Description

Based on “Business Informatics 1” (OWIN), this course covers fundamentals, development, and introduction of Information and Communication Systems (ICS) for enterprises. It can roughly be divided into four parts as follows: 

In the first part, the nature and role of ICS are briefly recapitulated, and an overview of Enterprise Modelling as a holistic view on ICS in enterprises is given. 

In order to present the functionality and architecture of ICS, the second part begins with a closer look into ICS. First the two related concepts and terms of Information Systems (IS) and Communication Systems (CS) are analysed as both are often used in the literature, but their heritage and relation is rarely made clear. Following this distinction, IS architectures and corresponding IS models are discussed and layer-based communication and network typologies for CS are covered in more detail.

The third part is concerned with the development of ICS and begins with the introduction of management concepts for ICS-related projects. Subsequently, software development process models (SDPM) are presented and characterised. Since the modelling of ICS and their architectures constitutes an integral part of SDPM, several ICS modelling approaches (e.g. object-oriented or data-oriented models) are covered in more detail. This part is completed by providing an overview of programming and markup languages as means for the implementation of the previously discussed IS models. In addition, the Structured Query Language (SQL) as most commonly used means for ICS to access and manipulate its application data is discussed.

The course is completed by its fourth part covering the Business Process Reengineering (BPR) approach. Enterprises have a continuous obligation to align  their processes to new business objectives or to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their processes. Whereas this traditionally led to Business Process Alignment and Optimisation activities, the introduction of BRP significantly contrasts to these approaches by calling for radical redesign of business processes.