Chapter 1 1. What is the difference between Data and Information? a. Data: raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event that, in isolation, have little meaning b. Information: data organized in a meaningful way to be useful to the user 2. What makes Information useful? c. Data is often processed (aggregated, sorted, etc.) and then combined with the appropriate context d. Decision makers typically require useful information to make decisions e. Must be relevant and reliable 3. Define “Relevant” in the context of useful information. f. Predictive value (helps with forecasting the future). g. Feedback value (corrects or confirms what had been predicted in the past). h. Timeliness (available when needed or in time to have an impact on a decision). i. Information must be relevant to the decision maker j. Information is relevant only if it would affect a business decision k. Information is relevant when it helps users predict what will happen in the future (predictive value) or evaluate how past decisions actually worked out (feedback value). l. It is also relevant if the information is received in time to affect their decisions (timeliness). 4. Define “Reliable” in the context of useful information. m. Predictive value (helps with forecasting the future). n. Feedback value (corrects or confirms what had been predicted in the past). o. Timeliness (available when needed or in time to have an impact on a decision). p. Information is reliable if users can depend on it to be free from bias and error q. Information is verifiable by internal and external parties and faithfully represents the substance of the underlying economic transaction 5. What is the difference between Discretionary and Mandatory information? r. Discretionary: i. Managerial accounting information is generally produced for internal information purposes ii. No law requiring that it be provided to management iii. Management simply decides what information they need to track and build an information system to track it s. Mandatory: iv. financial and tax accounting information is produced for external information purposes such as for investors, banks, financial analysts, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) v. Should be produced if the value of the information it provides to management is worth more than the cost to produce it vi. Usually produced at the lowest possible cost to comply with the laws of the regulators (e.g., Securities and Exchange Commission, IRS, state banking commission, state tax commission, etc.) 6. What impact does AIS have on the Value Chain? Pick two different support activities and two different primary activities and describe how AIS can affect firm value through these activities. t. Business Process: a coordinated, standardized set of activities conducted by both people and equipment to accomplish a specific task, such as invoicing a customer u. Value Chain: vii. A chain of business processes for a firm viii. Products pass through all activities of the chain in order; at each activity, the product is expected to gain some value ix. It is important not to confuse the concept of the value chain with the actual cost of performing those activities v. Support Activities: x. Firm infrastructure activities are all of the activities needed to support the firm, including the CEO and the finance, accounting, and legal departments. xi. Human resource management activities include recruiting, hiring, training, and compensating employees. xii. Technology activities include all of the technologies necessary to support value-creating activities. These technologies also include research and development to develop new products or determine ways to produce products at a cheaper price. xiii. Procurement activities involve purchasing inputs such as raw materials, supplies, and equipment. w. Primary Activities: directly provide value to the customer xiv. Inbound logistics are the activities associated with receiving and storing raw materials and other partially completed materials and distributing those materials to manufacturing when and where they are needed. xv. Operations are the activities that transform inputs into finished goods and services (e.g., turning wood into furniture for a furniture manufacturer; building a house for a home builder). xvi. Outbound logistics are the activities that warehouse and distribute the finished goods to the customers. xvii. Marketing and sales activities identify the needs and wants of customers to help attract them to the firm’s products and, thus, buy them. xviii. Service activities provide the support of customers after the products and services are sold to them (e.g., warranty repairs, parts, instruction manuals, etc.). x. Impact: xix. An AIS can add value to the firm by making each primary activity more effective and efficient xx. Some of the greatest gains in efficiencies and cost savings in logistics (transportation and warehousing costs, etc.) are due to the use of AIS and geographic information systems to help identify the lowest cost of getting items from one location to another xxi. AIS systems can make marketing, sales, and service activities more valuable by summarizing data about key customers to help manage and nurture a firm’s interactions with its clients y. An AIS: xxii. Helps with the firm infrastructure by giving management information relevant to the decision makers. xxiii. May also help provide the internal control structure needed to make sure the information is secure, reliable, and free from error (as discussed in Chapter 10). xxiv. Helps produce external and internal financial reports efficiently and helps decision makers get timely access to the processed information. This may give the information to the decision maker in time to influence the decision. xxv. Supports the human resources function by assisting employees, who are arguably the most valuable asset of the firm. This assistance includes easy access to payroll information, compensation policies, benefits, tax benefits, and so on. xxvi. Assists procurement by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the supply chain. This helps ensure that right product is at the right location at the right time, including receipts of raw material from suppliers to delivery of finished goods to the customers. 7. How does supply chain management (SCM) software increase a firm’s efficiency? 8. What is Customer Relationship Management (CRM)? How does using CRM software improve sales and marketing? 9. Organize the following IT investments from lowest strategic role to highest strategic role: a. Informate-up b. Transform c. Automate d. Informate-down 10. What is the impact/definition of each of the 4 IT investments listed above?
Chapter 2 11. Why is it valuable for an individual in the Accounting/Finance functional area of business to gain the skills of business analysis and working with AIS? 12. What is a Business Analyst (i.e., what is the Business Analysis skillset?) 13. Define documentation and describe four uses of it. 14. What is a methodology? (this will be from your notes, not the text) 15. What is the System Life Cycle, and what are the different phases? (this will be from your notes, not the text) 16. What is an Activity Model? What does it need to be able to describe? 17. What is BPMN? 18. What is the symbol for a start and end event in BPMN? 19. What is the symbol for an Activity in BPMN? 20. What is the symbol for a Gateway in BPMN? What is a Gateway? 21. Draw the Activity Model for purchasing a used textbook at the campus bookshop. Have at least yourself (the student purchasing a textbook) and the salesperson for the bookshop as two different roles.
Chapter 3 22. What is a Structure Model? How does it differ from an Activity Model? 23. What must a Structure Model be able to describe? 24. Define Classes. What is the symbol used to represent a class? 25. Define Associations. How is a generic association drawn? 26. Define Multiplicities. 27. Define Primary Keys. 28. Define Foreign Keys (place it in the context of Primary Keys). 29. Define Attributes. 30. What is a Table Listing? 31. What is a Business Rule? Write out an example of each of the following rule forms: z. Obligatory {. Prohibited |. Allowed
Chapter 4 32. Define Database. 33. What does it mean for a relational data model to be “Flexible and Scalable”? 34. What does it mean for a relational data model to reduce information redundancy? 35. What is a Data Dictionary? What purpose does it serve? 36. What is a Database Administrator (DBA)? 37. What is the Entity Integrity Rule? 38. What is the Referential Integrity Rule? 39. How do we ensure that these two rules are followed when we build relationships in Microsoft Access? 40. Be familiar with navigating through Access, from creating a new table, creating new fields and setting their data types, designating primary keys, and relating them to foreign keys in the Relationships Window, and ensuring referential integrity.

KNOW DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FIELD AND RECORD
BPMN (START, END, GATEWAY, ETC) (KNOW ALL SYMBOLS)
TABLE LISTING (PAGE 71)
SYSTEM LIFE CYCLE