Business Processes & IS

This article carries on from the previous Management Information Systems (MIS) – Introduction. As such, before implementing IS, business processes need to be understood and optimised for success.

Business Process/System: network of activities, resources, facilities and information interacting to achieve a business function. Made up of: activities (transform resources/info into another type), decisions, roles (set of procedures), resources (assigned people, facilities, computer programs, ect. to roles), repositories (business records), and data flow.

Information: Knowledge from data, and data processed (summing, ordering, grouping, ect.) and presented in context.

Data -> Processes -> Information

(Processes create information from giving context to data)

Good information is accurate (cross-checked and complete), timely, relevant (context & subject), sufficient (for purpose), and affordable (maintenance, time & value).

IS supports activities in a business process able to use one collective IS, several IS, or have dedicated IS.

This relationship of activities to IS is determined during the systems development.

Where the automation of processes transfer work done by people to computers, or procedures done by people are converted to software instructions for computers.

        (computer side)                            <<<<                         (human side) 

Hardware       –       Software       –      Data      –     Procedures     –     People

(actors)        ^     (instructions)    ^   (bridge)   ^   (instructions)    ^     (actors)

Featured image supplied free from Unsplash.