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Unit 11: Information Services and Products of Documentation

11.3 Information Systems Notes

Information Systems (IS) is an academic/professional discipline bridging the business field and the
well-defined computer science field that is evolving toward a new scientific area of study. An
information systems discipline therefore, is supported by the theoretical foundations of information
and computations such that learned scholars have unique opportunities to explore the academics of
various business models as well as related algorithmic processes within a computer science discipline.

Typically, information systems or the more common legacy information systems include people,
procedures, data, software, and hardware (by degree) that are used to gather and analyze digital
information. Specifically computer-based information systems are complementary networks of
hardware/software that people and organizations use to collect, filter, and process, create, and
distribute data (computing).

Computer Information System(s) (CIS) is often a track within the computer science
field studying computers and algorithmic processes, including their principles, their
software and hardware designs, their applications, and their impact on society. Overall,
an IS discipline emphasizes functionality over design.

Figure 11.1

CS, Complex
Problems Customer
Support

Discovery
Information
System

Computer Science
Software Engineering
CS, Applied
Information Systems
Solutions
Information Technology
Customer
As illustrated by the Venn diagram, the history of information systems coincides with the history of
computer science that began long before the modern discipline of computer science emerged in the
twentieth century. Regarding the circulation of information and ideas, numerous legacy information
systems still exist today that are continuously updated to promote ethnographic approaches, to
ensure data integrity, and to improve the social effectiveness and efficiency of the whole process. In
general, information systems are focused upon processing information within organizations,
especially within business enterprises, and sharing the benefits with modern society.
A four level pyramid model of different types of Information Systems-based on the different levels of
hierarchy in an organization.

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