Introduction to Information

Systems
1.1 Information Concepts
 Course Objective

• Purpose of this course is to appreciate the

value or role of IT to business
• How important is Information
Technology to businesses?
 How Much data is on
the internet per Minute/ day?
• In 2014, there were 2.4 billion internet users. That number grew to 3.4
billion by 2016,and in 2017 300 million internet users were added –
making a total of 3.8 billion internet users in 2017 (as of April,
2017) This is a 42% increase in people using the internet in just three
years!
• 216,000 Instagram posts are posted every minute,
• 204,000,000 emails are sent in a minute,
• Around 12 hours of footage is uploaded to Youtube
• 455,000 Tweets per minute in 2017!
• 22 billion texts sent every day.
• 3,607,080 Google searches are conducted worldwide each minute of
everyday.
• 5.2 billion daily Google Searches in 2017.
 How Much data is on
the internet per Minute/ day?
• Since 2013, the number of Face book Posts shared each minute
has increased 22%, from 2.5 Million to 3 million posts per minute
in 2016. This number has increased more than 300 percent, from
around 650,000 posts per minute in 2011!
• Every minute on Face book: 510,000 comments are posted,
293,000 statuses are updated, and 136,000 photos are uploaded.
• Face book users also click the like button on more than 4 million
posts every minute!
• 4.3 billion face book messages posted daily!
• 5.75 billion Face book likes every day.
 Presentation Outline
Information concepts

i. Data
ii. Information
 Characteristics of valuable information
iii. Wisdom
iv. Knowledge
 1. What is Data
• Definition 1: These are raw, unorganized,
potentially useful facts and figures that are
later processed in order to produce meaningful
information.

• Definition 2: These are discrete, objective

facts or observations, which are unorganized
and unprocessed, and do not convey any
specific meaning.
 1. What is Data Cont..
• Definition 3: Streams of raw facts representing events
such as business transactions, which meaningless
without structure

• Data items are an elementary and recorded description of

things, events, activities and transactions

• It can be numbers, letters, words, symbols, sound,

images or simple measurements
 Data Examples...
• Data = raw facts that represent the
characteristics of an Event
–Example 1:
• Event: High temperature
• Data: 37° C

–Example 2:
• Event: Sale
• Data: Sale’s date, item number, item description,
etc.
 Data Examples...
• Data: Real Madrid, PSG, 5, 2
• Information: Real Madrid beat PSG 5-2 to qualify for
the quarter finals of champions league
 Data Examples Cont...

• Data – thermometer readings of temperature taken

every hour:
16.0, 17.0, 16.0, 18.5, 17.0,15.5….
Transformation

• Information – today’s high: 18.5

today’s low: 15.5
 Types of Data

Data Represented by

Alphanumeric data Numbers, letters, and other characters

Image data Graphic images or pictures

Audio data Sound, noise, tones

Video data Moving images or pictures

 2. What is Information
• Definition 1: Information is processed data i.e. well
organized and well structured in a particular
context and is useful for decision making

• Definition 2: collection of facts organized in such a way that

they have additional value beyond the value of the facts
themselves

• Definition 3: Information is data that has been processed

and useful; provides answers to "who", "what", "where",
and "when" questions
 What is Information cont...
• Information = facts within a given context
– The temperature today at noon in Mount Pleasant, Harare
was 31° C

• If we gave you 18041980 as a series of numbers you would not

make much sense of it at first. But if we added Date: 18-04-
1980, to a Zimbabwean this begins to mean something.
 Relationship between data & information

• I have a Box
• Found in many people’s homes (bed, wardrobe)
• Usually in the kitchen (rules out TV)
• Comes in Various shapes, sizes, colours
• Door on the front
• Open door light switches on (refrigerator
• Has some controls at the top or sides
• Usually a window on the door
• We heat things in it (Microwave oven)
What Counts as information
Methods for conveying information
Data versus Information

Monthly Sales Report

for West Region

Sales Rep: Charles Mann

Emp No. 79154
Item Qty Sold Price
TM Shoes 1200 $100
 Data versus Information Cont..

Raw data from a supermarket checkout counter can be processed and organized
to
produce meaningful information, such as the total unit sales of dish detergent
or the total sales revenue from dish detergent for a specific store or sales territory.
 Value of Information
• Organizations depend on the information for

i. Planning (Budgeting)
ii. Organizing
iii. decision making, …
iv. Fore-casting
 Characteristics of Valuable
Information
i. Accessibility vii. Explicitness
ii. Accuracy viii. Flexibility
iii. Relevance ix. Reliability
iv. Timeliness x. Secure
v. Adequacy xi. Simplicity
vi. Completeness xii. Verifiability
 i.Accessibility
• Information should be easily accessible by
authorized users so they can obtain it in the right
format and at the right time to meet their needs

Characteristics of Valuable Information

 ii.Accuracy
• Information must be free from errors and clear
in its meaning
• Accuracy means the information is free from
bias
• Inaccurate information may result in wrong
decisions being made
• Garbage In – Garbage Out
Characteristics of Valuable Information
 iii. Relevance
• Information is said to be relevant if it answers
specifically to the recipient what, where, when, who
etc.
• Relevant information is important to the decision
maker. Information that umbrella prices might
drop, might not be relevant to a computer chip
manufacturer

Characteristics of Valuable Information

 iv. Timeliness
• Information must reach the recipient within prescribed
time frame (at the right time)

• Timely information is delivered when needed. Knowing

last week’s whether conditions will not help when trying to
decide what to wear today.

• “information delayed is information denied”

• Delays affects decision –making adversely

Characteristics of Valuable Information
 v. Adequacy

• Information should be of sufficient quantity covering all

the related aspects of the situation or event

Characteristics of Valuable Information

 vi. Completeness
• Information should contain ALL important facts. For
example an investment report that does not include all
important costs is not complete.

Characteristics of Valuable Information

 vii. Explicitness
• Information is said to be good quality if it
– does not require further analysis by the recipient to
make decisions
– It helps managers to make decisions without wasting
time by reanalysing it

Characteristics of Valuable Information

 viii. Flexible
• Flexible information can be used for a variety of
purposes.
• For example information on how much inventory is at
hand for a particular part can be used by a sales
representative in closing a sale, by a production manager
to determine whether more inventory is needed or not, and
by a financial executive to determine the total value the
company has invested in an inventory

Characteristics of Valuable Information

 ix. Reliable
• Reliable information can be depended on.
• In many cases the reliability of the information depends on
the data collection method used.
• In other cases reliability depends on the source of the
information. A rumour from an unknown source that petrol
prices might go up cannot be reliable
• Research: Look into the different data collection methods
that are there. (observations, questionnaires, interviews, etc),
write brief notes on them, comparing and contrasting them.
Characteristics of Valuable Information
 x. Secure
• Information should be secure from access
by unauthorized users

Characteristics of Valuable Information

 xi. Simple
• Information should be simple, not overly complex.
Sophisticated and detailed information might not
be needed.
• In fact too-much information might cause
information overload, whereby a decision maker
has too-much information and is unable to
determine what really is important.

Characteristics of Valuable Information

 xii. Verifiable
• Information should be verifiable. This means you
can check to make sure that it is correct, perhaps
by checking many sources for the same information.

Characteristics of Valuable Information

 The Value of Information
• Value of information is directly linked to how it
helps decision makers achieve their organization’s
goals
• For example, value of information might be
measured in:
– Time required to make a decision
– Increased profits to the company

Fundamentals of Information
33
Systems, Fourth Edition
 Information Literacy

• The ability to know when information is needed,

and to be able to locate, evaluate, and effectively use
that information is called information literacy
 3. What is Knowledge
• Definition 1: ‘Knowledge is the combination of data and
information, to which is added expert opinion, skills, and
experience, to result in a valuable asset which can be used to aid
decision making

• Definition 2: ‘Knowledge is data and/or information that has been

organized and processed to convey understanding, experience,
accumulated learning, and expertise as they apply to a current
problem or activity’

• Knowledge is information that is applied to a decision or action

 4. What is Wisdom
• Definition: ‘Wisdom is the highest level of
abstraction, with vision, fore-sight and the ability
to see beyond the horizon’

• Wisdom is the use of knowledge for future

planning and fore-casting.
The Information Hierarchy
Example