Transcript Classification of IT Applications

LIS1311 Fall 2004: Lecture 5a
Classification Of IT Applications
Outline
1. Programs, Systems & Applications
2. Application Coverage
3. Classification Of IT Applications
•
By System Architecture
•
By Scope or Degree of Integration
•
By Functional Or Industry Domain
•
By Functional Level
•
By Content Type
•
By Computational Focus
4. Trends
Programs, Systems & Applications
• A program is a sequence of instructions
which can be executed by a computer to
accomplish some function.
• An information system is a set of processes,
information stores and information flows,
manual or computerized, which are intended
to perform an integrated function.
• An information technology application (often
called a “software system” or “automated
system”) is a set of programs, files and/or
database(s), which are intended to perform an
integrated function as an information system or
part of a larger information system.
Application Coverage
1. Most companies move and process a lot of information;
that is, they are to some extent information systems:
• in a manufacturing company ~30%of the staff
time is devoted to information processing;
• in a bank or insurance company ~90+%of the staff
time is devoted to information processing;
2. To the extent that an ‘information worker’s’ tasks
are repetitive, rule-based and ‘algorithmic’ they can
be captured in software and done by a computer.
Conversely, to the extent that these tasks involve
the recognition of novelty, inter-personal negotiation,
creative problem solving, and decision making under
uncertainty, they cannot be entirely delegated to
software.
Systems Architecture: Generations
•
First Generation Early Computing (40’s 50’s) Centralized, Batch Processing
Systems
–
•
Second & Third Generation-Mainframe
computing (60’s-70’s):
–
–
•
Networked terminals
transistors (second)
integrated circuits (third generation)
Fourth Generation: Personal
computing, local and remote networks.
–
LAN’s extended to constitute the Internet
Systems Architecture: Generations
• Fifth Generation:
– The PC is replaced by portable devices and
information appliances, that have less
computing power, but that are cheaper
and easier to use.
– Servers use Web Services, exchanging &
operating on messages containing either
document-oriented or procedure-oriented
information.
Note: the diagrams shown here are not network
configurations (e.g. star, token ring), but more
general architectures. All LANs today are use a
star configuration, including WIFI LANs.
5th Generation: Web Services?
• Web service is a software system
designed to support interoperable
machine-to-machine interaction
over a network.
• Uses HTTP to transmit
both information and
commands, encoded in XML
• Disadvantage: HTTP is stateless.
• Discussion?
Web Services, con’t
• SOAP: basic messaging framework using
XML and HTTP
• WSDL Web Services Description Language:
describes the public interface of the service
• UDDI: Universal Description, Discovery, and
Integration: A platform-independent, XMLbased registry for businesses worldwide to
list themselves on the Internet
Current: 3-Tier Web Architecture
1. Database Tier: relational database MSAccess, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server;
located on a SERVER.
2. Middle Tier: software that makes the
database securely available on the Web ODBC: Open DataBase Connect & one of:
– php (); ASP (active server pages); ZOPE; Cold
Fusion, etc.
3. Client Tier: Browser
Data is passed back and forth between these
tiers or components, basically in the form of
search requests and results.
Scope/Degree Of Integration Classification
1. Individual Use Systems
• Personal productivity (e.g. Word, Excel, etc.)
• Specialist productivity (e.g. engineering, software, etc.)
2. Departmental Systems
• Productivity and shared information for a department
• Often single applications for one department,
accessed by other departments (e.g. HR)
e.g. registration system, library system, course management
system
3. Enterprise Systems
• Productivity and shared information across
many departments in an entire (perhaps world-wide)
organization (e.g. order-inventory-production-purchasing)
e.g. integrated “Web portal,” “My U of T”
Sidebar on Integration
In the 1970’s it was thought possible for an organization
to design and build fully integrated information systems
around one or more conceptually integrated databases.
The technology of the time could not support this:
- expensive hardware, limited capacity
- limited ability to design and build integrated systems
- limited understanding of how to design for change
Also, organizations aren’t strictly hierarchical and don’t behave
in logically integrated ways, and they change rapidly.
Therefore, numerous, more or less independent systems
grew up in most organizations dealing providing separate
applications to different functional areas or process chains.
These were often ill-coordinated, and built with a focus on
software requirements not the overall needs of the organization.
Sidebar on Integration
Hence,
Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)
• focus on integrating existing information systems
within a business.
• main tasks: linking dissimilar software systems
and providing a seamless electronic end-to-end
information flow.
• technology involves ‘standard’ object-oriented
representations of business processes to serve as
the ‘glue’. These objects are tailored to the specific
needs and existing systems of each business.
•API’s: Application Program Interface: is a set of
definitions of the ways one piece of computer
software communicates with another.
• XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is becoming
an important tool in this effort.
Scope/Degree Of Integration Classification
1. Workflow Systems
• Rule based automated movement of information
from one department/system to another
2. Workgroup/Collaboration systems
• Shared information and scheduling for an ad hoc group
3. Integrated Enterprise Systems
•
Productivity and shared information across
an entire (perhaps world-wide) organization
4. Multi-Enterprise Integration
• Productivity and shared information with business partners
Sidebar on Integration
The Enterprise Information Portal (EIP)
•focus on providing a common access point (from the web)
to all products and services offered by a company.
• main tasks: enabling business partners, potential clients,
the media, or anybody at all, to access all information about
an organization and to transact business through a common,
always up-to-date, easy-to-use, secure gateway.
• Technology
• front-end web servers, linked to all ‘back-end’ systems.
• Information taxonomy generation and search aids
•Uses: everything
Will everything look like a browser?
Does this sound too good to be true?
It was!
Organizational Level Classification
1. Operational (productive)
-
Record Keeping, Transaction Processing (TP/OLTP)
-
Process Control
Function Sales &
Marketing
Manufacturing &
Production
Finance &
Accounting
Human
Resources
"Epistemological
Level"
Facilitie s location
Profit Planning
Labor force
needs
Strategy
Org. level
Strategic
(Executive Support
System)
Sales trend
forecasting
Management
(Decision Support
System; Management
Information Systems)
Pricing
analysis
Production
Planning
Budgeting
Range &
Distribution of
w ages,
benefits
Know ledge
(Know ledge Work
Systems; Office
Systems)
Market
analysis
Compu ter Aided
Design
Investment
Portfolio
Analysis
Design
Knowledge and
possible career Information
paths
Operations
(Transaction
Processing Systems)
Enter,
Machine control
process, track
Accounts
Receivable
Track
employee
training, skills
& evaluations
"W isdom?"
Knowledge
Data
Transaction Processing Systems
• focus on timeliness and speed of response
• main tasks: transaction recording, response
and reporting (inquiry) in real-time
• Technology
• on-line transaction processing (OLTP)
• requires database and telecommunications
• Uses:
• Automated Banking Machines (ABMs)
• airline reservations
• library circulation control
• order processing
• shipment tracking systems
Sidebar on Entity Identification
The physical entities about which an application
maintains information must be identified to it when
an interaction concerning them takes place.
A regular user can be given a logon ID and password,
but casual users and things need other means of
identification, such as:
1. Magnetic stripe cards
2. Barcodes
3. Radio Frequency ID (RFID)
Organizational Level Classification
3. Knowledge Work (connective)
-
Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Presentations
-
Project Management
-
Document Management, Information Retrieval (IR)
Organizational Level Classification
2. Management (responsive)
-
Management Information Systems (MIS)
-
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
-
Data Mining and Decision Support Systems
Decision Support Systems (DSS)
• focus on analysis and understanding of process,
and anticipating change or the results of change
• main tasks: providing access to historical data in
ad hoc ways and the ability to model situations to
answer ‘what if’ type questions using real data.
Technology:
• On-line Analytical Processing (OLAP)
• requires integrated databases with flexible views,
modeling and simulation tools and fast machines
Uses:
• marketing (target the ‘best’ customers)
• inventory, pricing and location planning
• stocks and bonds trading
Organizational Level Classification
1. Executive/ Strategic (adaptive)
-
Executive Support Systems
-
Business Intelligence Systems
-
Dynamic Modeling
Functional/Industry Domain Classification
1. Within The Enterprise
• Finance/Accounting
• Production/Supply
• Inventory/Distribution
• Sales/Marketing
• HR
• etc.
2. By Industry
• Finance/Banking
• Insurance
• Manufacturing
• Retail
• Library
• Government
• etc
Content Classification
1. Structured ‘Atomic’ Data, e.g.
• Record Keeping/TP/MIS Systems
2. Unstructured Text, e.g.
• Document Management Systems
• Web Content Management Systems
• Information Retrieval Systems
3. Multi Media, e.g.
• Photo/Music Library Systems
4. Digital ‘Models’, e.g.
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS):
A Model of ‘Things in Space;’ CAD
The open problem is integrating functionality
across content of different types.
Computational Focus Classification
1. Procedural/Rules Driven
2. Statistical Analysis
3. Dynamic Modeling
4. Reasoning/Artificial Intelligence
(is this different from #1 ?)
TRENDS
Applications are becoming:
1. More distributed
2. More mobile
3. More interconnected