INFORMATION SYSTEM

Information System

Information System

Introduction

An information system —as opposed to concepts such as information technology (IT) or information and communication technology (ICT)—is a fairly old concept that appeared as the first commercial applications of the computer were developed at the dawn of the general systems theory era. According to (Anthony, 2008), an information system , as the term is generally understood, is “an integrated, usermachine system for providing information to support operations, management, and decision-making functions in an organization. The system utilizes computer hardware and software; manual procedures; models for analysis planning, control, and decision-making; and a database.

What is Information System

By definition, the term IS is not an alternative name for IT. The use of the word system indicates that the users are a part of the information system. At a more abstract level, an IS can be imagined, designed, or proposed without any technological reference. The IS is a part of a larger social system composed of individuals and groups (Ciborra, 2007). In their social lives, individuals, groups, or business units experience information needs whose satisfaction would enable them to solve organizational problems. These organizational problems may be located at the level of the task, process, organization, or industry. Information needs pertaining to a problem can be formalized into a requirements analysis. In this sense, an IS is an answer to information requirements for a particular problem; the IS, combined with new procedures, processes, competencies, and resources will lead to new capabilities that will solve the identified problem with the help of information technology (Earl, 2009).

There is no clear consensus on the definition of the term IS. This confusing situation is rooted in the rapid growth of the MIS field (from the data-processing era, powered by early mainframes, to the strategic information system era powered by the Internet and the Web), and in the multiple points of view adopted by researchers and writers in management, communications, decision making, political science, sociology, economics, and strategy. As a result, there is an alternative terminology for information systems and management information systems, which includes expressions such as 'information and communication system,' “information and decision system,” “organizational information system,” and 'strategic information system' to refer to a computer-based information processing system (Earl, 2006).

In order for a problem to be solved, an IS must be developed or adapted in accordance with the requirements analysis. Approaches and methods for developing an IS have changed with the appearance of new IT capabilities. Each IS development project requires the explicit and formal expression of a stated problem. That formalization expressed through various approaches and formal languages leads to design and implementation phases (Hartman, 2008).

Layers of Information System

The IS layer is just above the IT layer, benefiting from its services. The soft dimensions are very important in the IS layer. IS participants are numerous (users, analysts, programmers, interface designers, project managers, etc.), and bring a human and organizational dimension to the success or failure of any IS implementation. The hard dimensions are the machine domain of the system where data ...