Information management summary lectures and articles
Information systems (IS)
“Information systems (IS) is the study of complementary networks of hardware
and software that people and organizations use to collect, filter, process, create,
and distribute data.” – Wikipedia
“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.” – Book
Piccoli: “Information Systems don’t have to include technology”
Components of Information System (Piccoli)
Figure 1: Components of Information System (Piccoli)
Technology
Hardware, software, and telecommunication equipment, refferd to as the cornerstone of
modern IS.
Process
A series of steps to complete a business activity. IT supports processes in the
form of Workflow Mgmt Systems, ERP, or otherwise.
People
Individuals or groups directly involved in the information system:
• end users
• managers
• IT professionals
A genuine understanding of the people involved, including their skills,
interests, and motivations, is necessary when designing and implementing
a new IS or when troubleshooting an existing IS that is not performing as
expected
,The people component in the framework is specifically about people as
informational agents: what information they need, get, provide.
IS-failure
discrepancies between business processes as designed and the manner in which they are
actually enacted is often the root cause of IS failure.
Structure
The organizational design (hierarchy, decentralized); reporting (functional, divisional,
matrix); and relationships (communication and reward mechanisms) within the information
system
The implicit or explicit rules that govern relationships between the people involved in the
information system.
Understanding the structure component is crucial because user resistance, incentive systems,
and relationships are often silent enemies of IS success that go undetected before, and
sometimes even after, IS failure becomes apparent.
Systemic effects
The four components of an Information System are interdependent, so
changes in one component may affect all other components of the
system and, if not properly managed, its outputs
You must ensure the proper interaction of IT with the other components
The importance of systemic effects is critical not only when designing a
new system but also when troubleshooting an existing one that is
underperforming
IS and Organizational Change
Three levels of organizational change:
• First-Order: Automate
• Second-Order: Informate
• Third-Order: Transform
First order: Automate
First-order change only affects the Technical System
It occurs when an IT innovation is introduced that modifies
how an existing process is performed
Managing it is: Easiest to envision, justify and, manage
First order change requires little executive sponsorship or
involvement
Figure 2: First order change (Automate)
Second order: Informate
,Second-order change affects the People component
It occurs when the information flow of the process changes
substantially due to the introduction
of new IT (e.g., new information
available)
Key challenges on managing it are: the providing of appropriate training & overcoming the
human tendency to resist change
Third order: Transform
Third-order change affects the Structure component
A structural change on one of the other components, or a
combination:
• Technology → a change in the way the organization selects,
uses, and manages technology
• People → a change in the reporting and authority structure of
the organization
• Process → a novel way of task accomplishment or a new set of
tasks
Figure 4: Third order change (Transform)
Managing it requires significant managerial and executive involvement
Notes for organizational change
IT product should not be the point of departure but rather the point of arrival of your
information system design effort. (Strategy may be inspired, not driven, by IT)
Never forget the systemic effects: the components of an IS mutually influence one
another (Anticipate these ripple effects and proactively manage them before they
become a cause for concern)
An information system is not designed “once and for all” as if it were a static artifact
IS from a Language/Action Perspective (LAP)
Focuses on what people do when communicating (how to do things with
words). Does not start with technology, but with people communicating (in order
to coordinate).
Information System of an organization can be defined as the structure by
means of which people communicate.
Rick Maes – The IM Cube
,CIO vs CDO – digitalization
Digital transformation = use of new digital technologies, such as social media,
mobile, analytics or embedded devices, to enable major business improvements like
enhancing customer experience, streamlining operations or creating new business
models.
Digitalization ≠ digitization: digitization focuses on converting and recording data,
digitalization is all about developing processes and changing workflows to improve
manual systems
Digital transformation blurs the distinction between IT strategy and Business
Strategy.
IM Executives
▪Chief Information Officer (CIO): The individual in charge of the information systems
function.
▪ Chief Digital Officer (CDO): The individual in charge of digital transformation and digital
innovation in established organizations, he or she is the “transformer in chief.”
▪ Chief Data Officer (CDO): The individual who oversees all aspects of data use in an
organization, from collection to compliance to value extraction.
▪ Chief Information Security Officer (CISO): The individual in charge of digital risk
management and cybersecurity.
,Moore's law
The observation that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles
approximately every two years.
leads to:
a dropping of storage costs
The explosion of the net
IoT persuasiveness
Importance for IM
Causes:
Self-fulfilling prophecy: an expectation or belief that can influence your behaviors,
thus causing the belief to come true
Network effects: the phenomenon by which the value or utility a user derives from a
good or service depends on the number of users of compatible products.
Effects:
Autonomous (yet predictable) technological growth
Chessboard metaphor: exponential growth, following new technologies will be
extremely disruptive
Binary system
The basics of data representation and manipulation are binary data (0 and 1)
Calculating: only two signs (+, *)
1+1=10 (only two possible numbers)
Figure 6: converting 'normal' number to binary
Figure 5: 1+1 binary
Types of application software (perspectives
Functional perspective
- Marketing, Logistics, Accounting, HR
Hierarchical perspective
- Operational, managerial, strategic
User perspective
- Front-end, back-end
Process perspective
- Emphasis on integration
- WFM, ERP
Data perspective
, - Automation (processing)
- Analytics
- Databases
Digital infrastructure
Digital systems are not only applications as users see them but include also systems on which
other digital systems can be built.
Articles:
Article Tilson Lyytinen et al (2010) Digital Infrastructures: The Missing IS Research
Agenda.
• Digital infrastructure and the generativity property of digital systems
• The paradoxes of change and control
Further development of this research line has focused on digital platforms (e.g., Yoo et al,
2012). Example Alexa (Amazon)
Cloud Computing
The use of Internet for pooling IT resources, Building on Client/Server model, Service-
Oriented Architecture.
Three types:
• Software as a Service - for end users
• Platform as a Service – for developers
• Infrastructure as a Service – for the IT manager
• Often combinations (hybrid)
Figure 7: Levels of cloud computing compared to packaged software
Information systems (IS)
“Information systems (IS) is the study of complementary networks of hardware
and software that people and organizations use to collect, filter, process, create,
and distribute data.” – Wikipedia
“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.” – Book
Piccoli: “Information Systems don’t have to include technology”
Components of Information System (Piccoli)
Figure 1: Components of Information System (Piccoli)
Technology
Hardware, software, and telecommunication equipment, refferd to as the cornerstone of
modern IS.
Process
A series of steps to complete a business activity. IT supports processes in the
form of Workflow Mgmt Systems, ERP, or otherwise.
People
Individuals or groups directly involved in the information system:
• end users
• managers
• IT professionals
A genuine understanding of the people involved, including their skills,
interests, and motivations, is necessary when designing and implementing
a new IS or when troubleshooting an existing IS that is not performing as
expected
,The people component in the framework is specifically about people as
informational agents: what information they need, get, provide.
IS-failure
discrepancies between business processes as designed and the manner in which they are
actually enacted is often the root cause of IS failure.
Structure
The organizational design (hierarchy, decentralized); reporting (functional, divisional,
matrix); and relationships (communication and reward mechanisms) within the information
system
The implicit or explicit rules that govern relationships between the people involved in the
information system.
Understanding the structure component is crucial because user resistance, incentive systems,
and relationships are often silent enemies of IS success that go undetected before, and
sometimes even after, IS failure becomes apparent.
Systemic effects
The four components of an Information System are interdependent, so
changes in one component may affect all other components of the
system and, if not properly managed, its outputs
You must ensure the proper interaction of IT with the other components
The importance of systemic effects is critical not only when designing a
new system but also when troubleshooting an existing one that is
underperforming
IS and Organizational Change
Three levels of organizational change:
• First-Order: Automate
• Second-Order: Informate
• Third-Order: Transform
First order: Automate
First-order change only affects the Technical System
It occurs when an IT innovation is introduced that modifies
how an existing process is performed
Managing it is: Easiest to envision, justify and, manage
First order change requires little executive sponsorship or
involvement
Figure 2: First order change (Automate)
Second order: Informate
,Second-order change affects the People component
It occurs when the information flow of the process changes
substantially due to the introduction
of new IT (e.g., new information
available)
Key challenges on managing it are: the providing of appropriate training & overcoming the
human tendency to resist change
Third order: Transform
Third-order change affects the Structure component
A structural change on one of the other components, or a
combination:
• Technology → a change in the way the organization selects,
uses, and manages technology
• People → a change in the reporting and authority structure of
the organization
• Process → a novel way of task accomplishment or a new set of
tasks
Figure 4: Third order change (Transform)
Managing it requires significant managerial and executive involvement
Notes for organizational change
IT product should not be the point of departure but rather the point of arrival of your
information system design effort. (Strategy may be inspired, not driven, by IT)
Never forget the systemic effects: the components of an IS mutually influence one
another (Anticipate these ripple effects and proactively manage them before they
become a cause for concern)
An information system is not designed “once and for all” as if it were a static artifact
IS from a Language/Action Perspective (LAP)
Focuses on what people do when communicating (how to do things with
words). Does not start with technology, but with people communicating (in order
to coordinate).
Information System of an organization can be defined as the structure by
means of which people communicate.
Rick Maes – The IM Cube
,CIO vs CDO – digitalization
Digital transformation = use of new digital technologies, such as social media,
mobile, analytics or embedded devices, to enable major business improvements like
enhancing customer experience, streamlining operations or creating new business
models.
Digitalization ≠ digitization: digitization focuses on converting and recording data,
digitalization is all about developing processes and changing workflows to improve
manual systems
Digital transformation blurs the distinction between IT strategy and Business
Strategy.
IM Executives
▪Chief Information Officer (CIO): The individual in charge of the information systems
function.
▪ Chief Digital Officer (CDO): The individual in charge of digital transformation and digital
innovation in established organizations, he or she is the “transformer in chief.”
▪ Chief Data Officer (CDO): The individual who oversees all aspects of data use in an
organization, from collection to compliance to value extraction.
▪ Chief Information Security Officer (CISO): The individual in charge of digital risk
management and cybersecurity.
,Moore's law
The observation that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles
approximately every two years.
leads to:
a dropping of storage costs
The explosion of the net
IoT persuasiveness
Importance for IM
Causes:
Self-fulfilling prophecy: an expectation or belief that can influence your behaviors,
thus causing the belief to come true
Network effects: the phenomenon by which the value or utility a user derives from a
good or service depends on the number of users of compatible products.
Effects:
Autonomous (yet predictable) technological growth
Chessboard metaphor: exponential growth, following new technologies will be
extremely disruptive
Binary system
The basics of data representation and manipulation are binary data (0 and 1)
Calculating: only two signs (+, *)
1+1=10 (only two possible numbers)
Figure 6: converting 'normal' number to binary
Figure 5: 1+1 binary
Types of application software (perspectives
Functional perspective
- Marketing, Logistics, Accounting, HR
Hierarchical perspective
- Operational, managerial, strategic
User perspective
- Front-end, back-end
Process perspective
- Emphasis on integration
- WFM, ERP
Data perspective
, - Automation (processing)
- Analytics
- Databases
Digital infrastructure
Digital systems are not only applications as users see them but include also systems on which
other digital systems can be built.
Articles:
Article Tilson Lyytinen et al (2010) Digital Infrastructures: The Missing IS Research
Agenda.
• Digital infrastructure and the generativity property of digital systems
• The paradoxes of change and control
Further development of this research line has focused on digital platforms (e.g., Yoo et al,
2012). Example Alexa (Amazon)
Cloud Computing
The use of Internet for pooling IT resources, Building on Client/Server model, Service-
Oriented Architecture.
Three types:
• Software as a Service - for end users
• Platform as a Service – for developers
• Infrastructure as a Service – for the IT manager
• Often combinations (hybrid)
Figure 7: Levels of cloud computing compared to packaged software
