IT 205 Week 1 Check Point 1) Business problems can be solved through the three dimensions of People, Processes, and Technology. People refers to those on staff at a business, as well as customers, vendors, suppliers, and and other stakeholders. No system is complete without considering the impact on the individuals who need to use it, either as operators or as customers. In a data-entry system, the people component might be either administrative assistants (who enter data by hand) or customers (who fill out online forms and populate the database that way).
Processes refers to the ways in which the information is manipulated in the system. An example of a process might be the way in which new data is passed to the administrative assistant for entry, and where the assistant files or places the raw data once it is in the system. Finally, technology refers to automated systems, such as computer systems, which make it easier for humans to perform required processes. In the data-entry example, the technology is the combination of the database program and the front-end data entry module. 2) Information technology is the hardware and software that allows users to process data into information.
For example, information technology includes an off-the-shelf database program (such as Access or SQL Server) plus any custom-built components adapted to the needs of the specific business. It also includes hardware such as computers and networking structures. Information systems include the information technology, but also the entire process for converting the data into information in a form that is usable by humans to solve problems. The technology itself is of very little use without an entire integrated system to solve the business problem, taking into accounts business and user requirements.
