I, Business.

It is near impossible to define all the terms in Information Systems - new words and terminology come up every year. Couple this with the newer technologies booming, and it is easy to realize that IS is a vast field.

Computer-based information systems are developed and maintained continuously, under a field I shall henceforth pile under Systems Analysis and Design. Systems analysis contains many possible methods, and what a company uses depends upon the complexity of the IS, the company policies, time limits and other constraints.

The primary responsibility of analysing an IS falls on the shoulders of a Systems Analyst. I shall discuss this role in detail in another post, down the line. A systems analyst helps the system users and end users define their business requirements, hence tailoring the system to their needs.

There are many types of Information Systems - but they can be loosely classified into the following types.

1. Transaction Processing Systems

2. Management Information Systems

3. Desicion Supposrt Systems

Although the names are self-explanatory, i shall discuss these in slightly more detail in another post.

I shall also discuss the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC), and the various types of SDLC - from the primitive Waterfall model to the new and improved EXtreme Programming, Agile Technologies, among others. For starters, though, the SDLC is a common methodology followed by msot businesses today, to handle projects - right from inception and planning to execution and feedback from end users.