Management Information SystemUnit II

MIS Planning, Development and Systems

Planning of Information systemDevelopment of Long Range Plans of the MIS Contents of the MIS Plan MIS goal and objectivesThe MIS goals and objectives will consider management philosophy, policy constraints, business risk, internal and external environment of the organization and the business

Business Plan vs. MIS PlanDevelopment strategy: An online, a batch, a real time technology platform System development strategy: Any approach to the system development Operational vs. Functional; Accounting vs. Analysis; Database vs. Conventional approach; Distributed vs. Decentralized processing; one Database vs. multiple databases Resources for system development: In house vs. external, customized development vs. the use of packages Manpower composition: Analyst. programmer skills and know-how

Business Plan Business Goal and objectives. Business plan and strategy Strategy planning and decisions.

MIS Plan Management Information system, objectives, consistent to the business goals and objectives. Information Strategy for the business plan implementation plays a supportive role.

of the Management plan for execution 1) Architecture and control. Operation plan for the Management Information System to support decisions. execution. 2) System Development schedule, matching the plan execution. 3) Hardware and software plan for the procurement and the implementation.

System, types, limitations and characteristicsA system is an orderly looping of independent components linked together according to a plan to achieve a specific objective. A system is a set of elements in the form of ideas, things and people which are interrelated and part of a cohesive setup that to achieve a specific goal of goals or objectives. System can be abstract , physical system, Open , closed systems, Man-made information systems

System, types, limitations and characteristicsA system has following parts(a) components, (b) Inter-rated components (c) A boundary (d) A purpose (e) An environment (f) Interface (g) Input (h) Output (i) Constraints

System, types, limitations and characteristicsComponents - An irreducible part of aggregation of parts that make up a system, also called a subsystem. Inter-related Components -Dependence of one subsystem on one or more subsystems. Boundary - The line that marks the inside and outside of system and which sets off the system from its environment. Purpose - The overall goal or function of a system

System, types, limitations and characteristicsEnvironment Everything external to a system that interacts with the system. Interface point of contact where a system meets its environment or where subsystems meet each other. Input Whatever a system takes forms its environment in order to fulfill its purpose.

System, types, limitations and characteristicsOutput - Whatever a system returns to its environment in order to fulfill its purpose. Constraint - A limit to what a system can accomplish

Values of SystemFocus upon End Results- If System Are to be utilized effectively purposes should be clearly disclosed. Well-designed system ensure customer satisfaction, reduce and higher profits. Purposeful, Orderly and Efficient plan of ActionIn a System Managers and workers are given a path to go without waste in motion, delay, and uncertainty assigned responsibility for specific tasks. Coordination of Specialized Activities-In a system the differed and unfitting interests of functional specialists can be fitted Tighten in an overall pattern that best serves the whole concern.

Values of SystemBasis for Control- In a management system work at present level can be guided consistency achieved results and measured against standards. Later on it may provide feedback required either to adjust methods of handling or modify expectations. Liquidity- According to Lisle Matthias, Good system do not restrict, they liberate. System Leave the boss free to do what he wants to do. He can plan, initiate desirable action examine the results of action, evaluate performance, initiate improvement, delegate with confidence if he uses system to do most of the work

Limitations of the SystemsRepetitions- A system is no better the planning that goes into it. Its weakness will be compounded by repeated usage Obsolete-A system must be kept up to data and effective to encourage it. It can easily become obsolete or insufficient for new needs. Rigidity-A system man become rigid as to preclude flexibility, details may destroy initiative. Less success- a system may control all activities. In an informal concern all workers are left to work themselves. As each firm adopts a system that fits them in the circumstances

Characteristic of a well Designed SystemEffectiveness- an effective system fulfils the purpose or attains the goal for which it was established within the time constraints imposed on the system. Efficiency- While good system fulfills its purpose; it must also attain it at a cost less than value of the objectives and with a minimum of adverse consequences. Dependability- A well designed system is dependable. It gives consistent results, its output is reliable. As a good system is free from breakdown it can be depended upon to work with a minimum of downtime

Characteristic of a well Designed SystemFlexibility- A good system has the ability to absorb changes in environmental conditions or input factors and the ability to accommodate exemption processing without complete disruption of operation Simplicity- A system need not be complicated. Simplicity of design increases dependability of operation. Acceptability- A good system is acceptable to those who are responsible for using it. Even a well designed and technically perfect effective and efficient system design must always involve a thought of human element

Elements of SystemSuppliers Customer s ORGANIZATION ENVIRONMENT

INPUT

PROCESSING Classify Arrange Calculate Feedback

OUTPUT

Regulatory Agencies

Stockholder s SYSTEM

Competitors

System EntropyWhen systems are allowed to run for some time, they tend to become disorganized, resulting into system inefficiency. The process of decay and its cause is called Entropy The process of providing a negative entropy is called system maintenance. As preventive measure a negative entropy is provided as a part of the system routine. The steps are :A periodical review of the system, User meetings to asses the current utility of the system and the level of satisfaction, Subjecting the system to an audit check through the test data, Running the system under audit trial, Bringing out system modifications.

Sub System

Architecture of the MIS PlanContents Corporate information Corporate mission! goals! objectives Business risk and rewards Particulars Business environment current operations. Current and new goals/objectives and Focus Where are we?

mission!

Where do we want to reach?

Clear quantitative statements on What is the risk? Support these factors showing a trade off information to resolve risk. between the risk and rewards.

Details of the strategic and How do we achieve the goals Business policy and strategy policy decisions affecting the and objectives? What is the key Information needs business Strategic/planning, information? CSF. managerial operational. Architecture of the plan Information Technology details What are the achievement? When and achieved? how tools for

Details of the systems and subSchedule of development systems and their linkages charted against the Time scale. Manpower and delegation Organisation and execution of details. Internal and xternal the plan resources. Budget and ROl Details on the investment schedule and benefits.

will

it

be

Who will achieve it? How much will it cost? Budget and ROl.

Model of the MIS PlanPrototype Approach Prototyping is a process of progressively ascertaining the information needs, developing methodology, trying it out on a smaller scale with respect to the data and the complexity, ensuring that it satisfies the needs of the users, and assess the problems of development and implementation In the prototyping approach, the designers task becomes difficult, when there are multiple users of the same system and the inputs they use are used by some other users as well

Model of the MIS PlanLife Cycle ApproachSystem

Application

Physical Design

Install the System

Assess Feasibility

System Specification

Conduct Awareness & Training

Information Requirement Analysis Conceptual Design

Program Specification

Operate the System

Develop the System

Review & Audit

Model of the MIS PlanPrototyping approach Open system with a high degree of uncertainty about the information needs. Necessary to try out the ideas, application and efficiency of the information as a decision support. Necessary to control the cost of the design and development before the scope of the system and its application is y fully determined. Experimentation is necessary. User of the system wants to tryout the system before he commits the y specification and the information requirements. The system and application is highly y custom oriented.y

Life cycle approach Closed systems with little or no uncertainty about the information needs. The system remains valid for a long time with no significant change. The design would remain stable. No need to try out the application of the information as it is already proven. Scope of the design and the application is fully determined with clarity and experimentation is not necessary. The user is confident and confirms the specifications and the information needs. The system and application is universal and governed by the principles and practices.

y y

y

y

y

Value of information in decision makingIn decision theory, the value of information is the value of the change in decision behavior caused by the information less the cost of obtaining the information In other words, given a set of possible decision, a decision maker will select one on the basis of the information at hand. In new information causes a different decision to be made, the value of the new information is the difference in value between the outcome of the old decision and that of the new decision, less the cost of obtaining the new information. If new information does not cause a different decision to be made the value of the new information is zero

Value of Information and Sensitivity AnalysisSensitivity analysis consists of analytical procedures to determine the degree of impact on a solution algorithm or model of changes in one or more variables If the decision is not sensitive to the value of a variable over a wide range of values, additional information on the future value of the variable will have no effect on the decision. If the decision is highly sensitive to changes in the future value of a variable sensitivity analysis also indicates the degree of sensitivity.

Value of Information Other Than in a decisionMotivation Model Building Background Building

Systems AnalysisSystem analysis is the survey and planning of the project, the study and analysis of the existing business and information system and the definition of business requirements System analysis involves two phases: study phase definition phase.

Systems AnalysisSurvey phase plan the project Study phase analyze the existing system Definition phase prioritize the business requirement

Documentation

Documentation

Repository

Sysytem Design phase

System development Life cycle

System development Life cycleFeasibility study - It is concerned with determining the cost effectiveness of various alternatives in the designs of the information system and the priorities among the various system components. Requirements, collection and analysis - It is concerned with understanding the mission of the information systems, that is, the application areas of the system within the enterprise and the problems that the system should solve.

System development Life cycleDesign - It is concerned with the specification of the information systems structure. There are two types of design: database design and application design. The database design is the design of the database design and the application design is the design of the application programs. Prototyping - A prototype is a simplified implementation that is produced in order to verify in practice that the previous phases of the design were well conducted

System development Life cycleImplementation - It is concerned with the programming of the final operational version of the information system. Implementation alternatives are carefully verifies and compared. Validation and testing - It is the process of assuring that each phase of the development process is of acceptable quality and is an accurate transformation from the previous phase

Roles of Systems AnalystThe person involved in the system development is known as system analyst System analysts are the facilitators of the study of the problem and needs of a business to determine how the business systems and information technology can best solve the problem and accomplish improvements for the business The system analyst is responsible for examining the total flow of data throughout the organization Various aspects of an organization like personnel interactions and procedures for handling problems of the computer are studied by him

Roles of Systems AnalystHis main role is as consultant, supporting and maintenance expert, he should work with a cross section of people and should have the experience of working with computers He is a problem solver and takes problem as a challenge and enjoys meeting challenges. He knows how to use the right tools, techniques and experience at the right time.

Feasibility of SystemsFeasibility is a measure of how beneficial the development of an information system would be to an organization Feasibility study is a preliminary study which investigates the information needs of prospective users and determines the resource requirements, costs, benefits and feasibility of a proposed project The data is first collected for the feasibility study. Later on, the findings of the study are formalized in a written report that includes preliminary specifications and a development plan for the proposed system

Feasibility of SystemsTypes of feasibility studya) Technical feasibility: It is a measure of a technology's

suitability to the application being designed or the technology's ability to work with other technologies. It measures the practicality of a specified technical solution b) Economic feasibility: It is the measure of the cost effectiveness of a project. It is also known as cost-benefit analysis c) Operational feasibility: It is a measure of how comfortable the management and users are with the technology d) Schedule feasibility: It is a measure of how reasonable the project schedule is.

Data flow diagramsData flow diagrams represent the logical flow of data within the system A data flow diagram (DFD) is a graphical representation of the "flow" of data through an information system. DFDs can also be used for the visualization of data processing Squares representing external entities, which are sources or destinations of data. Rounded rectangles representing processes, which take data as input, do something to it, and output it. Arrows representing the data flows, which can either be electronic data or physical items. Open-ended rectangles representing data stores

DFD Symbols (Gane & Sarson)Process Data Flow Data Store Source/Sink (External Entity)

Exercise:Precision Tools sells a line of high-quality woodworking tools. When customers place orders on the companys Web site, the system checks to see if the items are in stock, issues a status message to the customer, and generates a shipping order to the warehouse, which fills the order. When the order is shipped, the customer is billed. The system also produces various reports. Draw DFD diagram for the order system

Entities

Identify Entities,Process,Data Stores & Data Data FlowsOrder In-Stock Request 1.0 Order Data Status Data Status Message 2.0 Shipping Order Order Data 3.0 Invoice Shipping Confirmation Payment 4.0 Accounting Data Accounts Receivable Data Order Data Inventory Reports 5.0

Customer Warehouse Accounting

Processes1.0 Check Status 2.0 Issue Status Messages 3.0 Generate Shipping Order 4.0 Manage Accounts Receivable 5.0 Produce Reports

Data StoresD1 Pending Orders D2 Accounts Receivable

C US TOME R

S ta MeOrder System

Data DictionaryThe data dictionary is used to create and store definitions of data, location, format for storage and other characteristics. The data dictionary also stores some of the description of data structures, such as entities, attributes and relationships

Systems Designa) Input Design - Input design is defined as the input requirement specification as per a format required. Input design begins long before the data arrives at the device. The analyst will have to design source documents, input screens and methods and procedures for getting the data into the computer

Systems Designb) Output Design - The design of the output is based on the requirement of the user - manager, customer etc. The output formats have to very friendly to the user. Therefore the designer has to ensure the appropriateness of the output format c) Development - When the design and its methodology is approved, the system is developed using appropriate business models. The development has to be in accordance to a given standard.

Systems Designd) TestingExhaustive and thorough testing must be conducted to ascertain whether the system produces the right results. Test data must be carefully prepared, results reviewed and corrections made in the system. Testing an information system can be broken down into three types of activities: unit testing, system testing and acceptance testing. Unit testing or program testing consists of testing each program separately in the system. System testing tests the functioning of the information system as a whole Acceptance testing provides the final certification that the system is ready to be used in a production setting. Systems tests are evaluated by users and reviewed by management.

Systems Designd) Implementation and Maintenance Conversion is the process of changing from the old system to the new system. Four main conversion strategies can be employed. They are Parallel strategy Direct cutover strategy Pilot strategy Phased strategy