What is an information system?

1. Software
2. Hardware
3. Data to be manipulated
4. Personnel to oversee the running of the system
5. Procedures to ensure that data is manipulated in an efficient manner.

Elements of an Information System

• Software
1. Operation or system software – Operation software controls the actual operations
of the computer hardware. Operating systems include: Windows XP, Windows 2000,
Linux and Mac OS X.
2. Application software – Application software provides support to computer users.
These programs are generally created by programmers and are sold in large
quantities to customers. Application software includes word processing programs
(e.g. Microsoft Word), spreadsheets (e.g. Excel) and databases (e.g. Access).
3. Utility Software – Utility software is a type of system software that performs a
particular task. Most operating systems include utility programs that perform tasks
such as diagnosing problems, scanning disks and defragmenting disks.
4. Programming Software – A programming language is a set of words and/or codes
that allow a programmer to communicate instructions to a computer. Some
examples of programming languages are Delphi, Visual Basic, C++, Hypertalk, HTML
and Java.
• Hardware
1. Input devices – An input device allows a user to enter data into a computers.
Another name for an input device is a “peripheral device”. Popular input devices are
keyboards, webcams, scanners, microphones and devices such as mouses.
2. Output devices – Output devices transmit and communicate information to users
through devices such as printers, monitors, data projectors and speakers.
3. System unit – The system unit consists of a variety of components that comprise the
‘brain’ of the computers. Like a humans brain, the computer’s brain processes data
and executes instructions. The two most important components are the central
processing unit (CPU) and the memory. Memory is temporary storage for data,
instructions and information. Random access memory (RAM) is located on the
motherboard, that can be read from and written to by the processor.
4. Storage devices – Information is stored on a storage device for use later on. Some
common storage devices include hard disks, CD-RW/DVD-RW drives and tape drives.
5. Communications devices – communications devices allow computers to
communicate with other computers. Examples include network interface cards and
modems that allow for connection between two computers.
• Data
When data is entered into a computer, it is raw and unorganised. It might be
entered as numbers, letters, words, images or sounds. For data to become
meaningful, it has to be processed or manipulated.
 • Personnel
The personnel in an organisation are paramount to the success of an information
system. Personnel are also known as users. ‘Users’ is a broad term describing
employees, customers, sellers of goods and other people who use the information
system. Managers, technicians, sales representatives and customers can also be
included under “users”.
• Procedures
Procedures are a series of steps that are followed so that tasks are performed
consistently. Procedures are tasks that users, ICT personnel and managers perform
in relation to the information system. Some tasks might include: backing up data,
adding a new account for a customer or checking backup data files every morning.

Characteristics of data and information

• Characteristics of Data
1. Primary data sources
 Data which is obtained from surveys, interviews, letters, direct observation
and email.
2. Secondary data sources
 Data which is obtained from magazines, newspapers, books, CD-ROMs and
the Internet.
3. Suitability
 The data to be entered into a computer must be in a suitable format. For
example if you start typing the date in words like 2nd February 2007 you
wouldn’t change it to 2/2/07 on the next page.
4. Reliability
 Have to make sure the information you are collecting is reliable, as there is
hundreds of print media, radio and television broadcasts. There are also
over 25 billion web pages (I Google’d www. And it had 25.44 billion results)
that cover an endless range of topics. But is this information reliable?
5. Accuracy
 Data being entered must be accurate. There are many ways in which
mistakes can be made when data is entered, most are to do with human
errors.
6. Timeliness
 Data has to be gathered on time otherwise the data you’re using could go
out of date and be irrelevant.
7. Freedom from bias
 For effective processing to take place, data needs to be collected from many
sources to make sure it is reliable. If data is received from only one source, it
could affect the integrity of the resulting information.
• Characteristics of Information
1. Relevant Information
 Information must be relevant. For example putting statistics for football
players on a tennis sight would be irrelevant and not needed.
2. Complete information
 Information must be complete. It’s not complete if the intended user has to
find additional information. It can be difficult to determine exactly what
information is required.
3. Timely information
 Information must be timely to serve its purpose. Writing a speech after the
speech night has occurred would be untimely.
4. Accurate information
 Information must be accurate. If information is inaccurate it will lead to the
wrong decisions being made.
5. Unbiased information
 Information must be unbiased. It is vital that the output from an information
system remains unbiased. This means the the process must be carefully
designed.
6. Bias through sorting
7. Bias through graphics
8. Clarity of the message

• Information Processing Steps

1. Acquisition
2. Input
3. Validation
4. Manipulation
5. Storage
6. Retrieval
7. Output
8. Communication
9. Archive or Disposal
• Reasons for using information
• Information is used by individuals and organisations to persuade, inform, educate
and entertain.
• Information suited to its audience
• Television, radio and newspaper corporations invest a lot of time and money in
identifying their viewer, listener and reader demographics so that they can sell
advertising time and space for the highest price.
• For example
 Parents receive the similar school reports about their children
 Workers in a warehouse have to follow the same instructions for locating
stock, regardless of their literacy or map-reading abilities.
 • Characteristics of audiences
• Information is used by individuals and organisations to persuade, inform, educate or
entertain, and to support decision-making processes. Information should meet the
needs of the users in terms of the material covered, but it must also be presented in
a manner that is suited to its intended audience. Factors to consider are audience
size, profile and background.

Information characteristics in organisations

• Information flow
• It is crucial to the efficient operation of any business that information is able to flow
internally between the four hierarchy levels within the company (senior
management, middle management, operational management and operational
workers), and externally to and from suppliers, current clientele and potential
customers.
• Structure of information
1. Detail reports
2. Summary reports
3. Aggregate reports
4. Sample reports
5. Exception reports

Decision making in organisations

• Senior management
o Strategic decisions can involve very complicated problems that relate to the long-
term goals of an organisation. They can take senior management years to make
• Middle management
o Middle management makes tactical decisions to solve problems that affect the
running of the organisation. The managers of each department within the
organisation are responsible for the running of their own department, whether it be
human resources, sales, marketing, accounts or information and communications
technology.
Some tactical decisions could take up to a year or more to be finalised; however,
most are made within weeks or months
• Operational Management
o Operational managers, or lower management, are the supervisors of the workers.
They deal with day-to-day operational decisions such as: directing customer
complaints, replacing a worker who calls in sick etc.
• Operation workers
o The workers at the operation level also make day-to-day decisions that help the
efficient running of a business
Identifying information problems

• What is an information problem?

Not sure how to answer.

The problem-solving methodology

1. Analyse – defining and understanding all aspects of the problem

2. Design – create a plan for the required input, processing and output.
3. Develop – build the solution with either off-the-shelf or custom-made hardware and
software
4. Test – check that the solution produces accurate and complete output
5. Document – create a range of user documentation that is appropriate for all users.
6. Implement – install the solution on computers within the organisation and run procedures
to allow its use, including training of users.
7. Evaluate – establish whether the solution is meeting the needs of users after a specified
period of time.