Term
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Definition
- AKA Business System
- A series of tasks or steps designed to produce a product or service
- Describes a set of activities that are necessary to complete a response to a stimulus applied to an organization |
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Term
| Different business processes like sales, purchases and inventory processes are often considered part of an overall __________ for an organization. |
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Definition
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Term
| 4 components of a business process |
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Definition
Activities
Resources
Facilities
Information |
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Term
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Definition
- Part of a business process
- Transform resources and information of one type into resources and information of another type
- Follow rules and procedures
- Can be manual, automated, or combination |
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Term
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Definition
- Part of a business process
- Items of value
- External to organization
- Workers, cheques, supplies, etc. |
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Definition
- Structures used within the business process
- Resources can be stored within them
- Example: Inventories, Databases, Factories, Equipment |
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Term
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Definition
- Part of a business process
- Knowledge derived from data
- Used by activities
- Determine how to transform inputs into outputs
- Difficult to define |
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Term
| 5 definitions of information |
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Definition
- Knowledge derived from data
- Data presented in a meaningful context
- Processed data
- Processed by summing, ordering, averaging, grouping, comparing, or other similar operations
- A difference that makes a difference |
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Term
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Definition
- Recorded facts or figures
- Not meaningful on its own |
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Term
| Characteristics of Good Information |
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Definition
Accurate
Timely
Relevant
Just Barely Sufficient
Worth its Cost |
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Term
T or F?
For any flow of goods/services, there is a potential to capture a flow of information/data. |
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Definition
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Term
| Business Process Management (BPM) |
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Definition
| A field of management that promotes the development of effective and efficient processes through continuous improvement and innovation. |
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Term
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Definition
Total Quality Management (TQM)
Six Sigma
Lean Production |
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Term
T or F?
When it comes to business processes, the less information the better (to prevent information overload). |
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Definition
| False: Information about the process helps to better manage the process itself |
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Term
| How do information systems support business processes? |
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Definition
| Information systems are used by activities in a business process. |
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Term
| Who determines the relationship of activities to information systems? |
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Definition
| Systems designers who determine the relationship during systems analysis |
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Term
| Characteristics of the 5 Components of the Business Process |
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Definition
The outermost components of information system, hardware and people, are both actors; they can take actions
The software and procedure components are both sets of instructions: software is instructions for hardware, and procedures are instructions for people
Finally, data is the bridge between the computer side on the left and the human side on the right |
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Term
| What are we doing with the 5 components when we automate business process activity? |
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Definition
| We are moving work from human side to computer side |
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Term
| How do information systems support decision making? |
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Definition
| By providing the information—the raw material—for many decisions |
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Term
| 3 Levels of Decision Making (and the Systems they Use) |
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Definition
- Operational decisions concern day-to-day activities - transaction processing systems (TPS)
- Managerial decisions concern the allocation and utilization of resources - management information systems (MIS)
- Strategic decisions concern broader-scope, organizational issues - executive information systems (EIS) |
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Term
| Structured Decision vs. Unstructured Decision |
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Definition
Structured - One for which there is an understood and accepted method for making the decision
Unstructured - One for which there is no agreed-on decision-making method
NOTE: The terms structured and unstructured refer to the decision process/method, not to the underlying subject/problem |
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Term
| 2 ways that decisions can vary |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the most important component of IS? |
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Definition
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Term
| Business Process Automation (BPA) |
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Definition
• The least “intense” form of automation
• Involves automating some aspect of a business process through the application of information technology
• Leaves the manual system essentially unchanged but makes processes more efficient by automating them
• Focuses on detailing the “as-is” system
• BPA does not impact the way things are but rather how fast they are accomplished
• Doesn’t improve effectiveness, only efficiency |
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Term
| Example of Business Process Automation |
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Definition
Ex. Objective: reduce library checkout line-up
Before BPA: Manual checkout
After BPA: Computerized checkout
Customer still checks books out at the desk, but the computer makes this process more efficient |
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Term
| What is a potential problem with Business Process Automation (BPA)? |
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Definition
- Solving problems that users have with the current system using BPA may be a CONTINUAL “firefight”
- Think about whether there is a root cause to the problem. By focusing on the problem rather than the solution, you may get an indication that a more revolutionary design of the system is necessary |
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Term
| Business Process Improvement (BPI) |
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Definition
- A notch up on the analysis “intensity” level of automation
- Recommends that employees involved in the process should look for ways to incrementally improve it
- This approach takes an evolutionary view of the system
- No radical changes but constant search for improvements
- Changes are made to the way things are done, not just the computer system but the business process as well
- Slow improvement |
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Term
| Example of Business Process Improvement (BPI) |
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Definition
• Objective: Reduce library checkout line-up
• Before BPI: Manual checkout
• After BPI: Professors can use computers to search catalog, check out books and have them delivered using campus mail
o Changes both the computer system and the way you do business |
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Term
| What are some potential drawbacks to the Business Process Improvement Approach? |
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Definition
o More effort required in identifying potential opportunities
o Requires an analysis strategy and more information about alternatives - Activity based costing, Benchmarking
o Adds more time when considering this improvement. Sometimes difficult to find an “end” to the project |
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Term
| Business Process Transformation (BPT) |
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Definition
- High level of “intensity” of automation
- A radical and fundamental rethinking of the business processes currently used
- Almost like redesigning the process from scratch
- Looking for dramatic improvements
- High risk
- Increased time |
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Term
| What is an example of Business Process Transformation (BPT)? |
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Definition
• Objective: Reduce library checkout line-up
• Before BPT: Manual checkout
• After BPT: Make texts available on web. Scan all the books and then make the information searchable and downloadable. Very radical! |
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Term
| Systems analysis and design |
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Definition
The activities that include understanding, modelling and redesigning business processes (a huge part of what business analysts do)
GOA: Develop an understanding of how an organization works |
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Term
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Definition
- Created by the Object Management Group (OMG)
- A standard set of terms and graphical notations for documenting business processes
- Provides 4 graphical elements that can be used to document a process |
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Term
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Definition
| When an activity in a business process is being handled by an automated system this means that work formerly done by people who followed procedures has been moved so now computers do that work by following instructions in software |
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Term
T or F?
Decisions at the operational level tend to be structured and decisions at the strategic level tend to be unstructured. Managerial decisions tend to be both structured and unstructured |
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Definition
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Term
| Typical steps in the decision-making process |
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Definition
1. Intelligence gathering
- decision makers determine what is to be decided, what the criteria for the decision will be and what data are available
- Use cmns applications, query and reporting systems, data analysis applications
2. Alternatives formation
- decision makers lay out various alternatives
- Use cmns applications
3. Choice
- Analyze these alternatives, they select an alternative
- Use spreadsheets, financial modelling and other modelling
4. Implementation
- Implement the decision
- Use cmns applications
5. Review
- evaluate the results of the decision and if necessary, repeat the process to correct and adapt
- use cmns applications, query and reporting systems, spreadsheets and other analysis
Each step needs a different type of IS |
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Term
T or F?
The quality of your thinking is a large part of the quality of the IS |
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Definition
| True: You can't change your brain but you can change the way you program it to work! |
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