Managing Information Outside

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Managing InformationResources

Chapter 7

Information Systems Management In

Practice 6EMcNurlin & Sprague

PowerPoints prepared by Michael Matthew

Visiting Lecturer, GACC, Macquarie University Sydney Australia


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2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education. 7-2

Chapter 7

This chapter / lecture explores the management of data,information, and knowledge

It begins by identifying some problems in managing data, andthen surveys the evolution of database management systems,including the next-generation systems

It explores the various types of information that companies needto manage as they treat information as an organizationalresource

It concludes by discussing one of the most important issuesfacing companies today: how to manage knowledge

Case examples include Monsanto, Owens & Minor, HICSSPersonal Proceedings, Tapiola Insurance Group, TennesseeValley Authority, Eastman Chemical Company and GrooveNetworks


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Todays Lecture

Introduction Managing Data

The Three-Level Database Model

Four Data Models Getting Corporate Data into Shape

Managing Information Four Types of Information Data Warehouses Document Management Content Management


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Introduction Managing information resources initially meantmanaging data, first in files, then in corporate

databases which were: Well structured Carefully defined, and Controlled by IS department

Next = expanded to include information (data withmeaning)

Also = much talk of managing knowledge With the emergence of the Internet, talk has now

turned to managing content: Text, graphics, sound, video and animation

Covered in this chapter and chapter 13


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Introduction cont. Data vs. Information vs. Knowledge

Data: facts devoid of meaning or intent Information: data in context Knowledge: information with direction or intent

As the breadth of the kinds of information resources hasexpanded, so has the job of managing them. The job may notstart in the IS department but it invariably ends up there PCs users used alone

Needed to share files Version control, back-up etc.

Web sites / content Initially created their own Need for recovery, version control Corporate consistency

IS to the rescue Management procedures Discipline


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2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

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Introduction cont. Corporate databases are still a (the?) major IS departmentresponsibility

Sometimes housed in a variety of database models Production databases transaction Data warehouses CRM

Information in the form of documents (electronic or paper)and Web content has exploded the size of databases

organizations now manage Knowledge management is becoming a key to exploitingintellectual assets

Information resources need to be well managed asinformation becomes an important strategic resource


7/652006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

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Managing Data

Database management systems are themain tool for managing computerizedcorporate data

They have been around since the 1960s

and are based on two major principles: A three- level conceptual model and Several alternative data models for organizing

the data



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Managing Data: The Three-Level Database Model

See Figure 7-1 Level 1 - The external, conceptual, or local level,

containing the various user views of the corporatedata that each application program uses

Not concerned with how the data will be physically stored or what data is used by other applications

Level 2 - The logical or enterprise data level Technical (human) view of the database = under control of the

DBAs

Level 3 - The physical or storage level, specifying theway the data is physically stored End user not concerned with all these pointers and flags (how

the data is physically organized) = they are for use by the

DBMS



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The Three-Level Database Model: Advantages

Level 2 absorbs changes made at Level 3 suchas using a new physical storage device

Individual application programs in Level 1 do notneed to be changed when the physical layer changes

Data only needs to be stored once in Level 2,and different programs can draw on it and varythe relationships among the data



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Managing Data:Four Data Models

The second major concept in database managementis alternate ways to define relationships among data

Hierarchical model: structures data so that eachelement is subordinate to another in a stricthierarchical manner Parent, child etc.

Network model: allows each data item to have morethan one parent, Relationships stated by pointers stored with the data



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Relational model: where the data is stored in tables. Eight relational operations can be performed on this data

Select, Project, Join, Product, Intersection, Difference, Union, Division Microsoft Access

Relational systems are not as efficient as hierarchical or network database systems, but because relational systemsallow people to create relationships among data on the fly, theyare much more flexible

First used to handle end user queries they are now widelyused in high-volume transaction systems with huge files

Hence, they have become the database technology of choice intodays systems

Also = largely due to decrease in costs of technology: processingand disk storage

Managing Data:Four Data Models cont.



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Object model: can be used to store any type of data, whether a: Traditional name or address, An entire spreadsheet, A video clip, A voice annotation,

A photograph, or A segment of music

The tenets of objects have become increasingly important in theworld of computing

E.g. Web Services because the XML modules utilize object principles

Typical, yet complex database applications that may requireobjects:

CAD for a large office building Large retail chains record every product code scanned Insurance policy files e.g. claim forms, images, video etc.




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Object models retain traditional DBMS featuresincluding: End user tools High level Query languages

Concurrency control Recovery Ability to handle huge amounts of data

Include two other major concepts Object management

Management of complex kinds of data such as multimedia andprocedures

Knowledge managementManagement of large numbers of complex rules for reasoning andmaintaining integrity constraints between data



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Finally, security is of major importance intodays DBMSs Problem = compounded by distributed,

heterogeneous Internet-linked databases

Companies may want to permit access to someportions of their databases whilst restrictingother portions

This selective accessibility requires reliablyauthenticating users

Unless security and integrity are strictlyenforced, users will not be able to (fully) trust

the systems



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Managing Data

Getting Corporate Datainto Shape



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Getting Corporate Data into Shape

In the midst of this growing richness of data andinformation, companies are still struggling to get their internal alphanumeric data under control

The installation of company-wide software packagessuch as SAP, enterprise data warehouses, andintranets has once again brought to the fore theproblems of dirty data Data from different databases that has:

Different names Uses different time frames, or

That otherwise does not match Attempts to get under control go back a long way:

Late 60s / early 70s = DBMS Then = the still evolving and important role of data

administration:

Managing all the computerized data resources of a company



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Getting Corporate Data into Shape: The Problem: Inconsistent Data Definitions

Problem: data definitions incompatible from: Application to application Department to department Site to site, and

Division to division

Reason: to get application systems up and runningquickly, system designers sought data from thecheapest source or politically expedient source

Result: different files with: Different names for same data, and Same name for different data etc.



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Getting Corporate Data into Shape: The Problem: Inconsistent Data Definitions cont.

Account Number AcctNum AcctNumb

Acct# A/CNum

Note: people (in the majority of cases) werentstupid They never dreamt their files / databases etc. would be

used in this manner Historical stand alone computing

Information collation, use, communication etc. = never thought possible



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The use of DBMS - database managementsoftware, reduced, to some extent, theproblems of inconsistent and redundant data

in organizations However merely installing & running a DBMS is notsufficient to manage data as a corporate resource

Database administration: concentrates onadministering databases and the software thatmanages them

Getting Corporate Data into Shape: The Role of Data Administration


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Getting Corporate Data into Shape: ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)

To bring order to the data mess, data administrationhas four main functions:1. Clean up the data definitions2. Control shared data3. Manage data distribution, and4. Maintain data quality

Interestingly, many companies really did not takethese four jobs seriously until the mid 1990s, when

they needed consistent data to install a company-wide ERP package ERP provided the means to consolidate data to give

management a corporate-wide view of operations E.g. MeadWestVaco (Chapter 1)


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Monsanto Case Example: Managing Corporate Data / ERP Monsanto case study to illustrate one companys

success in getting its corporate data in shape Monsanto is a provider of agricultural products,

pharmaceuticals, food ingredients, and chemicals.50% revenues outside USA, it is decentralized

Monsanto established three large enterprise wideIT projects:

1. To redevelop operational and financial transaction

systems using SAP2. To develop a knowledge-management architecture,including data warehousing, and

3. To link transaction and decision support systems viacommon master data, known as enterprise referencedata (ERD)


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MonsantoCase Example: Managing Corporate Data / ERP cont.

Monsanto is too large and complex to operate SAPas a single installation They have created a distributed SAP architecture With separate instances of SAP for reference data, finance,

and operations in each business unitThe master reference data integrates these distributedcomponents

To convert SAP data to knowledge, Monsanto usesdata warehouses The sole source of master data is the ERD, but the data

can be distributed wherever they are needed To get corporate data in shape, Monsanto created a

department called ERD Stewardship to set datastandards and enforce qualityhence its nickname,the data police. Independent of MIS


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Monsanto Case Example: Managing Corporate Data / ERP cont. Another newly created function is entity specialists =

managers with the greatest stake in the quality of data

Also, data managers who now adhere to the newERD rules This has led to a cultural change: The idea of tweaking a

system to fix a local discrepancy, formerly common, cannow cause a major disruption in operations or a baddecision based on faulty data

Getting the data in shape was a huge undertaking,but it has made the company more flexible Monsanto is already reaping bottom-line benefits

from better integration and greater flexibility


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Managing Information

Once enterprises get their data into shape, thatdata can more easily be turned into information

Information is power.We are in the Information Age.

These and similar statements would lead you tobelieve that managing information is a keycorporate activity

Technology = infrastructure; Asset = information that runs on that infrastructure

It also raises a number of management issues


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Managing Information Four Types of Information

In Figure 7-3 we looked at a matrixrepresenting the full scope of data informationresources:

Internal record-based information , such asthose found in databases

Which we discussed in detail but there are others: Internal document-based information , such as

reports, opinions, e-mails and proposals. Pertainsto concepts: ideas, thoughts, etc.

External/record-based information, such asacquisition from external databases.

External/document-based: WWW


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Managing Information Four Types of Information cont.

Internal record-based information was the original focus of ISdepartments because it is the type of information that computer applications generate and manage easily

External record-based = accessible via Internet or publicdatabases Including subscription

Until recently = little attention to internal and external document-based information because it was so difficult to manipulate incomputers Intranets changed this Documents = integral part of information on these sites

Responsibility = now on IS, even if just for technical issues Four areas were responsibility of different areas but now IS is

likely to be involved in some way


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Managing Information Data Warehouses

Data warehouse: Houses data used to makedecisions This data is obtained periodically from transaction databases The warehouse provides a snapshot of a situation at a

specific time

Data warehouses differ from operational databases in that theydo not house data used to process daily transactions Operational databases have the latest data Data warehouses = not so time critical Like ERP systems, they, too, spurred getting record-based data into

shape

The most common data warehoused are customer data, used todiscover how to more effectively market to current customers aswell as non-customers with the same characteristics


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Managing Information Data Warehouses cont.

The simplest (MIS) tools generateperforated reports or permit ad hoc queries

Warehouses are reaching beyond reportinginternal data They are being combined with purchased data,

such as demographic data, late breaking news

and even weather reports, to uncover trends or correlations that competitors might not spot To give a company a competitive edge


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Managing Information Data Warehouses cont.

Key Concepts: Metadata: The part of the warehouse that defines the data. Metadata

means data about data. Metadata explains the meaning of each data element, how each element

relates to each other, etc. It sets the standard without it data from different legacy systems cannot

be reconciled, so the data will not be clean Quality data: Is the cleaning process to adhere to metadata standards

The older the data the more suspect its quality

Data marts: Is a subset of data pulled off the warehouse for a specificgroup of users In the early 1990s, one huge warehouse was envisaged, but proved un-

practical due to long search times and large cost factors


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Managing Information Data Warehouses cont. 5 Steps in a Data Warehousing Project :

1. Define the business uses of the data2. Create the data model for the warehouse

i.e. defining the relationships between the data elements

3. Cleanse the data4. Select the user tools Consider the users point of view by selecting the tools they will use

& then training them on tool useMonitor usage and system performance

Data warehouses are seen as strategic assets that can yield newinsights into customer behavior, internal operations, product mixesand the like

But to gain the benefits, companies must take the step of reconciling data from numerous legacy systems

= Make sure the data is right


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OWENS & MINORCase Example: Data Warehousing

Illustrates numerous ways O&M are usingits data for competitive advantage

Includes us of ERP Data warehousing Web

Not only for internal use but as the basis for new revenue-generating services tocustomers and suppliers

Shows how innovative companies can useadvanced information managementtechnologies


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OWENS & MINORCase Example: Data Warehousing cont.

This distributor of name-brand medical and surgical suppliesuses ERP, data warehousing, and the Web

Not only for internal use of data But as the basis for new revenue-generating services to

customers and suppliers

It is using its data for competitive advantage It augmented its ERP system to automate order forecasting,

which:Improved inventory turnsLowered ordering rates from five-times-a-week to once-a-week, andImproved customer service

It implemented an Internet-based inventory managementsystem so that customers could order over the Internet, evenusing handheld devices

It even offered access to its data warehouse and decisionsupport software to customers and suppliers who use the datato run their businesses


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OWENS & MINORCase Example: Data Warehousing cont.

Delivering this information over the Web has: Strengthened its relationships with trading

partners Given it a market-leading feature to entice

new customers, and Turned the data warehouse into a newsource of revenue

When the system was rolled out, it was thefirst e-business intelligence application in themedical and surgical supply distributionindustry

As a result, O&M has become an importantinfomediary in its industry


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Managing Information Document Management

Even in todays Internet-rich world, paper still plays a major rolein most enterprises

There is also a need to move seamlessly between digital andprinted versions of documents; hence, the importance of document management

The field of electronic document management (EDM) uses newtechnologies to manage information resources that do not fiteasily into traditional databases

EDM addresses organizing and managing conceptual,descriptive, and ambiguous multimedia content.

Applying technology to process traditional documents makes amajor change in what documents can accomplish inorganizations


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Managing Information Document Management cont.

It is hard to think of anything more pervasive andfundamental to an organization than documents

The impact of applying emerging technologies to documentmanagement is potentially significant

EDM contributes to business process redesign Numerous EDM applications generate value. TheBig 3 are:

1. To improve the publishing process2. To support organizational processes

3. To support communications among people and groups

The concept of just-in-time (printing, publishing andforms processing) pervades the design philosophyin all three areas


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Document Management:Improving the Publishing Process

Technology enables a major restructuring of theprocess of publishing and distributing paper documents

Traditional Process designed primarily for highvolume and high quality documents shown inFigure 7-6

Process has inefficiencies:

Infrequent long print run requires storingdocuments which become obsolete betweenruns

60% of the total cost of delivering theses

documents is in storage & transportation


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Document Management:Improving the Publishing Process cont.

Figure 7-7 shows the steps in the revisedpublishing/distribution process using newer technologies Documents are stored electronically, shipped over

a network, and printed when they are needed

The major benefits result from reducingobsolescence, eliminating warehouse costs &reducing or eliminating delivery time


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HICSS PERSONAL PROCEEDINGSCase Example EDM: Improving the Publishing Process

Hawaii International Conference System Sciences:

Decided to produce a paper book of abstracts, with aCD ROM of the full papers Many participants wanted to see the full papers at theconference

A month before the proceedings participants can use a

Web site to choose 20 papers they would like to havein their personal paper proceedings Additional papers can be printed individually using a

print on demand service For a nominal fee


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Document Management:Supporting Communication Among People and Groups

The value of documents is that theytransfer information across time and space Internet can help but often still rely on paper

documents

EDM can be used to facilitate suchcommunications among people and groups


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TAPIOLA INSURANCE GROUPCase Example EDM: Supporting Communications

Among People and Groups

Tapiola Group offered 150 kinds of insurance policies with 300 different

insurance policy forms All preprinted by an outside print shop

Reprinting new forms often took weeks Which represents possible loss of revenue


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Among People and Groups cont.

Document Processing Goals Investigate alternate way to print policies &

statements Goals:2. Reduce costs3. Stop using preprinted forms4. Give Tapiola marketing people new ways to

advertise insurance products5. To make Tapiola the most personal insurance

company in Finland


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Among People and Groups cont.

Centralized Solution Switched to plain paper printers from Rank

Xerox Products for electronic document processing

document can included text, data, image &graphics

Conversion of the output equipment took 15months = reduce 300 preprinted forms to 4


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TAPIOLA INSURANCE GROUPCase Example EDM: Supporting CommunicationsAmong People and Groups cont.

Decentralized Expansion Document processing conversion one part of the effort

to improve & humanize their customer correspondence Moved much of the printing of customer

correspondence to their 62 branch offices

Mission accomplished: $$$

Tapiola is seen by Finland citizens as a dynamic company - &have the best reputation among young people of all insurancegroups


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Document Management:Supporting Organizational Processes

Documents are still the vehicle for accomplishingmost processes in organizations Many such = Workflow systems heavily based on the

physical circulation of paper forms

The use of technology to support processesgenerates significant value in reducing physical spacefor handling forms, faster routing of forms, andmanaging and tracking forms flow & workload

In addition to improving transaction-oriented businessprocesses with EDM, many organizations areimproving the management processes of reporting,

control, decision making, and problem solving as well

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY


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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITYCase Example: EDM: Supporting OrganizationalProcesses

Largest supplier of power in US Revamped maintenance management system

System relies on documents such as manuals, drawing &

work instructions that are regulated by the government

Analyzed & charted existing work processes,determined which improvements were most needed

Investigate how to do so and discovered workorders were inextricably linked to documentworkflow & the ways procedures were managed

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY


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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITYCase Example: EDM: Supporting OrganizationalProcesses cont.

New process electronically combined maintenance orders in onesystem with procedural document management in another system, &eliminated a number of existing systems that didnt talk to one another

Maintenance workers can now access documentation on equipment, partsand records as well as work instructions from desktop machines

Work orders are generated electronically and then routed for approval with themost current drawings and procedures attached

The system has been successful BUT the team underestimated thechange management effort needed

Including bringing many employees up to speed on using computers

Labor savings were large The average amount of human time spent processing a work order hasdecreased by almost half from 39 hours to 23 hours

Improved document management system is contributing to knowledgemanagement


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Managing Information Content Management

Corporate intranets now house documents that werepreviously paper-based

A major reason content has become important to

CIOs is because it is a core management disciplineunderlying online business Without production-level Web content, management

processes, and technologies, large-scale e-business is notpossible

Use of XML moves Web content from being in a human-onlyreadable format to being in a computer-readable format

Thus, the content can be passed to back-end transactionprocessing systems and cause an action to take place

Content is no longer static; it is active


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Managing Information Content Management cont.

To create a content managementstrategy, companies need to understand

the three phases of the contentmanagement life cycle: Managing Content Creation and Acquisition Content Administration and Safeguarding Content Deployment and Presentation


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Content Management: Managing Content Creation and Acquisition

Content creation and acquisition need tofocus on creating content quality Thats why it might be wise to buy some content

from specialists which is called syndicatedcontent rather than create it in-house

The best organizational structure is todistribute content creation and maintenance tocontent-expert employees But to avoid anarchy, these dispersed experts

should be directed centrally, and use centrally-created formats and an automated workflow

system that moves their work along


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Content Management: Content Administration and Safeguarding

The emphasis in this phase, like anyoperational phase, is efficiency

Goal = achieve the most with the least effort Content management tools can be usedto identify types of content and the

business rules that apply to each type Whereas content creation should bedistributed, content administration shouldbe centralized


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Content Management: Content Deployment and Presentation

The emphasis in this phase should be effectiveness: Presenting the content so that it:

Attracts visitors Allows them to navigate the site easily, and Leads them to the desired actions

Because this phase can determine the success of a firms e-commerce efforts, its best to design a Website beginning withthis phase

Then move on to ensuring content quality and processing efficiency Eastman-Kodak case: moving from an inside-out view to taking its

customers point of view

Today most Web sites need certain features to attract and keepvisitors. Two of the most important are:1. Personalization = allowing visitors to customize how they view the

page2. Localization = tailoring a site to a culture, market or locale

EASTMAN CHEMICAL COMPANY


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EASTMAN CHEMICAL COMPANYCase Example: Content Management

This global manufacturer of chemicals had aWebsite in 1994

It redesigned the site in 1999 to become morecustomer-focused and to launch a major e-

commerce program

Eastman changed the Website structure frompresenting an inside-out view (based on itscorporate structure) to presenting an outside-in view(with sections devoted to the markets the companyserves)

Eastman selected a content management product tocreate pre-approved templates for employees to use

EASTMAN CHEMICAL COMPANY


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EASTMAN CHEMICAL COMPANYCase Example: Content Management cont.

The benefits of the redesign were far greater than expected Today, traffic has tripled (more than 50

percent from outside the United States) and

70 percent of the hits are in the marketsectors, where Eastman sells its products Customers report that the online availability

of technical data has significantly

accelerated their internal decision-makingprocesses Its now working on globalizing and

personalizing the site even more


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Content Management: Managing Blogs

Blog = short for Web Log Web site where an individual makes intermittent

Web postings an online journal Powerful tools

Compete with major media Influence on e.g. politics and company policy 2004 U.S. elections

Some forward thinking companies haverecognized the power of this immediate formof publishing and communication

Used for crisis management? Employees need to be careful else = trouble Opportunities and challenges for organizations

GROOVE NETWORKS


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GROOVE NETWORKSCase Example: Managing blogs

Views personal websites and blogs positively Has issued Employee Guidelines for Personal

Website and Weblogs Make it clear to readers that the views you express are

yours and not necessarily those of the company Take care not to disclose any confidential information Company Third party

Since your site is a public space, be respectful to Company Our employees Our customers etc.

.Finally, the company may request that you temporarilyconfine your commentary to topics unrelated to the company


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Conclusion

The job of managing information resources iswidening significantly

Not only must IS departments get corporatedata in shape, but they also need to create andbuild an infrastructure for managing the fullrange of information types

In some ways, the Internet helps because itgives companies an easily accessible place tostore information

On the other hand, the Internet has alsocontributed mightily to the information glut weall face

Managing Information Outside

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