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January 15, 2007
25 Questions about a Career in IS, Q1:
What Are the Elements of an Information System?
An information system consists of five components:
Hardware, Software, Data, Procedures, and People.
- Hardware and People are actors; they do things.
- Software and Procedures are instructions; software tells the hardware what to do and procedures tell the people what to do.
- Data is the bridge between the hardware/software and procedure/people.
- When we automate a system, we move work from People following Procedures to Hardware following Programs.
Notice that an information system has a "hard side" Hardware and Software and a "soft side" Procedures and People.
Posted by DavidK at January 15, 2007 05:22 PM | Permalink