Management Information System Syed Ahmad Sharjil

Information System:Information system is a computer based system which manages data apply certain

procedure based on different rules and regulation and then provide us with specific information, following are main categories:

o Transaction Processing System:o Management Information system:o Decision Support System:o Executive Information Systemo Expert System

Transaction Processing System: TPSTransaction processing system focuses on transaction where transaction is an event which involves any monetary exchange against certain products or services. It is a basic level information system which records all the details relat3ed to that particular transaction.

Management Information System: Management information is a middle layer information system which receives data from TPS or directly from the source and than applies different procedures to obtain certain information. This kind of information system is used to manage the organization daily activities and facilitates in better management, efficient utilization of resources etc.

Decision Support System: DSSA decision support system is an information system which provides more meaning full information which can be utilize in decision making process. Therefore the information is required to be based on past data as well as future trends in the relevant business market. This type of information system is used by middle management as well as higher management. It obtains data from TPS, MIS, or directly from the source and then information depicted in tabular format or more lightly in graphical formats. Hence the information is easy to understand and facilitate authority in decision making process.

Executive Information System: EISThis kind of information system is used by higher authorities and so the information is required to be highly specific. The resources of data in this kind of information system are DSS, TPS, MIS, etc. The executive information system provides information which is utilized in policy making.

Management Information System Syed Ahmad Sharjil

Expert System:Expert system is basically a theoretically which was initially developed for social welfare, such as in the field of medicine, education sector etc.

Expert system comprises following components: Graphic User Interface GUI Knowledge Base Inference Engine

o Graphic User Interface (GUI) GUI provides an environment through which user can interact with the system so therefore it should be designed in accordance to the requirements of the users. The users are in different categories such as computer Literates or with some basic information of IT. So to design a user friendly interface. It is highly required that the designers have knowledge about ultimate users.

o Knowledge BaseKnowledge base a database in which data is stored in the form of facts. And two or more facts are required to establish a rule. The knowledge base might comprise of thousand of facts with very few number of rules. Traditionally the knowledge base is updated manually by the users who are authorize to do so but recently expert system have been developed in which real time activates are carried out by the system itself and is capable of updating itself.

o Inference EngineInference engine is a software which provide the bridge between GUI and knowledge base. And following are the main techniques being used by the inference engine:

Forward Chaining Techniques Backward Chaining Techniques

Forward Chaining TechniquesForward Chaining techniques focus on goal being set by the users in the given query. Therefore rather than searching entire knowledge base. It is recommended through this technique that a certain group of data is targeted and desire results are obtained. However through this technique the information being retrieved is not authentic because of reliability of data. But this technique allows having information in very short span of time.

Backward Chaining TechniquesIn backward chaining technique, focuses on the data so it is a time

Management Information System Syed Ahmad Sharjil

consuming activity. However information is being retrieved is more authentic in Nature.

Components of Information System:

o Human BeingsThe Human Beings are involved in two possible manners in the Information system:

I.T Professionals/DevelopersIt Professionals are those individuals, that are highly Skilled in the field of Computer Science (i.e. database managers, Network Specialists, Programmers)

End Userso Data/Informationo Procedures

Procedure is a set of steps in a particular sequence which should be followed in order to obtain satisfactory result. The network protocol software development and computer programming are followed by as per their procedural guide line which ease the maintenance procedure and also avoids compatibility issues.

o SoftwareSet of instructions which executes the hardware components of computer system. Following are the categories of software

System Software Application Software

There are business categories at software which are as followed: Public Domain Software Commercial ware Share ware Free ware

Public Domain Software:Public Domain Software are not copy righted and are developed for the social welfare purpose. This software is normally sponsored by the government agencies or by NGO’s. And therefore the users are not asked to pay heavy amount to use that particular software.

Commercial WareA Commercial ware is copyrighted software and is produced for making profit. This kind of software is manufactured on large scale and sold at a particular price tag by the developer to make good profit.

Management Information System Syed Ahmad Sharjil

SharewareShareware is software which is copyrighted but the user who is purchasing that particular software is authorized to register as a group and other entities which are registered in this group can also legally access to the particular software.

Rental WareRental ware is also a copyrighted software which is available to the user either free or certain price to be made. But further usage, the user has to pay certain amount on periodical basis or after a certain number of uses; otherwise the user can’t continue the facility at the particular software.

FreewareFreeware is also copyrighted software but it is available without any charges. However this software is developed by the manufacturer either to market any product or to create goodwill for the organization.

o Hardware Input Hardware Output Hardware Storage Devices Communication Devices

o Communication SystemCommunication system comprises of communication Hardware and Network protocols in addition to software which is required to unable the system to allow different entities over the system to communicate each other. The communication is required for different purposes such as input data to be transferred, information to be shared.

System Development Life cycle:The system development life cycle comprises of following

Analysis Phase Design Phase Development Phase Testing Phase Deployment Phase Maintenance Phase

Management Information System Syed Ahmad Sharjil

o Analysis Phase The analysis phase begins with the requirement collection which is also known as requirement engineering in which client identify the functions or modules which are required to be part of information system. However there are a number of limitations which can create problems and therefore these requirements are thoroughly examined and reconsidered. These limitations might be physical constrains, technological constrains and financial issues. The more the analysis phase comprehensive in nature, the more accurate requirements are identified and the success of the entire product depends on the authentication of analysis phase.

o Design PhaseDesign Phase depends upon the analysis phase and the outcomes of the analysis phase is focused to provide possible solution. The design phase provides documents which are implemented in the development phase. This document comprises of data floe diagrams, flowchart and prototypes etc. these documents provided to the development team. Therefore the design phase involves all the paper work through which outcomes of the analysis phase depicted and complete layout of the solution is provided.

o Development Phase:This is a phase in which actual construction of information system begins. And the documents being provided are followed to accomplish the targets being set in the analysis phase. The development phase involves development team which comprises of programmers, database administrator and network specialist etc. if the information system comprises of a number of module then it is preferred to divided the entire information system into different unites based on these modules. And these units are assigned to different development teams & later on integration is done to obtain the final product.

o Testing Phase:Testing phase involves different test cases which are applied on the software or information system before its deployment and intentionally the system is subjected to an environment so that it can crash/fail. Through this testing phase it is examined that to which extent system can survive, for this purpose different test cases are employed which involves bombardment of data, bogus data, and irrelevant data. There are two categories of testing:

Unit Testing Integrated Testing

Management Information System Syed Ahmad Sharjil

Unit Testing: Unit testing is only possible if system is divided into different modules on the basis of function, which they are going to achieve. This division into different module is done during the development phase. In unite testing each module is test separately and the focus is on the function which are to be fulfill through these modules.

Integrated testing: After unit testing is done, all these modules are integrated with each other then entire information system is test as one unit, so that the overall performance can be judged. However if the system was not divided into different modules then only integrated testing is applied.