information system assignment pdf

Part I: What is an information system?

Chapter 1: What Is an Information System?

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this chapter, you will be able to:

define what an information system is by identifying its major components;
describe the basic history of information systems; and
describe the basic argument behind the article “Does IT Matter?” by Nicholas Carr.

Introduction

Welcome to the world of information systems, a world that seems to change almost daily. Over the past few decades information systems have progressed to being virtually everywhere, even to the point where you may not realize its existence in many of your daily activities. Stop and consider how you interface with various components in information systems every day through different electronic devices. Smartphones, laptop, and personal computers connect us constantly to a variety of systems including messaging, banking, online retailing, and academic resources, just to name a few examples. Information systems are at the center of virtually every organization, providing users with almost unlimited resources.

Have you ever considered why businesses invest in technology? Some purchase computer hardware and software because everyone else has computers. Some even invest in the same hardware and software as their business friends even though different technology might be more appropriate for them. Finally, some businesses do sufficient research before deciding what best fits their needs. As you read through this book be sure to evaluate the contents of each chapter based on how you might someday apply what you have learned to strengthen the position of the business you work for, or maybe even your own business. Wise decisions can result in stability and growth for your future enterprise.

Information systems surround you almost every day. Wi-fi networks on your university campus, database search services in the learning resource center, and printers in computer labs are good examples. Every time you go shopping you are interacting with an information system that manages inventory and sales. Even driving to school or work results in an interaction with the transportation information system, impacting traffic lights, cameras, etc. Vending machines connect and communicate using the Internet of Things (IoT). Your car’s computer system does more than just control the engine – acceleration, shifting, and braking data is always recorded. And, of course, everyone’s smartphone is constantly connecting to available networks via Wi-fi, recording your location and other data.

Can you think of some words to describe an information system? Words such as “computers,” “networks,” or “databases” might pop into your mind. The study of information systems encompasses a broad array of devices, software, and data systems. Defining an information system provides you with a solid start to this course and the content you are about to encounter.

Defining Information Systems

Many programs in business require students to take a course in information systems . Various authors have attempted to define the term in different ways. Read the following definitions, then see if you can detect some variances.

“An information system (IS) can be defined technically as a set of interrelated components that collect, process, store, and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organization.” [1]
“Information systems are combinations of hardware, software, and telecommunications networks that people build and use to collect, create, and distribute useful data, typically in organizational settings.” [2]
“Information systems are interrelated components working together to collect, process, store, and disseminate information to support decision making, coordination, control, analysis, and visualization in an organization.” [3]

The Components of Information Systems

Information systems can be viewed as having five major components: hardware, software, data, people, and processes. The first three are technology . These are probably what you thought of when defining information systems. The last two components, people and processes, separate the idea of information systems from more technical fields, such as computer science. In order to fully understand information systems, you will need to understand how all of these components work together to bring value to an organization.

Technology can be thought of as the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes. From the invention of the wheel to the harnessing of electricity for artificial lighting, technology has become ubiquitous in daily life, to the degree that it is assumed to always be available for use regardless of location. As discussed before, the first three components of information systems – hardware, software, and data – all fall under the category of technology. Each of these will be addressed in an individual chapter. At this point a simple introduction should help you in your understanding.

Hardware is the tangible, physical portion of an information system – the part you can touch. Computers, keyboards, disk drives, and flash drives are all examples of information systems hardware. How these hardware components function and work together will be covered in Chapter 2.

Software comprises the set of instructions that tell the hardware what to do. Software is not tangible – it cannot be touched. Programmers create software by typing a series of instructions telling the hardware what to do. Two main categories of software are: Operating Systems and Application software. Operating Systems software provides the interface between the hardware and the Application software. Examples of operating systems for a personal computer include Microsoft Windows and Ubuntu Linux. The mobile phone operating system market is dominated by Google Android and Apple iOS. Application software allows the user to perform tasks such as creating documents, recording data in a spreadsheet, or messaging a friend. Software will be explored more thoroughly in Chapter 3.

The third technology component is data. You can think of data as a collection of facts. For example, your address (street, city state, postal code), your phone number, and your social networking account are all pieces of data. Like software, data is also intangible, unable to be seen in its native state. Pieces of unrelated data are not very useful. But aggregated, indexed, and organized together into a database, data can become a powerful tool for businesses. Organizations collect all kinds of data and use it to make decisions which can then be analyzed as to their effectiveness. The analysis of data is then used to improve the organization’s performance. Chapter 4 will focus on data and databases, and how it is used in organizations.

Networking Communication

Besides the technology components (hardware, software, and data) which have long been considered the core technology of information systems, it has been suggested that one other component should be added: communication. An information system can exist without the ability to communicate – the first personal computers were stand-alone machines that did not access the Internet. However, in today’s hyper-connected world, it is an extremely rare computer that does not connect to another device or to a enetwork. Technically, the networking communication component is made up of hardware and software, but it is such a core feature of today’s information systems that it has become its own category. Networking will be covered in Chapter 5.

When thinking about information systems, it is easy to focus on the technology components and forget to look beyond these tools to fully understand their integration into an organization. A focus on the people involved in information systems is the next step. From the front-line user support staff, to systems analysts, to developers, all the way up to the chief information officer (CIO), the people involved with information systems are an essential element. The people component will be covered in Chapter 9.

The last component of information systems is process. A process is a series of steps undertaken to achieve a desired outcome or goal. Information systems are becoming more integrated with organizational processes, bringing greater productivity and better control to those processes. But simply automating activities using technology is not enough – businesses looking to utilize information systems must do more. The ultimate goal is to improve processes both internally and externally, enhancing interfaces with suppliers and customers. Technology buzzwords such as “business process re-engineering,” “business process management,” and “enterprise resource planning” all have to do with the continued improvement of these business procedures and the integration of technology with them. Businesses hoping to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors are highly focused on this component of information systems. The process element in information systems will be discussed in Chapter 8.

The Role of Information Systems

You should now understand that information systems have a number of vital components, some tangible, others intangible, and still others of a personnel nature. These components collect, store, organize, and distribute data throughout the organization. You may have even realized that one of the roles of information systems is to take data and turn it into information, and then transform that information into organizational knowledge. As technology has developed, this role has evolved into the backbone of the organization, making information systems integral to virtually every business. The integration of information systems into organizations has progressed over the decades.

The Mainframe Era

From the late 1950s through the 1960s, computers were seen as a way to more efficiently do calculations. These first business computers were room-sized monsters, with several machines linked together. The primary work was to organize and store large volumes of information that were tedious to manage by hand. Only large businesses, universities, and government agencies could afford them, and they took a crew of specialized personnel and dedicated facilities to provide information to organizations.

Time-sharing allowed dozens or even hundreds of users to simultaneously access mainframe computers from locations in the same building or miles away. Typical functions included scientific calculations and accounting, all under the broader umbrella of “data processing.”

In the late 1960s, Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP) systems were introduced. This software, running on a mainframe computer, gave companies the ability to manage the manufacturing process, making it more efficient. From tracking inventory to creating bills of materials to scheduling production, the MRP systems gave more businesses a reason to integrate computing into their processes. IBM became the dominant mainframe company. Continued improvement in software and the availability of cheaper hardware eventually brought mainframe computers (and their little sibling, the minicomputer) into most large businesses.

Today you probably think of Silicon Valley in northern California as the center of computing and technology. But in the days of the mainframe’s dominance corporations in the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul produced most computers. The advent of the personal computer resulted in the “center of technology” eventually moving to Silicon Valley.

The PC Revolution

In 1975, the first microcomputer was announced on the cover of Popular Mechanics : the Altair 8800. Its immediate popularity sparked the imagination of entrepreneurs everywhere, and there were soon dozens of companies manufacturing these “personal computers.” Though at first just a niche product for computer hobbyists, improvements in usability and the availability of practical software led to growing sales. The most prominent of these early personal computer makers was a little company known as Apple Computer, headed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, with the hugely successful “Apple II.” Not wanting to be left out of the revolution, in 1981 IBM teamed with Microsoft, then just a startup company, for their operating system software and hurriedly released their own version of the personal computer simply called the “PC.” Small businesses finally had affordable computing that could provide them with needed information systems. Popularity of the IBM PC gave legitimacy to the microcomputer and it was named Time magazine’s “Man of the Year” for 1982.

Because of the IBM PC’s open architecture, it was easy for other companies to copy, or “clone” it. During the 1980s, many new computer companies sprang up, offering less expensive versions of the PC. This drove prices down and spurred innovation. Microsoft developed the Windows operating system, with version 3.1 in 1992 becoming the first commercially successful release. Typical uses for the PC during this period included word processing, spreadsheets, and databases. These early PCs were standalone machines, not connected to a network.

Client-Server

In the mid-1980s, businesses began to see the need to connect their computers as a way to collaborate and share resources. Known as “client-server,” this networking architecture allowed users to log in to the Local Area Network (LAN) from their PC (the “client”) by connecting to a central computer called a “server.” The server would lookup permissions for each user to determine who had access to various resources such as printers and files. Software companies began developing applications that allowed multiple users to access the same data at the same time. This evolved into software applications for communicating, with the first popular use of electronic mail appearing at this time.

This networking and data sharing all stayed mainly within the confines of each business. Sharing of electronic data between companies was a very specialized function. Computers were now seen as tools to collaborate internally within an organization. These networks of computers were becoming so powerful that they were replacing many of the functions previously performed by the larger mainframe computers at a fraction of the cost. It was during this era that the first Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems were developed and run on the client-server architecture. An ERP system is an application with a centralized database that can be used to run a company’s entire business. With separate modules for accounting, finance, inventory, human resources, and many more, ERP systems, with Germany’s SAP leading the way, represented the state of the art in information systems integration. ERP systems will be discussed in Chapter 9.

The Internet, World Wide Web and E-Commerce

The first long distance transmission between two computers occurred on October 29, 1969 when developers under the direction of Dr. Leonard Kleinrock sent the word “login” from the campus of UCLA to Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, California, a distance of over 350 miles. The United States Department of Defense created and funded ARPA Net (Advanced Research Projects Administration), an experimental network which eventually became known as the Internet. ARPA Net began with just four nodes or sites, a very humble start for today’s Internet. Initially, the Internet was confined to use by universities, government agencies, and researchers. Users were required to type commands (today we refer to this as “command line”) in order to communicate and transfer files. The first e-mail messages on the Internet were sent in the early 1970s as a few very large companies expanded from local networks to the Internet. The computer was now evolving from a purely computational device into the world of digital communications.

In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee developed a simpler way for researchers to share information over the Internet, a concept he called the World Wide Web . [4] This invention became the catalyst for the growth of the Internet as a way for businesses to share information about themselves. As web browsers and Internet connections became the norm, companies rushed to grab domain names and create websites.

The digital world also became a more dangerous place as virtually all companies connected to the Internet. Computer viruses and worms, once slowly propagated through the sharing of computer disks, could now grow with tremendous speed via the Internet. Software and operating systems written for a standalone world found it very difficult to defend against these sorts of threats. A whole new industry of computer and Internet security arose. Information security will be discussed in Chapter 6.

As the world recovered from the dot-com bust, the use of technology in business continued to evolve at a frantic pace. Websites became interactive. Instead of just visiting a site to find out about a business and then purchase its products, customers wanted to be able to customize their experience and interact online with the business. This new type of interactive website, where you did not have to know how to create a web page or do any programming in order to put information online, became known as Web 2.0. This new stage of the Web was exemplified by blogging, social networking, and interactive comments being available on many websites. The new Web 2.0 world, in which online interaction became expected, had a major impact on many businesses and even whole industries. Many bookstores found themselves relegated to a niche status. Video rental chains and travel agencies simply began going out of business as they were replaced by online technologies. The newspaper industry saw a huge drop in circulation with some cities such as New Orleans no longer able to support a daily newspaper. Disintermediation is the process of technology replacing a middleman in a transaction. Web 2.0 allowed users to get information and news online, reducing dependence of physical books and newspapers.

As the world became more connected, new questions arose. Should access to the Internet be considered a right? Is it legal to copy a song that had been downloaded from the Internet? Can information entered into a website be kept private? What information is acceptable to collect from children? Technology moved so fast that policymakers did not have enough time to enact appropriate laws. Ethical issues surrounding information systems will be covered in Chapter 12.

The Post-PC World, Sort of

Ray Ozzie, a technology visionary at Microsoft, stated in 2012 that computing was moving into a phase he called the post-PC world. [5] Now six years later that prediction has not stood up very well to reality. As you will read in Chapter 13, PC sales have dropped slightly in recent years while there has been a precipitous decline in tablet sales. Smartphone sales have accelerated, due largely to their mobility and ease of operation. Just as the mainframe before it, the PC will continue to play a key role in business, but its role will be somewhat diminished as people emphasize mobility as a central feature of technology. Cloud computing provides users with mobile access to data and applications, making the PC more of a part of the communications channel rather than a repository of programs and information. Innovation in the development of technology and communications will continue to move businesses forward.

Can Information Systems Bring Competitive Advantage?

It has always been the assumption that the implementation of information systems will bring a business competitive advantage. If installing one computer to manage inventory can make a company more efficient, then it can be expected that installing several computers can improve business processes and efficiency.

In 2003, Nicholas Carr wrote an article in the Harvard Business Review that questioned this assumption. Entitled “I.T. Doesn’t Matter.” Carr was concerned that information technology had become just a commodity. Instead of viewing technology as an investment that will make a company stand out, Carr said technology would become as common as electricity – something to be managed to reduce costs, ensure that it is always running, and be as risk-free as possible.

The article was both hailed and scorned. Can I.T. bring a competitive advantage to an organization? It sure did for Walmart (see sidebar). Technology and competitive advantage will be discussed in Chapter 7.

Sidebar: Walmart Uses Information Systems to Become the World’s Leading Retailer

Registered trademark of Amazon Technologies, Inc.

Walmart is the world’s largest retailer, earn 8.1 billion for the fiscal year that ended on January 31, 2018. Walmart currently serves over 260 million customers every week worldwide through its 11,700 stores in 28 countries. [6] In 2018 Fortune magazine for the sixth straight year ranked Walmart the number one company for annual revenue as they again exceeded $500 billion in annual sales. The next closest company, Exxon, had less than half of Walmart’s total revenue. [7] Walmart’s rise to prominence is due in large part to making information systems a high priority, especially in their Supply Chain Management (SCM) system known as Retail Link. ing $14.3 billion on sales of $30

This system, unique when initially implemented in the mid-1980s, allowed Walmart’s suppliers to directly access the inventory levels and sales information of their products at any of Walmart’s more than eleven thousand stores. Using Retail Link, suppliers can analyze how well their products are selling at one or more Walmart stores with a range of reporting options. Further, Walmart requires the suppliers to use Retail Link to manage their own inventory levels. If a supplier feels that their products are selling out too quickly, they can use Retail Link to petition Walmart to raise the inventory levels for their products. This has essentially allowed Walmart to “hire” thousands of product managers, all of whom have a vested interest in the products they are managing. This revolutionary approach to managing inventory has allowed Walmart to continue to drive prices down and respond to market forces quickly.

Today Walmart continues to innovate with information technology. Using its tremendous market presence, any technology that Walmart requires its suppliers to implement immediately becomes a business standard. For example, in 1983 Walmart became the first large retailer to require suppliers to the use Uniform Product Code (UPC) labels on all products. Clearly, Walmart has learned how to use I.T. to gain a competitive advantage.

In this chapter you have been introduced to the concept of information systems. Several definitions focused on the main components: technology, people, and process. You saw how the business use of information systems has evolved over the years, from the use of large mainframe computers for number crunching, through the introduction of the PC and networks, all the way to the era of mobile computing. During each of these phases, new innovations in software and technology allowed businesses to integrate technology more deeply into their organizations.

Virtually every company uses information systems which leads to the question: Does information systems bring a competitive advantage? In the final analysis the goal of this book is to help you understand the importance of information systems in making an organization more competitive. Your challenge is to understand the key components of an information system and how it can be used to bring a competitive advantage to every organization you will serve in your career.

Study Questions

What are the five major components that make up an information system?
List the three examples of information system hardware?
Microsoft Windows is an example of which component of information systems?
What is application software?
What roles do people play in information systems?
What is the definition of a process?
What was invented first, the personal computer or the Internet?
In what year were restrictions on commercial use of the Internet first lifted?
What is Carr’s main argument about information technology?
Suppose that you had to explain to a friend the concept of an information system. How would you define it? Write a one-paragraph description in your own words that you feel would best describe an information system to your friends or family.
Of the five primary components of an information system (hardware, software, data, people, process), which do you think is the most important to the success of a business organization? Write a one-paragraph answer to this question that includes an example from your personal experience to support your answer.
Everyone interacts with various information systems every day: at the grocery store, at work, at school, even in our cars. Make a list of the different information systems you interact with daily. Can you identify the technologies, people, and processes involved in making these systems work.
Do you agree that we are in a post-PC stage in the evolution of information systems? Do some original research and cite it as you make your prediction about what business computing will look like in the next generation.
The Walmart sidebar introduced you to how information systems was used to make them the world’s leading retailer. Walmart has continued to innovate and is still looked to as a leader in the use of technology. Do some original research and write a one-page report detailing a new technology that Walmart has recently implemented or is pioneering.
Examine your PC. Using a four column table format identify and record the following information: 1st column: Program name, 2nd column: software manufacturer, 3rd column: software version, 4th column: software type (editor/word processor, spreadsheet, database, etc.).
Examine your mobile phone. Create another four column table similar to the one in Lab #1. This time identify the apps, then record the requested information.
In this chapter you read about the evolution of computing from mainframe computers to PCs and on to smartphones. Create a four column table and record the following information about your own electronic devices: 1st column – Type: PC or smartphone, 2nd column – Operating system including version, 3rd column – Storage capacity, 4th column – Storage available.
Laudon, K.C. and Laudon, J. P. (2014) Management Information Systems , thirteenth edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.
Valacich, J. and Schneider, C. (2010). Information Systems Today – Managing in the Digital World , fourth edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Laudon, K.C. and Laudon, J. P. (2012). Management Information Systems , twelfth edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
CERN . (n.d.) The Birth of the Web. Retrieved from http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/about/web-en.html
Marquis, J. (2012, July 16) What is the Post-PC World? Online Universities.com. Retrieved from https://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2012/07/what-post-pc-world/
Walmart . (n.d.) 2017 Annual Report. Retrieved from http://s2.q4cdn.com/056532643/files/doc_financials/2017/Annual/WMT_2017_AR-(1).pdf
McCoy, K. (2018, May 21). Big Winners in Fortune 500 List. USA Today . Retrieved from http://https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/05/21/big-winners-fortune-500-list-walmart-exxon-mobil-amazon/628003002/

Information Systems for Business and Beyond (2019) by David Bourgeois is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Information Systems for Business and Beyond

(18 reviews)

David T. Bourgeois, Biola University

James L. Smith

Shouhong Wang

Joseph Mortati

Last Update: 2019

Publisher: Saylor Foundation

Language: English

Formats Available

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Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Xuan Wang, Assistant Professor, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on 11/30/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This book has mentioned many topics in the field of information systems, the topics have spread a wide range of helping beginners to understand information systems and the components of information systems. Additionally, there are many changes with the 2019 updates. I think the updates are very important for the book with the students in the field of information systems. Now many departments have the bachelor of business analytics major under the department of information systems because we are moving into the era of big data, it will be better to introduce more popular software and attractive topics that is also helping students to know the use of being a student with major in information systems. I think the book provides us with comprehensive topics, but may be more popular or hot topics can be added with further changes.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The authors deliver quality materials for beginners to understand the area of information systems. I think it will be better to illustrate the differences between computer science and information systems in some of the chapters, such as the two chapters on hardware and software. I think it will be better to emphasize what kind of knowledge or what kind of skills the industry requires for people with an information systems background. Also, security is a big issue and hot topic in nowadays, I might consider two chapters introducing the security issue in the field of information systems.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Content appears relevant in the setting of information systems. I would suggest adding more popular or hot topics to make the contents or materials updated with the current needs.

Clarity rating: 5

The authors have explained the terminologies and new concepts in a way that is easy to understand. For example, it has listed real case examples to show how things are working in the real world. The way of explanation is very friendly for a reader who is new to the world of information systems.

Consistency rating: 5

The content is consistent, and it is easy to follow and understand it.

Modularity rating: 5

The chapters are logically divided, and the breakdowns are easy to follow. It also provides the summary and questions for each chapter.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

I think the order of each chapter also can be modified. It will be better if there is an order in the first chapter "what is information systems", and then the rest chapter can follow the order to do the explanations. It contains the common structure of IS textbooks.

Interface rating: 4

I download the pdf version to read through the book, I think it will be better to provide a table of contents, which will be easier to provide the navigation for the readers.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

After I read through the book, there are no grammatical errors. And this book also has gone through several revisions and updates. it is ready to adopt in the classroom.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The book is open to everybody, I do not think there is any culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. This book fits all the people who would like to understand the information systems world.

I appreciate the authors spending time and making this book an open resource.

Reviewed by Naga Vemprala, Assistant Professor, University of Portland on 8/15/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book goes into great detail on a broad range of topics including software, hardware, databases, the cloud, the internet, networking, and the most recent developments in information systems. As a result, both undergraduate and graduate courses can use it. Additionally, the database chapter covers important subjects like business intelligence and decision-making. The authors began with an introduction about organizing data in Excel sheets (storing raw data), producing useful information for organizational decision-making, and finally extracting knowledge from the processed data (organizational information) using Business Intelligence systems. This logical flow of explanation is quite fascinating. One chapter covers all of the course material in detail. In other Pearson textbooks, I typically see these topics divided into databases and Business Intelligence. The logical flow of this combined version, however, makes it much better in my opinion.

The chapters on software and hardware cover additional topics in an interesting and thorough manner. A brief introduction to virtualization, virtual machines, and eventually their use in blockchain technology are also included in the Software chapter. The logical progression is excellent. Similar circumstances apply to hardware, where the authors first described recent advancements in hardware while taking into account the drawbacks and difficulties the hardware electronics industry faced in the previous decade while taking into account the constant growth in data size and processing complexity. IoT devices are introduced in detail, and at the end, there are some intriguing case study-related questions. The internet is discussed briefly in the networking chapters. The only thing I believe is missing is a discussion of RFID and Bluetooth wireless communication protocols. Network technologies such as LAN, WAN, and PAN are introduced at an introductory level while more details are indeed required. There has been no discussion of net neutrality. If the instructors intend to include discussions about technology management, more information about these topics should be included.

Overall, the book goes into great detail about the most important introductory topics of Information Systems.

There is no bias in the text content. The references provided for each chapter are up to date and relevant. The information is presented precisely.

The use of information systems to improve efficiency is an ongoing process. However, new technology is constantly being developed, which may render current content relatively old but not completely obsolete in a few years. The current version covers a wide range of current topics, including Blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, IoT, and Business Intelligence.

The textbook is quite easy to follow with a lot of real-time examples provided for many critical concepts discussed throughout the text.

The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

With more than 10 chapters created to present Information Systems for Business, the key concepts are appropriately covered in small chunks with a lot of detailed explanations and examples. The connection between the chapters are mentioned as and when it is deemed.

The overall textbook topics cover all of the fundamentals of understanding Information Systems. Many chapters are independent concepts in and of themselves, but the sub-topics within the chapters follow a good logical flow.

The chapter on business processes is a prime example of how important concepts are organized in a logical chronological order. The business process is introduced first, followed by an explanation of the importance of having a strong business model. This is followed by business process reengineering and the introduction of SAP enterprise systems. The creation of a suite of software applications designed to meet the needs of an enterprise, as well as the foundations of these systems, are detailed. This is an excellent method of organizing the subtopics or the concepts within a chapter. However, I think the order of some of the chapters is not properly justified or at least the explanation should have been provided in the beginning.

Interface rating: 5

The most recent edition is available in PDF, epub, and online formats. The online version includes color images. The online version's navigation is quite simple. The PDF version has a reasonable font size that is not cluttered.

As far as I can tell, there are no grammatical errors. The textbook has gone through several revisions and is now ready to be used in class.

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way.

I teach "Introduction to Operations and Technology Management" at the University of Portland's Pamplin School of Business. I introduce Information Systems to Business students as part of the Technology Management course content. The current textbook, "Information Systems for Business and Beyond," covers all of the chapters/topics covered in class and is up to date. I went over the textbook using the rubrics provided. I think the textbook is extremely relevant and well-written. The lack of exercises at the end of each chapter and the fact that the current exercises are largely theoretical are my only objections to using this textbook in my class in its as-is form. But with additional use cases created, I am planning to propose the textbook for the class I am teaching.

Reviewed by Tracy Christofero, Professor, Marshall University on 11/30/21

This entry-level information systems textbook touches on relevant topics for non-technical undergraduate business students. The chapter learning objectives, sidebars, summaries, study questions, and exercises are especially appreciated whether using as a stand-alone text or as the foundation upon which to add up-to-date supplemental course materials. Including an index and glossary would have been helpful.

Content appears accurate, error-free and unbiased. It can additionally be easily built upon with supplemental content and detail.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content appears relevant and can be easily updated as times and technologies change. Included historic content is timeless; there just becomes more of it.

Content is written in a clear and concise manner. The text is easy-to-read and comprehend even for those with limited or no prior information systems knowledge.

Consistency rating: 4

Content appears consistent, however, format is not. It is a bit disconcerting that paragraph fonts and line spacing are inconsistent which is not a good example for students required to carefully format and proofread their work before submitting.

Chapters and topics can easily be stand-alone, so course content can be arranged and supplemented to fit instructor needs.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Content is presented in a logical, clear fashion and are well scaffolded. The hyperlinked Table of Contents assures content is easy to access. Chapters and content can be rearranged, if preferred.

The text is easy to navigate without distraction or confusion.

No grammatical errors found.

Content, exercises, and examples, etc. appear culturally neutral.

Good overview textbook for non-technical undergraduate business students that can easily be supplemented with current information and materials. This is a good solution to relieve students from paying for current high-cost commercial textbooks that also become quickly outdated and require supplements. It would have been helpful, however, to include an index and have presentation slides available.

Reviewed by Judith Shea, Adjunct Instructor, Massachusetts Bay Community College on 6/23/21

This text contained a variety of topics that are very useful in a computer literacy course. More information on using the Internet and Web resources would cover the topics that are being used in my current courses. Additional information on communicating and collaborating using the Web as well as how businesses interact using the Web would be a great addition.

I found the text to be very accurate and unbiased

Since this is a text that deals with computer information and equipment, I’m sure it is difficult to keep the information up-to-date. The authors seem to be doing a nice job of this. The current edition has been updated in the summer of 2020 to meet accessibility guidelines. The division of the topics within the text lends itself to easy updating and the addition of supplemental materials. As long as the authors keep up with the changes in the computer environment this text will remain usable in the classroom.

The authors have explained the concepts and information in the easy-to-understand text. It flows and the division of topics makes it easy to follow. The technical terms are explained thoroughly and included in the Index for reference.

The text was consistent and easy to follow. The Table of Contents and the Index added to the ease of reading.

The chapters are divided into units that can be presented separately or together. The chapters can be read independently of each other so that they are easily assimilated into the course curriculum.

The chapters are organized into units and are easy to follow. If the information on a specific topic is needed, it is easy to find using the Index.

The text is available in a downloadable full-text PDF format as well as a Flipbook. It was not clear if the text could be downloaded to a mobile device or cell phone.

Navigating through the downloads was easy and the display of graphics was clear.

As far as I could tell, the text did not contain any grammatical errors.

The exercises and examples used in the text seemed to be neutral in regard to race, ethnicity, and background. I did not find anything that was culturally insensitive.

I found the book easily adaptable for my course and plan to use it in the future.

Reviewed by Barbara Smith, Associate Professor, Raritan Valley Community College on 4/13/20

This text covers a broad introductory view of management information systems relevant to business majors. This text covers the basics found in other texts used but keeps to a high level view that works for an introductory audience that does not... read more

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The accuracy of the text is relevant to the time in which it was published. This book will need updates to certain chapters to keep in line as technologies change.

The historical parts of the text work but it will need necessary updates which should not be difficult to implement.

The text is written in adequate context for the intended audience which is not highly technical. The concepts are explained appropriately. The less technical approach will assist in keeping the attention of those needing this overview of technology.

The text is consistent and clear and well organized.

The text is easily divisible into sections that can easily be separately assigned as a supplement to different topics throughout the course.

The organization of the text is presented clearly and in a logical fashion making the text easy to comprehend.

The text is easy to navigate and includes additional sidebars which are helpful to the reader.

I did not find any grammatical errors in this text.

I did not find any culturally insensitivity in this text.

I would use this text for the supplementary topics presented.

Reviewed by Leonard Diliberto, Professor, Raritan Valley Community College on 4/1/20

The textbook is written at an introductory level which covers many basic and standard topics associated in information systems in the business space. The chapters are short, well organized, and clearly targeted for a student seeking to gain a... read more

The content does appear to be accurate and as expected from an introductory book, details on the subject matter are very much limited but it does give the reader a basic understanding of the material.

Although some of the information presented in the book is dated, the basic underlying foundation of information systems is presented in a clear and concise manner. As is the case with technology changing so quickly, that as soon as it comes out in print, it is almost outdated. Unfortunately, this is inherent in this industry.

The presentation of the material lends itself for a student to easily gain an understanding of the terminology and basic concepts of information systems. Overall, the information is written in a way that is clear and concise and should be an easy read for the students.

The manner and layout in which the text and images is presented was consistent throughout the book. I did not find any distractors.

The book is presented in a clear and well organized manner. The chapters build upon each other in a way that is appropriate and easily understood for an entry level book on information systems in business.

The topics are well organized and presented in a standard way which is typical of many textbooks are on information systems. Although some of the information is dated, it is presented in a clear and concise manner.

As previously mentioned regarding dated information, some of the images are also dated. This is an inherent problem in the information systems space since the information is constantly changing and in many cases, becomes almost obsolete just as soon as it becomes available for public consumption.

I did not find any grammatical errors during my review.

I did not find anything that could be considered offensive or culturally insensitive. The book is culturally neutral which I have found is the case for most books on information systems and technology in general.

This is a great introductory book in information systems for students who are looking for an understanding of the basic premises and terminology of technology and how it is used in business. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Amita Chin, Associate Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University on 3/12/20

Topics are not covered in great depth, however, this is acceptable since this textbook is geared to an introductory MIS course. The book lacks an index and a glossary. read more

Topics are not covered in great depth, however, this is acceptable since this textbook is geared to an introductory MIS course. The book lacks an index and a glossary.

This book has done a good job with defining IT terminology.

The content is up-to-date and the topics have a good introductory treatment. In-depth coverage has to be limited given the scope of the textbook. Coverage of topics is provided at an appropriate level for an introductory MIS course.

I think the students will find that this book is easy to read and understand.

I did not find inconsistencies in terminology and framework.

The book is divided into logical modules/chapters. This breakdown is typical for introductory MIS textbooks. Within each chapter, subheadings are descriptive and appropriate.

The chapters and sections within chapters are logical and easy to follow. They follow the common structure of MIS textbooks.

Embedded links are very helpful, however, these may need to be updated frequently. It will be frustrating to students to follow a broken link. The included illustrations are clear.

I did not find any grammatical errors in the textbook.

I found no cultural insensitivity issues.

This book is a good competitor in the pool of introductory MIS course textbooks.

Reviewed by Michael Magro, Associate Professor, Shenandoah University on 7/11/19

Cons: Coverage of E-Commerce is a bit light, consisting of a few mentions and a definition. Not much emphasis on categorizing/classifying information systems. DSS and ERP are mentioned, but not knowledge systems or expert systems or transaction... read more

Coverage of E-Commerce is a bit light, consisting of a few mentions and a definition.

Not much emphasis on categorizing/classifying information systems. DSS and ERP are mentioned, but not knowledge systems or expert systems or transaction processing systems.

No index or glossary. Just a bibliography and answers to study questions.

Author does a good job of explaining the difference between data and information, one of the primary reasons for information systems to exist.

The security section is well done and comprehensive.

As a former developer, I thought the section on IS development was especially good, with clearer definitions and concepts than some commercial texts I have.

It is great that it covers patent trolls when discussing intellectual property. This is a significant hurdle for any new technology entrepreneur.

I've been involved in IS for over 30 years, and the treatment of the topics were accurate.

There was one use of Wikipedia as a source for the definition of an information system, yet it was used as one of several definitions from different sources to compare. Still, I would probably de-emphasize that in class.

For textbook as old as this (because technology moves very fast, an IS text just a few years old can be considered dated), it is surprisingly comprehensive, and prescient in a few places. An instructor can still use this with minimal supplementation of current events and case studies in 2019/20.

Some examples, both positive and negative:

Cloud computing doesn't include much about modern cloud providers (i.e.Amazon), yet it treats the topic accurately. This chapter would need to be supplemented by current cloud usage and trends.

Covers IPv6 which will be a hot topic in the near future, as well as IoT and driverless cars.

I found it very easy to read and follow.

There was the use of first person narrative in a couple of places early in the book, i.e. "I spend the first day of my IS class discussing exactly what the term means." Not necessarily bad, but generally not found in most of the rest of the text. Not a major criticism - the meaning is clear.

Formatting - sometimes the font size is reduced for a part of the page, maybe to make a paragraph fit on a page, but sometimes for no discernable reason. It means some segments of a paragraph may be harder to read than other parts. Not a major criticism, but it affects the perception of quality.

Formatting - in the database chapter, there's some SQL code given that appears to be cut off due to the font/formatting used. An instructor can supply the missing pieces if they know SQL.

The book is very readable with reasonably short paragraphs and sidebars that are easy to digest. The subheadings are descriptive and helpful.

The sections and chapters follow a common pattern and topic layout of similar information systems texts.

Embedded links: Use of hyperlinks in the text that take you to websites. I found at least one link that no longer works. I attempted to click on most all of them and most all of them worked fine. The risk is these links change or get removed at a future date, reducing the perceived quality of the text. However, I don't see this as a major detriment to the text, since the links just enhance the information -- they are not required to be clicked on.

I am a pretty sharp proofreader, and did not notice any significant grammatical issues.

I noticed no issues with cultural insensitivity. Cultural differences were cited as potential issues to overcome when using information systems for global business.

The end of chapter summaries and study questions are as a whole thoughtful and useful as a help to students to review key points of the chapter.

Utilizes academic research well, and includes important publications (like Carr's and Brynjolfsson's work).

I like the chapter dedicated to human roles in computing and information systems. I think it will help students map out goals toward a career in technology.

Reviewed by Ted Beers, Faculty Instructor at Western Oregon University, Open Oregon Educational Resources on 4/9/19

Part 1 covers Information Systems (IS) broadly, touching on all the major aspects. Part 2 gets more into IS practices. Part 3 tackles the changing landscape of IS while re-emphasizing the timeless importance of certain principles such as ethics... read more

Keeping up with changing terminology is tough in tech fields such as IS, but this book does an admirable job of it without sacrificing accurate with uncertain, emerging tech. For example, the book uses established modern examples such as "flash drives". And a "modern laptop" illustration shows a recent-model Apple MacBook.

The treatment on security describes well the modern approaches of RSA, firewall intrusion detection, and even mobile security, with citations from recent studies on same, such as a 2013 SANS study.

As a teacher of IS, I find this material highly relevant for any denizen of our tech society, regardless of their field of study or profession.

Because of its separation of major topics ("What is", "Strategic Advantage", "Beyond the Org") and its natural categorization within ("Hardware", "Software", "Globalization", etc.), the book properly and effectively follows the organization in other IS treatments. This also makes it more readily updated as detail points develop further, e.g. in software concerns.

The book seems targeted at the lower-division college student—perfect for its presumed application as an introductory textbook for IS majors or those in related tech and business pursuits.

I found no evidence of inconsistent phrasing, coverage, literacy, terminology, etc.

As discussed previously, the book's division into major topics and natural categories makes modularity a breeze!

The book's flow of topics and categories is natural for IS, starting with computer system fundamentals and culminating in large-scale ethical and global considerations. Part 3 could use more framing of the relationships among these "beyond" topics.

I have no difficulty finding material from the book, and all text and illustrations are clear.

I found no grammar errors.

IS doesn't lend itself to culture-specific examples, and the book makes no overt references. Relatively light in photographs (only one with people!), the book make no error of cultural omission or commission.

I've adopted this book as a free alternative edition in the class "Introduction to IS", which to date has required an expensive conventional printed textbook. This book compares very favorably, and I expect to drop required printed textbook in future terms.

Reviewed by Roger Finnegan, Community Faculty, Metropolitan State University on 11/28/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The textbook does cover the basic aspects of MIS that the commercial textbooks cover. Subjects such as hardware, software, databases, security, ethics and etc. One strength or weakness depending on your point of view is that the chapters are short. Unless our course is short or low credit you would need to supplement with other sources. The text is also from 2014 so it is showing its age. Blockchain and data science for example aren't covered. But the textbook that we currently use from a major publisher also does not cover them in much depth. So this textbook is not really that different from an expensive alternative. But again it is a quick read.

The book does seem to be accurate. But the things covered are usually pretty short. Just a paragraph or two are spent on a lot of subject. Again that could be an advantage or a drawback depending on how you want to use the book. The author does introduce the more widely read ideas from MIS, He discusses Porter's five forces model and value chain. There is a short discussion on Nicholas Carr's IT Doesn't Matter article and some its critics. The author also mentions one of Brynjolfsson and McAfee's articles. While the author does represent them correctly the information is quite succinct.

The book is from 2014 so it is showing its age. Many things could be added to it. If you wanted to use a short textbook with the basics of databases and networking and then supplement it with new information and ideas I think that you could easily do that with this text.

The textbook is brief but the author does present the information in a way that should be very accessible for students.

Consistency rating: 3

The fonts used and the paragraph spacing seem to change which I found a bit odd. But the layout of the chapters is consistent throughout the book.

Modularity rating: 4

You could easily use just certain chapters of this book. There is a chapter on hardware, one on software and another on security. So you could just assign those if you just needed something short on those aspects of IT.

The topics covered and how they are presented are pretty standard. It follows many of the same design considerations of a commercial textbook on MIS.

Interface rating: 3

The textbook is well organized. One thing that I found disconcerting was that the font and the spacing seemed to change a lot. One paragraph would be single spaced and then the next is more widely spaced and in a different font.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The grammar used seemed to be fine.

I did not anything that would be considered offensive or insensitive.

If you need a short basic text for your course this is a book that you could consider for use.

Reviewed by Barbara Warner, Instructor and MS BAIS Admissions Director and Graduate Advisor, University of South Florida on 3/27/18

The text covers many standard topics of information technology. The chapters were well organized with a clear table of contents but no index of terms, topics. read more

The text covers many standard topics of information technology. The chapters were well organized with a clear table of contents but no index of terms, topics.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

The content is accurate for 2014. However, technology changes so quickly that some of the information was quite dated.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 2

As mentioned above - the content is a bit dated, since it was written in 2014. I'm not sure how a information technology text can stay relevant unless it is updated regularly.

Clarity rating: 4

The book was clear, a little dry but easily understandable.

The text is internally consistent. And might be a good resource if it was updated.

Yes, this could be divided and presented in modules.

The topics are the standard topics presented in an introductory information technology book and are presented clearly, however, the information is dated.

Old images, some text is in a different font than surrounding text. Needs some editing.

In my review I didn't find any glaring grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

This text on computers / information systems is not culturally insensitive, it is culturally neutral.

It was a good open source book in 2014, I could not assign it to students in 2018.

Reviewed by Joseph Mortati, Executive-in-Residence, American University, Kogod School of Business on 2/1/18

The book is a comprehensive primer on Information Systems. It covers a range of essential technical topics including software, hardware, databases, networking, and security as well as business topics including people, processes, competitive... read more

The content is accurate, well-sourced, and unbiased.

As you might expect, information systems texts can age out quickly, so the publication date of 2014 means some of the content needs to be updated, including some cases. However, the foundation is very solid and much of the material is unaffected (e.g., Chapter 4: Data and Databases, which explains basics of data and how they are stored, needs only minor updating). Likewise, some topics (such as Big Data and Business Analytics) have made great strides in technology and adoption since 2014 and would need refreshing in any new version.

Designed for the non-technical business student, the book flows well and clearly explains all acronyms and technical jargon in easy-to-understand terms.

A well-structured framework leads to consistency of concepts.

Chapter subsections have appropriate lengths and breakpoints, making it easy-to-read. A very minor point but since this is an ebook, having the chapter name and title in the header of each page makes for easier navigation; as-is, headers alternate between book title and chapter title.

The book is divided into two, logical sections: technical aspects (Chapters 1-6) and business aspects (Chapters 7-13). The transition from the first to the second (in Chapter 7) is clear.

The only consistent area for improvement is in some text formatting (which is inconsistent in font type or size) and many of the images (which should be higher-resolution and have better placement, such as centering on the page).

Both the concepts and case studies use good examples from a variety of fields.

Overall, "Information Systems and Beyond" is relevant, logical, and well-written, making it a good candidate for an introductory MIS textbook for undergraduate business students who do not necessarily have a technical background. If the book also had accompanying slides, I could see this giving some paid textbooks a run for their money!

Reviewed by Simon Jin, Assistant Professor, Metropolitan State University on 6/20/17

Considering this is a textbook for introductory class for Information Systems, this book well addressed all the necessary basics required for new learners of IS/MIS/CIS. It starts with an effort of understanding the information systems by addressing different components of IS such as Hardware, Software, Database, Networking and Communication, and IS Security. Then, it not only addresses how IS can be used to achieve strategic advantage but also important issues like digital divide, ethical & legal issues, and the future trend.

In general, the textbook is accurate and unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

This textbook is certainly relevant. However, due to the nature of the content (i.e., fast evolving nature of IS world), updates will be required. Most of the references are 2012’s and 2013’s. Effort of adding some current articles in order to stay up to date would be appreciated especially for the additional reading assigmnets.

This textbook is clearly written, and easy to follow.

No inconsistency issues found in the textbook. The terminology was consistent and relevant to the subject matter. The chapter ware consistent in length. In terms of format, however, there are some rooms to be improved (e.g., Font size, Line spacing, side-bar format, and so on).

This textbook is broken into 3 segment (6, 4, and 3 chapters each). Due to the comprehensiveness & modularity of each chapter, each chapter can be used as a single source of class material without referencing other chapters. Also, instructor can either choose to deliver all 3 segments in the same course, or pick & focus on specific segment.

Organization/structure/flow of this textbook is good. With consistent structure of chapter (i.e., Learning objectives, Introduction, Content, Summary, Study Questions, Exercise), it is very easy to follow. Learning objective and Exercise questions are especially valuable for discussion.

No navigation issues found. Adding glossary and index, however, would help readers locate important concepts more easily.

No grammatical issues found.

No culturally offensive issues found.

In sum, this textbook is a good resource for new learners in Information Systems area.

Reviewed by Efrem Mallach, Adjunct Faculty, Rhode Island College on 4/11/17

The book's comprehensiveness is variable, presumably reflecting the interests of its author. I find that a plus in many ways. I like a book that reflects its author's personality and preferences, rather than being designed by a committee of reviewers who will collectively make sure that it covers everything that any instructor could possibly want and is also twice as thick as any student can possibly stand. That also makes it easier to decide if a book suits me or not: either its coverage matches my personal biases or it doesn't.

This book gives job descriptions and career paths a chapter of their own, but gives CRM (Customer Relationship Management) a bit over four lines. For me, that's backwards, especially when 90 percent of the students who use this book won't be MIS majors, but for other instructors it may be just fine. It gives business processes a chapter of their own, but gives agile development ten lines. You'll have to decide if its balance is right for you.

I feel the book falls down in this regard when it comes to hardware. It has a generally-good discussion of the kinds of hardware students are already familiar with: desktops, laptops, tablets and so on. (It doesn't recognize that students are already familiar with this content, but that's a style issue rather than a comprehensiveness issue.) However, it spends no time at all on kinds of computers that students don't already know about but should as entry-level professionals: from servers to supercomputers, other than a couple of references to mainframes in passing as something outdated. (Ask any user of IBM's z series how true that is.) The book also doesn't even mention the most common enterprise storage systems, RAID, NAS and SAN, which again students will not generally have seen before. To my mind, it's more important to tell students something they don't already know than to confirm what they do know.

I noticed only two real inaccuracies:

1. Processor speed is equated with clock rate. This ignores the effect of micro-architecture on how many clock cycles it takes to execute a typical instruction. More importantly, it effectively ignores multi-core, multi-threaded processors. Cores get two lines (p. 16), threads get nary a mention. They are a key element of 2017 processor architecture.

2. Parallel conversion is mentioned (p. 116-117) as if it were still viable in 2017, assuming its cost is acceptable. This is not the case for online systems, where timing differences can affect results and where it is not practical to get customers to enter their transactions twice. This conventional wisdom has propagated from textbook to textbook without a reality check ever since online systems became the norm. I am disappointed that it is still doing that today. (There are a few situations where parallel conversion is viable. They involve internal systems such as financial accounting, where all users are internal and the sequence of activities can be controlled.

I also felt that the software split into OS and applications is too simplistic. Applications are defined (p. 26) as programs that do something useful for the user. Later, compilers are grouped with applications, as are DBMS - even though both of these exist simply to develop or facilitate "real" applications. I would vote for the traditional split into systems and application software here, with the OS considered a type of systems software but not the only type. Others may disagree with me, of course.

It's certainly relevant. As for longevity: parts of the information systems field move so rapidly that no book can hope to remain current for more than a few years, even if it is up to the minute when first published. "Longevity" is too much to ask for in an MIS text! That said, its chapters on business processes, ethics and so on should stand the test of time fairly well.

This is a strength. I like the writer's style.

I didn't notice any problems in consistency of content, except for the trivial one that mainframes are described as being from the 1950s-1960s in one place and from the 1970s in a table right afterwards. Either way, they're described as being from when a reader's parents were in kindergarten. The point is the same whichever decade one picks.

There is an issue, though, in consistency of approach. Much of the content is written for the non-MIS major. For example, there's no need to go into database normalization for MIS majors; they'll take a full course on database management and will study it there. Other parts are written only for MIS majors, such as the section on MIS career paths. I would prefer to see the author take a position, one way or the other, on who his audience consists of and then write for that audience.

It is divided into modular chapters, with each chapter divided into major and minor sections. The section structure is difficult to follow, though: sections are not numbered in outline fashion, and section heading type size differences are not always obvious enough to serve that purpose.

The order is traditional for MIS books: start with an introductory chapter or two, continue with technology in the order hardware-software-database-telecoms, then talk about how systems are used and how they're developed, and wrap up with ethics and perhaps a look to the future. Most MIS instructors are used to this organization and will feel comfortable with this book in that regard.

There are no navigation issues, as the text doesn't really have navigation other than the standard PDF sidebar with chapter headings. However, the reader interface is flawed by random jumps in type size (sometimes within a paragraph; e.g., bottom of page 7, line spacing, and other errors such as the SQL examples on page 45 running off the page. This is distracting. The book needs a thorough, careful going-over by an expert in Microsoft Word or whatever other package this book was created in. In addition, since type size changes are the only clue to section/subsection organization, they should be made more obvious (or, better, number at least the top-level sections within a chapter).

No problems here. Either the author knows how to write coherent English or he had a good copy editor. I can't tell which, but the end result is fine in this regard.

It has few if any examples that involve people, so opportunities for cultural insensitivity aren't there. The thorough attention it pays to ethical considerations is in its favor as regards cultural relevance.

It's a short book, almost "Information Systems in a Nutshell.' The content starts on page 5 and ends on page 149, including questions and all. Part of the reason is that it doesn't spend much (if any) time on topics the author doesn't care much (if anything) about. If your choice of topics matches those of this book, take a careful look at it. If you're teaching a quarter or two-credit course, take a look at it also: it's short enough for those without having to skip chapters or cover them too lightly. If neither or those is you, it may not be a good choice.

Reviewed by Ross Lamberth, School of Business Administration Instructor, Portland State University on 2/15/17

This text does an excellent job of covering the broad range of topics essential to a beginning class in Information Systems. Ranging from concrete topics like Hardware, Software, Data, and Networking to softer topics like Business Processes, People in a typical organization, Globalization, and the Digital Divide. This book dares to ask the question, “Does IT Matter”, then does an excellent job answering that question. The is well book organized using plenty of relevant pictures, charts, and tables to help make its points clear.

As far as I could tell, this book ui accurate, error-free, and reasonably unbiased as of this review, late 2016.

All written books age with time but this text seems relevant and up-to-date. I do not believe the content is presented in a way that will make it obsolete within a short period of time. The text is written, illustrated, and uses examples that should make it easy to update as technology changes in our world as it always has. The only exception to this may be the links embedded in many places in the text. While all links that were clicked by this reviewer worked correctly at this time, it seems likely that some of these links will eventually become broken links. Having said this, I would rather have modern textbook with links than without.

The text is written in clear, easy-to-understand terms that should be accessible to most all readers. Because this is a book about technology it is required to include relevant jargon and technical terminology but the text does a good job describing and explaining the jargon and terms as needed to remain understandable by the average reader.

Even though the textbook is lengthy and covers a broad range of topics, it remains internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework throughout.

The text was clearly written with modularity in mind. There are consistent divisions within each chapter including learning objectives, introductions, well formatted section headings, active links to websites, sidebars, well captioned charts and graphs, summaries, study questions, and exercises. It should be straightforward for most instructors to pick and choose which portions to highlight or use for class lessons or homework assignments. The book flows seamlessly through relevant subunits without being distracting to the reader.

Even though the subject matter is broad and extensive, this text does an excellent job organizing the subtopics and subunits into an organized flow that does not overwhelm the reader or lose them in a complicated structure. The text presents the many topics involved in an overview of Information Systems in a clear and logical way.

While the book does an excellent job of including relevant charts, graphs, table, and illustrations, some of the formatting of these visual aids seems inconsistent chapter to chapter. For example, chart titles and axis labels are not always the same font and size from chart to chart or chapter to chapter. Although this was not overly distracting, it might be an issue for some people to read some of the smaller text included in some of the charts and illustrations.

I found no grammatical errors in this text.

To this reviewer, this textbook was not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. This textbook seemed to use a wide variety of examples that were not exclusive or ethnocentric.

This is an excellent textbook for the beginning Information Systems student. With the quality of open textbooks being this high, it is unclear why instructors and students would continue to pay for other texts.

Reviewed by Patricia Elliott, Adjunct Faculty, Reynolds Community College, Richmond, VA. on 2/8/17

This textbook covers all areas of basic information technology including a very comprehensive history of technology and its evolution. In some cases it goes beyond standard information such as an explanation of the different types of writing source code. I have not found this in other textbooks that I have used. It does not have an index and/or glossary but does have a good introduction to chapters and the three sections of the book.

The textbook's accuracy is very well documented and attention to detail is good.

Technology is a fast moving subject and this book references 2012 and 2013 so it some ways it is already out of date.. The business section is based on ideas based in the 1990s even though they are true today. The advantage plays an even bigger role today as business are much more competitive than in the 1990s competing for every dollar and advantage. The format of the book is set up so chapters can be updated without changing the structure.

The textbook was very well written and easily understandable. I found when I worked in the business world that often times the language used by books and technicians was too esoteric and not easily understood. This textbook did not leave me with that feeling. As an introduction to technology, this textbook provides usable and understandable information to the students in a readable and comprehensive manner. The graphics were very helpful and easy to understand. The definitions of the different players in the technology world would be key in knowing the appropriate person to contact in a business.

The textbook flowed well and the technology was update to date and consistent. The links were well placed and helpful. Author did not interchange words for the same function or idea, therefore making it easy to go from one chapter to the next.

Modularity rating: 3

This textbook could be reorganized into smaller sections and moved around but think that the organization and subject matter are in the most effective order. Chapter 8 and Chapter 11 could be placed in same section.

The textbook was well organized and easy to follow. The only thing I might have changed was to move the security section closer to the definitions of the different kinds of technology. i..e. Security around using wireless internet.

The information contained in this textbook did not have any interface problems. I thought that the information melded well together.

The grammar in this book in fine.

I did not find that anything in this book was culturally insensitive or offensive.

I teach technology in the law office to paralegals and found information in this book that I can use to expand my teaching in connection with the the book I am currently using. The explanations for some functions or ideas were written in more understandable language. One of these is the cloud.

Reviewed by Diane Miller, Instructor, Colorado State University on 12/5/16

This book is great for a beginning class for Computer Information Systems. Each chapter hits the highlights of that area, explains it in very concrete understandable manner. It is organized in a way that allows me to set up my class in a similar... read more

The book is comprehensive in topic areas of Computer Information Systems. Each topic area is introduced and gives a base of knowledge about the topic. It gives me a nice structure to fill with up-to-the-minute information to emphasize what is happening RIGHT NOW.

The students and I appreciate that it is very succinct and to-the-point.

I found the book to be accurate with the included information.

Even though the book is already two and a half years old, I think that it will stand the test of time because of its ability to handle the basics. I suspect the only thing that will happen is more and more current topics will be added and/or fleshed out.

For example: a network is a network is a network but current topics on new network technology may be added in the future as it becomes widely adopted.

The book is written with good clarity. It defines and calls out any of the words that may be new to the reader. That is one reason it is good for beginning and non-CIS students.

There are not any inconsistencies that were obvious.

I have taught a class both by following the book through from front to back and by cherry-picking the chapters as they fit into my original class organization. The students were able to understand the information in the chapters in both instances.

I appreciated the organization and flow of the book so much, that I reorganized my class to more closely follow the book and add the salient issues of current events with newspapers, articles, blogs, etc.

The PDF interface works fine. I was able to break up the chapters and upload them to the LMS so the students could have them right in their course modules.

I did not notice any grammatical issues.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I did not notice any culturally insensitive areas in this text.

I asked the students how they liked the book. Some of their comments: - I like that it is so readily available right in Canvas (LMS). - Price is right. - Has the information and background for what we are studying. - It could use more pictures. - It gets right to the point without a lot of extra reading.

Reviewed by Henry Danielson, Lecturer, California Polytechnic State University on 7/15/14

The textbook was executed with current knowledge and well versed. Since this is a introductory textbook the novice will gain many facets and learn about many topics. I was impressed with the learning objectives and the exercises. The in depth experience the text explores is relevant and helpful. The amount of material that is reviewed is awesome and useful. The index and other main components a textbook covers was accurate and meaningful. The text covers cutting edge technologies and legacy systems to educate the reader on the broad scope technology covers.

I found that the textbook supports the latest information and is accurate, error-free and unbiased. Introduction to information systems for business and beyond is a wonderful title and provides exactly the reader expects. The images are current and the words are engaging and professional language is addressed. The diagrams and supplemental resources i.e. study questions and exercises are phenomenal. All materials in the textbook are relevant and well edited to boot. The content is uses Wikipedia and other modern sources, which is right on target. The cited resources are current and presented well. The history of the technology is portrayed in an easy to digest format and the reader can test the accuracy on the web.

Looking forward to changes in this text one would be able to update minimal sections. So in my opinion the author did a wonderful job on this open textbook. Most introductory courses may not change rapidly and this textbook has relevance and promotes the understanding of all concepts discussed. Emergent strategies are discussed in this book and can be easily updated for the next iteration of the book. Content is up-to-date, but not in a way that will quickly make the text obsolete within a short period of time. I concur that the book will be a useful in the future and I will try and use in my course.

The textbook is clear and concise and quite educational and the data displays well. During my reading of the textbook I learned new information and I was impressed with the authors knowledge. The business/tech jargon are presented in an openly easy to read paragraphs. The clarity the author presents on the history and the current structures is well versed and I enjoyed it. The exercises have useful links and are useful. The textbook is a fun read and captures the interest of the reader quickly.

The consistency and ideas presented in the textbook are clear and well written. I would venture to state that each chapter has themes that are presented with knowledge and framework. Each chapter builds and builds taking the reader to new heights and comprehension.

The textbook covers 13 chapters and is broken into segments that describe the chapter. The summaries are well written and the study questions are on target. There are exercises that compliment each chapter and they are stellar and are thought provoking. Instructors can choose chapters and are able to use this as supplemental materials as well. The text is not overly self-referential in fact it is relevant and powerful. The chapters are consistent in length and laid out well.

The flow of the textbook is appropriate for an introductory textbook. The author presents the material in an organized fashion and the flow is very easily understood. I am looking forward to using this for my class. The structure can be modified and used as need be by each instructor. Each chapter contains learning objectives that are helpful and have been well planned out. Homework is easily contained in the exercises and they are good! The flow of the textbook is manageable and you can reference other parts to build on other key concepts throughout the entire textbook.

The textbook is current and devoid of navigation issues. The . Most images were clear and high quality, even on smaller e-reading devices like an iPhone. The text was a readable font, and it is clear the author had others involved and possibly did a usability study to enhance the text and links. I particularly enjoyed how easy the textbook was to navigate.

I did not encounter any grammar errors or broken links at this time.

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I was impressed overall with this textbook. I would recommend anyone with basic knowledge of tech to have a look. Well done and FREE...

Part 1: What Is an Information System?

Chapter 1: What Is an Information System?
Chapter 2: Hardware
Chapter 3: Software
Chapter 4: Data and Databases
Chapter 5: Networking and Communication
Chapter 6: Information Systems Security

Part 2: Information Systems for Strategic Advantage

Chapter 7: Does IT Matter?
Chapter 8: Business Processes
Chapter 9: The People in Information Systems
Chapter 10: Information Systems Development
Chapter 11: Globalization and the Digital Divide
Chapter 12: The Ethical and Legal Implications of Information Systems
Chapter 13: Future Trends in Information Systems

Ancillary Material

About the book.

This book is written as an introductory text, meant for those with little or no experience with computers or information systems. While sometimes the descriptions can get a little bit technical, every effort has been made to convey the information essential to understanding a topic while not getting bogged down in detailed terminology or esoteric discussions.

Information Systems for Business and Beyond was written by Dr. David Bourgeois and originally published in 2014 as part of the Open Textbook Challenge at the Saylor Foundation. Since then, it has been accessed thousands of time and used in many courses worldwide. This 2019 update to the textbook brings it up to date and adds many new topics. True to its open textbook roots, many of the updates have come from the community of instructors and practitioners who are passionate about information systems.

Please note that the XML and MS Word links go to an earlier version.

About the Contributors

David T. Bourgeois worked as an information technology professional for 15 years for companies such as Southern California Edison and Texas Instruments before coming to Biola in 2002 to lead the information systems program. He received his master's degree in management science from Cal State Fullerton in 1994 and his doctorate degree in information systems and technology from Claremont Graduate University in 2006. Bourgeois currently serves as the undergraduate department chair and as the director of innovation with a focus on ensuring that all undergraduates are fully skilled in the digital technologies they need in their business careers.

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International Conference on Business Process Management

BPM 2018: Business Process Management Workshops pp 553–566 Cite as

An Assignment on Information System Modeling

On Teaching Data and Process Integration

Jan Martijn E. M. van der Werf 9 &
Artem Polyvyanyy 10
Conference paper
First Online: 29 January 2019

1907 Accesses

2 Citations

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing ((LNBIP,volume 342))

An information system is an integrated system of components that cooperatively aim to collect, store, manipulate, process, and disseminate data, information, and knowledge, often offered as digital products. A model of an existing or envisioned information system is its simplified representation developed to serve a purpose for a target audience. A model may represent various aspects of the system, including the structure of information, data constraints, processes that govern information, and organizational rules. Traditionally, the teaching of information system modeling is carried out in a fragmented way, i.e., modeling of different aspects of information systems is taught separately, often across different subjects. The authors’ teaching experience in this area suggests the shortcomings of such fragmented approach, evidenced by the lack of students’ ability to exploit the synergy between data and process constraints in the produced models of information systems.

This paper proposes an assignment for undergraduate students which requests to model an information system of an envisioned private teaching institute. The assignment comprises a plethora of requirements grounded in the interplay of data and process constraints, and is accompanied by a tool that supports their explicit representation.

You have full access to this open access chapter, Download conference paper PDF

1 Introduction

In the information age we live, information systems provide core mechanisms for supporting operational business processes of organizations. Hence, leading Computer Science and Information Systems curricula comprise courses that teach students the art and rigor of designing information systems. Traditionally, modeling of each aspect of an information system, e.g., data and process constraints, is taught separately, often across different subjects. The authors have independently taught the foundations of information systems modeling to undergraduate students at Utrecht University, The Netherlands, and Queensland University of Technology, Australia (for five and seven consecutive semesters, respectively). In this paper, the authors report on identified drawbacks of such a fragmented approach to teaching information system modeling, and argue for the need in educating students on data and process integration.

As an example, consider a task of designing a learning management system that keeps track of course offering, and corresponding lecturers and student enrollments. A decision to start by developing a high-quality data model for the proposed scenario may result in a design which requires that every course offering is assigned at least one lecturer. This design may contradict the corresponding business processes that require to assign a lecturer to a course offering only once it reaches the minimum number of student enrollments. Conversely, a decision to introduce a process constraint may limit the number of solutions to the design of the data model in a way that excludes the required solution. Note that even if all the data and process requirements of the desired solution are laid out prior to embarking into modeling, they may lead to a contradiction that does not manifest neither in a data model nor in a process model that satisfies the respective requirements. Thus, an effective approach to modeling an information system should allow a designer to experience the interplay between data and process constraints. Building from this understanding, the paper at hand contributes:

An assignment to model an information system of an envisioned private teaching institute;

A systematic analysis of challenges experienced by students when solving the assignment in a traditional way, i.e., by tackling modeling of information constraints and business processes of the system separately;

A proposal to address the identified challenges by using a new tool capable of representing an interplay between the data and process constraints in an integrated model of an information system.

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. The next section examines how data and process modeling skills are recognized in the curricula of undergraduate degrees in Information Systems. Section 3 proposes an assignment that aims to teach data and process modeling skills in an integrated way. Section 4 shares our experience, while Sect. 5 proposes a tool support for designing data and process constraints in an integrated way. The paper closes with conclusions.

2 Teaching Data and Process Modeling in IS Curricula

In 2010, the Association for Information Systems (AIS) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) have released IS 2010, the latest in a series of proposed model curricula for undergraduate degrees in Information Systems [ 15 ]. IS 2010 provides guidance regarding the core content of a curriculum in Information Systems and suggests possible electives and career tracks.

IS 2010 comprises seven core and several elective courses, among which Data and Information Management (IS 2010.2) and Systems Analysis and Design (IS 2010.6) are recognized to play a central role. Next, we examine these two courses with respect to the proposed learning outcomes and topics that contribute to data and process modeling skills, taking a close look at the skills that are grounded in the interplay of data and process constraints in the designs of information systems.

2.1 Data and Information Management

According to IS 2010, the Data and Information Management (IS 2010.2) course provides students with an introduction to the core concepts in data and information management. Concretely, this course teaches students methods and techniques for identifying organizational information requirements, constructing conceptual models of these requirements, converting the conceptual data models into logical models, e.g., relational data models, verifying the correctness of the models, and implementing the models, e.g., using a Relational Database Management System (DBMS) [ 11 , 14 ].

Among the 21 suggested learning objectives of this course, we identify three core objectives Footnote 1 that specifically target the data modeling skills of a student:

Use at least one conceptual data modeling technique (such as entity-relationship modeling) to capture the information requirements for an enterprise domain;

Design high-quality relational databases;

Understand the concept of database transaction and apply it appropriately to an application context.

The topics of the course that contribute to these skills are conceptual, logical, and physical data models, for example entity-relationship model, relational data model, and data types, respectively. The curriculum suggests that the focus should be on conceptual and logical data modeling skills, while “students should understand the basic nature of the DBA tasks and be able to make intelligent decisions regarding DBMS choice and the acquisition of DBA resources.”

Two learning objectives of the IS 2010.2 course may be interpreted as such that suggest an interplay between the data and process modeling skills:

Apply information requirements specification processes in the broader systems analysis and design context;

Link to each other the results of data/information modeling and process modeling.

None of the proposed course topics explicitly contributes to the integration of data and process modeling skills of a student. One may argue that such skills are implicit in the topic of “Using a database management system from an application development environment”. Still, this topics advocates for a compartmented approach to data and process modeling. At the same time the curriculum acknowledges that “information requirements specification processes must be firmly linked to the organizational systems analysis and design processes”.

2.2 Systems Analysis and Design

The curriculum suggests that the Systems Analysis and Design (IS 2010.6) course should contribute to 13 learning objectives, among which only two implicitly target process modeling skills, namely:

Use at least one specific methodology for analyzing a business situation (a problem or opportunity), modeling it using a formal technique, and specifying requirements for a system that enables a productive change in a way the business is conducted.

Within the context of the methodologies they learn, write clear and concise business requirements documents and convert them into technical specifications.

We identify that the topics of the course that can contribute to these objectives are Business Process Management and analysis of business requirements. The curriculum contains an elective course entitled Business Process Management [ 1 , 2 , 8 ], which refines the learning objectives that address process modeling skills. The main focus of this elective course is on understanding and designing of business processes, which manifests in four learning outcomes (out of 11):

Model business processes;

Understand different approaches to business process modeling and improvement;

Use basic business process modeling tools;

Simulate simple business processes and use simulation results in business process analysis.

Two proposed learning objectives of the IS 2010.6 course address the integration of data and process modeling skills, namely:

Use contemporary CASE tools for the use in process and data modeling.

Design high-level logical system characteristics (user interface design, design of data and information requirements).

However, again, similar to IS 2010.2, none of the proposed topics of IS 2010.6, or those of the elective Business Process Management course, explicitly contributes to the integration of data and process modeling skills of a student.

3 Assignment: Supporting the Private Teaching Institute

An effective assignment to modeling an information system should allow students to experience the interplay between data and processes. The assignment should have a sufficiently challenging and realistic case description, while being manageable in size.

3.1 Learning Objectives

As a first step, we crafted the learning objectives, following the IS 2010 guidelines, and the Bloom Taxonomy [ 4 ]. As the assignment focuses on learning to apply techniques, we assume that once the assignment starts, students already have an initial understanding of data modeling e.g. with ERM [ 6 ], and process modeling, e.g., with Petri nets [ 13 ] and BPMN [ 8 ]. In other words, we assume students to start at level 2 (comprehension) of the Bloom Taxonomy. The learning objectives of the assignment cover the next levels, being application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. After the assignment, the students should be able to:

Model and analyze process and information requirements using formal techniques;

Critically assess models and make well-informed design decisions to solve real world problems related to information systems;

Write clear and concise requirements and convert these into technical specifications using formal techniques;

Manage the complexity of contemporary and future information systems and the domains in which these systems are used; and

Use contemporary off-the-shelf components to integrate models into an information system.

Experience from a previous assignment [ 10 ], where students had to design and build an information system for an online shop, showed that students had difficulties in understanding the underlying problems of the domain. Therefore, the context of this assignment should be geared to the students’ perception of their environment. For this purpose, we designed a case around a fictive educational institute, the Private Teaching Institute (PTI). Several requirements have been left implicit, or are even underspecified to allow students to reflect and perform a proper context analysis. In this way, students can use their own experience to better understand the situation.

3.2 The Case: The Private Teaching Institute

The Private Teaching Institute (PTI) offers education tracks. Each education track consists of several mandatory courses, and some optional courses. PTI consists of a small team per track, the track management, and a small student administration for all tracks together. To deliver the courses, PTI has a pool of lecturers who are qualified to deliver several courses. Everybody is entitled to enroll for a track. As soon as somebody registered themselves, and they are accepted by the track management, they become a student of that track. Students enrolled have to create an educational plan, consisting of the courses they want to follow. This plan has to be approved by the appropriate track management, and filed by the administration.

As soon as the plan is approved, students may register for courses. Once there are sufficient registrations for a course, the management creates a tender and sends it out to the lecturers who are qualified to give that course. After the response offers by the lecturers, the management selects the best offer and appoints the corresponding lecturer for that course. Every course at PTI consists of several lectures, either in a classical class room setting or on-line, practical assignments, and one or more exams, depending on the wishes of the appointed lecturer. Once the student meets all criteria set by the lecturer, i.e., passing a sufficient number of assignments and exams, the student receives a certificate of passing. In all cases, the result is filed by the administration.

Once a student passed all the courses agreed upon in the educational plan, the student is eligible to receive a diploma for that track. The track management verifies the course certificates and the plan, after which the management can award the diploma. Students can choose for a formal ceremony, or to receive their diploma by post.

PTI wants a process-aware information system that supports them in their primary processes, to ease the administrative burden.

3.3 Phases and Deliverables

The information system should be designed and implemented, while ensuring that all deliverables remain consistent. The assignment identifies two phases: the specification phase, and the implementation phase. Instead of following the traditional waterfall approach, the phases run concurrently, and the deliverables of the two phases should be synchronized regularly. Having small cycles assist in keeping the problem at hand manageable, and also allows the teaching staff to provide the students with early feedback.

During the first phase, the students have to analyze the assignment, and identify the involved stakeholders and their interactions with the to-be-designed information system. For this analysis, students may apply different techniques. Some students prefer to create use cases [ 5 ], other students perform a PACT analysis [ 3 ]. A PACT analysis studies the People involved, their Activities, the Context in which these activities are performed, and the main Technologies used to support these.

Once the context of the assignment has been analyzed to gain a better understanding of the environment, the students have to derive the information requirements and build a specification. Part of the specification is a data model in ERM notation. Many choices have been left implicit in the case description, such as the number of courses a track consists of, whether courses are mandatory for the complete institute, or only for tracks, etc. Students have to discover these choices, and make and document their design decisions. To model the flow of information, the different processes in the case have to be identified, analyzed and modeled using Petri nets. The resulting models should be analyzed for correctness using formal approaches, such as weak termination (i.e., absence of deadlocks and livelocks) and boundedness. Additionally, the different models created should be consistent, and validated with the context analysis, i.e., the use cases and scenarios created initially should be supported by the models.

The context description, information model and process models together with their analyses are captured in the Specification Document that the students have to deliver. The resulting document should be concise, clear and contain all important requirements of the case.

Once an initial version of the specification document, containing one or two processes, is being created, the implementation phase starts. The goal of the implementation phase is to use packaged solutions, rather than implement a system from scratch. The assignment relies on the Business Process Management Suite (BPMS) ProcessMaker Footnote 2 , which has both an open source edition, as well as a commercial cloud service. For the implementation of the information system, each process designed in the specification document should be converted into a BPMN model, together with the forms and triggers for each activities. As the complete information system comprises several processes, the data model has to be implemented, and the forms and activities of the different processes should manipulate the data model. This phase results in two deliverables: the Implementation Guide , and the implementation itself.

Gantt chart of the assignment. The open diamonds are feedback moments, the filled diamonds are official deadlines, including a demonstration.

As in real life, processes may be altered, updated or completely revised during the implementation. Therefore, during the different phases, the specification document and implementation guide need to be updated together, ensuring that the revised models remain correct, and the documentation consistent.

For grading, the schema shown in Table 1 is used. The schema addresses the different learning objectives. For feedback and grading a rubric based on this schema is used Footnote 3 . Part of the implementation phase is a demonstration of the system to the teaching staff, simulating the role of a stakeholder at PTI.

4 First Experiences with the Assignment

Last year, the assignment has been executed for the first time during the Information Systems course at Utrecht University, with about 170 first year Information Science Bachelor students. Although the group is quite large, we decided to have the students to create pairs, instead of larger groups. In this way, students are able to cooperate, and discuss design options, at the same time preventing free riders.

The course is taught in the final block of the year, and runs over a period of 10 weeks. As a 7,5 EC credit course Footnote 4 , students are expected to work 20 h per week on the subject, including lectures on process modeling and analysis. In total, each student is expected to dedicate in total 100 h to the assignment. Each phase had two intermediary deadlines for feedback, and a final deadline at the end of the period (see Fig. 1 ). The demonstrations were in the same week as the final deadline.

Process Identification. During the first feedback moment, we noticed that many students found it challenging to discover the different processes in the assignment. Many groups had problems in dividing the case description into smaller, manageable components. Several authors acknowledge the difficulty of discovering the processes in an organisation (cf. [ 8 ]), and point e.g. at categories of Processes according to Porter, to assist in this activity. However, as these categories are tailored towards businesses, students found it difficult to apply them on a different context.

Some students delivered a single large model that covered all facets of the institute. For example, the student’s enrollment and the tender process for lecturers were combined in a single process. They failed to recognize that by combining these two processes, the complete tender process had to be repeated for each student enrollment. A possible cause is that BPMN leaves the notion of a case implicit. As a consequence, students do not notice that halfway the process the case changes from the “student following a course instance”, to “the course instance for which a lecturer needs to be selected”. By providing feedback after the first round on how to read the case description, and by posing questions like “what is the subject of this process?” explicitly in the feedback, students understood the notion of cases and processes much better.

Other groups divided the assignment in many small processes, such as “do assignment”, which comprised two activities: the student creating an assignment, and a lecturer grading the assignment. Although in essence this is not wrong, the finer the granularity of the processes identified, the more challenging it is to understand the interplay of the different processes. For example, is a student allowed to receive a grade if one of the assignment processes is still running? Having a too fine-grained solution simplifies modeling and analyzing the separate models, but complicates the overall design of the information system.

In the end, most student groups delivered an information system that implemented two to four business processes. These processes capture different aspects of the information system, from enrolling in an educational track, following a course instance, the lecturer tendering process, and obtaining the diploma. Some students combined the enrollment and obtaining the diploma, i.e., the process a student follows in an educational track. Others combined the students following a course instance process with the lecturer tendering process, by taking the course instance as a case, rather than a student following a course instance.

Process Modeling. Although having Petri nets as the primary modeling notation helps students in making the state, and thus the case, explicit, it turned out to be difficult for students to give proper meaning to tokens and places. Tokens resembling a single object, such as a lecturer or a student were often found at a first round. However, combining different notions, like “a token in this place resembles a student that is following a course” turns out to be more difficult than initially anticipated. After the first round of feedback, students were taught the concept of place invariants. This increased the students’ understanding of the idea of tokens and places resembling combinations of elements, rather than just being single elements representing the state of the net.

As in a previous course on information modeling, students learned to design forms to populate their data model, several groups created “screen-based” processes. Each activity represented a screen a user would see in the system, and the process flow depicted the possible orders in which the screens would be displayed. Discussing their solution after the first feedback round, revealed that these student groups had similar problems in understanding the notion of a case.

Another challenge many students faced is the level of abstraction in activities. For example, several groups produced process models with small activities like “fill in address”, “fill in telephone number”, and “select education track”, rather than having a larger activity “enroll for education track”, leaving the details of what data is needed for an enrollment to a later stage in the process. These small activities appeared either in a large parallel construct, or were modeled consecutively, in a fixed order.

In the final deliverable, all student groups delivered process models with each containing ten to twenty activities. Each activity had a clear form and roles assigned. The interplay between the different processes was expressed both in Petri nets, and implemented using triggers on the activities, and by connecting the data model to the different activities in the process models.

Process Analysis. During the lectures of the course, many different analysis techniques, such as reachability and invariant calculus are discussed. Relating these abstract properties, like liveness, boundedness and place invariants to properties turns out to be a good exercise in understanding why these properties help in improving their solutions.

The students had to analyze their solution in different dimensions. The first dimension is intra-process versus inter-process. Within a single process, all properties are relatively easy to verify, especially if their solution contains many small processes. The challenge is in analyzing the interplay between different processes. For example, dependencies may exist, like in the example of the small assignment process: who is allowed to start this process, and when? Similarly, to model a check whether a course instance has sufficient students enrolled, can be challenging if each student enrolls in a separate process instance.

A second dimension is verification within the models versus validation with the context. Verification of the models, i.e., checking whether the models satisfy properties like liveness, boundedness and weak termination, was performed by all students. Validation, i.e., checking whether the models are appropriate for the problem at hand turns out to be more difficult. Most students delivered initially reports containing many, large user stories, but no analysis whether their solution can actually replay the scenarios they described earlier in the same document.

Situation modeled in Petri nets (a) for which the multi-instance activity in BPMN (b) gives a more natural solution.

Implementation. Another challenge remains in transforming the formal process models designed with Petri nets into BPMN models that are executable by Business Process Management Suites (BPMSs) like ProcessMaker. On the one hand, the formal semantics of Petri nets allow the students to simulate and analyze their processes, and test their dependencies by composing all models into a large Petri net. On the other hand, a BPMS requires the model to be divided into small processes, in which the state is left implicit. In addition, several constructs are needed in Petri nets to keep models analyzable, e.g. the amount of lecturers available to teach a course. In BPMN specialized constructs exist, such as parallel repetition via multi-instance activities, that are designed to solve such situations, as an example shows in Fig. 2 . This requires the students to be creative in their solutions on how to move from a formal specification into a technical implementation, while showing that their ideas remain consistent with the specification.

Balancing Data and Processes. An important observation we made during the assignment is how subtle the connection between processes and data is. Although these subjects are being taught in different courses, these go hand in hand in an integrated information system.

To give an example, most students create a data model in which a course instance always has a lecturer (a one-to-many relation), has one exam and one assignment. However, in the process of running a course instance, the track management first decides that a course instance, for which students already could subscribe, will start, and only then decide to start a tender for which lecturers can apply. Hence, although the course instance already exists, no lecturer is assigned to it. Consequently, the data model is violated, as the one-to-many relationship is not valid, whereas adding a lecturer while creating a course instance violates the process model. This results in a deadlock caused by the integration of the two models. Although the example seems trivial, it turns out that many such integration issues occur in the assignment.

The interplay between processes and data is very difficult to analyze and discover at design time, and is mostly found only while testing the information system, which is already difficult and challenging in itself. This debugging and “bug hunting”, as some students named it, is a very time-consuming and frustrating process, as it is scattered over the different forms, triggers and database handling in all processes.

Overall Perception. All student groups delivered an integrated information system that supported most functionality. The specification document and implementation guide typically were consistent. Reduction rules [ 13 ] combined with reachability graphs were the most used analysis tool to verify the models, and several groups used place invariants to show that their resources, such as lecturers, courses and students remained constant in the system.

ISModeler. The tool combines CPN Tools with a theorem prover for the data model.

Afterwards, the course was evaluated by the students (n = 41) using closed questions on a 1–5 likert scale. Students pointed out that the lectures were well usable for the assignment (85% scored $\ge $ 4), and that they learned “a great deal” (83% scored $\ge $ 4). Although labor intensive, the students valued the early feedback rounds and stated that the feedback helped improving their results (73% scored $\ge $ 4). In the open feedback questions, students posed that the used system has its problems and peculiarities. This made it often difficult to understand what went wrong, and how this could be mitigated. However, the students valued the freedom the assignment provides, ensuring that everybody has a different solution, enabling them to discuss alternatives among each other.

5 Next Steps

Based on the results of the first run of the assignment, we found that integrating data and processes is experienced as challenging by the students. For many practitioners, experience plays an important role in knowing how to adapt processes and data, and when. In some cases it is better to alter the data model, in other cases the process model. This requires experience, and practice.

In our view, integrating processes and data is given too little attention in current curricula. The assignment shows that students find it very difficult to analyze the specification on deadlocks caused by the integration of data and process models. To our knowledge, hardly any analysis technique taught in textbooks is grounded in both data and processes. At the same time, we see that courses on Data and Information Management (IS2010.2) focus on information requirements and data modeling. Processes are acknowledged, but play a very small role in the IS 2010 guideline. Similarly, process modeling courses, like the elective on BPM, focus on processes, but tend to ignore that these processes manipulate (structured) data.

A course on information system modeling should not only focus on these two aspects, but also show the synergy between the two modeling paradigms. We therefore developed the tool ISModeler that makes this synergy explicit [ 16 ]. It combines a process model in the form of a Petri net in which tokens carry identifiers [ 10 , 12 ], a data model, and a transition specification that defines how each transition manipulates the data model through transactions. The tool builds upon CPN tools [ 17 ], and a theorem prover to validate the transactions on populations of the data model. In ISModeler , a transition is enabled if it is both enabled in the Petri net, and the transaction yields a valid population. Figure 3 shows a screenshot of the system. In the top part of the window, the enabled transitions are shown, whereas the bottom part depicts the population of the data model, by listing per entity type and relationship the elements it contains. In this way, we envision that students will better understand the synergy between data and processes, and thus design and build better integrated information systems. The tool is planned to be put into action in next year’s edition to evaluate its effectiveness.

6 Conclusions

In this paper, we propose an assignment that allows students to experience the design and implementation of an information system using a BPMS. The proposed assignment combines data and process modeling, forcing students to design and analyze their solution using formal techniques, and translate their solution into an information system.

Running the assignment for the first time shows that the assignment helps students to experience design issues that arise while studying the case description. Students discovered that abstract properties used in verification can be linked to actual properties in the case description, and assist them in improving their solution.

However, the run also shows that students find it difficult to understand the synergy between data and processes. Although in scientific literature several approaches exist that allow to model this (cf. [ 7 , 9 , 12 ]), experiences with the assignment show that these have not yet been embedded sufficiently in our education curricula.

Note that several other proposed learning objectives can be seen as refinements of the core ones, e.g., the objective of “Design a relational database so that it is at least in 3NF” can be seen as a refinement of “Design high-quality relational databases”.

http://www.processmaker.com/ .

The rubric can be found at http://www.architecturemining.org/publications/WerfP18a.pdf .

https://ec.europa.eu/education/resources/european-credit-transfer-accumulation-system_en .

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van der Werf, J.M.E.M., Polyvyanyy, A. (2019). An Assignment on Information System Modeling. In: Daniel, F., Sheng, Q., Motahari, H. (eds) Business Process Management Workshops. BPM 2018. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 342. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11641-5_44

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Marketing Information Systems

Purpose-This study aims at highlighting the significance and importance of utilizing marketing information system (MKIS) on decision-making, by clarifying the need for quick and efficient decision-making due to time saving and preventing of duplication of work. Design-methodology-approach- The study shows the roles of each parts of MKIS for developing marketing strategy, which present a real challenge to individuals and institutions in a an era characterized by uncertainty. And clarifying the importance of each part separately, depending on decision type and the nature of the situation. The empirical research method was evaluated by specialized experts, conducted by means of questionnaires. Correlation analysis were employed to test the validity of the procedure.

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Jonathan Deacon

This paper aims to provide deeper understanding of the current status of MKIS in the Jordanian banking industry. More specifically, the study objective is to identify MKIS concept, bank managers' satisfactions, and the major tasks (functions) of MKIS in improving the banking performance Methodologically, a qualitative approach using case study method is employed to analyse the data generated by purposive selected interviews. Moreover, two- phase analysis is adopted by the study; initially each interview will be analysed independently. The second phase is cross interviews analysis to show the holistic view of case study analysis. The study concludes that MKIS banks mangers do not completely satisfy about the current status of MKIS due to lack of system automation and poor coordination among banks departments. However, MKIS plays some important roles though its different tasks such as providing the appropriate information to its users. The study recommends that top management shou...

Information & Management

Soon after the concept of a management information system was introduced in the mid-1960s, marketers tailored it to their own unique needs, naming it the marketing information system (MKIS). Several studies have been conducted of how MKISs are used in the Fortune 500 companies, and the authors compare their current findings to those of ten and eighteen years ago.

s3001698 abc

Maurice Ezekiel

Marketing Intelligence & Planning

George Panigyrakis

Purpose – To design and empirically validate an instrument for measuring the effectiveness of a marketing intelligence system (MkIS). Design/methodology/approach – A thorough review of the literature of IS in general and MkIS in particular was the foundation for a new conceptualisation of MkIS effectiveness, which was developed into a measuring instrument for experimental application to data collected by a pre-tested postal questionnaire from 254 five-star hotels in Greece. Findings – Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis show that the proposed measuring instrument meets acceptable criteria of reliability and validity. The effectiveness of MkIS is found to comprise both internal and external components, related on the one hand to the extent to which the user organization improves functional effectiveness and corporate climate and on the other to its adaptability to market conditions and its customer responsiveness. The instrument is capable of integrating these into a holistic measure. Research limitations/implications – The single-industry, single-country sample limits the scope for generalization. Future research should address this through replication in different contexts. Practical implications – A validated measure of the effectiveness of MkIS has important implications for both users and providers. Conceptually, it permits improved understanding of the components of effectiveness. Pragmatically, it provides an assessment of the effectiveness of existing or new systems. Originality/value – Until now, there has been no empirically validated instrument integrating the several dimensions of MkIS effectiveness. Keywords Marketing information systems, Measuring instruments, Effectiveness, Hotels, Greece Paper type Research paper

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Information has become an essential resource for managing modern organizations. This is so because today's business environment is volatile, dynamic, turbulent and necessitates the burgeoning demand for accurate, relevant, complete, timely and economical information needed to drive the decision-making process in order to accentuate organizational abilities to manage opportunities and threat. MIS work on online mode with an average processing speed. Generally, it is used by low level management. Decision support system are powerful tool that assist corporate executives, administrators and other senior officials in making decision regarding the problem. Management Information Systems is a useful tool that provided organized and summarized information in a proper time to decision makers and enable making accurate decision for managers in organizations. This paper will discuss the concept, characteristics, types of MIS, the MIS model, and in particular it will highlight the impact and role of MIS on decision making.

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An empirical study is conducted to explore the Innovative Marketing Information System in Tourism industry of Pakistan. The study is very beneficial for Hotels, fast food restaurants, tourist resorts, picnic spots and other areas of the sector to measure to what extent Innovative MKIS is efficient and effective. How much Innovative MKIS is contributing to the increase profitability and market value of tourism and can enhance performance of this sector by Innovative MKIS in Pakistan. The study was conducted to identify the importance of procedural improvements of Innovative MKIS and to support the marketing staff. Furthermore, it will add value for customers with product knowledge and help the business organizations to customers preferences and market response. IT based Innovative MKIS efficiency is measured on bases of four models proposed as organizational efficiency proportions by Gounaris, Panigyrakis and Chatzipanagiotou.

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