Information engineering

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Information engineering is a comprehensive term for the methodology (i.e. the methods, techniques, tools and their application) of information management , a central term in business informatics , which is used, among other things, to designate chairs, institutes, subjects and (at universities of applied sciences) courses of study (short name : IE). Introduced into the specialist literature by Clive Finkelstein , in another view by James Martin ; both understand the application of formal methods for planning, analysis, design and construction of information systems on a company-wide basis or in essential company areas. The methods build on one another and are in some ways dependent on one another.

Definition according to James Martin

James Martin puts it this way: "The application of an interlocking set of formal techniques for the planning, analysis, design and construction of information systems, applied on an enterprisewide basis or across a major sector of an enterprise".

Because companies are complex and complicated, company-wide planning, analysis, design and implementation of information systems are not possible without tools. With reference to tools, information engineering is defined by J. Martin as follows: “An interlocking set of automated techniques in which enterprise models, data models, and process models are built up in a comprehensive knowledge base and are used to create and maintain data processing systems ".

Definition according to Clive Finkelstein

Clive Finkelstein emphasizes the personal aspect of information engineering when he states: "The availability of managers and users with an expert knowledge of their business ... is an essential requirement". He also demands partnerships from managers and users on the one hand and professional developers on the other. He defines information engineering as follows: "Information engineering is an integrated set of techniques, based on corporate strategic planning, which results in the analysis, design and development of systems which supports those plans exactly. Information engineering is applied by managers and users with no knowledge of computers, but instead with an expert knowledge of their business - in conjunction with expert systems which provide rapid feedback to management for refinement of the strategic plans ".

Another feature of Clive Finkelstein's definition is that information engineering is based on strategic planning. Since in practice procedures are referred to as information engineering that run “from bottom to top”, a distinction is made between two fundamentally different approaches.

approaches

Clive Finkelstein and other authors describe the approach that is widespread in practice as conventional or dv-driven information engineering. Conventional information engineering is based on the functions or processes that exist in the company. Modern information engineering is company-oriented, business-driven information engineering (originally referred to as DP-driven or business-driven). It starts from the strategic company goals and proceeds “from top to bottom” (especially via the existing, changed or new business model) until it reaches the functions and processes that are being implemented. In other words: modern information engineering follows the top-down approach.

A labeling of information engineering geared to the needs of practice is given with the following principles (according to Ernst & Young International, Ltd.):

  • Emphasis on data sharing: data and its structure are analyzed independently of the application task. Data models are used to define business data across applications and in such a way that corporate-wide data needs are met and data sharing is promoted.
  • User orientation: Throughout the design process, the role of the user is emphasized by using methods, e.g. B. Critical Competitive Factors, Joint Sessions (JST) and prototyping can be used.
  • Strategic basis: Determined and sustained commitment by top management, which is ensured by defining goals and objectives. The use of critical competitive factors ensures that strategically meaningful information systems are created for the company.
  • Emphasis on Business Analysis: Planning, analysis and design are given more importance than implementation by creating and using conceptual and logical models of company data and business processes.
  • Rigorous application of methods: The use of formal methods in all phases of the development process ensures consistency and enables correctness to be checked.
  • Automation of the methods: Tools are used to increase the productivity of system development and maintenance, and to coordinate and update the data, which can be used to check whether the information systems permanently support the critical competitive factors.
  • Communication: The use of graphic models promotes understanding between developers and users.
  • Decomposition: Since the successful processing of complex and complicated systems is not possible, their systematic decomposition is supported.
  • Joint session technique: A well-structured workshop environment is used, which is supported by certain moderation rules, visual aids and CASE tools.

Methods / techniques

Typical examples of information engineering are the following methods and techniques (with the appropriate tools):

Some methods or techniques complement each other, for example key figure systems and methods of cost and performance accounting for controlling as a cross-sectional task on all three levels of the IM model. Some methods and techniques are also to be understood as subsystems of other methods or techniques or to be used in this sense, for example methods of cost estimation supplement the methods of cost and performance accounting by determining the quantity structure required for cost accounting purposes (especially the personnel expenditure) help. The complex and complicated relationships between the methods and techniques cannot be explained in more detail without knowledge of these methods and techniques.

Information engineering course

Germany

A few universities in Germany now offer information engineering as a full course (in addition to "normal" computer science). This also includes the University of Konstanz , here is an extract from the official accreditation information:

"The aim of the training is to be an information engineer who searches for, filters, organizes and prepares, summarizes and presents data as information from a user-oriented perspective."

The course is very practice-oriented and does without a lot of theoretical / mathematical excursions. Of course, these are not entirely excluded, as they are part of the fundamental knowledge in the field of information science.

As a result of the university reform, this young course is only offered as a Bachelor / Master course.

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) offers a bachelor's and master's degree entitled "Information Engineering and Management".

Austria

In Austria, information engineering can be taken as a part-time master’s degree (“Information Engineering and Management” course on the Hagenberg campus of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria , which is the seat of the Faculty of Computer Science, Communication and Media) or as a specialization subject in the business informatics course ( Johannes Kepler University of Linz ).

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ kit.edu

literature

  • KS Brathwaite: Information Engineering. Vol. I: Concepts: Vol. II: Analysis and Administration. Vol. III: Development Issues. CRC Press, Boca Raton / FL 1992.
  • C. Finkelstein: An Introduction to Information Engineering. Addison-Wesley, Reading / Mass. 1989.
  • C. Finkelstein: Information Engineering. Strategic Systems Development. Addison-Wesley, Reading / Mass. 1992.
  • JS Hares: Information Engineering for the Advanced Practitioner. Wiley, Chichester 1992.
  • H. Heilmann, LJ Heinrich, F. Roithmayr (eds.): Information Engineering. Oldenbourg, Munich / Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-486-23063-8 .
  • LJ Heinrich: The current buzzword: information engineering. In: Business Informatics. 3/1991, pp. 247-248.
  • LJ Heinrich: Information. In: H. Corsten (Hrsg.): Lexicon of business administration. 4th edition. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich / Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-486-25415-4 , pp. 349-352.
  • LJ Heinrich: Information management - basics, tasks, methods. 11th edition. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2014, ISBN 978-3-11-034664-0 . especially chapter introduction and foundation. (1st to 3rd and 8th to 11th editions with co-author)
  • J. Martin, J. Leben: Strategic Information Planning Methodologies. 2nd Edition. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs / NJ 1989.
  • J. Martin: Information Engineering, Book I - Introduction. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs / NJ 1989, ISBN 0-13-464462-X .
  • J. Martin: Information Engineering, Book II - Planning & Analysis. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs / NJ 1990, ISBN 0-13-464885-4 .
  • J. Martin: Information Engineering, Book III - Design & Construction. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs / NJ 1990, ISBN 0-13-465501-X .
  • R. Missaoui: Formal Concept Analysis. Springer, 2006, ISBN 3-540-32203-5 .

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