15th Edition
Understanding Computers
Today and Tomorrow
Comprehensive
Chapter 12
Information Systems
and System
Development
Deborah Morley
Charles S. Parker Copyright 2015 Cengage Learning
Learning Objectives
1. Understand what information systems are and why they are
needed.
2. Discuss who uses information systems in a typical
organization.
3. Identify several types of information systems commonly
found in organizations and describe the purpose of each.
4. Explain the individuals responsible for system development.
5. Identify and describe the different steps of the system
development life cycle (SDLC).
6. Discuss several approaches used to develop systems.
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 2
Overview
• This chapter covers:
– How information systems are used by different levels of
employees
– Common types of information systems
– Computer professionals who develop systems and their
primary responsibilities
– The system development life cycle (SDLC)
– The major approaches to system development
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 3
What Is an Information System?
• System
– Collection of elements and procedures that interact to
accomplish a goal
• Football game, transit systems, etc.
• Information System
– A system used to generate the information needed to
support the users in an organization
• Digital Ecosystem
– The collection of people, products, services, and business
processes related to a digital element
• Apple digital ecosystem = Apple hardware, software,
and online services
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 4
What Is an Information System?
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 5
What Is an Information System?
• The Need for System Development
– Systems development
• Process of designing and implementing a new or
modified system
– System development may be required because of:
• New laws (Sarbanes-Oxley Act, HIPAA etc.)
• Changes to the legal requirements for retaining
business data (e-disclosure, etc.)
• Introduction of new technology
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 6
What Is an Information System?
• Enterprise Architecture
– Provides a detailed picture of an organization, its function,
its systems, and the relationship among them
– Allows managers to organize and maximize the use of IT
resources and make better decisions
– Not easy to develop and requires time and effort, but once
in place, it is an invaluable decision support tool
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 7
What Is an Information System?
• Business Intelligence (BI)
– The process of gathering, storing, accessing, and analyzing
data in order to make better business decisions
– Business analytics (BA)
• The process of analyzing data to evaluate a company’s
operations
– Data Warehouse
• Comprehensive collection of data about a company and
its customers
• Data mart is smaller and typically stores data related to
a particular subject or department
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 8
What Is an Information System?
– Data Mining
• The use of intelligent software to find subtle patterns
that may not be otherwise evident
• Can identify processes that need improvement
• Can be used for customer profiling
• Web Mining
– Data mining used in conjunction with Web data
• Text Mining
– Analysis of text-based data (online forms, emails,
call-center notes)
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 9
What Is an Information System?
• Social media analytics – mining and analyzing data from
blogs and social media sites
• Often used with the massive amounts of data
generated today – called Big Data
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 10
How It Works Box
Big Data … For Everything
– Sports teams, casinos, airlines, museums, and more are
gathering and analyzing big data
– Point Defiance Zoo &
Aquarium uses big data
analytics to uncover
patterns and trends to help
drive ticket sales, enhance
visitor experiences, and
raising awareness of
wildlife conservation
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 11
What Is an Information System?
• Users of Information Systems
– Used by one person or all employees
– Enterprise Systems
• A system that is used throughout an entire enterprise
– Inter-enterprise Systems
• Used by a business and its suppliers and other business
partners
– Some information systems are designed for management
decision making
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 12
What Is an Information System?
– User Groups
• Executive managers
• Middle managers
• Operational managers
• Nonmanagement workers
• External users
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 13
Types of Information Systems
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 14
Types of Information Systems
• Office and User Productivity Support Systems
– Office System
• A system used to facilitate communications and
enhance productivity
– Document Processing Systems
• Hardware and software used to create electronic
documents
– Document Management Systems (DMSs)
• Stores, organizes, and retrieves electronic documents
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 15
Types of Information Systems
– Content Management Systems
(CMSs)
• DMS that also includes
multimedia files, images, and
other content
– Communication Systems
• Allow employees to
communicate with each other,
with business partners, and with
customers
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 16
Types of Information Systems
• Transaction Processing Systems (TPSs)
– Processes and records data created by an organization’s
business transactions
– Usually processed in real time
• Contrasts with batch processing in which a set or batch
of transactions are collected over a period of time and
processed together
– Specialty TPSs used in law enforcement, the military, etc.
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 17
Types of Information Systems
– Order Entry Systems
• E-commerce systems
– Financial transactions performed over the Internet
• Point-of-sale (POS) systems
– Used for purchases that occur in person, such as at
a brick-and-mortar store
– Payroll Systems
• Used to compute employee taxes, deductions, and pay
– Accounting Systems
• Accounts receivable systems
• Accounts payable systems
• General ledger systems
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 18
Types of Information Systems
• Decision Making Support Systems
– Help individuals make decisions
– Management Information Systems (MISs)
• Provides decision makers with regular, routine, and
timely information that is used to make decisions
• Usually provides information in the form of computer-
generated reports
– Detailed, summary, exception
• Much of the time, this information is generated from
data obtained from transaction processing
• Most frequently used to make moderately structured,
middle-management decisions
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 19
Types of Information Systems
• Decision Support Systems (DSSs)
– Provides people with the tools and capabilities to organize
and analyze their decision making information
– Typically are interactive and provide information on demand
– Most often used by middle and executive managers who
require unstructured, unpredictable on-demand information
– Incorporates internal and external data
– Usually tailored to help with specific types of decisions such
as sales and transportation
– Executive Information system (EIS)
• A DSS targeted directly to upper management
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 20
Types of Information Systems
• Geographic Information Systems (GISs)
– Combines geographical information with other types of
data to provide a better understanding of relationships
among the data
– Commonly used to make decisions about locations (e.g.
new facility locations, disaster risk, geographical crime
patterns)
– Also used in emergency relief and disaster relief systems to
create search and rescue maps, maps of where electrical
power is restored, etc.
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 21
Types of Information Systems
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 22
Types of Information Systems
• Integrated Enterprise System
– Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
• Transfers data between different companies using the
Internet or another network
• Often used to automate reordering materials and
products
– Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
• Large integrated system that ties together all of a
business’s activities
• Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)
– Exchanging information from an ERP or other
internal system among different applications and
organizations
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 23
Types of Information Systems
– Inventory and Product Management Systems
• Tracks and manages inventory
• Can help optimize ordering
• Supply Chain Management
(SCM)
– Oversees materials,
information, and finances
as they move from
original supplier to the
consumer
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 24
Types of Information Systems
• Just-in-time (JIT)
– Resources are limited to the right amount at the
right time to fill orders
• Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
– Acts as a complete distribution system
• Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)
– Organizes and correlates all information about a
product from design to retirement
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 25
Types of Information Systems
• Design and Manufacturing Systems
– Used to improve productivity at the product design stage
and manufacturing stage
– Computer-aided design (CAD)
• Use of computer technology to automate design
functions
– Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)
• Use of computer technology to automate
manufacturing functions
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 26
Types of Information Systems
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 27
Types of Information Systems
• Artificial Intelligence Systems
– A system in which a computer performs actions that are
characteristic of human intelligence
• Initial advances in AI made through chess-playing
programs
• Watson supports human interactions
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 28
Inside the Industry Box
The Turing Test and the Loebner Prize
– AI researchers are working to create machines that think
and act like people
– Alan Turing – one of the first AI researchers
• Turing Test – if a computer could
repeatedly fool a human into
thinking it was human then it
should be viewed as intelligent
– Loebner Prize – offered for the first
computer who passes the Turing Test
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 29
Types of Information Systems
– Intelligent Agents
• Programs that perform specific tasks to help to make a
user’s work environment more efficient or entertaining
and that typically modifies its behavior
based on the user’s actions
• Application assistants
• Personal assistants (Google Now, Siri)
• Shopping bots
• Entertainment bots
• Chatterbots
• May be part of Semantic Web
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 30
Types of Information Systems
– Expert Systems
• Provides the type of advice that would be expected
from a human expert and has two main components
• Knowledge Base
– Database containing facts provided by human
experts and rules the system should use to make
decisions based on those facts
• Inference Engine
– Program that applies the rules to the data stored in
the knowledge base, in order to reach decisions
• Is only as good as the knowledge base and inference
engine; also needs honest, correct information from
the user in order to work correctly
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 31
Types of Information Systems
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 32
Types of Information Systems
– Neural Networks
• A system in which the
human brain’s pattern-recognition process
is emulated by the computer
• Used in:
– Handwriting, speech,
and image recognition
– Medical imaging
– Crime analysis
– Biometric identification
– Vision systems
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 33
Types of Information Systems
– Robotics
• The study of robot technology
• Robot
– A device, controlled by a human operator or a
computer, that can move and react to sensory input
• Military Robots
– Investigate caves, buildings, trails, etc., before
soldiers enter
– Locate and defuse explosive devices
– Provide surveillance
– Used in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 34
Types of Information Systems
– Exoskeleton Suit
» Wearable robotic systems designed to give an
individual additional physical capabilities and
protection
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 35
Types of Information Systems
• Business and Industrial Robots
– Look for gas leaks, intruders, other hazards
– Work on factory assembly lines
– Mine coal, repair oil rigs
– Locate survivors
in collapsed
mines
– Facilitate video-
conferencing
and other
remote presence
applications
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 36
Types of Information Systems
• Personal Robots (Service Robots)
– Entertainment robots
– Toy robots
– Robots designed for household tasks
• Mow lawns, clean
floors, etc.
• Expected to be
more humanoid
in the future
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 37
Technology and You Box
Self-Driving Cars
– Google’s self-driving car has logged half a million miles
during testing
– Need to determine laws and policies regarding
autonomous vehicles before they are sold
– Issues include:
• How cars and riders should be licensed
• Limitations on use for safety
• How cars will be insured
• How to protect cars against
hackers
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 38
Types of Information Systems
• Societal Implication of Robots
– Adds convenience to our lives
– Replaces humans for dangerous tasks
– Monitors and assists the disabled and elderly
– Concern exists that as true artificial intelligence becomes
closer to reality, a class of robots with the potential for
great harm could be created
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 39
Quick Quiz
1. A system using knowledge from medical experts that is used to help
diagnose patients would be a type of
a. neural network
b. natural language system
c. expert system
2. True or False: An order-entry system would be classified as a
management information system.
3. A(n) _________ is a device, controlled by a human, that can move
and react to sensory input.
Answers:
1) c; 2) False; 3) robot
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 40
Responsibility for System
Development
• The Information Systems (IS) Department
– Responsible for an organization’s computers, systems, and
other technology
– Also called the Information Technology (IT) department
– Systems Analyst
• Studies systems in order to determine what work needs
to be done, and how this work may best be achieved
– Other IT personnel include:
• Business analysts, application programmers, operations
personnel, and security specialists
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 41
Responsibility for System
Development
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 42
Responsibility for System
Development
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 43
Responsibility for System
Development
• Outsourcing
– Hiring outside vendors to perform specific business tasks
– Offshore
• Outsourced to another country
– Nearshoring
• Outsourcing to nearby countries
– Homesourcing (homeshoring)
• Outsourcing to home-based workers
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 44
Responsibility for System
Development
– Crowdsourcing
• Taking job traditionally performed by an employee and
outsourcing it to a large, undefined group of people
• Often performed via the Web
– Advantages
• Lower costs
• Flexible staffing
– Global sourcing
– Strategic sourcing
– Socially responsible outsourcing
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 45
Responsibility for System
Development
– Disadvantages
• Personnel changes at the outsourcing company
• Conflicts between in-house and outsourcing personnel
• Communication problems
• Cultural differences
• Quality control and security
– Captive offshoring
• U.S. companies own facilities in other countries and
hire employees in that country
• Gives company more control over employees and
procedures than with conventional outsourcing
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 46
Trend Box
Digital Badges
– Consist of icons that represent academic achievements or
acquired skills
– Offered by educational institutions, Web sites, companies,
etc.
– Can be standard or
customized
– Displayed via a digital badge
system
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 47
Quick Quiz
1. Which term refers to outsourcing work to another country?
a. Homeshoring
b. Offshoring
c. System development
2. True or False: The IT worker who codes computer programs is
called the computer operator.
3. The IT employee most involved with system development is
the __________.
Answers:
1) b; 2) False; 3) systems analyst
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 48
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
• SDLC = The development of a system from the time it is first
studied until the time it is updated or replaced
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 49
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
• Preliminary Investigation
– A feasibility study is performed to assess whether or not a
full-scale project should be undertaken
– Documentation: Feasibility Report
• Contains findings on status of existing system and
benefits/feasibility of changing to a new system
• Includes system analysts’ recommendations regarding
whether or not the project should move on to the next
stage in the SDLC
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 50
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
• System Analysis
– Examines the problem area to determine what should be
done
– Data Collection
• Gathering information about the system (organizational
chart, observation, interviewing users, etc.)
– Data Analysis
• Analyzing information to determine the effectiveness
and efficiency of current system and/or requirements
for new or modified systems
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 51
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
• Entity-Relationship Diagrams (ERDs) and Data Flow
Diagrams (DFDs)
– Used to model the entities in a system and the flow
of data within the system
– Provides a visual representation of the data
movement in an organization
• Decision Tables and Decision Trees
– Useful for identifying procedures and summarizing
the decision making process of one step of a system
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 52
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 53
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
• Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)
– A graphical, standardized notation used to model
business processes
– Used to model the business processes used within
systems
– Designed to be understood by all individuals
involved in the system
– Expresses processes graphically using diagrams
similar to flowcharts
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 54
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
• Class Diagrams and Use Case Diagrams
– Used to illustrate
systems that are
based on the
concept of
objects
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 55
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
– Documentation: Diagrams, Tables, Trees, and Models
• Consists of any instruments used for data gathering and
the resulting diagrams, trees, models, and other tools
used to summarize and analyze the data
– Questionnaires
– Interview questions
– Diagrams, models, etc.
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 56
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
• System Design
– Specifies what the new system will look like and how it will
work
– Developing the Design and Specifications for the New
System
• Model of new system is developed
• Diagrams can include:
– Data dictionary: describes all data in a system
– Data flow and/or class diagrams of the new system
– User interface (UI) designs
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 57
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 58
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
– Cost-Benefit Analysis
• Considers both tangible and intangible benefits to
determine if the benefits of the new system outweigh
the cost
– Documentation: System Design/Specifications
• Developed during the system design phase
• Consists of all documentation necessary to illustrate the
new system
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 59
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
• System Acquisition
– System analysts determines where to obtain the necessary
hardware, software, and other system components
– The Make-or-Buy Decision
• Determining if the software needed will be purchased
from a vendor or developed in-house
– If developed in-house, software to be developed
moves into the program development process
(Chapter 13)
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 60
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
• RFPs and RFQs
– RFP is a Request for Proposal
» Contains list of technical specifications for
equipment, software, and services needed
– RFQ is a Request for Quotation
» Names desired items needed and asks for a
quote
– Evaluating Bids
• Most companies have procedures for evaluating bids
– Benchmark test
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 61
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
– Documentation: RFPs, RFQs, and Vendor Evaluation
Materials
• Includes RFP or RFQ sent to potential vendors
• Proposals received
• Documentation produced during the evaluation of bids
• System Implementation
– The new system is installed, tested, and made operational
• Data migration
– System must be thoroughly tested
• Test data should be realistic and include incorrect data
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 62
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
– System Conversion
• Once testing phase is completed, system is installed
– Direct conversion
» Old system deactivated and new system is
immediately implemented
– Parallel conversion
» Both systems are operated simultaneously until
it is determined that the new system works
properly
– Phased conversion
» System is implemented by module
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 63
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
– Pilot conversion
» New system used at just one location within the
organization
• User Training
– All training manuals should be developed and given
to users
– Training takes place on the actual system
– Can occur one-on-one or in groups
– Documentation: Implementation Schedule, Test Data and
Results, and Training Materials
• Implementation schedule, test data, test results,
training materials should be saved for future reference
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 64
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 65
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 66
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
• System Maintenance
– Maintenance is an ongoing process
– Minor adjustments are made to the finished system to
keep it operational until the end of the system’s life or until
the time that the system needs to be redesigned
– Post-Implementation Review
• Identifies any glitches in the new system that need to
be fixed
– When a major change is needed, the project goes through
the SDLC again
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 67
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
• Documentation: Completed Project Folder
– Results of the post-implementation review are added to
the accumulated documentation
– Information can be useful to auditors who may check to
see that proper procedures were followed
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 68
Approaches to System Development
• The Traditional Approach
– SDLC phases are carried out in a preset order
• Preliminary investigation
• System analysis
• System design
• System acquisition
• System implementation
• System maintenance
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 69
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
– Referred to as the waterfall model
• Each phase begins only when previous one is
completed
– Time-consuming
• The Iterative Approach
– System is developed incrementally
• Steps are repeated until the system is finalized
– Prototyping
• Small model, or prototype, of the system is built before
the full-scale development effort is undertaken
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 70
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 71
The System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
• The End-User Development Approach
– User is primarily responsible for the development of the
system
– Most feasible when system being developed is small and
inexpensive
– Measures must be taken to ensure that the system is
compatible with existing systems and no new problems are
introduced
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 72
Quick Quiz
1. The first step of in the system development life cycle is
__________.
a. to design the system
b. to perform a preliminary investigation
c. to implement the system
2. True or False: The traditional approach to systems development also
is referred to as the waterfall model.
3. A test used to evaluate or measure a systems performance is called
a(n) __________.
Answers:
1) b; 2) True; 3) benchmark test
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 73
Summary
• What Is an Information System?
• Types of Information Systems
• Responsibility for System Development
• The System Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
• Approaches to System Development
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 15th Edition 74
