Last week Strategic. This week Workgroup and Business Systems (Hawryszkiewycz, ch.2 and 3) John Krogstie, IDI. What is an IS?

Transcription

1 Last week Strategic level Top managers This week Workgroup and Business Systems (Hawryszkiewycz, ch.2 and 3) John Krogstie, IDI What is an IS? And what used for? Overview of traditional types of IS Transaction processing systems (TPS) Office automation systems (OAS), Knowledge work systems (KWS) Management info.sys. (MIS), Executive support systems (ESS, or EIS) Decision-support systems (DSS) New trends Better support for collaboration More integrated solutions More flexible data analysis Extended automation boundary Multichannel solutions Management level Knowledge level Operational level Collaboration process support Middle managers Knowledge workers Operators Decision process support Information process support Mentzas (1994) framework ISTypes.ppt

2 This lecture: Workgroup systems Types of groups (p 37) Learning goals, this lesson: Overview of workgroup systems (Hawr. Ch. 2) Types of applications often found What problems they solve Ways to categorize them Why is this useful to you as a student? Understanding central issues in workgroup support makes it easier to learn about new systems later Why is this useful to you as a practitioner? Many organizations use such systems Many different kinds of groups: Authority groups (hierarchical) Meetings and committees Project teams and task groups Information exchange networks Business relationship groups Clerical processing groups Social networks Need different kinds of groupware support Important trends Flattening of organizations, more knowledge work More emphasis on process

3 Categorizing groupware applications (1) Traditional categorization The time/space taxonomy, fig. 2.6 Categorizing groupware applications (2) Document management Functional classification (Bafoutsou & Mentzas) But does not cover workflow tools SAME TIME SAME PLACE Electronic meeting Electronic board Shared screen Brainstorming Audience response DIFFERENT PLACE Video conferencing Conversation support Cooperative design Group editors Synch Work on doc Doc mgmnt File sharing Group File And Document Handling Computer Conferencing E-workspace Electronic Meeting Systems DIFFERENT TIME Shared files Design tools 5 Structured workflow Bulletin board Bulletin board notifications Chat Discussions Whiteboard Multimedia 6 Screen sharing Polling Meeting minute Scheduling Collaboration Presentation 3 3

4 Workflows Workflow software Business functions: WHAT the business must do E.g., purchasing, invoicing Business process: HOW functions are performed stepwise sequence of activities Workflow (p 34-35): predefined set of steps Example: Handle order may be automated by workflow software What do workflow applications typically offer? Automate design and administration of workflow tasks Routing documents to right person Invoking relevant tools (e.g., transaction processing, editors) Reminding people of pending tasks Status reporting, audit trails Assumed benefits Reduced IT costs Reduced operational costs More efficient work (and more satisfactory?) Visibility of process, easier improvement What is the difference between a workflow tool and a project management tool?

5 Workflow tools, generic architecture (WfMC) Definition Tool Tasklist Generates May reference Organisation/ Role Model Data Workflow Enactment Service (Supervisor) may refer to Administration & Control Process Definition Interpreted by WFM Engine(s) Work List Worklist Handler User Interface maintain Interact via use 9 Workflow control data Workflow Relevant Data Invokes References Invokes update Application(s) Application(s) Software component System control data External product/data Manipulate Workflow Application Data

6 Different types of workflow Current workflow products Ader & Marshak: Production oriented Formal, little variation, high control, performance E.g., manufacturing; processing routine requests in bank / insurance Administrative Well-known procedures, performance less important E.g., travel claims, purchasing Collaborative Less rigid procedures, collaboration support Ad hoc E.g., joint report writing No predefined procedures; instance specific Need quick user-definable routing The first types easiest to support automatically Survey by (Ader, 2003) COSA Workflow V4.1 FlowMind (Akazi) FileNet P8 BPM Suite i-flow 6.0 (Fujitsu) Webflow (SAP) Staffware Process Suite TIBCO InConcert WebSphere MQ Workflow 3.4 (IBM) W4 3.0 (W4)

7 Next: Evolving business systems, Hawr ch.3 + extra material on some system types which are only superficially covered by the book, e.g., Enterprise Resource Planning Corporate portals Supply chain management Data warehouses Business Systems (Hawryszkiewycz, ch.3 ++) John krogstie, IDI 13 ISTypes.ppt

8 Business Systems (Hawr., chap.3) Systems and subsystems First half of chapter: covered as-is Last part (strategic issues): not covered (discussed in more detail in the Pearlson book) Some kinds of systems covered in more detail than in the book E.g., ERP, SCM, data warehouses, portals What is a business system? Supports operating the business, and making decisions NB: business does not have to be a commercial company Often used by the whole organization Or even beyond: B2B, B2C Traditionally: Different systems for different departments Cf., Fig 3.2 Now, often subsystems in a larger integrated system Examples of typical subsystems Human resources Materials Financial services Marketing Client relations Production

9 The Human Resources subsystem The Materials Subsystem Major tasks Handling the payrolls ( Accounting) Handling data about personnel Personal data of employees Employment record Positions Skill profiles Modern system trends: Both TPS and MIS/ESS needs From administration to knowledge development Major tasks Handling data about items owned by the organization Assets Quantities, location, value Consumable items Parts inventory: input to production, cf. Fig 3.3 Stock inventory: output from production Modern system trends Both TPS and MIS/ESS needs Facilitating just-in-time (JIT) production and delivery Integrating several businesses: Supply chain management (later slide)

10 The Financial Services Subsystem More subsystems Major tasks Handling accounts Accounts receivable Invoicing, reminders, credit limit checks Recording payments Accounts payable Tracking and paying for purchases General accounts Internal funds Handling the payrolls (if not in Human Resources) Planning and forecasting of financial status Trends B2C integration Customers can follow their accounts over the web Marketing Sales (order processing, forecasting) Marketing (market research) Trend: increased reliance on the web Client relationship management (CRM) Keeping client profiles Loyalty programs Help desk facilities Production Maintain info about production facilities Production schedules, item requisition

11 Modern trends and application types Data warehouses (1) More flexible / powerful data analysis Data warehouses More integrated solutions Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) packages Corporate portals Extended automation boundary e-commerce Supply Chain Management (SCM) Digital Libraries Community Information Systems Problem: Security various packages for this Motivation Globalization, mergers, deregulation, rapid changes Increased need for strategic information Trad. MIS / ESS: static two-dimensional reports OK if the system developers anticipated exactly what information the manager would need, otherwise not Gather data from various applications to Make summaries (e.g., top-selling products) Alert about problems (e.g., district sells below target) Show why ( drill down ) Show other, possibly connected data ( drill across ) Make predictions

12 Data warehouses (2) Typical properties of data Subject-oriented (not application-oriented) Integrated (taken from several operational applications) Time-variant (historical data, not just current values) Nonvolatile (query and analysis, not delete / update) Summarized on different levels of granularity Are enterprise-wide Unlike departmental data marts Are multi-dimensional Data organized in a hyper-cubic manner rather than 2D tables 23 Data warehouses (3) External TPS es Doc s, sheets Archived Source data Typical architecture (Ponniah, 2001) Management & Control Metadata DW DBMS Data staging: extraction, transformation, loading 24 Data marts Multidim. DB s Information delivery Data mining OLAP End-users Report/query 12 12

13 ERP Systems Enterprise Applicaton Integration (EAI) Will be covered in more detail later in the course Here: very brief intro Motivation: Traditionally: each dept its own TPS Duplicate data, conversions, extra manual work, Want one operational system for the entire company Supporting best practice business processes Gradually increasing ambition level Not just operational data processing, also data analysis I.e., adding functionality in the direction of MIS, ESS, data warehouses, Package solutions from: SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Motivation Companies have many diverse applications Contributing to the same overall business processes Partly overlapping data Want to integrate these 20 applications: needs 380 ad hoc interfaces! Better: one central integrating point Difference from: ERP s do transactions; EAI has less end-user functionality, mainly integrating existing applications DW: are data-oriented, EAI packages process oriented Package solutions: SeeBeyond, TIBCO, IBM, SAP,

14 EAI: typical architecture (simplified) Corporate portals (intranets / extranets) Motivation Legacy application Package application Adapter Adapter EAI package Adapter Webshop Employees have to relate to a huge and often confusing number of applications and knowledge sources A corporate portal collects all these, providing A consistent view of the organization Info organization and search capabilities Direct access to corporate knowledge and resources Direct links to relative data and knowledge experts Individual identity and personalized access to content Many package vendors, including IBM, Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft,

15 Corporate portals (2) Many different types of portals (Collins, 2001): Information portals, ERP portals, e-commerce portals, Employee portals, Corporate interest portals, Internet hosting portals, Collaborative portals, Expertise portals, Knowledge portals Basic functionality Data points and integration Taxonomy and search Content management Process and action Collaboration and communication Personalization Presentation Administration and security Corporate portals (3): Architecture / universal features (Collins, 2001) Comfort and familiarity Self-service application ERP system Corporate Portal Solution (user interface) Understanding And knowledge Self-service application Discrete Enterprise Data Data warehouse Legacy application System Intelligence Self-service application

16 Supply Chain Management (SCM) SCM Reference Architecture (Sun) Motivation Optimize the flow of information and materials from the customer s order, through production, to delivery Requires collaboration within company, and outside E.g., suppliers, customers But traditional IS: each company separate system Portal servers Firewall Gateways Firewall Want integrated system used across companies Automate and accellerate flow of info through chain Streamline and centralize control Reduce costs and delivery times SCM appl. servers Improve customer service Can be automated by combining ERP and e-commerce (B2B, B2C), or by dedicated SCM packages, e.g. vendors: Clients Manugistics, i2, Databases

17 Technologies for security Summing up Firewall Restricting access between trusted and untrusted networks Example vendors: Netscreen, CheckPoint, RapidStream Intrusion Detection System (IDS) Monitors networks and computer systems for signs of intrusion / misuse Dealing with attacks that got through the firewall Remote Access Technologies E.g., Virtual Private Networks Creates a secure tunnel over the Internet Lets remote user work as if sitting in office Virus protection Systems Many different kinds of technology available Partly overlapping, e.g. ERP vendors have gradually extended their products to provide more advanced analytical capabilities (e.g., SCM), they embed workflows, they have portal components, etc. EAI packages provide process management (a la workflow) and web portal functionality ERP, EAI, data warehouses, workflow, and corporate portals all provide integration, but in somewhat different ways Many package products available From expensive to free / open source Big products coming in stripped-down versions for SMEs Q: stick with one vendor, or handle integration challenge?

18 Next week: modelling Data Flow Diagrams, Hawr. ch.8 Modelling is essential for Understanding the problem Improving business processes Formulating requirements Selecting package products Adapting / configuring package products Designing for custom-development