Prof.: Ellen van Droogenbroeck (IT economics) and Sam Verboven (IT modeling.
This summary contains all theoretical material to be learned (slides extended with clarifications during the lesson).
If you learn this together with the WPO's you know everything for this profession!
It’s all about digital transformation today. Companies change how they operate, they should change
which services they provide, how they produce. They should adopt information technology.
“Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don’t think anybody
can talk meaningfully about the one without talking about the other.”
Business = doing something for someone else
WHAT? => STRATEGY
§ Which kind of costumers/which market?
§ What is the product that you develop/sell?
§ What is the service you provide?
HOW? => CAPABILITIES
§ How do you deliver these services?
§ How do you develop these products?
ð Skill, information systems
IT?
§ Technology: essentially tools and the skill to use these tools
§ Information technology: tools that are applicable to information
IT Modeling introduces a range of concepts, methods and approaches that are being employed by
business analysts (bridges the business and the IT side) in the industry.
Business analysts operate on the interface between the business and the IT department in order to
analyse and describe requirements with regards to:
§ The design;
§ Functionalities;
§ Development;
§ Implementation
Of business information systems
ð Role business analysts : determining how the organization should work, what are the activities
that everyone should be doing in an optimal efficient manner to get the results that are
optimised.
Margo De Bock - 3 BA Handelsingenieur - 2020/2021 1
, ð They are as well becoming more and more the architects of “organizations”, designing the
processes and procedures and as such determining how an organization operates and in fact
is exactly organized
o They facilitate the organization to change it’s how of doing business,
o To make the operations more efficient (doing more, with less (reducing costs), allows
you to provide more services, new services that create extra value),
o By adopting technology
CHAPTER 1 : Information systems development Using the Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC)
0. EXAMPLE
For instance you work for the city of Brussels, department handling building permit applications.
There’s a lot of information to be provided, lots of calculations in terms of the energy consumption.
Quit a suspential file that you have to submit while applying for a building permit.
The applications need to be processed, in the end there’s a decision to be made towards that
application and the company is informed about the decision. There’s quit a clear procedure to handle
each application, there’s a limited time window (+/- 4 months)
ð + Building regulation, historical use, renovation?
ð Lot of information need to be added to the file
You see how the things are being done, now mostly in a manual manner, only some software is being
used, some information systems are available. But in the end it is a lot of manual labour in each case.
ð That opens opportunities to make that process more efficient by developing a new information
system
ð Gain significant efficiency, become more effective and less people need to be involved in
handeling such an application, it will cost less money, it goes faster, better service (follow-up
online the status of the application)
Requirements :
§ Applicant need to be able to submit online the building permit application, fully digital. Web-
based application
§ A file, a single application is the base unit that have to be processed by the process
§ Such a file should be automatically complemented with some legal information, restrictions,
requirements
§ Information on possible bridges
Your system should automatically guide that file to the entire process, from one station to the next in
the most efficient manner, coordinate the process, and everybody do what they should do.
ð Effective, efficient and fluent
ð Everything digital, totally paperless
Process need to be secure: important security factor
If the vision is accepted to implement that system
Margo De Bock - 3 BA Handelsingenieur - 2020/2021 2
, ð You are the business owner, the key user of the software that need to be developed
ð You will have to be involved, you need tools/instruments to communicate your needs,
communicate data needs, communicate how the process works.
The existing databases, existing systems will have to be able to read those documentations,
understand these models how these systems work, how it has to interact.
ð There’s a strong interplay within how the process is organized and the information
requirements
ð A good IS is a challenge : supports, automates the process in an efficient manner
ESSENTIAL : have a good view on what exact information needs exists + should be quit clear what
exactly is to be done, what process is to be supported
ð How to document operations processes? How to model information requirements?
Information Technology
Artificial Intelligence (AI): has become much more powerfull (much more data available)
ð Adopting/embracing AI is quit a challenge: digital transformation
ð Companies try to involve new services
ASERTA : Human Resources services provider
ð Offer payroll services, how to menage Human Resources
ð They have huge amounts of data: they’ve invested in big data technology
= data based technology
o Allows you to store huge amounts of data
o INTERNET : need to store more and more data
How can you get more value to the investment of Big data?
ð Report, dashboard solutions (business intelligence)
ð Develop new services towards costumers
EMPLOYEE ABSENTHEISM
ð Risk levels, reduce absentheism
o Analyzing data
o AI technologies
o Digital transformation : new service offering
Top line ó Bottom line
§ You can use information technology to reduce the costs that you have. Ex. Producing
goods, deliver services
§ Internal prospective : cost savings, traditional use of information technology
§ Increasing the top line is all about generating additional revenues by creating new
services
Margo De Bock - 3 BA Handelsingenieur - 2020/2021 3
, Relevance
Information technology and information systems are the most important tools organizations
nowadays have at their disposal to support, automate, rationalize, streamline and coordinate.
Their operational and decision making processes … and as such to become more efficient (= taking the
least of necessary steps (least amount of time, smallest possible cost)) and effective (= doing the right
things),…
§ To achieve cost-savings => Decrease the bottom line
§ But as well to generate additional revenues => Increase the top line
Both large multinationals as well as small and medium local enterprises use information systems to
store, process and report information and to support processes:
§ Has penetrated our entire society
§ Customers/citizens nowadays in fact expect IT and IS to be used by enterprises and
governments to provide better, real-time services (e.g. webservices)
Customers nowadays start expecting you to deliver real-time services => new normal
You also expect that from governments => Information technology is crucial in producing, delivering
The development of information systems is therefore of crucial importance for the success of any
enterprise and organization, and should be managed carefully – requiring specific knowledge and
tools.
The very existence of organizations depends on IT and IS.
1. Basic concepts
§ Informatics (field of studies related to information processing) = the science of information
processing (with computers)
§ Information system = the systems that organizations make use of to deal with information =>
Trend : strong evolution to paperless organization (digital manner is much more available for
everybody) ó Security risk, loss of information
o These information systems make use of information technology, but also involve other
aspects
IT concerns one aspect of IS : IT concerns the different technological components an information
system requires in order to function :
§ Computer hardware
§ Computer software (software = technology!)
§ Telecommunication and networktechnology (ICT > IT)
§ Technology to manage and manipulate data resources
Margo De Bock - 3 BA Handelsingenieur - 2020/2021 4
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