© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge 10-1 Information Systems: A Manager’s Guide to...

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge 10-1

Information Systems: A Manager’s Guide to Harnessing

Technology, version 2.0John Gallaugher

© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge

Published by:

Flat World Knowledge, Inc.

© 2013 by Flat World Knowledge, Inc. All rights reserved. Your use of this work is subject to the License Agreement available here http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/legal. No part of this work may be used, modified, or reproduced in any form or by any means except as expressly permitted under the License Agreement.

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Chapter 10

Understanding Software: A Primer for Managers

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Learning Objectives

• Recognize the importance of software and its implications for the firm and strategic decision making

• Understand that software is everywhere; not just in computers, but also cell phones, cars, cameras, and many other technologies

• Know what software is and be able to differentiate it from hardware

• List the major classifications of software and give examples of each

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Introduction• Computing hardware: Physical components of

information technology which includes the computer and its peripherals– Storage devices– Input devices– Output devices

• Software: Computer program or collection of programs– Precise set of instructions that tells hardware what to

do

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Software

• Operating system: Software that controls the computer hardware– Establishes standards for developing and executing

applications• Applications: Desktop applications, enterprise

software, utilities, and other programs that perform specific tasks for users and organizations

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Figure 10.1 - The Hardware/Software Layer Cake

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Learning Objectives

• Understand what an operating system is and why computing devices require operating systems

• Appreciate how embedded systems extend Moore’s Law, allowing firms to create “smarter” products and services

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Operating Systems

• Provides a common set of controls for managing computer hardware– Makes it easier for users to interact with computers

and for programmers to write application software• User interface: Mechanism through which users

interact with a computing device

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Firmware and Embedded Systems

• Software store on nonvolatile memory chips

Firmware

• Special-purpose software designed and included inside physical products

Embedded systems

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Learning Objectives

• Appreciate the difference between desktop and enterprise software

• List the categories of enterprise software• Understand what an ERP (enterprise resource

planning) software package is• Recognize the relationship of the DBMS (database

system) to the other enterprise software systems.• Recognize both the risks and rewards of installing

packaged enterprise systems

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Application Software

• Performs the work that users and firms are directly interested in accomplishing

• Platform: Products and services that allow for the development and integration of software products and other complementary goods

• Desktop software: Applications installed on a personal computer, typically supporting tasks performed by a single user

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Enterprise Software

• Applications that address the needs of multiple users throughout an organization or work group– Software package: Software product offered

commercially by a third party– Enterprise resource planning (ERP): Software package

that integrates the many functions of a business• Sales and inventory• Manufacturing and purchasing• Human resources• Order tracking and decision support

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Enterprise Software

• Systems used to support customer-related sales and marketing activities

Customer relationship management (CRM)

• Systems that can help a firm manage aspects of its value chain• Through delivery of finished products and services at the

point-of-consumption

Supply chain management

• Systems that use data created by other systems to provide reporting and analysis for organizational decision making

Business intelligence (BI) systems

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Database Management System

• Software for creating, maintaining, and manipulating data– Referred to as database software

• Stores and retrieves the data used by the other enterprise applications

• Firms with common database systems and standards benefit from increased organizational insight and decision-making capabilities

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Figure 10.5 - Database Management System

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Learning Objectives

• Understand the concept of distributed computing and its benefits

• Understand the client-server model of distributed computing

• Know what Web services are and the benefits that Web services bring to firms

• Appreciate the importance of messaging standards and understand how sending messages between machines can speed processes, cut costs, reduce errors, and enable new ways of doing business

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Distributed Computing

• Form of computing where systems in different locations communicate and collaborate to complete a task

• Server: Program that fulfills the requests of a client– Hardware context - Computer that has been

configured to support requests from other computers– Software context - Program that fulfills requests

• Client: Software program that makes requests of a server program

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Distributed Computing

• Software that houses and serves business logic for use and reuse by multiple applications• Used by more advanced distributed environments

Application server

• Small pieces of code that are accessed via the application server which permit interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network

Web services

• Programming hooks, or guidelines, published by firms that tell other programs how to get a service to perform a task such as send or receive data

Application programming interfaces (APIs)

• Set of Web services built around an organization’s processes and procedures

Service-oriented architecture (SOA)

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Figure 10.6 - Multitiered Distributed System

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Formats to Facilitate Sharing Data

• Set of standards for exchanging messages containing formatted data between computer applications

EDI (electronic data interchange)

• Tagging language that can be used to identify data fields made available for use by other applications• New generation of more-flexible technologies

Extensible markup language (XML)

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Learning Objectives

• Understand, at a managerial level, what programming languages are and how software is developed

• Recognize that an operating system and microprocessor constrain the platform upon which most compiled application software will run

• Understand what Java is and why it is significant• Know what scripting languages are

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Writing Software

• Provides the standards, syntax, statements, and instructions for writing computer software

Programming language

• Application that includes an editor, debugger, and compiler, among other tools• IDE will also compile a programmer’s code

• Compile: Program code written in a language that humans understand is converted into a form that can be understood and executed by a microprocessor

Integrated development environment (IDE)

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Writing Software

• Programming language designed to provide true platform independence for application developers• Java programmers use special Java commands to

control their user interface

Java

• Programming tool that executes within an application• Are interpreted within their applications, rather than

compiled to run directly by a microprocessor• Interpreted: Languages where each line of written

code is converted for execution at run-time

Scripting languages

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Learning Objectives

• List the different cost categories that comprise total cost of ownership

• Understand that once a system is implemented, the costs of maintaining and supporting the system continue

• List the reasons that technology development projects fail and the measures that can be taken to increase the probability of success

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Total Cost of Ownership

• All of the costs associated with a software system– Design– Development– Testing– Implementation– Documentation– Training– Maintenance

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Why Do Technology Projects Fail?

• Unrealistic or unclear project goals• Poor project leadership and weak executive

commitment• Inaccurate estimates of needed resources and badly

defined system requirements• Allowing feature creep during development• Poor reporting of the project’s status• Poor communication among customers, developers,

and users

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Why Do Technology Projects Fail?

• Use of immature technology• Unmanaged risks• Inability to handle the project’s complexity• Sloppy development and testing practices• Poor project management• Stakeholder politics• Commercial pressures

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Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)

• Process-improvement approach that can assist in:– Assessing the maturity, quality, and development of

certain organizational business processes– Suggesting steps for their improvement

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© 2013, published by Flat World Knowledge 10-1 Information Systems: A Manager’s Guide to...

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