Information and Knowledge System

Pierre-Emmanuel Arduin, Michel Grundstein, Camille Rosenthal-Sabroux

• Publisher: Wiley-ISTE
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781848217522
• eBook ISBN: 9781119187288
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Information Technology
• Index: Computer Science

The purpose of this book is to question the relationships involved in decision making and the systems designed to support it: decision support systems (DSS). The focus is on how these systems are engineered; to stop and think about the questions to be asked throughout the engineering process and, in particular, about the impact designers' choices have on these systems.

This therefore involves identifying the elements of the problem of decision support systems engineering: the main objects and dimensions to be considered and the relationships they involve, issues at the levels of the decision-maker, of the organization (and even of society), the general approach to which to subscribe and so on.

1
Information Systems and Digital Technology

In this chapter, we will introduce the concept of information systems (IS), including a brief history of the domain. We will then define the concept of “digital” technology, and consider the role of IS and digital technology in a business context.

1.1. The concept of information systems

The concept of information systems (IS) includes two main aspects: first, the concrete organization which develops, innovates, communicates and records information, and second, the digital information system (DIS), an artificial, man-made object which makes use of the possibilities offered by information and communication technology (ICT) to acquire, process, store, transmit and render information in order to fulfill its role within the organization.

The key role of the DIS is thus to supply relevant information to each decision center, at all levels of the company hierarchy, for the purposes of monitoring, decision-making and innovation. In this way, the DIS is a crucial element in the decision-making process and in company operating and production processes; the DIS itself also interacts with these processes. The DIS is also a coordination tool. It plays an important role both at individual level, supplying information, i.e. representations used to solve problems in a decision-making process, and at collective level, transmitting shared representations throughout the organization.

According to Ermes-Groupe ESCP [ERM 94], “the information system of a company is the sub-system which contains all components of the company which interact through the provision of information. Its role is to provide information used to assist and monitor the operation of the business to all levels of the organization”. The IS defined in this way is not an exclusively computerized system, as a distinction is made between the organizational IS, covering activity associated with the operation of the IS, and the DIS, which only concerns computerized content [NAN 92]. For Le Moigne [LEM 90], “information systems serve to represent, memorize and allow access to representations (in symbolic form) of the operating system for the decision system”.

Definitions of some of the concepts used in this book will be given below. Systems science, also known as systemics, originated in the late 1970s. “Systemics is defined by a project rather than an object. Its roots lie mainly in systems theory, control theory and cybernetics” [NAN 92]. According to Le Moigne [LEM 77], the aim of systemics is “the modeling of complex perceived or conceived phenomena: the modeling of possible intentional interventions and their interconnected consequences for planning and forecasting purposes”. IS have their origins in the systemic modeling of organizations, of which they form one of the three components. Further details may be found in publications by Le Moigne [LEM 74, LEM 77, LEM 90], Nanci et al. [NAN 92] and Mélèse [MÉL 79], among others.

According to Le Moigne [LEM 74], an IS is the system linking the operating and control systems. The operating system is the system in which physical or intellectual transformation takes place, and the control system is that in which decisions are made, in terms of aims and available resources. The IS enables decision makers and operators to access the information they need for, respectively, the purposes of control and action.

For Reix [REI 90], “the information system of an organization is made up of a set of methods and procedures for seeking, inserting, classifying, memorizing, processing and diffusing information. Its purpose is to supply this information in a directly useable form to different members of the company at the right moment, in order to facilitate correct operation and decision-making at various levels”. Note that the processed information should provide assistance in decision-making, and sometimes in coordinating actions. The system needs to respond to requirements in terms of response time, relevance, accessibility, precision, cost and reliability of the information it provides. Information exchange occurs at different levels of command structures, and coordination issues may arise. Two types of coordination exist: “Vertical coordination, to avoid incoherency and conflict, and horizontal coordination, enabling users to work toward a shared objective, despite the division of labor. This coordination can either be carried out by mutual adjustment (direct information exchange) or by direct supervision” [REI 90].

For the purposes of this book, the following definition will be used, adapted from a definition given by the French Commission Centrale des Marchés (Central Contracts Commission, CCM [COM 90]):

An information system is a set of human, material and software resources, used by a user to carry out an activity within a given environment, which must be taken into account.

An IS, as described above, is not necessarily computerized. The computerization of IS within organizations has led to a distinction being made between the organizational and technical aspects of these systems; the latter is referred to as the DIS. The difficulties encountered when designing a DIS lie in the separation of the two systems. The DIS forms part of the IS as a whole, and strong interactions exist between the two aspects. Churchman [CHU 71] established nine conditions used to define a system, which will be discussed below in the context of IS:

1. 1) An information system always has an aim, that of providing necessary information to all levels in the management structure. How is this objective to be defined? How can necessary information be supplied to all levels? What is necessary information? These points are rarely specified in an IS, as analysts tend to focus on the solution to the problem rather than on the problem itself. In this book, we will attempt to follow the advice of Morin [MOR 77]), cited by Le Moigne [LEM 91], who stated that “we need to consider the system as a problem, rather than the system as a solution”.
2. 2) The performance of an information system can be measured. What is system performance, and how is this performance to be measured?
3. 3) An information system always needs to respond to the preferences of a user. How are user preferences to be defined? What do these preferences mean? Which user is being considered? When identifying actors involved in an IS, the term “stakeholders” is generally used instead of considering individual users.
4. 4) An information system contains components which have their own objectives. The objectives of information subsystems (components) are no easier to define than those of the IS itself.
5. 5) An information system operates in an environment. The environment is rarely mentioned, and not often taken into account. Organizational aspects should be taken into account during system design.
6. 6) A digital information system must be paid for. The buyers are rarely considered as stakeholders in the DIS design process, unless they also play a part in this process. It is important to give due consideration to the available resources when considering the functions to be fulfilled by a DIS.
7. 7) A Digital Information System has a designer. The stakeholders involved in designing a DIS generally include an analyst (the designer) and a programmer. The way in which these parties relate to the final users of the system is rarely specified.
8. 8) The aim in designing a Digital Information System is to achieve user satisfaction. How is user satisfaction to be evaluated?
9. 9) A Digital Information System provides a way of verifying the feasibility of the designer’s intentions. How are the intentions of the DIS designer to be verified, and at what stage in the design process does verification occur? What verification procedures are to be used?

A certain number of key questions need to be answered: Who are the stakeholders? How do they interact with each other? What is being done (i.e. what problem is being tackled)? How is this to be carried out (how is the problem to be solved)? Where (in what organization)? What influence will this place or context have on the system? What part does this context play in the user/machine relationship?

In all the cases, decisions are made based on the information. “The true role of the information system is in providing the simplest and most appropriate form of support to users when reconsidering raw data, redefining useful and relevant information, and rebuilding decision models in order to make them more effective” [COU 93]. Information is as important in diagnosing problems as in choosing appropriate solutions. All information is intimately linked to the subject of study, and is contextual. “An object should always be designed with an eye on the larger context: a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in a neighborhood, and a neighborhood in a town plan” (Eero Saarinen, cited in [INM 93]). Information treated in this way needs to be represented. In designing a DIS, the representation of all relevant information is one of the main issues at play. A solid structure is, therefore, needed for the DIS design process, including defined stages, from information acquisition to transformation, representation, treatment and interpretation.

The rapid changes which have taken place in ICT in recent times have led to reconsideration of the way in which DIS are designed. This evolution can be described through four major steps, from the appearance of the first computers in the 1950s up to the explosion of ICT at the start of the new millennium.

1.2. History of the concept of information systems

Following a brief summary of the role and functions of a DIS, we will consider the main turning points in DIS design, triggered by technological developments.

1.2.1. The centralized processing stage (1950s–1960s)

This stage was characterized by constant, relatively stable linear development. The information technology (IT) developed during this period enabled tools to be designed to improve productivity in scientific and administrative tasks. Applications were implemented by large calculation centers. This method, known as batch tr...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Title
• Copyright
• Preface
• Introduction
• 1: Information Systems and Digital Technology
• 2: Knowledge Management
• 3: The Enterprise’s Information and Knowledge System (EIKS)
• Conclusions and Perspectives
• Appendix: Seven Golden Rules for Successful Knowledge Management
• Bibliography
• Index
• End User License Agreement