1 / 19

Chapter One

Chapter One. Developments in the Application of Information Technology in Business. Presented by James Weimholt. Goals. Describe how IT has changed and how organizations have reacted to change Identify transition points Review past that it may be a foundation for future progress

fay-hart
Télécharger la présentation

Chapter One

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Chapter One Developments in the Application of Information Technology in Business Presented by James Weimholt

  2. Goals • Describe how IT has changed and how organizations have reacted to change • Identify transition points • Review past that it may be a foundation for future progress • Avoid past mistakes and build on successes

  3. Assumptions About Information Technology • Can change the very nature of business • Can be seen as a necessary evil or as a source of strategic opportunity • Changes rapidly and makes business even more unpredictable • People play a significant role in IT

  4. Early Days of Data Processing • 1950s – basically a giant calculator • 1960s - automated well-defined clerical processes • High cost of hardware and systems development • Limited selection of applications

  5. The First Sign of Maturity Three Areas of Concern Merits • Cost savings mitigated by replacing clerical staff with expensive hardware and highly paid professionals • Costs of maintenance • User dissatisfaction because systems are inflexible

  6. The First Sign of Maturity Three Areas of Concern Side Effects • Most implementations were not the best • Poorly defined specs • Unproven approaches

  7. The First Sign of Maturity Three Areas of Concern Inherent Limitations • Batch processing rather than online • Data was fragmented across the organization in various systems

  8. The First Sign of Maturity • Concerns led to emergence of software engineering • Advances in technology, drop in cost • Mid 1970s – minicomputers become common

  9. Practical Solutions to Practical Problems 1970s “Big is Beautiful”

  10. Practical Solutions to Practical Problems Problems with Large Projects • Technical specs developed in isolation • Specs were considered infallible • HR issues: technical staff worked in isolation • Projects over budget and timescale • Assembly line approach to development did not work

  11. Practical Solutions to Practical Problems Emergence of Project Management No two programmers are the same

  12. Practical Solutions to Practical Problems • Project team approach to solve complex problems • Project management method focus on milestones rather than the activity itself 1970s project team

  13. Practical Solutions to Practical Problems Emergence of Structured Programming • Programs lacked control structures • Spaghetti logic, use of GO TO statement • Little, out of date, or no documentation • Development of languages such as PASCAL

  14. From Processes to Data Changes in Focus • Emphasize data and users • Data is separate from applications • Distributed systems rather than central • More flexibility

  15. From Processes to Data Databases • Different data representations • Network • Hierarchical • Relational • New professions emerge • Database designer • Data analyst • Database administrator

  16. From Processes to Data Programming • Specialization in coding apps or operating systems • Programmers specialize in different languages

  17. Towards Management Information Systems • Info considered a fundamental and major resource • Initial approach was to put MIS on top of corporate database • Problems • Impossible to integrate • Only historical information • Needed external data • Needed ad hoc reporting • Not geared to handling unstructured problems

  18. Towards Management Information Systems • Technology can only solve technical problems, not managerial problems • MIS focused on information management rather than management information • Approach changed by the 1980s • Information focused • Audience was middle managers • Integrated data flows • Inquiry and report generation tools

  19. Questions?

More Related