Management Information System
Management Information System
requirement - systems development models - prototype approach - lifecycle approach – spiral model
- rapid application development – end-user development - structured system design -system
development process - tools and techniques of system design - data flow diagram – data structure -
system implementation success and failure - quality control of information system -introduction to
emerging technologies.
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The major objectives of systems analysis are to find answers for each business
process:
It is more of a thinking process and involves the creative skills of the system
analyst. It attempts to give birth to a new efficient system that satisfies the
current needs of the user and has scope for future growth within the
organizational constraints. The result of this process is a logical system design.
System analysis is an interactive process that continues until a preferred and
acceptable solution emerges.
Systems Design
Based on the user requirements and the detailed analysis of the existing system, the
new system must be designed. This is the phase of system designing. It is the most
crucial phase in the development of a system. The logical system design arrived at
as a result of system analysis is converted into physical system design. Normally,
the design proceeds in two stages:
PRELIMINARY OR GENERAL DESIGN
In the preliminary or general design, the features of the new system are specified.
The costs of implementing these features and the benefits to be derived are
estimated. If the project is still considered to be feasible (possible), we move to the
detailed design stage.
STRUCTURED OR DETAILED DESIGN
In the detailed design stage, computer oriented work begins in earnest. At this
stage the design of the system becomes more structured. Structure design is a blue
print of a computer system solution to a given problem having the same
components and inter-relationships among the same components as the original
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problem. Input, output, databases, forms, codifications schemes and processing
specifications are drawn up in detail. In the design stage, the programming
language and the hardware and software platform in which the new system will
run are also decide.
The system design involves:-
I. Defining precisely the required system output
II. Determining the data requirement for producing the output
III. Determining the medium and format of files and databases
IV. Devising processing methods and use of software to produce output
V. Determine the methods of data capture data input
VI. Designing input forms
VII. Designing codification schemed
VIII. Detailed manual procedures
IX. Documenting the design
1. FEASIBILITY STUDY
Because the process of developing a major information system can be costly, the
systems investigation stage frequently requires a preliminary study called a
feasibility study. A feasibility study is a preliminary study which investigates the
information needs of prospective users and determines the resource requirements,
cost, benefits, and feasibility of a proposed project.
Feasibility of a system can be evaluated in terms of four major categories:
system supports the objectives of the organization and its strategic plan for
information systems.
the proposed system will exceed the costs of developing and operating it.
and software to meet the needs of the proposed system, and whether they can
2. SYSTEM ANALYSIS
produces functional requirements that are used as the basis for the design of a new
end users.
1. Environment
2. Management structure
3. People
4. Business activities
system activity (input, processing, output, storage, and control) to meet the
to the hardware, software, and people resources that end users presently use
3. SYSTEMS DESIGN
System analysis describes what a system should do to meet the information needs
of users. System design specifies how the system will accomplish this objective.
1. Software development
2. Hardware acquisition
3. System testing
should result from the design stage. System design consists of three activities:
2. Data Design
3. Process Design
4. DEVELOPMENT
The fourth phase is when the real work begins—in particular, when a programmer, network
engineer and/or database developer are brought on to do the major work on the project. This
work includes using a flow chart to ensure that the process of the system is properly
organized. The development phase marks the end of the initial section of the process.
Additionally, this phase signifies the start of production. The development stage is also
characterized by instillation and change.
In the development phase, all the documents from the previous phase are transformed into
the actual system. The two primary activities involved in the development phase are as
follows:
Development of IT infrastructure
Development of database and code
In the design phase, only the blueprint of the IT infrastructure is provided, whereas in this
phase the organization actually purchases and installs the respective software and hardware
in order to support the IT infrastructure. Following this, the creation of the database and
actual code can begin to complete the system on the basis of given specifications.
Once the software is complete, and it is deployed in the testing environment. The
testing team starts testing the functionality of the entire system. This is done to
verify that the entire application works according to the customer requirement.
During this phase, QA and testing team may find some bugs/defects which they
communicate to developers. The development team fixes the bug and send back to
QA for a re-test. This process continues until the software is bug-free, stable, and
working according to the business needs of that system.
Black box testing is the Software testing method which is used to test the
software without knowing the internal structure of code or program. White box
testing is the software testing method in which internal structure is being known to
tester who is going to test the software
Program test : When the programs have been coded and compiled and brought to
working conditions, they must be individually tested with the prepared test data.
All verification and validation be checked and any undesirable happening must be
noted and debugged (error corrected).
6. IMPLEMENTATION
After having the user acceptance of the new system developed, the implementation
phase begins. Implementation is the stage of a project during which theory is
turned into practice. The major steps involved in this phase are:
The hardware and the relevant software required for running the system must be
made fully operational before implementation. The conversion is also one of the
most critical and expensive activities in the system development life cycle. The
data from the old system needs to be converted to operate in the new format of the
new system. The database needs to be setup with security and recovery procedures
fully defined.
During this phase, all the programs of the system are loaded onto the user’s
computer. After loading the system, training of the user starts. Main topics of such
type of training are:
After the users are trained about the computerized system, working has to shift
from manual to computerized working. The process is called Changeover. The
following strategies are followed for changeover of the system.
Manual results can be compared with the results of the computerized system.
The operational work is doubled.
Failure of the computerized system at the early stage does not affect the
working of the organization, because the manual system continues to work, as it
used to do.
(iii) Pilot run: In this type of run, the new system is run with the data from one or
more of the previous periods for the whole or part of the system. The results are
compared with the old system results. It is less expensive and risky than parallel
run approach. This strategy builds the confidence and the errors are traced easily
without affecting the operations.
The documentation of the system is also one of the most important activity in the
system development life cycle. This ensures the continuity of the system.
Generally following two types of documentations are prepared for any system.
7. MAINTENANCE
Maintenance is necessary to eliminate errors in the system during its working life
and to tune the system to any variations in its working environments. It must meet
the scope of any future enhancement, future functionality and any other added
functional features to cope up with the latest future needs. It has been seen that
there are always some errors found in the systems that must be noted and
corrected. It also means the review of the system from time to time. The review of
the system is done for:
and approval
When to Use Spiral model?
Spiral model is used in the following scenarios:
• When the project is large.
• Where the software needs continuous risk evaluation.
• Requirements are a bit complicated and require continuous
clarification.
• Software requires significant changes.
• Where enough time frame is their to get end user feedback.
• Where releases are required to be frequent.
Advantages of using Spiral Model:
Advantages of using Spiral model are as follows:
• Development is fast
• Larger projects / software are created and handled in a strategic
way
• Risk evaluation is proper.
• Control towards all the phases of development.
• More and more features are added in a systematic way.
• Software is produced early.
requirements.
In a waterfall model, each phase must be completed before the next phase can
begin and there is no overlapping in the phases. In "The Waterfall" approach, the
whole process of software development is divided into separate phases. In this
Implementation − With inputs from the system design, the system is first
developed in small programs called units, which are integrated in the next
phase. Each unit is developed and tested for its functionality, which is
referred to as Unit Testing.
Easy to manage due to the rigidity of the model. Each phase has specific deliverables and a
review process.
Works well for smaller projects where requirements are very well understood.
Not suitable for the projects where requirements are at a moderate to high
risk of changing. So, risk and uncertainty is high with this process model.
Business Modeling
Data Modeling
Process Modeling
Application Generation
Testing and Turnover
The MIS is integrated into the managerial functions. It sets clear objectives
to ensure that the MIS focuses on the major issues of the business.
An appropriate information processing technology required to meet the data
processing and analysis needs of the users of the MIS is selected.
The MIS is oriented, defined and designed in terms of the user's
requirements and its operational viability is ensured.
The MIS is kept under continuous surveillance, so that its open system
design is modified according to the changing information needs.
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MIS focuses on the results and goals, and highlights the factors and reasons
for non achievement.
The MIS recognizes that a manager is a human being and therefore, the
systems must consider all the human behavioral factors in the process of the
management
The MIS recognizes that the different information needs for different
objectives must be met with. The globalization of information in isolation
from the different objectives leads to too much information and information
and its non-use.
The MIS is easy to operate and, therefore, the design of the MIS has such
features which make up a user-friendly design.
MIS recognizes that the information needs become obsolete and new needs
emerge. The MIS design, therefore, has a basic potential capability to
quickly meet new needs of information.
The MIS concentrates on developing the information support to manager
critical success factors. It concentrates on the mission critical applications
serving the needs of the top management.
worms, which are independent computer programs that copy themselves from one
computer to other computers over a network. (Unlike viruses, they can operate on
their own without attaching to other computer program files and rely less on
human behavior in order to spread from computer to computer. This explains why
computer worms spread much more rapidly than computer viruses.) Worms
destroy data and programs as well as disrupt or even halt the operation of computer
networks.
Types of Hackers
Click Fraud
When you click on an ad displayed by a search engine, the advertiser typically
pays a fee for each click, which is supposed to direct potential buyers to its
To correct software flaws once they are identified, the software vendor
creates small pieces of software called patches to repair the flaws without
disturbing the proper operation of the software. An example is Microsoft’s
Understanding how the cloud computing provider organizes its services and
manages the data is critical.
Cloud users need to confirm that regardless of where their data are stored or
transferred, they are protected at a level that meets their corporate
requirements.
It’s also important to know how the cloud provider will respond if a disaster
strikes, whether the provider will be able to completely restore your data,
and how long this should take.
Cloud users should also ask whether cloud providers will submit to external
audits and security certifications.
MIS audit examines the firm’s overall security environment as well as
controls governing individual information systems. The auditor should trace
the flow of sample transactions through the system and perform tests, using,
if appropriate, automated audit software. The MIS audit may also examine
data quality.