Professor Gelinas was the founding editor of the Journal of Accounting and Computers (formerly Kent/Bentley Journal of Accounting and Computers and Kent/Bentley Review). He is a member of the American Accounting Association, Information Systems Auditing and Controlling Association, Beta Alpha Psi and Beta Gamma Sigma.
Acknowledgments
We also invite you to visit the website for this text at http://gelinas.swlearning .com. Here you will find additional materials as well as the Instructor's Resource Manual, Solutions Manual, and PowerPointslides. We believe you will find the learning package flexible and enjoyable to use.
B USINESS P ROCESSES AND I NFORMATION
Documenting Business Processes and Information Systems 24
T ECHNOLOGY F OR B USINESS P ROCESSES AND
Business Intelligence and Knowledge Management Systems 141
D EVELOPMENT OF I NFORMATION S YSTEMS 167
I NTERNAL C ONTROL F OR B USINESS P ROCESSES
IT Governance: The Management and Control of Information
Controlling Information Systems: Process Controls 281
C ORE B USINESS P ROCESSES 323
BRIEF CONTENTS
B USINESS P ROCESSES AND
I NFORMATION S YSTEMS
F OUNDATION 1
Introduction to Information Systems 2
Documenting Business Processes and Information Systems 24
T ECHNOLOGY F OR B USINESS P ROCESSES AND I NFORMATION
S YSTEMS 65
Database Management Systems 66
E-Business 106
CONTENTS
Business Intelligence and Knowledge Management Systems 141
D EVELOPMENT OF I NFORMATION S YSTEMS 167
Systems Analysis 168
Systems Design and Implementation 204
I NTERNAL C ONTROL FOR B USINESS
P ROCESSES AND I NFORMATION
S YSTEMS 239
IT Governance: The Management and Control of Information Technology and
Controlling Information Systems: Process Controls 281
C ORE B USINESS P ROCESSES 323
The “Order-to-Cash” Process: Part I, Marketing and Sales (M/S) 324
The “Order-to-Cash” Process: Part II, Revenue Collection (RC) 373
The “Purchase-to-Pay” (PtoP) Process 418
Integrated Production Processes (IPP) 465
The Business Reporting (BR) Process 494
Glossary 521 Index 537
I NFORMATION S YSTEMS F OUNDATIONS
As the fourth book neared release, Amazon.com received over 275,000 pre-orders for the single volume, surpassing its previous record-setting pre-order of 43,000 copies of John Grisham's The Brethren. But perhaps the biggest challenge of all fell to the Information Systems staff at Amazon.com.
1 I NTRODUCTION TO I NFORMATIONSYSTEMS
Many business professionals at Amazon.com had to work together to plan and execute the successful release of Harry Potter. Amazon's e-commerce systems had to be highly reliable even when faced with unprecedented demand.
Synopsis
As part of this effort, they had to address information systems issues across multiple business processes. To be successful, business professionals must understand their roles and responsibilities in the context of the surrounding business processes and information technologies.
L EARNING O BJECTIVES
Sometimes business processes are extended to business partners via the Internet, allowing electronic business relationships to flourish. In this text, we help you connect your business knowledge with the business processes and information technologies with which professional activity is inextricably linked.
Introduction
The Textbook’s Three Themes
Naturally, business professionals must be aware of the opportunities and risks associated with this new way of doing business. Business professionals must be aware of the availability of new technologies and be able to evaluate the costs, benefits, and utility of each.
Challenges and Opportunities for the Business Professional
Information technology, or simply technology, is the third theme reflected in the icons on the side panel. The technology icons on the side panel signal discussion of an electronic mechanism that is in widespread use, represents the state of the art, or will be adopted by industry in the near future.
Components of the Study of Information Systems
To perform analyzes or prepare information for management decision-making, a business professional must be able to access and use data from internal and external databases. Reporting To design the reports generated by the information system, the business professional needs to know what results are needed or desired.
Radio Frequency ID Tags
Databases Important for a complete understanding of IS are databases, both internal and external to the company; the amount and type of data available in these databases; and methods to retrieve this data.
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 1.1
To design and use IS, the business professional needs to know what event data is needed and how it is processed. Development and operation of systems Information systems that process business events and provide information for management decision-making must be designed, implemented and managed effectively.
What Is an Information System?
Systems and Subsystems
For example, in a typical university, the College of Business and the College of Engineering are subsystems of the university system, and the Departments of Operations Management and Marketing are subsystems of the College of Business system. For example, the human circulatory system is a biological system (a subsystem of the human body) whose purpose is to transport blood containing oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from the body's organs and extremities.
The Information System
Business event data is often used as a key data source to update various master data. 3 Business event data and master data represent relevant parts (or views) of the enterprise-wide database used for a particular application.
Logical Components of a Business Process
Information process users include operational staff, management and people outside the organization, such as the customer. At the operations management level, staff such as supervisors use information to monitor the day-to-day functioning of their operating units.
Management Uses of Information
For example, horizontal flow relates to specific business events, such as one shipment, or to individual inventory items. Finally, at the strategic management level, senior managers such as division managers, chief financial officers (CFOs) and chief executive officers (CEOs) require information that is even more summarized and broader in scope than the information used. through tactical management.
Data versus Information
For example, managers need to know whether enough inventory is being produced each day to meet expected demand. For example, the information can measure the achievement of product quality goals, on-time deliveries, and cash flow.
Qualities of Information
If we can compare information about two similar objects or events, the information is comparable. As an example, obtaining complete information for a decision may require postponing the use of information until all events relevant to the decision have occurred.
The Role of the Business Professional
Conflicts between information qualities It is practically impossible to achieve a maximum level for all information qualities simultaneously. To be effective, the evaluator must possess knowledge of system development techniques, of controls, of the technology used in the information systems and of the design and operation of IS.
Conclusions
As a user, the business professional can also be called upon to participate in the IS design process. To be effective in the design process the user must know how systems are developed, what techniques are used to develop a system and what technology will be used in a new system.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Discuss the relative importance of horizontal information flows and vertical information flows for the business professional. With the increasing use of computers in today's business, flowcharting is essential in financial audits so that the auditor – as well as consultants and business process owners – can see information flows and identify areas where information can be changed, manipulated, or even lost .
2 D P ROCESSES AND OCUMENTING B USINESS
The text describes how to read data flow diagrams, system flow diagrams and entity relationship diagrams and, in the appendices, how to prepare data flow diagrams and system flow diagrams. This chapter begins by showing you how to read data flow diagrams, system flow diagrams, and entity relationship diagrams.
Reading Systems Documentation
Then, in the appendices, see how to prepare data flow diagrams and systems flow diagrams. Don't be a passive observer; work along with the text and practice these tools to develop your skills.
Reading Data Flow Diagrams
See, for example, Figure 2.4 (page 30), where labels in data flows describe the nature of the data rather than how the data is transmitted. Because all the bubbles in Figure 2.4 are numbers followed by a decimal 28 Part I Business Processes and Information Systems Fundamentals.
Reading Systems Flowcharts
Examine Figure 2.5 to make sure you understand the relationship between levels in this set of DFDs. Enter the document into the computer using scanner and manual entry Figure 2.7 Common system routines for flowchart (continued).
Reading Entity-Relationship Diagrams
In Figure 2.8, we see that each STOCK item has many ORDERS, and each ORDER has many STOCK items (a many-to-many relationship). If, in Figure 2.8, only one SALE (shipment) filled an ORDER, there would be a 1:1 relationship between ORDER and SALE.
Preparing Data Flow Diagrams
The Narrative
Appendix 2A
Draw the data storage for the accounts receivable master Documenting Business Processes and Information Systems Chapter 2 43. To print a summary of customer accounts payable (activity 17), bubble 4.0 should retrieve the data stored in main storage of accounts receivable data.
Summary of Drawing DFD Diagrams
Preparing Systems Flowcharts
Appendix 2B
Send the RAs and the batch total from the “bottom” of the input process [that is, from the bottom of the screen, as shown in Figure 2.7, part (a)]. Look at the top part of the 'Receivables' column in Figure 2.13 and compare it with your solution.
Summary of Systems Flowcharting
Connect it to the same computer process block with which you updated the accounts receivable data store. At the end of the day, the sales clerk gives the cash and the register tape to the cashier.
PROBLEMS
At the end of the shift, the clerk forwards the LCC notes to the store's cashier (again, as mentioned above, ignore the handling of the cash). The cash receipts summary is sent by the accounts receivable department to the finance department.
T ECHNOLOGY FOR
3 Database Management Systems 4 E-Business
5 Business Intelligence and Knowledge Management Systems
The mass recall of Firestone tires in the fall of 2000, particularly those on the Ford Explorer off-road vehicle, caused a major financial impact on both Firestone (including its parent company Bridgestone) and the Ford Motor Company. The tread of certain brands and sizes of Firestone tires was prone to separation - especially if the tires were underinflated, driven at high speeds in hot climates, or carried heavy loads.
3 D ATABASE M ANAGEMENT S YSTEMS
One reason was that Ford “lacked a database that could be used to determine whether incident reports for one type or brand of tire represented a deviation from those of other tires on Ford vehicles.”1 As a result, Ford was unable to identify the problem. until the public relations damage was serious and then only after a team was organized to review the documentation available in Firestone's offices. Finally, in the appendices we discuss the processes used in the design and implementation of entity relationship models and databases.
L EARNING OBJECTIVES
Event Data Processing
Sending invoices for goods and recording the amount received Receiving and recording payments. Receipt of goods into stock and recording of stock receipt Receipt of supplier invoices and recording of the amount of debts.
Transaction Processing Approach
Its Order-to-Cash process is essentially the same as that of the merchandising firm in Figure 3.1. Similarly, we describe the information system that prepares and records a purchase order as the "purchase" part of the Purchase-to-Pay process.
Event-Driven Approach
To capture the event of a sales order, we need to record information regarding the seller and buyer (who), the ordered goods (what), the location of delivery (where) and the date of sale and promised delivery (when). However, if the supplier changes the delivery date, the seller can also have immediate access to the change and inform the buyer about it.
File Management Processes
Once event data has been collected and recorded, the data can be aggregated and summarized in any way a particular user chooses. It is important to note that event-driven systems may seem no different to the average user than more traditional transaction processing systems for collecting business event data.
Managing Data Files
We see how data is managed - especially how data is stored and retrieved, knowing that part of the file management is done by the information systems that underpin order-to-cash, purchase-to-pay and other business processes.
Limitations of File Processing
As implied by Figure 3.5, part (a), the sales data in the inventory data file—including customer territory and vendor—can be updated by the sales application or updated separately from the inventory application. Note in Figure 3.6 the redundancies between the three data files regarding persistent data such as customer number, territory, and vendor.
Database Management Systems
A database management system is effectively the means by which an organization coordinates the various activities of its many functional areas. A database management system that contains data related to all of an organization's applications supports common event data processing needs and improves the organization's management activities by providing information useful to managers.
Logical vs. Physical Database Models
While a database in its strictest sense is a collection of files, we will use the term database synonymously with database management system, as it has evolved as the normal meaning intended by the vast majority of computer users and developers.
Database Management Systems (DBMS)
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 3.1
The SELECT command combines the SALES_LINES and INVENTORY_ITEMS tables over the list of items (Item_Number) and finds those items in the combined table that were sold at a price (Sales_Price) other than the price listed in the INVENTORY_ITEMS table (Unit_Price) is contained. Neither the user nor the application programs have any idea that this mapping is taking place.
Overcoming the Limitations of File Processing
Now let's see how easily data can be retrieved from the relational tables in Figure 3.7 using the database query language SQL (structured query language). Because each data element is stored only once, any additions, deletions or changes to the database are easily accomplished.
Enabling Event-Driven Systems
The strategic shift to event-driven systems is further embodied in two contemporary concepts driving the implementation of new database management systems: data warehousing and data mining. Data warehousing and data mining opportunities are enabled and enriched by the use of event-driven systems focused on capturing data that provide comprehensive views of business events.
Entity-Relationship (E-R) Modeling
Data warehousing is the use of Information Systems equipment to focus on the collection, organization, integration and long-term storage of data across an entity. The purpose of data warehousing is to provide users with easy access to large amounts of disparate data from across the organization with the sole purpose of improving decision-making skills.
Entities and Attributes
Note that we have added an attribute beyond the one shown in Figure 3.8—Client_Number. We added this attribute as a key attribute, and used an underscore on the attribute name to document its selection as the key attribute.
Relationships
For the Address composite attribute, we use the same oval connectors for each of the main attribute's subattributes.
Enterprise Systems
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 3.2
This shift has occurred primarily due to two factors: (1) the movement toward web-browser-driven systems that reduce the cost of both technology and training; and (2) the emergence of application service providers (ASPs) that implement enterprise systems and then lease the use of the enterprise system to multiple other enterprises. In other words, the ASP runs the hardware and software for the company that wants its data integrated via an enterprise system, and the company saves money by essentially sharing the cost of implementing and maintaining the company's system with several other companies that also use the same ASP.
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 3.2 (continued )
These systems are capable of extracting data from both enterprise systems data sources and legacy systems that may still exist within an organization (or subsidiary of the organization). Initially, the implementation of enterprise systems was primarily driven by large multinational manufacturers such as General Motors, IBM, and General Mills.
Relational Databases
Encapsulation refers to the ability to build into the database model, as part of the definition of an object, programmed procedures that change the value of that object (i.e. each of its attribute values). On the other hand, part of encapsulation may involve requesting information from another object in order to have enough data with which to perform encapsulated operations.
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 3.3
Apart from encapsulation, other characteristics of object-oriented models can be integrated into relational data models and are increasingly being integrated into commercial packages.
Object-Oriented Database Model
Basic Relational Concepts
R Model Development
The nature of the process is that each employee in the company keeps track of the time spent working on each customer's service, usually filling out a time sheet each week. The challenge here is to capture all the information needed to track employee time and client billing information.
Appendix 3A
First, it is very important that you study business events and understand users' information needs so that you can identify all the ways in which different entities are connected. At the same time, CLIENT improves the description of an attribute for the completed work: the customer for whom the work was performed.
Model Constraints
The question is then turned around and we ask, "How many employees can provide a given employee's workday?" The maximum number will be one. When determining participation in a relationship, the maximum is still a lot, and the minimum can be zero.
Entity Relationship (E-R) Diagrams
Note that the required participation of one and only one employee is shown in the left row of the relationship as (1,1). Note that in Figure 3.13, the three entities for the billing process are connected on the right half of the diagram.
Mapping an E-R Diagram to a Relational DBMS
Appendix 3B
Even in the extended version of the E-R diagram, attributes are directly mapped to relations. Get a dump of the algorithms used to select the elements and a list of those selected.
4 E-B USINESS
Business Chapter 4 107 you study this chapter, you will learn about the underlying technologies that facilitate
The power of the Internet to efficiently support the sales and marketing of products has led to incredible levels of web activity in support of electronic commerce (e-commerce). A byproduct of e-business is often the elimination of the staff who would normally serve as intermediaries between the two parties to the business event.
The Changing World of Business Processing
Since this chapter is specifically about e-business, we will reserve the use of the e-business icon for those places in the chapter where a particularly critical e-business technology or concept is discussed. Once you understand how the processing takes place, it will make more sense to explore technologies that enable improved efficiency in the processing of business event data.
Automating Manual Systems
At our used book and CD store, the owner-manager or employee who closes at the end of the day can take responsibility for putting all sales slips on a personal computer to store on a disk. Update Master Data: Once all the data has been entered into the system, the data is then processed and any calculations and summaries are completed (represented by the sales processing update symbol in Figure 4.1).
Online Transaction Entry (OLTE)
One copy of the sales slip is given to you (the customer), and the other is placed in the cash drawer (for filing in the audit file). This process is reflected in Figure 4.2 by the line of communication that connects the sales register in the sales department with the program procedures in data processing.
Online Real-Time (OLRT) Processing
Business event occurrence and logging of event data: At the time of the business event, related data is entered directly into the system. In a real-time system, business event data cannot be aggregated on a local computer to be transferred to the data processing center later.
Online Transaction Processing (OLTP)
While immediate-mode-dominated systems are becoming the most prevalent method for new business event data processing applications, they are not necessarily the end-all solution for all applications. For example, if you used periodic processing to process ATMs, a person could withdraw the entire balance from their account several times before the system processes the event data and updates the accounts - a huge loss for the bank.
Advances in Electronic Processing and Communication
Note that in an OLTP system, the immediate update of balances at the central location and the user locations is done with shadow data (eg copies of the master data used for real-time processing) that is duplicated at each site, but for control purposes , the actual master data is usually updated once a day using batch processing. Both periodic mode and instantaneous mode approaches have distinctive properties that make each a preferred option for certain types of applications.
Automated Data Entry
Utility companies and credit card companies often ask customers to handwrite the amount of the payment on the transfer form. Scanners are input devices that capture printed images or documents and convert them into electronic digital signals (that is, into binary representations of the printed image or document) that can be stored and manipulated on computer media.
Digital Image Processing
In such cases, optical character recognition (OCR) is used – similar to how barcode scanners work – to recognize handwritten or printed character patterns. Both barcode scanners and OCR are technologies designed to eliminate the need for data entry and reduce the accompanying risk of error.
Communication Networks
The Internet is the network that connects all the WANs that organizations choose to access. The byproduct of expanding into intranets, extranets, and the Internet is rich media for e-business.
Stages of E-Business
Web browsers are software programs designed specifically to allow users to search through the various websites and data sources available on the Internet. The result has been the development of intranets, which are essentially mini-internal equivalents of the Internet that connect an organization's internal documents and databases into a system accessible via web browsers or, increasingly, through internally developed software.
Electronic Document Management
General Uses of Electronic Document Management Systems
Electronic Data Interchange
An alternative is to use an EDI service bureau: an organization that acts as an intermediary between a large hub company and its suppliers. The EDI service bureau generally works with smaller suppliers who are reluctant to acquire in-house translations and 122 Part II Technology for Business Processes and Information Systems.
General Uses of Electronic Data Interchange
With EDI, the capture of the source document of the business event data and the subsequent entry of the source document are eliminated for the sales organization, since the OLTE activities are initiated and completed by the connecting buyer. Business event data is often processed by an online system in real time, but many organizations choose to perform most of the processing steps in a periodic fashion as well—.
Internet Commerce
However, you must be careful not to make assumptions about how business events are handled. Today, e-business enables the computer-to-computer exchange of business event data in structured (eg, EDI or XML) or semi-structured formats, usually via the Internet, that allows the initiation and execution of business events.
From Private EDI Networks to the Internet: Management,
In many cases, the goods or services contracted for via the Internet are immediately (or shortly thereafter) also forwarded back to the consumer via the Internet (i.e. when the goods or services can be delivered in electronic format, such as a case with software). The Internet radically simplifies business processes by allowing the organization 126 Part II Technology for Business Processes and Information Systems.
Operational, and Control Considerations in Computer-to-Computer Business Linkages
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 4.1
For example, if you connect across the web to Lands' End (a direct retailer of clothing - especially warm stuff!), you'll see a "smart order form." You will be given an input box to enter the product number of the item you want to order. Technology Insight 4.3 (page 129) provides some management, operational and control issues associated with the use of the Internet for e-business, while Technology Application 4.3 (page 130) provides some examples of Internet commerce ventures.
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 4.1 (continued )
Security procedures and other controls must prevent compromise of sensitive data, and controls must ensure proper translation and routing of all messages. XML parsers (programs that can read XML) have been integrated into many web browsers, web-enabled enterprise systems (eg, Oracle Applications and Great Plains), and other business applications.
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 4.2
Business Chapter 4 129
Business Management and Operations Considerations
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 4.3
There are two primary categories of Internet e-business: (1) business-to-consumer, or B2C (e.g., Lands' End), and (2) business-to-business, or B2B. Note that the numbers in the circles are cross-references to corresponding locations in the narrative description.
General Uses of E-Business
Client-Server Relationship (Circles 1 and 7) The relationship established between the client and the vendor is an extended form of web-enabled client-server applications. When the customer accesses the seller's website, he or she can click on the WebTrust symbol to ensure that it remains applicable.
Internet Security Certification
Business Chapter 4 135
Internet Auction Markets
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 4.4
Internet Market Exchanges
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 4.5
The biggest barrier to most organizations (and individuals) doing business over the Internet is security concerns. As security increases, the Internet will increasingly become a viable alternative as the communications infrastructure of choice.
EDI Standards
Appendix 4A
Develop a research paper on the growing use of the Internet to support electronic data interchange (EDI) between companies. Amazon.com is known as the most successful dot-com company that does business only through the Internet.
5 B USINESS I NTELLIGENCEANDKNOWLEDGE
Amazon.com used to publish a list of books that customers bought from various large employers, but stopped when the companies objected over privacy concerns. Of course, this change doesn't mean that Amazon.com can't track trends internally to help its marketing staff.) Amazon.com can also analyze prices, periodically experimenting with different purchase prices for different customers to increase revenue based on current volume sales.
M ANAGEMENT S YSTEMS
To recognize how information is used for different types of decisions at different levels in the organization. Information about inefficient or overworked processes in the organization focuses management's attention on problems in the organization.
Management Decision Making
For example, many organizations have automated the decision of when and how much credit to give a customer when an order is received. Consider, on the other hand, the decision-making process that managers undertake to choose which research and development projects to pursue in the coming year.
Lessons About Information Effectiveness from Technical Communication Experts
When a customer's order is entered, the computer compares the order amount with the customer's credit limit, credit history and outstanding balances.
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 5.1
Information qualities and level of decision-making The level of the decision-maker and the type of decision to be made determines the superiority of certain information qualities. Operations management may require more accurate and timely information and may not be concerned with the predictive value of the information.
Systems For Aiding Decision Makers
Data Quality
Business intelligence systems, OLAP and cluster support systems Automated tools can assist or replace the decision maker. With the table, the decision maker prepares a report in a format that is appropriate for this decision at this point in time.
Business Intelligence Systems
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 5.2
When the BI system is initially designed, the organization identifies the data and patterns that allow managers to monitor issues of interest. Once data has been identified, users must ensure that the data provided is relevant, timely, accurate, valid and complete.
Group Support at PricewaterhouseCoopers
BI systems do not suggest to the decision maker what to do; they simply provide views for interpreting information. Artificial Intelligence Many decision-making situations require a high level of expertise in a deep or complex problem area.
Expert Systems
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 5.3
The knowledge base contains all the relevant expertise - often in the form of rules - that can be obtained from one or more human experts on a particular subject. When only one (or only a few) person(s) know how to perform a certain task, an expert system can be "taught" to imitate the actions of the expert.
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 5.3 (continued )
The knowledge collection facility has a computer interface in the form of dialogue and input screens to speed up the creation and maintenance of the knowledge base. The human expert can use the knowledge gathering facility and thus assume the role of the knowledge engineer.
Using Expert Systems Technology to Support Field Technicians
You will find additional examples of the use of expert systems in the remaining chapters. Technology Insight 5.4 describes one of the most common modern development approaches in AI, called neural networks (NN), and Technology Application 5.4 (page 156) provides real-world examples of neural networks.
Neural Networks
For example, NN may predict that revenue will fall next year due to a reduction in ratios A, B, and C. An expert system could perform a similar function, but only if the expert found a relationship between ratios A, B, C and income, and someone entered that relationship into the knowledge base.
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 5.4
Most intelligent agents are designed to learn from the actions of the system's user and to respond based on the user's responses or usage patterns. Much of the demand for intelligent agents has arisen from two realities in the workplace.
Uses of Neural Networks
Perhaps the area of greatest recent growth in decision support systems is the development and use of intelligent agents. Such use of intelligent agents holds the greatest promise for the future of AI-based systems.
Use of Intelligent Agents in TurboTax
Intelligent agents can provide smart assistants that simplify and/or enhance efficient use of software systems. Intelligent agents can adapt to the user's specific situation and provide guidance on potential errors and suggest alternatives.
Knowledge Management
Knowledge management is the process of capturing, storing, retrieving and distributing the knowledge of individuals in an organization for use by others in the organization to improve the quality and/or effectiveness of decision making within the company. Effective knowledge management means that an organization must be able to connect the knowledge of one individual (eg, capture) with other individuals in the company (eg, distribution) who need the same knowledge.
Gathering Knowledge with Groupware
A major enabler of knowledge management efforts is the power of contemporary information technologies. Advanced database management systems and AI systems technologies for regular storage and retrieval of captured knowledge are also critical.
Storing Knowledge in Data Warehouses
Much of the "knowledge" in such systems is what is often referred to as "three-ring binder knowledge" consisting of items such as standard operating procedure manuals, employee resumes, troubleshooting guides, regulatory guidelines (such as tax laws), and corporate codes (such as codes of conduct or ethics). These memos and letters are often the best documentation of problem resolution provided by clients or customers.
Peer-to-Peer Groupware
Given the amount of document-driven knowledge involved in such systems, it should be obvious that electronic document management technologies can greatly improve technology for business processes and information systems.
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 5.5
The most common problem with such systems, however, is finding the document that has the answer to your problem.
Intelligent Agents for Knowledge Retrieval
While intelligent agents are often the dominant form of AI used for knowledge management, be sure to recognize that other AI components are used in knowledge management systems. In addition, expert systems and business intelligence systems are increasingly finding a home as integrated components of the knowledge management system.
Creating A Knowledge Culture
The challenge is in defining a logical plan for developing intelligent technologies that provide maximum support for the organization's strategic mission. Advanced information technologies and intelligent systems - such as clusters and intelligent agents - must be successfully integrated with existing Information Systems.
Enforcing Knowledge Management
For each of the decision steps—intelligence, design, and choice—describe the information you will need and the source of that information. Based on the ES components described in Technology Insight 5.3 (page 152), describe the contents of the ES.
D EVELOPMENT OF
6 Systems Analysis
7 Systems Design and Implementation
Unprocessed claims leading to higher than expected losses and the refusal of some providers to serve Oxford customers. Oxford had no clear definition of the project and was unwilling to see it through.
6 S YSTEMS A NALYSIS
To explain the importance of managing the system development process to ensure achievement of the development goals. Organizations perform the first step in systems analysis, the system study (often called a feasibility study), to decide what systems development efforts will be undertaken, if any, to solve an information system problem.
Definition and Objectives of Systems Development
System development phases, steps, objectives and tasks Figure 6.1 (page 172) presents the system development life cycle. The presentation in Chapters 6 and 7 assumes that systems development will be carried out by an organization's own systems development staff, proceeding as depicted in Figure 6.1.
Alternative Development Approaches
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 6.1
Controlling the Systems Development Process
TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT 6.1 (continued )
Or how do you ensure that a tenant's special wishes are included in the specifications and subsequently in the actual construction. Given such issues, they have concluded that system development must be carefully controlled and managed by following good project management principles and the organization's quality assurance framework, contained in the system development life cycle methodology.
Project Management
The project work plan, including phases, work to be accomplished in each, times and costs, is often documented using a project management tool such as Microsoft Project. Project management—especially the planning process and setting the project schedule—can ultimately determine the success of the project.
Quality Assurance
A recent study found that an organization's achievement of Level 3 SW-CMM maturity, along with the implementation of a structured systems development methodology, contributes to the quality and cost-effectiveness of the software development process. Eining and David Plumlee, “Potential Expansion of Assurance Services: An Examination of the Bluejay Organization,” unpublished manuscript, August 2000.
Involvement in Systems Development
Business Process Reengineering
The second element of Peapod's success is their process for picking, packaging and delivering customer orders. For example, Peapod's prices are linked to the current offline prices of their partner stores, giving their customers the weekly advertised sale prices.
Change Management
Systems Survey
