Types of Information System
Information Systems
Lachlan M. MacKinnon
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
4 Levels of Information System
Operational-level Systems
Support operational managers by keeping
track of the elementary activities and
transactions of the organisation. The principle
purpose of systems at this level is to answer
routine questions and track the flow of
transactions through the organisation. Covers
things such as sales, receipts, cash deposits,
payroll, credit decisions, flow of materials.
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
Knowledge-level Systems
Support knowledge and data workers in an
organisation. The purpose of these systems is
to help the organisation discover, organise and
integrate new and existing knowledge intothe
business, and to help control the flow of
paperwork. These systems, specially in the
form of collaboration tools, workstations, and
office systems, are the fastest growing
applications in business today.
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
Management-level Systems
Designed to serve the the monitoring,
controlling, decision-making, and
administrative activities of middle managers.
These typically provide periodic reports rather
than instant information on operations. Some
of these systems support non-routine decision-
making, focusing on less-structured decisions
for which information requirements are not
always clear. This will often require
information from outwith the organisation, as
well as from normal operational-level data.
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
Strategic-level Systems
Help senior management tackle and address
strategic issues and long-term trends, both
within the organisation and in the external
environment. Principal concern is matching
organisational capability to changes, and
opportunities, occurring in the medium to
long term (i.e. 5 - 10 years) in the external
environment.
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
Typically, an organisation might have
operational, knowledge, management and
strategic level systems for each functional area
within the organisation. This would be based
on the management model adopted by the
organisation, so, while the most commonly-
adopted systems structure would simply follow
the standard functional model, structures
reflecting bureaucratic, product and matrix
models are also possible.
As identified before, enterprise level
information systems attempt to encompass the
whole organisation in one system.
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
Operational-level Systems
Transaction-Processing Systems (TPS)
Basic business systems
Perform daily routine transactions necessary
for business functions
At the operational level, tasks, resources and
goals are predefines and highly structured
Generally, five functional categories are
identified, as shown in the diagram.
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
Knowledge-level Systems
Office Automation Systems (OAS)
Targeted at meeting the knowledge needs of
data workers within the organisation
Data workers tend to process rather than
create information. Primarily involved in
information use, manipulation or
dissemination.
Typical OAS handle and manage documents,
scheduling and communication.
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
Knowledge Work Systems (KWS)
Targeted at meting the knowledge needs of
knowledge workers within the organisation
In general, knowledge workers hold degree-
level professional qualifications (e.g.
engineers, scientists, lawyers), their jobs
consist primarily in crating new information
and knowledge
KWS, such as scientific or engineering design
workstations, promote the creation of new
knowledge, and its dissemination and
integration throughout the organisation.
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
Management-level Systems
Management Information Systems (MIS)
MIS provide managers with reports and, in
some cases, on-line access to the organisations
current performance and historical records
Typically these systems focus entirely on
internal events, providing the information for
short-term planning and decision making.
MIS summarise and report on the basic
operations of the organisation, dependent on
the underlying TPS for their data.
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
Decision-Support Systems (DSS)
As MIS, these serve the needs of the
management level of the organisation
Focus on helping managers make decisions
that are semi-structured, unique, or rapidly
changing, and not easily specified in advance
Use internal information from TPS and MIS,
but also information from external sources
Greater analytical power than other systems,
incorporate modelling tools, aggregation and
analysis tools, and support what-if scenarios
Must provide user-friendly, interactivetools
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
Voyage-estimating Decision Support System
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
Strategic-level Systems
Executive Support/Information Systems
(ESS/EIS)
Serve the strategic level of the organisation
ESS/EIS address unstructured decisions and
create a generalised computing and
communications environment, rather than
providing any fixed application or specific
capability. Such systems are not designed to
solve specific problems, but to tackle a
changing array of problems
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
ESS/EIS are designed to incorporate data about
external events, such as new tax laws or
competitors, and also draw summarised
information from internal MIS and DSS
These systems filter, compress, and track
critical data, emphasising the reduction of
time and effort required to obtain information
useful to executive management
ESS/EIS employ advanced graphics software to
provide highly visual and easy-to-use
representations of complex information and
current trends, but they tend not to provide
analytical models
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon
Inter-relationships and inter-dependencies between IS types
12.3IA1 : Information Systems Lachlan M. MacKinnon