Week 6: Internal Information Systems

1. Week 6: Internal Information Systems MIS 2101: Management Information Systems Douglas M. Schutz Based on material from Information Systems Today: Managing in the Digital World, Leonard Jessup and Joseph Valacich, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007 Also includes material by David Schuff, Paul Weinberg, Cindy Joy Marselis, Munir Mandviwalla, and Mart Doyle.

3. Learning Objectives • Identify the steps used by organizations to manage the development of information systems • Describe each major phase of the system development process • Understand the concepts of Business Process Modeling • Understand development options

4. Options for Obtaining Information Systems

5. System Construction

6. Learning Objectives • Identify the steps used by organizations to manage the development of information systems • Describe each major phase of the system development process • Understand the concepts of Business Process Modeling • Understand development options

7. Steps in the Systems Development Process

8. Phase 1: Systems Identification, Selection and Planning

9. Evaluation Criteria for Systems Projects

10. Phase 2: Systems Analysis

11. System Analysis

12. Critical Success Factors (CSFs) – What are they?

13. Joint Application Design (JAD) Session

14. Looking at Business Processes • Business process is an activity that is performed to create value/reach business goals • Business Process Management (BPM) • Redesign business processes using MIS systems • Dramatic improvements in performance measures e.g. quality, cycle time, cost • Legacy term: Business Process Reengineering (BPR), Hammer and Champy, 1993

15. Process Model – Part of Analysis • Formal method of representing how business system operates. • Illustrates processes /activities performed and how data moves among them • Used to document current system or proposed system • Identify business processes and break them down • Can help identify inefficiencies • Can help identify where using MIS systems can improve efficiency (bottom line) and/or create revenue (top line)

16. Phase 3: System Design

17. System Design - Examples Interfaces Forms Databases Reports

18. Phase 4: System ImplementationOften Neglected - Why?

19. Testing

20. Training

21. System Conversion and Installation

22. System Maintenance

23. Learning Objectives • Understand the steps used by organizations to manage the development of information systems • Describe each major phase of the system development process • Understand the concepts of Business Process Modeling • Understand development options

24. Why Business Processes? • An understanding of business processes indicates where MIS systems fit in • How to understand business processes • Process modeling • Process characteristics

25. Data Flow Diagram (DFD) Symbols

26. Buy groceries Simple DFD Example • Context Diagram • What is the process? • What are “Shopper” and “Grocery Store”? Grocery Store Shopper Bill Grocery needs Order/Payment

27. DFD Components - Process • Process: activity or function performed for specific business reason • May be manual or computerized • Starts with verb and ends with noun • i.e. “Create Appointment”, “Register Patient” • 1 process relates to 1 activity • Every process must have 1 output data flow • Each process USUALLY has at least one input data flow

28. DFD Components – Data Flow • Date Flow: single piece of data or logical collection of several pieces of information • Noun and description • i.e. “Patient name”, “patient demographics” • Data flow always come from or go to a (what?) with an arrow showing the direction of information.

29. DFD Components – Data Store • Data Store: Collection of data stored in some way which is described in the physical model • Noun • Depiction of data with respect to a Data Store: • If data flow comes from a data store: information is retrieved from the data store. • If data flow goes into a data store, information is (what?) to the data store. • When a process updates a data store (retrieves record from data store, updates information, stores update), data flows in and out of the data store

30. DFD Component – External Entity • External entity: person, group, organization, or external system that interacts with a process of a system – normally someone who uses the info from the system to perform other processes or decide info added to the system • Noun with name • May or may not be part of the organization

31. DFD and Business Processes • Normally a business process is too complex to be described in 1 DFD • so process model composed of set of DFDs • First DFD describes overall system = Context Diagram • Context diagram is then decomposed into series of DFD • each representing a lower level of detail. • Balancing • ensures information presented in the DFD at one level is represented in the next level DFD

32. Context Diagram • Context Diagram displays context of business process • Always depicted as (how many?) process(es) with data flows to/from external entities • Data stores not shown

33. Context Diagram – Registration System

34. Level 0 Diagram • Displays all the process at the first level numbering including: • Data stores • External entities • Data flows • Depicts high level processes and how they are interrelated

35. Level 0 DFD

36. Level 1 DFD • Decomposition of Level 0 DFD showing more detail of process • The level above a given process is called a parent • The level below a given process are called a what?

37. Layers of DFD

38. Flowcharts • Describe sequence and logic of procedures • Used after DFDs are established • Describe the mechanics of a process

39. Flowcharts Yes No Is it on list? Items on list > 0? Yes Check shelf For next item Put item In cart Start No Checkout End

40. Simple Activity Diagram Easy to create Easy to explain to users Extremely valuable!

41. Process Characteristics – Key Decisions Required 1. Degree of structure 2. Range of involvement 3. Level of integration 4. Rhythm 5. Complexity 6. Degree of reliance on machines 7. Prominence of planning and control 8. Attention to errors and exceptions

42. 1. Degree of Structure • The degree of predetermined correspondence between input and output • How much flexibility is built into the process? • What are the three degrees of structure?

43. 1. Degree of Structure • Imposing structure via MIS systems is easier and more effective when the (what?) is structured. • Too high: can be stifling and hamper productivity • Too low: can lead to poor quality and chaos

44. 2. Range of Involvement • Organizational span of people involved in a business process • Do people just “do their jobs” or is their effect on other participants considered? • Too high: decisions never get made because everyone has input • Too low: decisions aren’t made with the “big picture” in mind

45. 3. Level of Integration • Responsiveness and collaboration between activities  Synergy • How well the groups work together • Too high: causes gridlock • Too low: creates inefficiencies

46. 4. Rhythm • Rhythm is the frequency and timing of what in a process? • Important when considering E-Business because of 24x7x365 schedule • Too high: hard to adapt to changing business needs • Too low: hard to perform process efficiently

47. 5. Complexity • How many elements a system contains and the number and nature of their interactions • Manage complexity through standardization • Too high: difficult to understand and manage • Too low: not flexible enough to accommodate needs of the system

48. 6. Degree of Reliance on Machines • Too high • Participants no longer understand the business process • When mistakes occur, there is no recourse • Too low • Leave participants with mundane work • Missed opportunities for greater efficiency through automation

49. 7. Prominence of Planning and Control • Too high • Not enough attention on execution • Resources are wasted • Too low • Inconsistency in the process and poor quality • Unresponsive to customer requirements

50. 8. Attention to errors and exceptions • Remember the grocery shopping flowchart • This example could not accommodate the situation where a product is out of stock Yes No Is it on list? Items on list > 0? Yes Check shelf For next item Put item In cart Start No Checkout End