what are people in this time and this society led to believe about themselves
Upon successful completion of this chapter, y'all will be able to:
- describe each of the different roles that people play in the design, evolution, and use of data systems;
- understand the different career paths bachelor to those who work with data systems;
- explain the importance of where the information-systems function is placed in an organization; and
- describe the different types of users of information systems.
Introduction
The opening chapters of this text focused on the applied science behind information systems, namely hardware, software, data, and networking. The concluding affiliate covered business processes and the key role they can play in the success of a business. This chapter discusses people, the last component of an information organisation.
People are involved in data systems in just nearly every way. People imagine information systems, people develop information systems, people support information systems, and, perhaps most importantly, peopleapply information systems.
The Creators of Information Systems
The first group of people to be considered play a role in designing, developing, and edifice information systems. These people are generally technical and have a background in programming, analysis, information security, or database design. Simply about anybody who works in the creation of data systems has a minimum of a bachelor'due south degree in computer science or information systems, though that is not necessarily a requirement. The process of creating information systems will exist covered in more than detail in Chapter 10.
The following nautical chart shows the U. South. Agency of Labor Statistics projections for calculating career employment in 2020.
Systems Analyst
The systems analyst straddles the divide betwixt identifying business needs and imagining a new or redesigned system to fulfill those needs. This individual works with a team or department seeking to place concern requirements and analyze the specific details of an existing system or a system that needs to be built. Generally, the annotator is required to take a good understanding of the business itself, the purpose of the business, the business organization processes involved, and the power to certificate them well. The annotator identifies the different stakeholders in the system and works to involve the appropriate individuals in the analysis process.
Prior to analyzing the problem or the system of concern, the analyst needs to a) clearly identify the problem, b) gain approving for the project, c) place the stakeholders, and d) develop a plan to monitor the project. The assay phase of the project can exist cleaved down into five steps.
- Seek out and identify the details
- Specify requirements
- Make up one's mind which requirements are most important
- Create a dialog showing how the user interacts with the existing system
- Ask users to critique the list of requirements that accept been adult
The analysis phase involves both the systems analyst and the users. It is important to realize the role the users take in the analysis of the organization. Users tin have significant insights into how well the electric current arrangement functions too every bit advise improvements.
In one case the requirements are adamant, the analyst begins the process of translating these requirements into an information systems design. Information technology is important to understand which different technological solutions will work and provide several alternatives to the customer, based on the visitor's monetary constraints, engineering science constraints, and civilization. Once the solution is selected, the annotator volition create a detailed document describing the new system. This new document will require that the analyst sympathize how to speak in the technical language of systems developers.
The design phase results in the components of the new system existence identified, including how they relate to ane some other. The designer needs to communicate clearly with software developers as well database administrators past using terminology that is consistent with both of these specialties. The design phase of the project can be broken downwards into 6 steps.
- Pattern the hardware environment
- Blueprint the software
- Pattern how the new system will interface with the users
- Design hardware interfaces
- Design database tables
- Blueprint organization security
A systems analyst generally is not the 1 who does the actual evolution of the data system. The design document created by the systems analyst provides the particular needed to create the system and is handed off to a programmer to actually write the software and to the database ambassador to build the database and tables that will exist in the database.
Sometimes the system may be assembled from off-the-shelf components past a person called a systems integrator. This is a specific type of systems analyst that understands how to get different software packages to work with each other.
To go a systems analyst, you should accept a groundwork both in the business concern analysis and in systems pattern. Many analysts first piece of work as developers and have business organisation experience earlier becoming system analysts. Information technology is vital for analysts to clearly understand the purpose of the business organization of involvement, realizing that all businesses are unique.
Programmer/Developer
Programmers spend their time writing estimator code in a programming language. In the case of systems development, programmers generally effort to fulfill the blueprint specifications given to them by a systems analyst/designer. Many unlike styles of software development exist A programmer may work alone for long stretches of time or work as part of a team with other developers. A programmer needs to be able to understand complex processes and also the intricacies of 1 or more than programming languages.
Estimator Engineer
Computer engineers design the calculating devices that are used every day. In that location are many types of reckoner engineers who work on a variety of different types of devices and systems. Some of the more prominent computer engineering science jobs are as follows:
- Hardware engineer. A hardware engineer designs hardware and test components such every bit microprocessors, memory devices, routers, and networks. Many times, a hardware engineer is at the cutting edge of calculating technology, creating something brand new. Other times, the hardware engineer's job is to re-engineer an existing component to work faster or use less power. Many times a hardware engineer's job is to write code to create a programme that will exist implemented directly on a figurer chip.
- Software engineer. Software engineers tend to focus on a specific area of software such as operating systems, networks, applications, or databases. Software engineers use three master skill areas: informatics, engineering science, and mathematics.
- Systems engineer. A systems engineer takes the components designed past other engineers and makes them all work together, focusing on the integration of hardware and software. For instance, to build a reckoner the mother board, processor, memory, and hard disk all have to piece of work together. A systems engineer has feel with many different types of hardware and software and knows how to integrate them to create new functionality.
- Network engineer. A network engineer understands the networking requirements of an organisation and then designs a communications arrangement to meet those needs, using the networking hardware and software, sometimes referred to every bit a network operating arrangement. Network engineers design both local area networks as well as wide surface area networks.
There are many different types of figurer engineers, and oft the chore descriptions overlap. While many may call themselves engineers based on a company job title, there is also a professional person designation of "professional engineer" which has specific requirements. In the Usa each state has its own set of requirements for the use of this title, as do different countries around the world. Most often, it involves a professional person licensing exam.
Data Systems Operations and Administration
Another group of information systems professionals are involved in the solar day-to-day operations and assistants of It. These people must keep the systems running and up-to-appointment so that the rest of the organisation tin brand the nigh effective utilize of these resource.
Computer Operator
A calculator operator is the person who oversees the mainframe computers and data centers in organizations. Some of their duties include keeping the operating systems up to date, ensuring available memory and disk storage, providing for back-up (call up electricity, connectivity to the Internet, and database backups), and overseeing the physical surroundings of the calculator. Since mainframe computers increasingly take been replaced with servers, storage management systems, and other platforms, reckoner operators' jobs have grown broader and include working with these specialized systems.
Database Administrator
A Database Administrator (DBA) is the person who designs and manages the databases for an organization. This person creates and maintains databases that are used as part of applications or the information warehouse. The DBA besides consults with systems analysts and programmers on projects that require access to or the creation of databases.
Help Desk/Support Annotator
Near mid-size to large organizations have their own it help desk. The help desk is the beginning line of support for computer users in the company. Computer users who are having problems or need information can contact the help desk for assistance. Many times a help desk worker is a inferior level employee who is able to answer bones bug that users demand assistance with. Help desk analysts work with senior level support analysts or accept a computer knowledgebase at their disposal to assistance them investigate the problem at hand. The help desk is a keen identify to break into working in IT because it exposes you lot to all of the different technologies within the company. A successful aid desk annotator should accept good communications skills and a sincere involvement in helping users.
Trainer
A computer trainer conducts classes to teach people specific computer skills. For example, if a new ERP system is existence installed in an organization, one office of the implementation process is to teach all of the users how to apply the new system. A trainer may piece of work for a software visitor and be contracted to come up in to conduct classes when needed; a trainer may work for a company that offers regular training sessions. Or a trainer may be employed full time for an organization to handle all of their computer instruction needs. To be successful as a trainer you need to be able to communicate technical concepts conspicuously and demonstrate patience with learners.
Managing Information Systems
The management of information-systems functions is critical to the success of information systems within the system. Hither are some of the jobs associated with the direction of information systems.
CIO
The Main Information Officer (CIO) is the caput of the information-systems role. This person aligns the plans and operations of the information systems with the strategic goals of the organization. Tasks include budgeting, strategic planning, and personnel decisions for the information systems part. The CIO must besides be the face of the It department inside the organization. This involves working with senior leaders in all parts of the organisation to ensure good communication, planning, and budgeting.
Interestingly, the CIO position does non necessarily require a lot of technical expertise. While helpful, it is more important for this person to take good direction skills and empathize the business. Many organizations do not have someone with the title of CIO. Instead, the head of the information systems part is called the Vice President of Data Systems or Director of Information Systems.
Functional Director
Equally an information systems organization becomes larger, many of the different functions are grouped together and led by a manager. These functional managers report to the CIO and manage the employees specific to their office. For example, in a large organisation there are a group of systems analysts who written report to a managing director of the systems analysis function. For more than insight into how this might await, encounter the discussion afterwards in the chapter of how data systems are organized.
ERP Management
Organizations using an ERP require 1 or more individuals to manage these systems. EPR managers make certain that the ERP system is completely upwardly to date, work to implement any changes to the ERP that are needed, and consult with various user departments on needed reports or data extracts.
Project Managers
Information systems projects are notorious for going over budget and being delivered belatedly. In many cases a failed IT projection can spell doom for a company. A projection manager is responsible for keeping projects on time and on budget. This person works with the stakeholders of the project to go along the squad organized and communicates the status of the project to direction. Gantt charts, shown above, are used to graphically illustrate a project'south schedule, tasks, and resources.
A project manager does not have authority over the project squad. Instead, the project manager coordinates schedules and resource in order to maximize the project outcomes. This leader must be a good communicator and an extremely organized person. A project director should also have good people skills. Many organizations require each of their project managers to become certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP).
Information Security Officer
An data security officer is in charge of setting data security policies for an organisation and then overseeing the implementation of those policies. This person may have one or more people reporting to them as part of the information security team. As information has become a critical asset, this position has become highly valued. The information security officer must ensure that the organization's information remains secure from both internal and external threats.
Emerging Roles
As technology evolves many new roles are becoming more common as other roles diminish. For example, equally we enter the age of "big data," we are seeing the need for more than data analysts and business intelligence specialists. Many companies are now hiring social media experts and mobile technology specialists. The increased use of cloud computing and Virtual Machine (VM) technologies also is increasing demand for expertise in those areas.
Career Paths in Information Systems
These job descriptions do not correspond all possible jobs within an information systems arrangement. Larger organizations will have more than specialized roles, while smaller organizations may combine some of these roles. Many of these roles may exist outside of a traditional data-systems organization, as we will hash out below.
Working with information systems can be a rewarding career choice. Whether you want to be involved in very technical jobs (programmer, database administrator), or you want to exist involved in working with people (systems analyst, trainer, project manager), there are many different career paths available.
Many times those in technical jobs who want career advocacy find themselves in a dilemma. A person can keep doing technical work, where sometimes their advancement options are limited, or become a director of other employees and put themselves on a management career track. In many cases those expert in technical skills are non gifted with managerial skills. Some organizations, specially those that highly value their technically skilled employees, create a technical rails that exists in parallel to the management track so that they tin can retain employees who are contributing to the arrangement with their technical skills.
Sidebar: Are Certifications Worth Pursuing?
Equally engineering science becomes more important to businesses, hiring employees with technical skills is condign critical. But how tin an organization ensure that the person they are hiring has the necessary skills? Many organizations are including technical certifications as a prerequisite for getting hired.
Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert.
Certifications are designations given by a certifying body that someone has a specific level of knowledge in a specific applied science. This certifying body is often the vendor of the production itself, though independent certifying organizations, such every bit CompTIA, also be. Many of these organizations offer certification tracks, allowing a get-go certificate equally a prerequisite to getting more advanced certificates. To go a certificate, yous generally attend one or more preparation classes and then take ane or more certification exams. Passing the exams with a certain score will qualify y'all for a certificate. In most cases, these classes and certificates are non free. In fact a highly technical certification tin can price thousands dollars. Some examples of the certifications in highest demand include Microsoft (software certifications), Cisco (networking), and SANS (security).
For many working in IT, determining whether to pursue one or more of these certifications is an of import question. For many jobs, such as those involving networking or security, a certificate will exist required past the employer as a way to determine which potential employees accept a basic level of skill. For those who are already in an IT career, a more advanced certificate may lead to a promotion. For those wondering about the importance of certification, the best solution is to talk to potential employers and those already working in the field to determine the best choice.
Organizing the Information Systems Function
In the early on years of computing, the information-systems function (mostly called "data processing") was placed in the finance or bookkeeping department of the organization. Equally calculating became more of import, a split up data-systems part was formed, simply it still was generally placed under the Chief Financial Officer and considered to be an authoritative function of the company. By the 1980s and 1990s, when companies began networking internally so connecting to the Internet, the information systems function was combined with the telecommunications functions and designated equally the It (IT) department. As the role of information applied science continued to increase, its place in the organization became more important. In many organizations today, the head of IT (the CIO) reports direct to the CEO.
Where in the Organization Should IS Be?
Before the advent of the personal reckoner, the information systems function was centralized inside organizations in guild to maximize control over computing resource. When the PC began proliferating, many departments within organizations saw it as a gamble to gain some computing resource for themselves. Some departments created an internal information systems group, complete with systems analysts, programmers, and even database administrators. These departmental IS groups were dedicated to the information needs of their own departments, providing quicker turnaround and higher levels of service than a centralized IT department. However, having several IS groups inside an organization led to a lot of inefficiencies. In that location were now several people performing the same jobs in different departments. This decentralization also led to company data being stored in several places all over the company.
In some organizations a matrix reporting structure developed in which IT personnel were placed within a department and reported to both the department management and the functional direction within IS. The advantages of dedicated IS personnel for each section must exist weighed against the need for more control over the strategic data resources of the company.
For many companies, these questions are resolved past the implementation of the ERP system (see discussion of ERP in Chapter 8). Because an ERP system consolidates most corporate data dorsum into a single database, the implementation of an ERP system requires organizations to notice "silos" of data so that they can integrate them dorsum into the corporate organization. The ERP allows organizations to regain control of their information and influences organizational decisions throughout the company.
Outsourcing
Frequently an organization needs a specific skill for a limited period of time. Instead of preparation existing employees or hiring new staff, information technology may brand more than sense to outsource the task. Outsourcing can be used in many different situations inside the information systems function, such as the pattern and creation of a new website or the upgrade of an ERP system. Some organizations see outsourcing as a cost-cutting move, contracting out a whole group or department.
New Models of Organizations
The integration of information technology has influenced the structure of organizations. The increased ability to communicate and share information has led to a "flattening" of the organizational structure due to the removal of one or more layers of management.
The network-based organizational structure is another inverse enabled past data systems. In a network-based organizational construction, groups of employees can piece of work somewhat independently to accomplish a project. People with the correct skills are brought together for a projection and then released to piece of work on other projects when that project is over. These groups are somewhat informal and allow for all members of the grouping to maximize their effectiveness.
Information Systems Users – Types of Users
Besides the people who work to create, administer, and manage data systems, there is one more extremely important group of people, namely, the users of data systems. This group represents a very big percentage of an arrangement'south employees. If the user is non able to successfully acquire and utilize an data arrangement, the arrangement is doomed to failure.
Applied science adoption user types
One tool that tin can exist used to empathize how users will prefer a new technology comes from a 1962 report by Everett Rogers. In his volume,Diffusion of Innovation,[1]Rogers studied how farmers adopted new technologies and noticed that the adoption rate started slowly and so dramatically increased one time adoption striking a sure betoken. He identified five specific types of engineering science adopters:
- Innovators. Innovators are the first individuals to adopt a new engineering science. Innovators are willing to take risks, are the youngest in age, take the highest social class, have great financial liquidity, are very social, and have the closest contact with scientific sources and interaction with other innovators. Risk tolerance is high then there is a willingness to adopt technologies thast may ultimately fail. Financial resources help blot these failures (Rogers, 1962, p. 282).
- Early adopters. The early on adopters are those who prefer innovation shortly subsequently a technology has been introduced and proven. These individuals have the highest degree of opinion leadership among the other adopter categories, which means that these adopters can influence the opinions of the largest majority. Characteristics include existence younger in age, having a higher social condition, possessing more fiscal liquidity, having advanced education, and being more socially aware than afterward adopters. These adopters are more discrete in adoption choices than innovators, and realize judicious option of adoption will help them maintain a primal communication position (Rogers, 1962, p. 283).
- Early majority. Individuals in this category adopt an innovation after a varying degree of time. This time of adoption is significantly longer than the innovators and early adopters. This group tends to be slower in the adoption process, has above average social status, has contact with early on adopters, and seldom holds positions of opinion leadership in a system (Rogers, 1962, p. 283).
- Tardily majority. The late bulk will adopt an innovation afterwards the boilerplate fellow member of the lodge. These individuals approach an innovation with a high degree of skepticism, have below boilerplate social status, very little financial liquidity, are in contact with others in the belatedly bulk and the early majority, and show very little opinion leadership.
- Laggards. Individuals in this category are the terminal to adopt an innovation. Unlike those in the previous categories, individuals in this category evidence no opinion leadership. These individuals typically take an aversion to change agents and tend to be advanced in age. Laggards typically tend to be focused on "traditions," are likely to have the everyman social status and the lowest financial liquidity, be oldest of all other adopters, and be in contact with just family and close friends.[2]
These five types of users can be translated into information technology adopters as well, and provide boosted insight into how to implement new information systems within the organization. For example, when rolling out a new organisation, Information technology may desire to place the innovators and early on adopters within the organization and work with them first, then leverage their adoption to bulldoze the rest of the implementation to the other users.
Summary
In this chapter nosotros have reviewed the many different categories of individuals who brand upwardly the people component of data systems. The earth of information technology is irresolute so fast that new roles are being created all the time and roles that existed for decades are being phased out. This chapter this chapter should have given you a good idea and appreciation for the importance of the people component of data systems.
Study Questions
- Describe the role of a systems analyst.
- What are some of the different roles for a computer engineer?
- What are the duties of a computer operator?
- What does the CIO practise?
- Describe the task of a project manager.
- Explain the indicate of having two dissimilar career paths in data systems.
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of centralizing the Information technology part?
- What impact has information technology had on the style companies are organized?
- What are the 5 types of information-systems users?
- Why would an organization outsource?
Exercises
- Which Information technology job would you like to accept? Practice some original research and write a two-page paper describing the duties of the job y'all are interested in.
- Spend a few minutes on Die or Monster to detect IT jobs in your area. What Information technology jobs are currently available? Write upward a two-page newspaper describing 3 jobs, their starting bacon (if listed), and the skills and teaching needed for the job.
- How is the IT function organized in your school or place of employment? Create an organization chart showing how the IT system fits into your overall organisation. Comment on how centralized or decentralized the IT function is.
- What type of IT user are you? Take a wait at the v types of technology adopters and so write a ane-page summary of where yous remember yous fit in this model.
Lab
- Ascertain each task in the list, then ask 10 friends to identify which jobs they have heard virtually or know something well-nigh. Tabulate your results.
- Chief marketing technologist
- Developer evangelist
- Ethical hacker
- Business intelligence analyst
- Digital marketing director
- Growth hacker
- UX designer
- Cloud architect
- Data detective
- Master of border calculating
- Digital prophet
- NOC specialist
- SEO/SEM specialist
Source: https://opentextbook.site/informationsystems2019/chapter/chapter-9-the-people-in-information-systems-information-systems-introduction/