of the transmitted message, verify that a message needs to be retransmitted because it cannot be properly interpreted, and make recovery when errors occur.

46. What is an Analog Signal and a Digital Signal?

Analog Signal: An analog signal is represented by a continuous waveform that passes through a communications medium. It is used to handle voice communications and to reflect changes in the density of characters.
Digital Signal: A digital signal is a waveform that is discrete rather than continuous. It transmits data encoded in two discrete states: bits 1 and 0, which are represented as the turning on and off of electrical pulses.

47. What is a Modem?

A device that translates digital signals into analog signals and vice versa.

48. What are Communication Channels?

They are the means by which data is transmitted from one device to another over a network. A channel can use different types of telecommunications transmission media: twisted pair cable, terrestrial microwave, satellite, and other wireless transmissions.

49. What is Twisted Pair Cable?

It consists of copper wires twisted in pairs and is a former transmission medium. Twisted pair cable can be relatively slow to transmit data, and high-speed transmission can cause crosstalk.

50. What is Coaxial Cable?

It consists of a densely insulated copper wire, which can transmit a greater volume of data than twisted pair. It is often used instead of twisted pair cable for important links in a telecommunications network and is a means for faster, more interference-free transmission, with speeds up to 200 megabits per second. However, coaxial cable is thick, difficult to install in many buildings, and cannot support analog phone conversations.

51. What are Optical Fiber and Optical Networks?

The fiber optic cable consists of strips of clear glass fiber, each about the thickness of a human hair, which are bundled in cables. The data is transformed into light pulses that are sent through the optical fiber cable system by a laser at a rate of 500 kilobits to several trillions of bits per second. The fiber optic cable is considerably faster, lighter, and more durable than traditional cables and is suitable for systems that require transfers of large volumes of data. However, it is more difficult to work with, more expensive, and heavier to install.

52. What is the Backbone Network?

It is part of a network that handles the main traffic. It functions as the primary route for traffic flow to or from other networks.

53. What Type of Traffic is Transmitted Over Optical Networks?

They can transmit all traffic, including voice, data, and video over fiber, and provide bulk transmission capacity for new types of software services.

54. What is Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM)?

It increases capacity by using several different colors of light, or different wavelengths, to carry separate streams of data over the same fiber strand at the same time. DWDM combines up to 160 wavelengths per strand and can transmit up to 6.4 terabits per second over a single fiber.

55. What is Wireless Transmission and What Does it Include?

Wireless transmission refers to the transmission of signals through air or space without requiring a physical line. It includes microwave transmission, satellite communications, pagers, cellular telephones, personal communications services, smartphones, personal digital assistants, and mobile data networks.

56. What are Microwaves?

Transmission of high-volume, long-distance, and point-to-point radio signals from high frequency through the atmosphere from a ground station to another.

57. What is a Satellite?

Data transmission using orbiting satellites that act as relay stations to transmit microwave signals over great distances.

58. What is a Radiolocation System?

A wireless transmission technology in which the pager beeps when the user receives a message. It is used to transmit alphanumeric messages.

59. How Does a Cell Phone Work?

Cell phones operate using radio waves to communicate with radio antennas located in adjacent geographic areas called cells. A phone message is transmitted to the local cell by the cell phone and then relayed through the antennas in the air, from cell to cell, until it reaches its destination, which is transmitted to the receiver. As a cellular signal travels from one cell to another, a computer monitors the signals from the cells to connect the conversation to a radio channel assigned to the next cell. Cells’ radio antennas typically cover hexagonal areas of nearly 13 km, although their range is lower in densely populated localities.

60. What are Personal Communications Services (PCS)?

Wireless cellular technology that uses radio waves that are less powerful but at a higher frequency than cellular technology, allowing for smaller cell sizes.

61. What is a Smartphone?

A cordless phone with voice, text, and internet capabilities.

62. What are Personal Digital Assistants (PDA)?

Mini-notebooks that use a pen for writing on the screen, with integrated wireless telecommunications transmission capable of fully digital communications.

63. What are Mobile Data Networks?

Wireless networks that enable the transmission of data in two ways economically and efficiently.

64. What is a Baud?

It is a signal change from positive to negative or vice versa, which is used to measure the speed of transmission.

65. What is Bandwidth?

It is the capacity of a communications channel, measured as the difference between the highest and lowest frequencies that can be transmitted by that channel.

66. What are a Front-End Processor, a Hub, a Controller, and a Multiplexer?

Front-End Processor: A special-purpose computer dedicated to managing communications and attached to the mainframe or host. It performs communication processing, error handling, formatting, editing, monitoring, routing, and signal speed conversion.
Hub: A computer that collects and temporarily stores messages from terminals to transmit them in batches to the host computer.
Controller: A specialized computer that monitors the communications traffic between the CPU and peripheral devices in a telecommunications system.
Multiplexer: A device that allows a single communications channel to simultaneously transport data transmissions from multiple sources.

67. What is Topology and What Types are There?

Topology is the way network components are connected. Among the types of topologies are:

1. Star Topology: A network that connects all computers and other services to a central host computer. All communications between devices on the network must pass through the host computer. One problem with the star network is its vulnerability; if the central host freezes or stops working, the entire network could be affected.
2. Bus Topology: A network that links several computers with a single loop made of twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, or optical fiber. All signals are broadcast in both directions across the network, with special software to identify which components receive each message. If a computer in the bus network fails, none of the other components are affected. However, the bus network can handle only a single channel message at a time, so performance may decline if there is a high volume of network traffic. When two computers transmit messages simultaneously, a collision occurs, and messages must be forwarded.
3. Ring Topology: A network that does not rely on a central host computer and does not necessarily fail if any of the computers that compose it have performance problems. Each computer on the network can communicate directly with any other and process its own applications independently.

68. What is a Private Telephone System?

It is a central switching system that handles communications and digital calls for a business. It is a special-purpose computer designed to handle and switch calls from office phones.

69. What is a Local Area Network (LAN)?

A telecommunications network that requires its own dedicated channels and covers a limited distance, usually a building or several nearby buildings. They are recommended for applications that transmit high volumes of data and other functions that require high-speed transmission, including video and graphics transmission.

70. What is a Gateway?

A telecommunications processor that connects dissimilar networks by providing the introduction of a set of protocols to others.

71. What is a Router?

A device that sends data packets on a LAN or WAN to another.

72. What Does LAN Technology Consist Of?

LAN technology consists of wiring (twisted pair, coaxial, fiber optic) or wireless links between individual computing devices, network interface cards (which are special adapters that act as interfaces for cables), and software to monitor LAN activities.

73. What Does the Network Interface Card Specify?

It specifies the speed of data transmission, the unit size of the message, the address information attached to each message, and the network topology.

74. What is the Network Operating System (NOS)?

Special software that routes and manages network communications and coordinates network resources. This system can reside on each network computer or on a single server designed for all network applications.

75. What is the 802.11b Standard?

A standard for high-speed wireless LANs that can transmit up to 11 Mbps in an area of 100 feet, providing a low-cost, flexible technology for connecting workgroups and mobile Internet access. However, it has the disadvantage of being susceptible to interference from nearby systems operating in the same spectrum.

76. What is Bluetooth?

A standard for wireless personal area networks that can transmit up to 720 Kbps in an area of 10 meters.

77. What is a Wide Area Network (WAN)?

A telecommunications network that reaches large geographic distances. It may consist of several technologies for cable, satellite, and microwave.

78. What are Switched and Dedicated Lines?

Switched lines are telephone lines that a person can access from a terminal to transmit data to another computer. The call is routed or switched through predetermined routes to the designated destination. Dedicated lines are phone lines available on an ongoing basis for the tenant, usually able to transmit data at high speeds for high-volume applications.

79. What are Value-Added Networks?

Private networks managed by third parties that provide data transmission and network services to businesses. Subscribers pay only for the amount of data transmitted, plus a subscription fee. Customers do not have to intervene in network equipment or software and can achieve savings in charges for the use of lines and transmission costs, as the cost of network utilization is shared between multiple users.

80. What is Packet Switching?

Technology that divides blocks of data into small portions and reroutes them in the most economical way through any available communication channel. It divides a long block of data into small pieces called packets. The packets include information to direct them to the correct address and to check for errors in the data transmission.

81. What is Frame Relay?

It is a shared network service that is faster and less expensive than packet switching, with transmission speeds that can reach up to 1544 Mbps. It divides frames similar to packets but does not perform error correction.

82. What is Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)?

A network connectivity technology that packs information into cells of 8 bytes and transmits data between computers and manufacturers. It easily and dynamically transmits voice, data, images, and video between users. It can also easily connect WANs and LANs.

83. What is Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)?

An international standard for dial-up networks that seamlessly integrates voice, data, and video images on a single link. There are two ISDN services: ISDN basic access and ISDN primary access. Each one uses a group of B channels (bearer) to carry voice or data along with a D (delta) channel to identify and control information.

84. What is Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)?

A group of technologies that provide high-capacity transmission over existing copper telephone lines. The asymmetric digital subscriber line supports a transmission rate of 1.5 to 9 Mbps when receiving data and up to 640 kbps when sending. The symmetric digital subscriber line supports the same transmission rate for sending and receiving data at up to 3 Mbps.

85. What is a Cable Modem?

A modem designed to operate over cable TV lines. They can provide high-speed access to the Web or corporate intranets.

86. What is a T1 Line?

A dedicated phone connection that includes 24 channels and can support a data transmission rate of 1544 Mbps. Each channel can be configured to carry voice traffic or data.

87. What is Broadband?

A technology for high-speed transmission. It also designates a unique means of communication that can carry multiple channels of data simultaneously.

88. What are Converged Networks?

Network technology that carries voice, data, and video over one network.

89. What is Unified Messaging (UM)?

A system that combines voicemail, email, and fax access into a single system.

90. What is Voicemail?

A system that scans the spoken message of the sender, transmits it over a network, and stores the message on disk for later retrieval. When the receiver is ready to listen, the messages are converted back into audio format.

91. What is a Fax Machine?

A machine that digitizes and transmits documents containing text and graphics via telephone lines.

92. What are Teleconferencing, Data Conferencing, and Videoconferencing?

Teleconferencing: Allows a group of people to converse simultaneously via telephone or group communication through email.
Data Conferencing: Includes the ability for two or more people in different locations to work simultaneously on the same documents.
Videoconferencing: Participants see each other on a video screen.

93. What is Distance Learning?

Education or training transmitted to individuals who are in one or more locations.

94. What is Online Learning?

Education transmitted only through digital technologies like CD-ROM, the Internet, or private networks.

95. What is EDI?

Direct exchange from computer to computer of standard business transaction documents between two organizations. It differs from email in conveying a real transaction structured contract with an unstructured text message like a letter.

Presentations

Introduction to Information Systems

96. What are the Effects of Information Systems?

New ways of doing business
Changes in relationships between buyers and sellers
Altering competitive positions
Creating barriers to entry and exit in different industry segments

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INFORMATION AS A STRATEGIC POLICY
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Effects of IS on the Strategic Model of Porter
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Use of information systems technologies to implement competitive strategies:
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Cost leadership
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Product differentiation
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Targeting the market
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EVOLUTION
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EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
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Internet
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Intelligent agents
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1. Conversion of commercial enterprises-businesses.
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2. Internet and networking technology for data flow
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Streamline work and create electronic links with customers, suppliers, and other organizations
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3. New levels of efficiency, competitiveness, and profitability
97. Why are Information Systems Important?
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Global economy
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Administration and control of a global market
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Competition from global markets, global work groups, and global delivery systems
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Transformation of economies and industrial societies to knowledge-based services
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Knowledge-based economies
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New products and services
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Knowledge: limited basis, core asset
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Competition: product life cycle
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Turbulent environment
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Transforming business processes
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Flattening
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Decentralization
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Flexibility
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Location independence
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Low transaction costs and coordination
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Empowerment
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Collaborative work
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The emergence of digital enterprise
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Relationships with customers, suppliers, and employees through digital media
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Fundamental business processes implemented through digital networks
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Digital Asset Management key corporate
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Perception and rapid response to environmental changes
… Is one in which nearly every significant business relation in the organization with customers, suppliers, and employees is performed digitally.
Business Process: Refers to the special way to organize, coordinate, and focus the work to develop a valuable product or service.
Key corporate assets: intellectual property, core competencies, and financial and human assets.
98. What are Data?
DATA ELEMENTS DESCRIPTIONS REFER TO BASIC THINGS, events, activities, and transactions listed, classified, and stored BUT NOT ORGANIZED with any specific meaning. DATA ELEMENTS MAY BE numeric, alphanumeric, FIGURES, sounds, and images.
99. What is Information?
CORRESPONDS TO DATA ORGANIZED SO THAT IT HAS MEANING AND VALUE TO THE RECIPIENT. THIS INTERPRETS THE MEANING AND DRAWS CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS.
… Is a set of interrelated components that collect (or retrieve), process, store, and distribute information to support decision-making and control of an organization.
100. What are Types of Failures?

Cancelations
Utilization different or lower than intended.
Using manual systems.
Invalid data for decision-making.
Difficulty of use.
Low reliability of data.

101. What are Area Problems?

Design
Failure to capture requirements
Information not provided in time to be useful.
Little useful information in formats
User interface somewhat helpful
Details
Inconsistency and unreliability
Misinformation or ambiguity.
Poor presentation
Cost
Operations
Continually interrupted operations (system crashes)
Delays

102. What is Success in Information Systems?

Opinion varies according to the person
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Developers
Managers
End Users
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Most common measures:
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Levels of use of the system
User satisfaction with the system
Favorable attitudes
Economic gain.

103. What are the Impacts of Information Technology in the Organization?

Information technology mixing with organizations begins a process of digitization.
Convert conventional information into bits (digital information).
Technology in modern organizations is diluted, making it difficult to differentiate.

104. What is Process Automation?

First applications are client/server:
Client/Server:
There is usually a mainframe that is expensive and old (Server).
Various terminals connected to the mainframe (Client).
The server is responsible for organizing the work, serving customers, and storing information.
Process automation applications were usually print batch (e.g., spreadsheets).
In the 90s, the dependence on the client/server concept began to fade, leading to multiple clients, multiple servers, all interconnected.
The concept of a paperless office began to emerge.
Process automation reached the level of workflow management.
Various people are involved.
The process is well defined.
There exists a hierarchy among the people involved.
Information exchange.

105. What are the Disadvantages of Automation?

The introduction of technology is often without any plan, leading to wasted resources.
Automation pushes for a paperless office in a disorderly manner.
It is a bad idea to think that technology can replace human resources.
Privacy breaches (access to private information).
Ease of stealing sensitive information (for editing later or using it to extort).
Data obsolescence (the electronic formats of today may not exist tomorrow).

106. What are Organizational Information Systems?

All the scanning processes led to new types of information systems where the electronic document is the basis of the system.
Files as an integral part of an organization have also introduced the use of these systems, either owning the file or using any of these systems in the organization.

107. What are Types of Organizational Information Systems?

Administrative Systems.
Decision Support Systems.
Document Sharing Systems.
Document Management and Electronic File Systems.
Collaborative Systems.

108. What are Administrative Systems?

They include systems used by administrative departments of an organization:

Accounting
Human Resources
Budgeting
Procurement
Supplies

109. What is the Process of Systems Development?

These organizational systems cannot always be available off-the-shelf, so it is necessary to develop them internally. There are various types of developments:

Stand-Alone: The client needs to perform a task and is responsible for processing it locally (looking for information, classifying it, deploying, modifying, etc.). These are called fat clients. The responsibility for the task falls entirely on the client.
Client/Server: There is a client program that connects to another program on the server (different). The client program makes a request (e.g., a report). The server serves the request and sends the result. The server must be a very powerful machine, and the client displays information on the screen. The client is called a thin client.
N-Layers: This requires a network and multiple servers. The task is divided into several teams, such as development in three layers: Client (interface with the user), Application Server (performs the processing of information), and Database Server (stores information). A different program must be developed for each of these teams.

110. What are Collaborative Information Systems?

Monologue
Dialogue
Communicate
Collaborate
Work together
Group
Team
Individual
Effort
Set
Coordinate

111. What is Groupware?

A term that refers to software supporting group work and computer-mediated collaboration that increases the productivity or functionality of person-to-person or group processes.

112. What are Reasons to Use Groupware?

Facilitate communication easily, clearly, and persuasively.
Where it was previously impossible.
Reduce travel costs.
Share multiple perspectives and experiences.
Form common interest groups where it was not possible to gather a sufficient number of people face-to-face.
Save time and money coordinating group work.
Facilitate group problem-solving.
Enable new modes of communication.
Anonymous exchanges.
Structured interactions.
Capitalize on the organization’s knowledge.

113. What is the Reality of Groupware?

It is more difficult to implement than traditional systems. It may not be successful unless the majority of the target group adopts the idea. A traditional system can be successful even if only a fraction of the target group uses it. It requires conviction and drive from the upper levels of the organization. The main problem is the culture change. Success lies in its ability to integrate resources.

114. What are the Challenges of Groupware?

Achieving support, involvement, use, and commitment from top management.
Reducing resistance to sharing information.
Need for new roles within the organization.
Linking to reengineering.

115. What is Collaborative Computing?

Technology that allows one or more individuals to communicate among themselves, share information, or coordinate their activities.

116. What are Groupware Services?

Consulting
Planning
Implementation
Application Development
Change Administration
Redesign
Meeting Facilities

118. What are Motivations for Groupware?

Cost Control
Increase Productivity
Improve Customer Service
Support Total Quality Management (TQM)
Fewer Meetings
Automate Routine Processes
Reach physically distant computers from supplier to customer
Integrate
Enhance Reaction Capability
Differentiation of the Organization/Professionalism

119. What is the Future of Workflow?

Each provider offers different concepts of Workflow (Unknown Territory). It requires a significant investment of time and money to change.

120. What is the Role of a Visionary in Collaborative Computing?

Optimistic
Leader
Drives things to happen (with passion)
Listens with high-quality care
More of a director than a manager
Organizes and considers all to:
Identify opportunities
Resolve problems
Create and add value
Maintain a basic attitude of curiosity about everything and everyone
Be oriented to achieve the near impossible

121. What is Systems Analysis?

Essential for the organization. It studies the organization and develops automated systems. It advises, monitors, recommends, and modifies internal processes (structure modification) to achieve objectives. The main tool is the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC). This cycle contains logical stages that can be divided into discrete elements, but which are continuous and somewhat cyclical.

122. What are the Stages of the Systems Development Life Cycle?

Identification of problems, opportunities, and objectives.
Determination of information requirements.
Analysis of system needs.
Design of the recommended system.
Development and documentation of software.
Testing and maintenance.
Implementation and evaluation of hardware.

123. What are the Five Areas of Effort in Systems Development?

Problem Recognition.
Assessment and Synthesis.
Modeling.
Specification.
Review.

124. What is Requirements Engineering?

It studies the system specification and project plan, understands the context of software, establishes communication as a means to properly identify the problem, and identifies the problem and solution synthesis.

125. What is Project Management?

Project Management (PM) is the application of knowledge, tools, skills, and techniques to project activities to meet the requirements of the project. It is based on five groups of processes:

Initiation
Planning
Execution
Control
Closure

126. What Does Project Management Involve?

Competence and competition for limited resources.
Stakeholders with different expectations and needs.
Planning.
Monitoring.

127. What are the Benefits of Project Management?

Identification of functional responsibilities.
Identification of time limits.
Comparison of actual vs. planned performance.
Identification of problems.
Improvement of estimation capacity.

128. What are the Difficulties of Project Management?

Project complexity.
Special requirements.
Available changes.
Project risks.
Technological changes.
Environmental uncertainty.

129. What are Organizational Influences on Project Management?

Organizational systems.
Culture and organizational style.
Organizational structures.

130. Who are the Stakeholders in a Project?

Individuals and organizations actively involved in the project or whose interests may be positively or negatively affected as a result of the execution or completion of the project. Source: PMI.

131. What are Project Administration Tools?

Leadership.
Communication.
Negotiation.
Conflict resolution.

132. What is a Project Charter?

A document that formally recognizes the existence of the project. It must include at least:

The project description.
The objectives.
The business need for which the project arose.
The product description.

It is issued by a superior or external to the project, usually by the sponsor.

133. Who Participates in Project Definition?

Stakeholders:

Top management.
Division or department managers.
Project managers.
Clients.
Consumers, operators, users.
Functional managers.
Suppliers.
Others…

134. What is Process Control?

The basic steps are:

Establish performance indicators.
Determine performance standards.
Measure performance.
Analyze deviations.
Take corrective actions.

135. What is Project Closure?

The project ends when:

The targets are met.
Senior management or the client cancels.

136. What is Administrative Closure?

Generating, collecting, and disseminating information to formalize the end of the development or project and product acceptance by the project sponsor, client, and/or user.

137. What are Knowledge Areas in Project Management?

There are nine knowledge areas:

Project Integration Management.
Project Scope Management.
Project Time Management.
Project Cost Management.
Project Quality Management.
Project Human Resource Management.
Project Communications Management.
Project Risk Management.
Project Procurement Management.

138. What is Project Integration Management?

It includes the processes required to ensure that the various elements of the project are properly coordinated. This involves making agreements between competing objectives and generating alternatives to meet the needs and expectations of stakeholders.

139. What is Project Scope Management?

It includes the processes required to ensure that the project includes all work required and only the work required to complete the project successfully. It is mainly oriented to the definition and control of what should and should not be included within the project.

140. What is Project Time Management?

It includes the processes required to ensure timely completion of the project.

141. What is Project Cost Management?

It includes the processes required to ensure that the project will be completed within the approved budget.

142. What is Project Quality Management?

It includes the processes required to ensure that the project meets the needs for which it was developed.

143. What is Project Human Resource Management?

It includes the processes required to make more effective use of staff involved and assigned to the project. This includes all stakeholders.

144. What is Project Communications Management?

It includes the processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, distribution, storage, and ultimate disposition of project information.

145. What is Project Risk Management?

Risk management is the systematic process of identifying, analyzing, and responding to project risks. This includes maximizing the probability and consequences of positive events and minimizing the likelihood and consequences of adverse events to project objectives.

146. What is Project Contract Management?

It includes the processes required to ensure goods and services outside the organization that are required by the project.

147. What are Areas of IT Investment?

Hardware:
Servers and Peripheral Equipment
Telecommunications
Software:
Applications
Databases
Developer Tools
Human Resource:
Outsourcing
Training

148. What Matters to Top Management of IT Investment Projects?

Increased Profitability
Technological Impact
Efficiencies
Opportunity Cost
Major Controls
Cost Reduction
Information Security
Image with Customers

149. What are Difficult Investments to Justify to Management?

Update Servers and Backup Devices
Team Contingency (Business Continuity)
Improve Response Time Network LAN/WAN
Establish Communication Between Branches/Agencies
New Computer
Change Database
Staff Training
Some Applications (Web Page, Back-Office)
Internet Access/E-Mail
Security (Firewall, Antivirus, Intrusion Detection)

150. What Do We Do?

Written report of potential problems if not done on Investment.
Using key users in the organization needs to raise.
Attach lower costs in initial investment and then apply updates.
Using the chain effect subtly.
Making serious problems to motivate the investment.
Find side effects of the original need.
Ask for a technical study (Consultants).
Using external services (Outsourcing).
Comparison with competitors (Only if you are better than us).

151. What are Hidden Costs that May Affect the Budget and Cash Flow of Investments in IT?

Hardware Changes:
New Operating System.
Maintenance Agreement.
Support Contract.
UPS Capacity.
Associated Devices Incompatible.
Physical Facilities.
Changes to the Software:
Technological Change for Users.
Adjustments to the Original Version.
Network Speed.
Capacity of Workstations.
Sizing Servers.
Training and Technical Users.
Major Consulting (Implementation).
Databases (Internet).