Chapter 1
Systems, Roles, and Development Methodologies

Key Points and Objectives

1. Information is an organizational resource that must be managed as carefully as other resources.

2. Information systems fall into one of the following eight categories:

A. Transaction processing systems (TPS) process large volumes of data, routine business transactions. B. Office automation systems (OAS) manipulate information and share it throughout the organization. Software, such as spreadsheets, word processing, email, teleconferencing and so on are routinely used in OAS. C. Knowledge work systems (KWS) help professionals to develop new knowledge, often in teams. D. Management information systems (MIS) are computerized information systems that support a broader range of business functions than do data processing systems. E. Decision support systems (DSS) are information systems that help support decision makers in making semi-structured decisions. F. Expert systems capture the expertise of a human expert or experts for solving particular organizational problems. G. Artificial intelligence research is part of expert systems and has two avenues: understanding natural language and analyzing the ability to reason through a problem to its logical conclusion H. Group decision support systems (GDSS) and computer supported collaborative work systems (CSCWS) allow group members to interact and help facilitate group problem solving. I. Executive support systems (EES) help senior management to make strategic decisions.

3. New technologies, such as ecommerce, Enterprise or Enterprise Resource Planning, wireless and mobile devices, and open source software are being integrated into traditional systems.

4. Ecommerce uses the Web to perform business activities. The benefits