6.

INFORMATION SYSTEMS 6.1 Concepts of Information Systems 6.1.1 Definition 6.1.1.1 Give the meaning of: i. Data Data includes any text, numbers, images, audio and video that will provide information on specific things ii. Information Information is processed data that are organized, meaningful and useful. iii. Information Systems A collection of hardware, software, data, people and procedures that work together to produce quality information. 6.1.2 Usage of Information Systems in various fields. 6.1.2.1 State the usage of Information Systems in: i. Education Keep track of students statistics and grades Help students and teachers in online learning and discussion Store subject content ii. Business Carry out online buying and selling Help plan the delivery of goods and services Make room bookings and check for the best rates iii. Management. See employee records Analyse products, services and product prices Process customer orders, organize production times and keep track of product inventory 6.1.3 Information Systems components 6.1.3.1 List the Information Systems components: i. Data ii. Hardware iii. Software iv. People v. Procedure 6.1.3.2 Define each of the Information Systems components i. Data The raw, unorganised, discrete and potentially-useful facts and figures that are later processed (manipulated) to produce information. ii. Hardware The set of hardware used to enter, retrieve and manipulate the data in the information system.

iii. Software A program that consists of series of instructions that tells the computers what to do and how to do it. In Information Systems, a software is used to convert data into useful information. iv. People People involved in the process of developing, maintaining and using the database. These people include systems analyst, programmer, Manager of Information Systems (MIS) and data entry operator. v. Procedure A procedure is a series of documented actions taken to achieve something and it is usually more than a single simple task. A procedure can be quite complex and involved, such as performing a backup, shutting down a system, patching software. 6.1.3.3 Describe the interrelation between Information Systems components using a diagram. Data People

Hardware

Software FIGURE 1: Iterrelation between Information Systems components 6.1.4

Procedure

Types of Information Systems 6.1.4.1 List FIVE types of Information Systems: i. Management Information System (MIS) ii. Transaction Processing System (TPS) iii. Decision Support System (DSS) iv. Executive Information System (EIS) v. Expert System (ES) / Artificial Intelligence (AI) 6.1.4.2 State the usage of each type of Information Systems i. Management Information System (MIS) An information system that generates accurate, timely and organized information so managers and other users can make decision, solve problems, supervise activities and track progress. ii. Transaction Processing System (TPS)

 An information system that processes data generated from business transactions; usually used for daily routine transactions and record-keeping, especially sales, payroll, reservations, shipping, and worker tracking

iii. Decision Support System (DSS) A system that provides data, structured models and ad-hoc query tools to enable business decision development and analysis. iv. Executive Information System (EIS) An Executive Information System (EIS) is a computer-based system that facilitates and supports the information and decision making needs of senior executives by providing easy access to information relevant to organizations objectives. It is commonly considered as a specialized form of Decision Support System (DSS). v. Expert System (ES) A type of system that makes decisions or solves problems in a particular field by using knowledge and analytical rules defined by experts in the field. vi. Artificial Intelligence (AI) The ability of a computer to perform tasks, such as reasoning and learning, that human intelligence is capable of doing. 6.1.5 Hierarchy of data 6.1.5.1 Define: i. Bit A binary digit, taking a value of either 0 or 1. ii. Byte A unit of measurement of information storage consisting of 8 bits that represents a single character. iii. Field A field holds a single data. For example, a birthdate field that shows the date of birth of a person in the database. iv. Record A group of related fields that provides information about someone or something in a databse. For example, an Employee record may contain a name field, address field or birthdate field. v. File A collection of related records stored on a storage medium.

6.1.5.2 State the hierarchy of data: Bit byte (character) field record file database
Database

File

File

Record

Record

Record

Record

Field Bytes Bits

Field Bytes Bits

Field Bytes Bits

Field Bytes Bits

Field Bytes Bits

Field Bytes Bits

Field Bytes Bits

Field Bytes Bits

FIGURE 2: Hierarchy of Data 6.2 Software 6.2.1 Definition 6.2.1.1 Define: i. Database A database is a collection of data organized in a manner that allow access, retrieval and use of that data. ii. Database Management Systems (DBMS) A collection of programs that enables us to store, modify, extract and manage information from a database. 6.2.1.2 List the benefits of using database i. Data redundancies and inconsistencies are reduced. ii. Access is restricted to authorized people. iii. Information can be presented in a variety of formats. iv. Data filtering is much easier. v. Data manipulation can be done easily. vi. Users may share data with one another vii. Data integrity is preserved because changes in one file are made in other files as well. 6.2.2 Features 6.2.2.1 State the relationship between attribute (field), row (record) and relation (file)

i. Data is organized into related tables. ii. Each table is made up of rows which are called records and columns which are called fields. iii. Each record contains fields of information about some specific item.

Field

Record

FIGURE 3: Fields and Records 6.2.2.2 Define: i. Primary key A field that uniquely identifies each record in a file. ii. Foreign key A primary key that exist in other tables in order to link the related tables together. 6.2.2.3 State the importance of primary key i. Used for the purpose of indexing the tables in a database which makes it more efficient to: search for specific record sort the data or link tables. ii. Helps to avoid duplicating records. iii. Prevents null values from being entered in the unique field. 6.2.2.4 Differentiate between the primary key and foreign key Primary key Foreign key Must contain unique values May have duplicate values Used to uniquely identity each Used to link to a primary key in record in a table another table TABLE 1: Differences between primary key and foreign key 6.2.2.5 State the importance of relationship between the primary key and foreign key To enable users to retrieve all the related information from different tables. The primary key of one table becomes a foreign key in other table. A primary key makes creating Queries, Forms and Reports easier.

 A primary key improves data performance by relating a smaller table into meaningful database. By matching a foreign key with primary key, the data does not need to be entered repeatedly. 6.2.3 Database objects 6.2.3.1 Define the following database objects/tools: i. Table A set of data arranged in rows and columns. ii. Form A form is a type of a database object that is primarily used to enter or display data in a database. iii. Query An object that requests information from a database and creates a dataset of the requested information. iv. Report A report is an effective way to present data in a printed format. Since we have control over the size and appearance of everything on a report, we can display the information the way we want to see it. 6.2.3.2 Identify table, query, form and report as database objects/tools

FIGURE 4: Table

FIGURE 5: Query

FIGURE 6: Form

FIGURE 7: Report 6.2.4 Data manipulation 6.2.4.1 List the basic operations of data manipulation: i. Update ii. Insert iii. Delete iv. Retrieve v. Sort vi. Filter vii. Search 6.2.4.2 State the usage of basic operations in data manipulation i. Update To correct inaccurate data and to change old data with new data. ii. Insert To add new records in the file when new data are obtained. iii. Delete To remove a record from a file when it is no longer needed. iv. Retrieve To obtain specific information from the tables in order to refer or make changes to the information. v. Sort To arrange the records according to ascending or descending order based on a specified field. vi. Filter

 To exclude unwanted records from being retrieved by using certain condition or criteria in a query. . vii. Search To find specific records that fulfills the users requirements.

6.3

Database development 6.3.1 Phases of Systems Development

Analysis

Design

Implementation

Testing

Documentation

FIGURE 8: Phases of Systems Development

Maintenance

6.3.1.1 Describe the phases of systems development i. Analysis In analysis phase, the developer will determine the problem or understanding the existing system. Several things will be considered such as users wants, needs and requirements in order to come up with a solution. ii. Design In this phase, the developer will begin to plan the system. Several things will be considered in this phase such as the hardware and software requirement, technical specifications and input and output design. iii. Implementation The purpose of the implementation phase is to construct or build the new or modified system and then deliver it to the users. Everything which has been considered and decided in design phase will be implemented in this phase. iv. Testing When the system has been developed, the programmers or system analysts will perform a program testing. The purpose of doing the testing is to find any possible errors in the system and correct them. The errors are usually one of the two types; syntax error and logic errors.

v. Documentation In the documentation phase, the programmer will prepare all the documentation on the program. This documentation includes charts, solution algorithms, test data, program code listing and user guide. All documents should be made complete and accurate. vi. Maintenance Keeping the system up to date with the changes in the organization and ensuring it meets the goals of the organization by having a help desk to support the system users, having a team available to aid technical difficulties, answer questions and implementing changes to the system when necessary.