The design of information systems: parti, formats and sketching

In this article it is argued that an information system must be treated as an artefact with a format . We need to see information systems design as based on architectonic and not tectonic thinking. Design based on architectonic thinking emphasizes (1) the task of giving form to a design proposal, and (2) the task of creating an overall structure for the information system. These two activities are closely related because they both deal with the issue of seeing the idea or whole of systems, and the problem of how to give form to that whole . The paper begins with an exploration of the concept formative faculties in relation to 'given' and 'non-given' objects. The concepts of parti and format are then presented as a way to grasp the 'whole' of an information system. How formats can be used in information systems design is discussed as well as how this leads to the act of sketching as an important but neglected activity in information systems design. Sketching is promoted by introducing diathenic graphologue as the art of 'giving form to the unknown'. The paper ends by suggesting how formats and diathenic graphologue can be practised and included as important aspects of information systems design education and training.     

The application of information systems for the design and operation of flexible machining cells

The use of information systems in manufacturing applications has dramatically changed over the last few years. The design and implementation of somewhat dated relational databases has been replaced by the generation of information models, that can be simultaneously used for the development of information systems and satisfy their integration requirements. Over the last ten years the authors have been involved in a series of research programmes focusing on the design and operation of flexible machining cells. The use of information systems has been a central theme and the enabling technology to achieve a number of novel design concepts and operational strategies for such cells. The initial research was based on the utilization of relational databases to integrate a variety of modelling and design tools. However, the additional effort required to integrate such databases to manufacturing software tools, in the form of developing file translators, information gateways and interfac es, has made the authors adopt a new approach. With this approach the information requirements are represented in a neutral format within a data model, using a formal data specification language developed by the Standards for the Exchange of Product (STEP) committee. This paper describes these changes in the design and implementation of information systems in manufacturing applications, and provides an initial view of future research requirements.     

CIMS系统集成详细设计

首先阐述了CIMS系统集成与信息集成的概念、内涵及两者之间的关系;然后讨论了CIMS系统集成详细设计的主要任务以及集成实现的诸多机制;最后给出了某863－CIMS应用示范工程的信息集成详细设计方案。     

信息网络系统建设引入第三方设计的必要性

信息网络系统建设是一个复杂的系统工程,这么一个复杂的工程需要各方面互相配合,共同来实施。信息网络系统的勘测设计单位在信息网络系统建设过程中得地位十分重要,而目前我国在信息网络系统建设方面还没有实施勘测设计制度,本文将就信息网络系统勘测设计单位的重要性进行探讨。     

Security Attack Testing (SAT)—testing the security of information systems at design time

For the last few years a considerable number of efforts have been devoted into integrating security issues into information systems development practices. This has led to a number of languages, methods, methodologies and techniques for considering security issues during the developmental stages of an information system. However, these approaches mainly focus on security requirements elicitation, analysis and design issues and neglect testing. This paper presents the Security Attack Testing (SAT) approach, a novel scenario-based approach that tests the security of an information system at the design time. The approach is illustrated with the aid of a real-life case study involving the development of a health and social care information system.     

Developing a maturity model for service systems in heavy equipment manufacturing enterprises

Heavy equipment manufacturing firms are increasingly challenged by the integration of service planning and execution in their established product-centred information systems (IS) environment. Despite a few standardisation efforts, there is no common understanding of service systems in industry goods companies and the corresponding requirements for the appropriation of information systems. We address this need by developing a maturity model. The design of the model is grounded in extant literature, focus group and case study research involving eleven organisations over 1.5 years. The evaluation confirms that the maturity model makes a novel and useful contribution to the design of service systems.     

Natural language interface for information management on mobile devices

A natural language interface (NLI) enables the ease-of-use of information systems in performing sophisticated human - computer interaction. To address the challenges of mobile devices to user interaction in information management, we propose an NLI as a promising solution. In this paper, we review state-of-the-art NLI technologies and analyse user requirements for managing notable information on mobile devices. To minimize any technical difficulties arising from developing and improving the usability of NLI systems we develop general principles for NLI design, which fills in a gap in the literature. In order to satisfy user requirements for information management on mobile devices, we innovatively design NLI-enabled information management architecture. It is shown from two usage scenarios that the architecture could lead to reduced effort in user navigation and improved efficiency and effectiveness of managing information on mobile devices. We conclude the article with the implications of this study and suggestions for future direction.     

多源数据融合技术在后备干部管理系统中的应用

随着社会信息化进程的逐步深入,各部门中已有业务系统在数据集成和信息共享方面存在不足,已达不到对信息资源整体开发利用的要求,这给后备干部信息管理工作带来了诸多不便.针对后备干部管理的业务特点和信息化的发展趋势,研发一个以数据集成和信息共享为目标的后备干部管理系统显得尤为重要.通过全面分析后备干部管理的业务需求和数据特点,提出了基于.NET平台和SQLite数据库的后备干部管理系统的设计方案,并以河南省为应用实例,验证了该系统设计方案的合理性和有效性.     

基于COM+的信息系统软件体系结构设计的市场模式

基于组件的多层客户服务器结构信息系统软件体系结构设计是信息系统开发中的新问题,它不同于面向对象系统的软件体系结构设计,更不同于结构化方法中软件模块结构设计。该文提出了一种基于COM+组件的信息系统软件体系结构设计模式———市场模式,并详细地论述了市场模式在信息系统体系结构各层次上应用的基本原理和方法。     

Improving situation awareness in crisis response teams: An experimental analysis of enriched information and centralized coordination

In responding to an emergency, the actions of emergency response teams critically depend upon the situation awareness the team members have acquired. Situation awareness, and the design of systems to support it, has been a focus in recent emergency management research. In this paper, we introduce two interventions to the core processes of information processing and information sharing in emergency response teams to analyze their effect on the teams’ situation awareness: (1) we enrich raw incoming information by adding a summary of the information received, and (2) we channel all incoming information to a central coordinator who then decides upon further distribution within the team. The effect of both interventions is investigated through a controlled experiment with experienced professional responders. Our results show distinctly different effects for information enrichment and centralization, both for the teams and for the coordinators within the team. While the interaction effects of both conditions cannot be discerned, it is apparent that processing non-enriched information and non-centralized information sharing leads to a worse overall team situation awareness. Our work suggests several implications for the design of emergency response management information systems.     

Extending the information delivery manual approach to identify information requirements for performance analysis of HVAC systems

Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) systems account for more than 15% of the total energy consumption in the US. In order to improve the energy efficiency of HVAC systems, researchers have developed hundreds of algorithms to automatically analyze their performance. However, the complex information, such as configurations of HVAC systems, layouts and materials of building elements and dynamic data from the control systems, required by these algorithms inhibits the process of deploying them in real-world facilities. To address this challenge, we envision a framework that automatically integrates the required information items and provides them to the performance analysis algorithms for HVAC systems. This paper presents an approach to identify and document the information requirements from the publications that describe these algorithms. We extend the Information Delivery Manual (IDM) approach so that the identified information requirements can be mapped to multiple information sources that use various formats and schemas. This paper presents the extensions to the IDM approach and the results of using it to identify information requirements for performance analysis algorithms of HVAC systems.     

Integrating diverse information resources in a case-based design environment

The success of case-based design aids depends both on the case-based reasoning processes they apply and on effectively integrating those processes into the larger task context: on making the case-based reasoning component present case information at the right time and in the right way, on exploiting additional information resources as needed to supplement the case library and to guide case application, on capturing useful information from current reasoning and providing it to up- and down-stream designers, and on unobtrusively learning new cases during the design process. This article presents a set of principles and techniques for integrated case-based design support systems and illustrates their application through a case study of the Stamping Advisor, a system to support feasibility analysis for sheet metal automotive parts.     

Mass customized/personalized manufacturing in Industry 4.0 and blockchain: Research challenges,main problems,and the design of an information architecture

Mass customized and mass personalized production has become facilitated by the fourth industrial revolution. The resulting industrial environments require the development of information systems able to take the specifications of customers and convey them to the production system in such a way as to contribute to the coordination of all the stakeholders and activities required to fulfill the orders of the customers. This is beyond the capabilities of traditional systems based on MRP and ERP, since the information should be managed in a flexible and decentralized way to exploit the Smart Manufacturing facilities of Industry 4.0. Blockchain, instead, is a technology that provides those features constituting a sound information supporting basis for mass customized/personalized production. Consequently, we explore the potential of blockchain as an information technology able to support industries that base their business models on mass customized/personalized production processes. This survey allows us to identify important challenges for further developments, highlighting three issues in the production setting: (i) to deepen the interoperability of systems, (ii) to generate more implementations, and (iii) to develop efficient consensus protocols. As a response to these insights we provide a conceptual design of how blockchain contributes to managing efficiently mass customized production systems. In our design the information of customer specifications can be fused with data from the production process to generate a plan to fulfill the demand. This design arises as a solution approach to three stated problem, which are faced by mass customized production systems.     

Human factors in information technology: The socio-organisational aspects of expert systems design

This paper looks beyond the mostly technical and business issues that currently inform the design of knowledge-based systems (e.g., expert systems) to point out that there is also a social and organisational (a socio-organisational) dimension to the issues affecting the design decisions of expert systems and other information technologies. It argues that whilst technical and business issues are considered before the design of Expert Systems, that socio-organisational issues determine the acceptance and long-run utility of the technology after it has been implemented. It shows how four issues within the organisation can affect the design or the after-effects of the design and implementation of the technology. It also shows how the four issues can be considered within the structured phases of expert system development.     

基于云计算的信息管理系统的研究

随着云计算技术的飞速发展,云计算在管理信息系统中的发展中作用日益凸显。基于云计算的管理信息系统多数是基于SaaS技术构建的。本文针对大型餐饮企业业务复杂度高、IT软硬件基础薄弱和企业管理软件的实施难度较大这一现状,设计了基于云计算的餐饮管理信息系统,该系统具有高效、便捷、节能、安全、低成本等特点。     

一种优化模糊划分的遗传方法

模糊隶属函数是设计模糊系统的一个关键概念.如何生成适当的隶属函数已成为30年来一个富有挑战性的问题.利用遗传算法和信息熵来解决模糊区域划分和优化,用信息熵来作为适应度评价函数的标准.最后,利用Matlab对所给算法进行了实验,得到一个优化的模糊区域划分.     

基于XML的信息集成系统的研究与实现

研究了基于XML的共享信息的表达,通过共享信息模型实现了异构分系统间的信息传递和共享。最后结合实际CAPE项目,以统一数据访问平台为例,对以上技术的可行性进行了验证。     

Information system ecology: An application of dataphoric ascendancy

Information systems, like biological systems, are susceptible to external perturbations. Similar to flora and fauna in a biome, species of data can be classified within a dataphora. While entropic properties and data geometries can be used to describe local species of data within a dataphora, they are not designed to describe the global properties of an information system or evaluate its stability. Ecologists have used Information Theories to describe macro-level properties of biological ecosystems and statistical tools to evaluate biological systems. This research leverages an ecological perspective to model information systems as a living system. Our findings support the theory of dataphoric ascendancy with Wikipedia having a Diversity Index value of 0.68, within the range of 0.65 and 0.80 that indicates a balanced state. We further support our findings with additional evaluations of other ecosystems including the predicted collapse of the information service known as the Digital Universe. This research allows for an information system’s stability to be (a) characterized and (b) predicted using ecological measures specific to the diversity of data within the ecosystem.     

基于Delphi的器材管理系统分析与设计

本文首先介绍了器材管理的基本内容,并在此基础上采用Delphi7和SQLServer2000设计开发了满足器材各种管理需求的管理信息系统。     

The paradox of information systems: strategic value and low status

Information systems (IS) have provided dramatic returns for some organisations. For many others, IS underpin most of their activities. Spending on IS can be very high. Few organisations can function without adequate IS. Yet, there is an apparent paradox in the reliance on information systems and supporting information technologies (IT) on the one hand and the status of the information systems function on the other. While information systems can be critical to an organisation's ability to conduct and develop business, the information systems function is often considered as a secondary activity. To explore the paradox, this paper uses a cultural web model to assess the status of IS and IT activities as evidenced in the literature and through the study of four organisations. These serve to demonstrate the contradiction between the extent to which large organisations appear to rely on information systems and the low status of the information systems function. The implications of this are explored, and it is suggested that IS can be exploited fully only if there is a change in attitude and thereby an increase in status of the information systems function.