Information Systems and Services

Objective

Human beings have the distinct ability to attach meaning to whatever they perceive. The data translation to information and attempt, in an organized manner, to provide infor-mation for action, constitute the basis of the principle “information system”. In this course, the notion of an information system in the context of an organization is defined and particular emphasis is placed on the fact that an information system is essentially a kind of system that supports business processes and distributes information to the appropriate receivers using a digital technology as a tool. Professionals in the field of information sys-tems basically work on: a) information generation with the goal to aid the organization define and achieve its goals, and b) the realization or improvement of processes of the organization with the use of appropriate digital technology. Hence, these professionals play an important role in determining the requirements for an information system of the organization and they participate actively in its specification, design and realization. Therefore, they must have deep knowledge of state-of-the-art digital technologies and must be acquainted with the organizational principles and practices so that they contribute decisively in provisioning the systems and information that organization needs for supporting its operations. Furthermore these professionals determine the processes of evolution of information systems in order to achieve novel comparative assets to the organization through interoperability of existing systems and the capitalization from modern digital technology while maintaining existing investments. In this context, the course places particular emphasis to real world case studies on the development of information systems by creating modern web-based and service-oriented architectures.

Course Contents

• Principles of systems analysis, human activity systems, systems thinking, system ap-proach to information systems, high level analysis methodologies, information sys-tems types.
• The organization as system, organizational framework of information systems, the or-ganization concept in information systems, information systems leverage to re-organization.
• Information systems development methodologies, code-and-fix, structured systems analysis and design, evolutionary/rapid application development, agile systems devel-opment, teamwork methodologies, end-user development.
• Information systems life cycle, advantages and disadvantages, structure lifecycle phas-es, user participation, documentation, structured information systems development, data flow diagrams, requirements engineering.
• Human-oriented and participative information systems development, requirements elicitation, the prototyping approach.
• Object-oriented systems development, RUP methodology, general principles of the methodology, unified model language (UML) diagrams.
• Information systems security, security policies, security enforcement mechanisms, role-based security, authorization administration.
• Electronic business: types and models, electronic business and its basic constructs, ar-chitectures, communications channels, virtual organizations, competitive advantage, challenges and strategies, Virtual Organisations (definitions and characteristics of virtual enterprises), innovation, strategies adopted by virtual enterprises, digital product, ex-amples and case studies
• Electronic health: Healthcare systems, the need for healthcare services, digital sys-tems and quality improvement, healthcare information systems, trends and architectures, best practices, e-health systems and security. Examples Electronic healthcare record (EHR), home care and hospital at home, e-prescribing, e-referral).
• Electronic governance: the importance and the advantages of e-government for citi-zens and the state, analysis of e-government applications, architecture, standards, characteristics, entities, roles, main types of applications, examples and case studies, social networks and their role, social networks and business models, the role of the users in shaping and leading changes in business environments, exemplar cases.

• Vassilacopoulos G. (2012). Information Systems (in Greek).
• Checkland P. and Holwell S. (2002). Information, Systems and Information Systems – Making sense of the field. Wiley.
• Arthur M. Langer ^[1] (2010). Analysis and Design of Information Systems ^[2]. Springer.
• Avison ^[3] D. E. (2006). Information Systems Development: Methodologies, Techniques & Tools ^[4]. McGraw-Hill.
• Vidgen R., Avison D., Wood B. and Wood-Harper T. (2004). Developing Web Information Systems: From Strategy to Implementation ^[5]. Butterworth-Heinemann Information Systems Series.

Additional Readings

• Laudon K.C. and Laudon J.P. (2006). Management Information Systems – Managing the digital firm. Pearson.
• O’ Brien J.A. (2004). Management Information Systems – Managing information technology in the business enterprise. McGraw-Hill.
• Earl T., Little M., Simon A. and Richbeck T. (2011). Modern SOA Infrastructure: Technology, Design and Governance. Prentice Hall.
• Turban E., Leidner D., Mclean E.R. and Wetherbe J.C. (2006). Information Technology for Management. Wiley.
• Tony Morgan ^[6] (2002). Business Rules and Information Systems: Aligning IT with Business Goals ^[7]. Addison-Wesley.
• Alan Hevner ^[8] and Samir Chatterjee ^[9] (2010). Design Research in Information Systems: Theory and Practice ^[10]. Springer.
• William M. Ulrich ^[11] and Philip Newcomb (2010). Information Systems Transformation: Architecture-Driven Modernization Case Studies. The MK/OMG Press ^[12].
• Olegas Vasilecas, Albertas Caplinskas, Gregory Wojtkowski and Wita Wojtkowski (2010). Information Systems Development: Advances in Theory, Practice, and Education ^[13]. Springer.
• Phil Simon ^[14] and Bruce F. Webster (2010). Why New Systems Fail: An Insider’s Guide to Successful IT Projects ^[15]. Course Technology/Cengage Learning.