Business Processes, Information, and Information Systems

1. Chapter 2 Business Processes, Information, and Information Systems

2. Study Questions Q1: Why do we need to understand business processes? Q2: What is a business process? Q3: How can information systems improve process quality? Q4: What is information? Q5: What data characteristics are necessary for quality information?

3. Study Processes and Look for Inefficiencies Can any processes be simplified? Can tasks be re-ordered or re-organized to eliminate tasks and save labor hours? Can process costs be reduced by applying information technology?

4. Q2: What Is a Business Process? A network of activities, resources, facilities, and information that interact to achieve/accomplish some business function. Resources Facilities Activities Information Business Function

5. FlexTime’s Three Business Processes Figure 2-1

6. Register Participants Process

7. Register Participants Process Figure 2-4

8. Process Symbols (BPMN Standard)

9. Components of a Business Process Activities— Transform resources and information of one type into another type Decisions— A question that can be answered Yes or No Roles— Sets of procedures Resources— People, or facilities, or computer programs that are assigned to roles Repository— Collection of business records

10. Q3:How Can Information Systems Improve Process Quality? Figure 2-3

11. Revised GearUp Process Using BPMN Buyers and Operations share a single, integrated repository of vendor data

12. Q4: What Is Information? Knowledge derived from data (recorded facts or figures) Data that is presented in a meaningful context Data processed by summing, ordering, averaging, grouping, comparing, or other similar operations A difference that makes a difference

13. Where Is Information? • Graph is not, itself, information • Graph is data you and others perceive, use to conceive information • Ability to conceive information from data determined by cognitive skills • People perceive different information from same data

14. 5. Characteristics of Quality Information? 1. Accurate • Correct and complete • Crucial for management • Cross-check information to ensure accuracy 2. Timely • Produced in time for intended use 3. Relevant to both: • Context • Subject

15. Characteristics of Quality Information (cont’d) 4. Just barely sufficient • Sufficient for purpose it is generated • Avoid too much or extraneous information 5. Worth its cost • Relationship between cost and value • Information systems cost money to develop, maintain, and use • Must be worth that cost (i.e., trip vs. web conference)

16. Q6 Where Is the Information in Business Processes? Information Stored in Repositories Status Member Records Check Membership Status Customer data: Name, Email, Address, Phone(s), DateOfBirth Membership data: DateOfMembership, MembershipType, FeePaid, ExpirationDate Course data: Name, Description, StandardFee, PromotionalTerms Class data: CourseName, StartDate, EndDate, Instructor, AvailableSeats

17. Information for Unstructured Processes Quality of information determined by people and procedures used to interpret that data Data is a stimulus that causes you to create information …in your mind Data Your mind and your thinking are most important part of an information system

18. How Does the Knowledge In This Chapter Help You? • Be able to document GearUp’s business processes, and explain in a professional way how GearUp should develop new or adjust existing information systems • Think about similar issues you will likely encounter in your career. • Go through Ethics Guide topics in the textbook

19. Additional Points 1Management tasks differ with levels of decision 2Different tools/data may be needed at different levels 3Same tools and sources may be used differently 4IS Tools are interrelated in an organization 5A digital firm = DM (processes + assets + relationships) 6 Social-technical approach to study MIS

20. SystemsThat Span the Enterprise

21. Case Study 2: Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)