JEPPIAAR INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

MINI PROJECT

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
Sub Code: BA 4106

Submitted by

SINDHU A

Roll No: 22JITMB130

in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Affiliated to Anna University

December 2022
TABLE OF CONTENT

ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
COMPONENTS OF INFORMATION SYSTEM
MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
OPERATION SUPPORT SYSTEM
EXECUTIVE SUPPORT SYSTEM
DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM
MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
PROCESSING SYSTEM
OFFICE AUTOMATION SYSTEM
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE
SYSTEM DESIGN PHASE
SYSTEM TESTING PHASE
SYSTEM ANALYST
CONCLUSION
REFERENCE
 INFORMATION SYSTEM AND SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
LIFE CYCLE

n the ladecade the role of

monitoring the information has
become apparent.
The availability of steadfast
information, offered in an
suitable format is the basis
for good decision making in an
organisation. It is used by
various organisations for
attaining a competitive
advantage and proficiency.
This chapter provide us
knowledge of the features and
purposes of information.
Organisations can use these
information skills to solve
practical problems. It also
discusses the role of
information
system for developing a new
system using System
Development Life Cycle
(SDLC).
n the last decade the role of
monitoring the information has
become apparent.
The availability of steadfast
information, offered in an
suitable format is the basis
for good decision making in an
organisation. It is used by
various organisations for
attaining a competitive
advantage and proficiency.
This chapter provide us
knowledge of the features and
purposes of information.
Organisations can use these
information skills to solve
practical problems. It also
discusses the role of
information
system for developing a new
system using System
Development Life Cycle
(SDLC).
n the last decade the role of
monitoring the information has
become apparent.
The availability of steadfast
information, offered in an
suitable format is the basis
for good decision making in an
organisation. It is used by
various organisations for
attaining a competitive
advantage and proficiency.
This chapter provide us
knowledge of the features and
purposes of information.
Organisations can use these
information skills to solve
practical problems. It also
discusses the role of
information
system for developing a new
system using System
Development Life Cycle
(SDLC).
ABSTRACT
In the last decade the role of monitoring the information has become apparent. The availability of
steadfast information, offered in an suitable format is the basis for good decision making in an
organisation. It is used by various organisations forattaining a competitive advantage and
proficiency. This chapter provide us knowledge of the features and purposes of information.
Organisations can use these information skills to solve practical problems. It also discusses the
role of information system for developing a new system using System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC).

INTRODUCTION
The main objective of this
chapter is to gain knowledge
about the working of the
information system and the role
of System Development Life
Cycle (SDLC). It will
integrate various aspects of the
input & output of the
Information System into SDLC.
An information system is a
combination of five elements
human, data, software,
hardware and network
organized together to convert
the given input into output by
processing data into information
or it is also said that information
system is a system
of organized attributes
grouped and worked together
as a single unit. The system
resources used for
processing information is
software and hardware.
Hardware
refers to equipments used for
transforming information as
equipment resource and
software refers to collection of
programs, as material resources.
According to Silver et al.
Information Systems can be
defined as [1]: “Information
systems are implemented
within an organization for the
purpose of improving the
effectiveness and efficiency
of that organization.
Capabilities of the
information
system and characteristics of the
organization, its work systems,
its people, and its
development and
implementation methodologies
together determine the extent
to
which that purpose is achieved
INTRODUCTION
The main objective of this chapter is to gain knowledge about the working of the
information system and the role of System Development Life Cycle (SDLC). It will integrate
various aspects of the input & output of the Information System into SDLC.An information
system is a combination of five elements human, data, software, hardware and network
organized together to convert the given input into output by processing data into information or it
is also said that information system is a system of organized attributes grouped and worked
together as a single unit. The system resources used for processing information is
software and hardware. Hardware refers to equipments used for transforming information as
equipment resource and software refers to collection of programs, as material resources.
According to Silver et al. Information Systems can be defined as [1]:
“Information systems are implemented within an organization for the purpose of improving
the effectiveness and efficiency of that organization. Capabilities of the information
system and characteristics of the organization, its work systems, its people, and its development
and implementation methodologies together determine the extent to which that purpose is
achieved

To become skilled user of information and to know how organisations are achieving their aims
and objectives, one should be very clear about the following factors of the formation

•Information Source: Information can be collected from various sources like internal,
external, primary, and secondary.
•Information Levels: The information can also be classified based on its
usage in any organization at its different levels like
strategic information, tactical information and operational
information
•Information Quality: Quality of information refers to reliability and its fitness for
use. Some of the attributes which effects the quality
are timelines, accuracy, adequacy, relevance, completeness,
explicitness and exception base.
•Information Perspective: Information system plays very significant role in various
perspectives of real world like end user perspective,
organization perspective and global society perspective.

As in the above section various factors of information has been elaborated and next is the
elements of information systems are as follows:

•Human: consist of information specialist and end users.

•Data: deals with transforming the data into information .

•Software: includes procedures and programs for information management.
•Hardware: are equipments and machines used for data processing.

•Network: include communication media and support.

Components of Information System

In a broad sense two major categories of information system are CIS (Computer
Information System) and BIS (Business Information System ) these both collectively form a new
idea that is CBIS (Computer Based Information System) for business.

According to O'Brien, J.A. [2]: “Some make a clear distinction between information
systems, computer systems, and business processes. Information systems typically include an
ICT component but are not purely concerned with ICT, focusing in instead on the end use of
information technology. Information systems are also different from business processes.
Information systems help to control the performance of business processes”

CBIS (Computer Based Information System) incorporates following types of

information and support systems at various levels of management. An information system is a
form of information and communication technology (ICT) in which data is processed using
human efforts.

MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SYSTEMS

•Expert System (ES) /Executive Support System (ESS)
•Decision Support System (DSS)
•Management Information System

(MIS)OPERATION SUPPORT SYSTEMS

•Transaction Processing System (TPS)
•Office Automation System (OAS)

Organisation levels and Type of information system is shown in Table 1:

Strategic Level Expert System (ES) /Executive Support System (ESS)
Tactical Level Decision support systemManagement information system

Operational Level Transaction Processing System (TPS)

Office Automation System (OAS)

Table 1: Organisation levels and Type of information system

Expert Systems (ES)/Executive Support System (ESS):

An ES/ESS is designed to make strategic decisions by senior management .ES/ ESS

involves modeling tools such as "what-if" etc to analyze, that helps strategic decision-
making.

According to Nwigbo Stella and Agbo Okechuku Chuks:[3] “An expert system has a unique
structure, different from traditional programs. It is divided into two parts, one fixed, independent
of the expert system: the inference engine, and one variable: the knowledge base. To run an
expert system, the engine reasons about the knowledge base like a human.

”Expert System is typically an interactive computer procedure/program that is used to imitate

reckoning and heuristics by gaining the knowledge from human experts for decision making .An
expert system works in two phases as shown in Figure 1:
1. Knowledge base
2. An inference engine

User Knowledge Base

Inference Ingine

Figure 1: Phases of Expert SystemThe knowledge base contains problem domain and
stores information about the facts and rules. The inference engine is a control
mechanism use to draw conclusions considering, facts and rules to apply on different
problem domains when solving the user’s query.
Decision Support System (DSS):
DSS is a computer-based information system that supports decision-making activities
in an organization. It is an interactive and flexible tool of decision making used preferably at
strategic and tactical level in an organization, which is of low frequency but high
prospective consequences. DSS facilitate a manager to walk around a range of alternatives
to get best out of them. DSS consists of database for data management, data management models
and user interface. A DSS database contains data, which is extracted before entering the
database as it comes from several sources of information. Data management models are use
to develop DSS applications. The user interface supports the interaction between user and DSS.

According to Keen [4]: “The concept of decision support has evolved from two main areas of
research: The theoretical studies of organizational decision making and the technical work on
interactive computer systems”.

Components of Decision support system (DSS) is shown in Table 2:

Hardware A personal computer or computer network provide

primary hardware resource for DSS
Software It contains software modules and application packages to manage
DSS databases
Data Resources As DSS database contains all data and information, the purpose of data
resource is to store data and information most needed by managers
for specific type of decision
Model Resources This includes mathematical and analytical techniques as stored
programs ,subroutines and spread sheets etc
People Resource Managers and DSS specialist can use DSS to get alternative
decisions for a problem domain

Table 2: Components of Decision support system (DSS)

Management Information System (MIS):

 MIS deals with the information that is needed to manage different organizational activities.
It is the most efficient and effective information system to manage organizational
resources like people, technology, information etc.

According to O'Brien, J.A.[5]: ”Management information systems involve three

primary resources: people, technology, and information or decision making.
Management information systems are distinct from other information systems in that they are
used to analyze operational activities in the organization”.

Initially the concept of MIS was to process data and made required reports at
regular intervals The changes in the concept comes when a clear distinction is made between
data and information. The information is processed data. The structure of MIS can be divided in
two areas:
1. On the basis of Management activities
2. On the basis of Functional/Processing activities

Management activities include:

•Strategic Planning: define goals, policies etc
•Tactical planning: define acquisition of resources, monitoring etc
•Operational planning: effective and efficient use of existing factors

Functional / Processing activities include:•Processing transactions

•Generating reports
•Maintaining master files
•Processing support applications Transaction

Processing System (TPS):

TPS is used to collects information about transactions, and control these transactions.
This is a computerized system that process and records the daily transactions
necessary for a business. It processes routine transactions efficiently and accurately, for
example: billing systems, payroll systems, production and purchasing systems, stock
control systems etc. Four elements of Transaction Processing are:
i. Inputs: Transactions or events.
ii. Processing: Sorting, listing, merging, updating.
iii. Outputs: Detailed reports, lists, summaries.
iv. Users: Operational personnel, supervisors.

TPS processes transactions into two ways:

1. Batch Processing: Data is mounting up in some course of time and processed periodically in
batches.
2. Real Time Processing: Data is instantaneously processed after a transaction occurs.
A TPS consists of Transaction Processing Monitor (TPM), databases, and transactions.
Transaction Processing Monitor is used to control transaction execution. Main
functions of TPS are: process data generated by transactions, maintain accuracy, ensure
data integrity, timely delivery of documents and reports and increase efficiency.

Office Automation System (OAS):

OAS refers to computer system used to create, collect, store and manipulate office information
which is needed to perform a specific task. Raw data storage, electronic information transfer,
and digital management of information etc .OAS automate office system, enhance
communications at every level and increases productivity.OAS help any individual to
perform personal record keeping efficiently using simple computer based tools like:
spreadsheet programs, text & image processing systems, database systems etc
LAN is the backbone of office automation system which allows users to transmit
data, image and voice across the network. All office functions like dictation, typing, copying,
filing, fax, and recording etc comes under office automation. Some most common OAS is:
text processors, electronic document management systems, electronic massage
communication systems, teleconferencing and video conferencing systems.
To develop a good information system, we need to have a set of rules and models that gives
us a framework for creating a planned and controlled information system.

For this purpose it is mandatory to integrate information system into System

Development Life Cycle (SDLC). In coming section we will elaborate the SDLC.
SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE-CYCLE

The system development life cycle (SDLC) is a process of developing an information system, or
developing models that one can use to develop the information system. The aim of SDLC is a
high quality system that matches the customer requirements, in terms of time, cost,
effectiveness and efficiency. The SDLC provides a set of phases and activities for system
development. The process of SDLC started from problem identification, after identification
next step is to analyse the problem that, whether it really exist or not. Once the analysis part is
over system analyst has to go through feasibility study. If the problem/need pass the
feasibility phase then the development of the system starts. Once the system is
ready, various testing techniques are applied to check the accuracy, only then the system is
implemented. Result of each phase of SDLC act as an input data for the next phase.

According to Geoffrey Elliott [6] "The traditional life cycle approaches to systems
development have been increasingly replaced with alternative approaches and
frameworks, which attempted to overcome some of the inherent deficiencies of the traditional
SDLC.”

Phases of SDLC are as follows:

•Identification of a problem/ need
•Feasibility study
•Analysis of the problem/need
•System design•System testing
•Implementation and maintenance

Phases of SDLC are shown in Figure 2:

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE

Identification of
a problem/ need
System design
System
testing
Analysis of the
problem/need
Implementation
and maintenanc
Identification of a
problem / need
Feasability
study
Analysis of the
problem / need
System design
System testing
Implementation and
maintainance
System Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Identification of a problem/ need:

This is the first and phase of system development life cycle. This is the most crucial phase for the
success of the project. The main question of this phase is:What is the problem/need? This leads
to an initial investigation that if the problem is solved by enhancing the existing system or
organisation needs to replace it. This phase is further divided into two phases:
The first phase investigates, identified, prioritized and arranged the problem domain.
The second phase initiates the project for problem domain and a detailed work plan is made.

Feasibility study

Feasibility study:After initial investigation a feasibility study takes place in time constraints and
written or oral report is made. By considering the economic, technical and
behavioural factors the feasibility study respond. A feasibility study is carried out to select best
system the meets all constraints and requirements. The main objective of this phase is to
determine whether it is feasible to develop the new system. There are seven types of
feasibilities:
1 Technical Feasibility: Whether the project can be carried out with existing
system? Can existing staff work well with new system? Whether a new technology
can be implemented at its best?
2. Economic Feasibility: Does organisation have enough funds for developing a new system?
Whether there are sufficient benefits as compared to cost incurred?
3. Operational Feasibility: Whether it can be utilised at its best if implemented?
4. Social/Behavioural Feasibility: Whether the users easily adapt the changed system?
5. Management Feasibility: Whether the system be acceptable by the management?
6. Legal Feasibility: Whether a system passes all legal litigations?
7. Time Feasibility: Whether the system can be implemented within the given time
constraints?

Analysis of the problem/need:

System analysis is a process of collecting realistic data, understand the business
requirement and create a logical model of the new required system. System analyst works on
identified problem and feasible suggestions for convalescing the system functioning.
System analysis is done to find answers for each of the following question: What,
How, Who, When, and Why.
This phase is concerned with the thinking process of system analyst. It endeavors to make a
new efficient system that satisfies the organizational needs, this phase results in a
logical system design. Systems analysis is a repetitive process that continues until an
ideal and suitable solution comes out. Some major activities of this phase is collect required
information, define system requirements, build prototypes, scrutiny of existing hardware
and software, evaluate alternatives and conceptual data modeling.

Different analysis tools are used to accomplish the above activities. Some of the tools are
flowchart, data flow diagram (DFD), data dictionary, structured english, decision trees
and decision tables. Most of these tools are graphical in nature, one of the most commonly
used tools is DFD. Symbols used for making DFD are shown in Figure 3:

Source or Destination of dataData FlowsProcess that transforms Data FlowData Stores Figure 3:
Symbols of Data flow diagram System analysis phase ends up with a document that describes
user requirements, plans, recommendations and a logical design in the form of above mentioned
tools.

System Design Phase:

This phase is totally based on the document produced by analysis phase about the required
system. Keeping in view the recommendations of the analyst the designing of the system starts.
It is the decisive phase in the development of a system. Till the time we are dealing with logical
system designs but as resultant it will be converted into the physical system design. Normally,
the designing of a system is done in two stages:
i. Basic Design stage: In this stage, the specification and features of the new system are
specified. The cost /benefit analysis of a new system is done for every proposed design. If the
proposed design is considered to be feasible, then the whole process moves to the structured
design stage.
ii. Structured or Detailed Design stage: In this stage, the basic design comes out with more
structured details. It is the blue print of a new system with components, compositions
and inter-relationships required in analysis document. The design is then documented in the
required specifications and offered to management and end users for their review and consent.
This phase involves the activities like detailed description of input and outputs, database
models, design of forms and reports, hardware and software platforms, codification
schemes (if needed), design application architecture, design of user interfaces, design of
system interfaces and design of system controls.

System Testing Phase:

Now the system is build and approved from management and user but still is not ready for
implementation as it has to go through testing phase. A successful test ensures that the
system is ready to use. It is an important phase for the actual success of a system.

According to IEEE Standard for Software Unit Testing [7]: “Software testing is the process
of analyzing a software item to detect the differences between existing and required conditions
(that is, bugs) and to evaluate the features of the software item.”

In this phase verification and validation of the system/software is done for various
testing techniques.

According to IEEE Standard Glossary of Software Engineering Terminology [8]:“Verification

(the first V) is the process of evaluating a system or component to determine whether
the products of a given development phase satisfy the conditions imposed at the start of that
phase. Validation is the process of evaluating a system or component during or at the end of the
development process to determine whether it satisfies specified requirements.”

In this phase tester ensures that the system/software meets the organizational
requirements, and works as expected by the user. This phase also make out defects and errors
in the system that is to be fixed. In case of software systems, after codifying the
whole programs, a test plan is developed and run on a given system. If the output of the test run
matches the required results only then the system is considered a part of implementation
process. The best approach of testing is Pilot testing .In this testing a system is installed at
only one location and then program and system testing is performed .Both these tests
clears all the bugs/errors and problems in the system .Once the system passes the test then it is
installed in all required areas. There are various testing techniques used for this purpose.
Two main types are: Black Box testing and White Box Testing.
According to IEEE Standard Glossary of Software Engineering Terminology [8]:“Black box
testing (also called functional testing) is testing that ignores the internal mechanism of a system
or component and focuses solely on the outputs generated in response to selected inputs and
execution conditions.” and “White box testing (also called structural testing and glass box
testing) is testing that takes into account the internal mechanism of a system or component.”

Six test strategies which come under Black and White box testing are:

i. Unit testing is based on white box testing:According to Kolawa, Adam; Huizinga, Dorota[9]:
“Unit testing is a method by which individual units of source code, sets of one or more computer
program modules together with associated control data, usage procedures, and
operating procedures, are tested to determine if they are fit for use.”

ii. Integration testing is based on black and white box testing: It is a testing strategy in
which software and hardware components are tested individually and collectively to appraise the
interaction between them.
iii. Functional and system testing is based on black box testing: According to Kaner, Falk,
Nguyen[10]: “Functional testing is a type of black box testing that bases its test cases on
the specifications of the software component under test. Functions are tested by
feeding them input and examining the output, and internal program structure is rarely
considered “
iv. System testing is based on black box testing: It is performed on a complete incorporated
system to evaluate: The component at or outside the limits of its requirement and this strategy is
known as Stress testing. The compatibility of the components with the specified
performance requirements and is also known as performance testing. How much a user can
learn to prepare inputs and understands the outputs of a system this is also known as
usability testing
v. Acceptance testing is based on black box testing: Acceptance testing is conducted
to determine whether the system satisfies the user as per the predefined criteria and
made it acceptable to the user.
vi. Regression testing is based on black and white box testing: This testing is done
throughout all testing’s, to verify whether any change or modification have not
introduce new faults.
According to Savenkov, Roman[11]: “One of the main reasons for regression testing is to
determine whether a change in one part of the software affects other parts of the software.”

Implementation and Maintenance phase:

After the user acceptance of the new developed system, the implementation phase begins. It is
the phase where assumption/requirements turn into practice. In this phase the users are
trained about the system and starts using it. The developer of the system provides two type of
documents about the system to the organisation. These are:

i. Operator/user Document: This document complete description of the system for the user is
given like how to operate, what error messages can occur and how to solve it.
ii. System Document: This document contains the details of system design, process
flows etc, it makes organisation to understand the system and changes to be made in
the system and permissions granted for changes, to satisfy new user needs.

Now maintenance means to tune the system for variation needed in the working flow
environment. If any error occurs it must be noted carefully and corrected time to time.
The review of the system is done for understanding the full capabilities of the system in this
phase the required changes for the additional requirements are noticed and
performance is checked in terms of quality and efficiency.

To manage all the phases of SDLC different models or methodologies are used, such as
Waterfall, Spiral, Cocomo, Prototype, Iterative process model etc

As we have discussed earlier the integration of information system into SDLC, now a person is
needed who control and supervise the whole system development process. The system
analyst is the person who analyses and supervises the whole process of system development
life cycle. In the following section we will discuss about role of system analyst:

SYSTEM ANALYST
The System Analyst is the person who is responsible for every activity in system
development life cycle in an organization. During his job, the analyst must be clear about the
requirements of the organization. System analyst must make sure that system be flexible
to adapt the changing requirements of the organization

According to Shelly, Gary B., Cashman, Thomas J[12]: “Because they often write user
requests into technical specifications, the systems analysts are the liaisons between
vendors and information technology professionals”

In any organization a system analyst is abide by responsibilities and accountabilities and

designated with power of authority.

Responsibilities of System Analyst are as follows:

i. Assists current users in identification of problems by implementing a new system or

by changing an existing system.
ii. Investigates the real problem to determine the feasibility of the solution.
iii. Assists the prospective users in proposing new or changed system.
iv. Making estimates of the cost in developing a new system using appropriate tools.
v. Designs users' manuals and conduct training programs for the developed system.
vi. Assists the users in the installation and use of new system being implemented.

Accountabilities of System Analyst are as follows

i. Post implementation reviews to estimate cost/benefit ratio.
ii. Making the users aware of the system before installation.
iii. To verify all proposed functional specifications.iv. To handle users and management
complaints about the working of the system.

In order to accomplish his responsibilities System Analyst is authorised for the

following activities in an organization:
i. Communicate informally with the management, sponsors and affected people in the
organization.
ii. Assign tasks to subordinate members of the team.
iii. Refuse to undertake activities which appear to be infeasible and unjustified.
iv. Examine relevant supplies of material related to previous or current systems.
v. Supervising the testing phase before the system is implemented.

CONCLUSION

Information Systems are indispensable to the any organization to meet the future
challenges. The five information systems described in this chapter illustrate the
qualities required to make any organization best in The approach (Computer Based Information
System) CBIS makes a fresh contribution to the information system literature and will
assist any organization in classifying a wide variety of systems.As the interconnectivity and
interdependency of information systems increases, it is gaining a huge amount of importance. In
this chapter we have analyzed the concept of information quality to make a new system uses the
different phases of System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Therefore, this chapter
propagates a subjective and user-centric approach to develop a new system.

References

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Technology Interaction Model: A Foundation for the MBA Core Course, MIS Quarterly,
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enterprise. McGraw-Hill, Boston, MA
3. Nwigbo Stella and Agbo Okechuku Chuks, School of Science Education, Expert
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