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Glossary of Terms Information Systems common terms Artificial intelligence Science and technology to develop computers that can think and function in ways normally associated with human intelligence, including reasoning, inference, learning and problem solving Automation The replacement of human workers by machines; the automatic transfer and positioning of work by machines, or the automatic operation and control of a work process by machines, without significant human intervention or operation, in order to improve performance Business information system Information system within a business organization that supports one of the traditional functions of business such as marketing, finance or production Business process reengineering (BPR) The reinventing of processes within a business; the use of information technology to bring about major changes and cost savings in an organization's structure Business to business (B2B) Transactions between two businesses, or companies whose customers are primarily other businesses Chief information officer (CIO) A senior strategic-level management position that oversees all information technology systems and personnel for a firm, concentrating on long-range information system planning and strategy Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools Software that automates some or all steps in the systems development life cycle Conversion Moving from old system to new system. Plunge or direct cutover conversion immediately replaces the old system with the new one. Parallel conversion uses both until the new system performs correctly. Pilot or piecemeal conversion starts with a small group or region. Phased conversion introduces the new system in stages. Critical success factors Factors critical to organizational success; the process of evaluating prospective IT systems by comparing system costs with system benefits; a small number of key factors that executives consider critical to the success of the enterprise, where successful performance will assure the success of the organization and attainment of its goals Data Unprocessed, unorganized information; raw facts or observations Database A collection of data or information stored in an organized way; a computer database is a file that contains tables whose rows are records and whose columns are fields. The database comes with software for data entry, queries and reports; tables in a relational database are related by common fields Database management system (DBMS) A set of computer programs that controls the creation, maintenance and utilization of the databases of an organization Data mining Use of software tools to query information in a data warehouse Data warehouse A logical collection of information, gathered from many different operational databases, that supports business analysis activities and decision-making tasks Decision support system (DSS) A highly flexible and interactive IT system designed to support decision making when the problem is not structured; an information system that utilizes decision models, a database, and a decision maker's own insights in an ad hoc, interactive analytical modeling process to reach a specific decision by a specific decision maker Electronic business Use of information technology for internal organizational management and communication Electronic commerce Buying and selling goods and services electronically; commerce accelerated and enhanced by information technology, especially the Internet, enabling customers, consumers and companies to form powerful new relationships that would not be possible without the enabling technologies Electronic data interchange (EDI) Exchange of business transaction documents between computers of two organisations; the electronic transmission of source documents between the computers of different organizations; direct computer-to-computer transfer of transaction information contained in standard business document such as invoices and purchase orders in a standard format Electronic funds transfer The development of banking and payment systems that transfer funds electronically instead of using cash or paper documents such as checks Electronic market Exchange of information, products, services and payments using Internet, networks and digital technologies, e.g. prices, purchase orders, invoices, shipping notices Emerging technology A new technology not yet fully exploited by businesses Enterprise network Hardware, software and media connecting information technology resources of an organization Enterprise resource planning (ERP) Coordinated planning of all an organization's resources involved in production, development, selling and servicing of goods and services Enterprise software A software suite with common business applications, tools for modeling how the entire organization works, and development tools for building applications unique to the organization Executive information system (EIS) An information system that provides strategic information tailored to the needs of top management; a highly interactive management information system combined with decision support systems and artificial intelligence for helping managers identify and address problems and opportunities Executive support system (ESS) An executive information system with additional capabilities, including data analysis, decision support, electronic mail, and personal productivity tools Expert system An artificial intelligence system that applies reasoning capabilities to reach a conclusion; a program that works with knowledge and relies on a database of if-then rules to draw inferences, in much the way a human expert does Financial information system Information system that supports financial managers in the financing of a business and the allocation and control of financial resources; includes cash and securities management, capital budgeting, financial forecasting, and financial planning Firewall Special security software to protect private networks such as intranets and extranets Geographic information system (GIS) A decision support system designed specifically to work with spatial information Group decision support system (GDSS) A decision support system which provides support for problem formulation and solution and decision making by groups or teams of people Groupware or workgroup support system Communications software that supports collaborative efforts of a team Hardware The mechanical, magnetic, electronic, and electrical devices comprising a computer system, as the CPU, disk drives, keyboard, or screen Hierarchical data structure A logical data structure in which the relationships between records form a hierarchy or tree structure; the relationships among records are one-to-many, since each data element is related only to one element above it Information Data with meaning in a particular context Information architecture A conceptual framework that defines the basic structure, content and relationships of the organizational databases that provide the data needed to support the basic business processes of an organization Information system (IS) A set of people, procedures and resources that collects, transforms and disseminates information in an organization; a system that accepts data resources as input and processes them into information products as output; a system that uses the resources of hardware, software and people to perform input, processing, output, storage and control activities that transform data resources into information products; a purposefully designed system that brings data, computers, procedures, and people together to manage information important to an organization's mission Information technology (IT) Hardware, software, telecommunications, database management, and other information processing technologies used in computer-based information systems; computer-based tools used to work with information and support the information needs of an organization Internet service provider (ISP) Organization with a direct Internet connection which sells Internet connections to organizations and individuals Intranet An internal organizational Internet that is guarded against outside access by a firewall; a private version of the Internet, using Internet technologies such as Web browser and servers on local area networks Knowledge Facts, information, skills, awareness, or familiarity acquired through experience or education; theoretical or practical understanding of a subject Knowledge information systems Information systems used by knowledge and data workers to produce, store and disseminate knowledge Management information system (MIS) Planning, development, management and use of information technology tools to help people perform all tasks related to information processing and management; an information system that provides information to support managerial decision making; can be an information reporting system, executive information system or decision support system. Also the department responsible for computer systems Office automation system (OAS) A computer-based information system that collects, processes, stores and transmits electronic messages, documents and other forms of office communications among individuals, work groups and organizations; an office productivity application such as word processing, document imaging or calendar Operational information systems Information systems that assist operational management with managing and directing day-to-day operations and implementation of goals and strategies Outsourcing Delegating specific work to a third party for a specified length of time, at specified cost, and at a specified level of service Pilot study In the development of an information system, the institution of the new system in only one part of an organization; when that portion of the organization is satisfied with the system, the rest of the organization then starts using it Private network Communications media owned or leased by an organization to connect its networks or network components Prototype A working model; for an information system, includes tentative versions of user input and output, databases and files, control methods, and processing routines; a working system model that is functional enough to draw feedback from users Public network Network used by more than one organization Relational data structure A logical data structure in which all data elements within the database are viewed as being stored in the form of simple tables; data elements from various tables are linked through their common fields Risk management Identification of risks or threats, implementation of security measures, and monitoring these measures for effectiveness Software the programs used to direct the operation of a computer Source data automation The use of automated methods of data entry that attempt to reduce or eliminate many of the activities, people and data media required by traditional data entry methods Strategic information systems Information systems that provide a firm with competitive products and services that give it a strategic advantage over its competitors in the marketplace; information systems which promote business innovation, improve operational efficiency, and build strategic information resources for a firm; information systems used by senior managers to monitor long-term trends, make long-term plans and provide overall direction and guidance System A group of interrelated or interacting elements forming a unified whole; working together toward a common goal by accepting inputs and producing outputs; A collection of components purposefully organized into a functioning whole to accomplish a goal Systems analysis Analyzing in detail the components and requirements of a system; the information needs of an organization, characteristics and components of current systems, and functional requirements of proposed systems Systems design A blueprint, plan or model of a system; deciding how a proposed information system will meet the information needs of end users; includes logical and physical design; it should satisfy system requirements developed in the systems analysis Systems development Developing information systems by a process of investigation, analysis, design, implementation and maintenance Systems implementation Putting a planned system into action; the stage of systems development in which hardware and software are acquired, developed and installed, the system is tested and documented, people are trained to operate and used the system, and an organization converts to the use of a newly developed system Systems life cycle In information systems, the birth, development, use, and eventual abandonment of the system Systems maintenance The monitoring, evaluating and modifying of a system to make desirable or necessary improvements Transaction An exchange of goods, services or funds Transaction processing system (TPS) An information system that processes data arising from the occurrence of business transactions; usually used for daily routine transactions and record-keeping, especially sales, payroll, reservations, shipping, and worker tracking Unstructured or nonstructured decisions Decisions which must be made in situations where it is not possible to specify in advance most of the decision procedures to follow; there may be several "right" answers, and no precise way to get a right answer Virtual private network A public network that uses security techniques to simulate a private network, generally slower in performance but lower cost What-if analysis Observing how changes to selected variables affect other variables in a mathematical model Work flow analysis A study of the way documents and other information related to a process moves through an organisation, in order to improve efficiency