9.613 Using Information Technology 1

Class 4

Management of Data,

Information and Knowledge

Asper School of Business9.613 Using Information Technology

Part-Time MBA, December 2001Instructor: Bob Travica

9.613 Using Information Technology 2

•Data, Information, Knowledge

Outline

•Data, Information, Knowledge - MIS Focus

•Technology for Managing Data/Information

•Managing Information - Life Cycle Metaphor

•Technology for Information Management

•Knowledge Management--separate slides

9.613 Using Information Technology 3

Data, Information, Knowledge - Relationships

Data

Information Knowledge

Size, Complexity, Management Cost):

low high

DataInform

ation

Knowle

dge

More

9.613 Using Information Technology 4

• Data refers to sets of symbols (textual, visual, audio) that may have some generic meaning or no meaning.

(e.g., “bob” vs “cpc”; “client”)

• Information refers to data with specific meaning. Usually implies putting data in some context (sentence, other data).

(e.g., “bob is my friend”, “bob not meaning beans in a Slavic language”; “cpc is encrypted ‘bob’ ”; “client device sends requests to the server; database record)

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• Knowledge refers to interconnected information that signifies what is/will be, why is/will be, and how to do.

Or, WHAT: semantics (definition), taxonomy (classification), episodic (description), ontology (all of this and analysis/synthesis) &

HOW: procedural knowledge--how to do.

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• Relationships between data, information and knowledge For example, - data provides building blocks for information and information does so for knowledge; - knowledge facilitates creation of information from data; - new data changes information, new information changes knowledge

• Fuzzy boundaries between information and knowledge

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1960

Data -

stora

ge IT cr

itica

l

Info

rmat

ion

- use

of i

nfo

for

decis

ion

mak

ing;

impr

oved

DBMS, M

IS, D

SS

Knowle

dge

1990

19801970

Data, Information, Knowledge - MIS Focus Evolution

• In MIS, these 3 usually called information resources• Point of confusion (!): “information” used in broader sense to include all 3

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Information Resources - some modern issues

• More vs. less structured information (records vs. documents)

• Hypertext-based structures as pattern of linked data/info

• Data about data -- metadata or information/knowledge (data dictionary; data definitions in DBMS; tags in markup languages)

9.613 Using Information Technology 9

Technology for Managing Data/Information

Paper Files

Electronic (“Flat”) Files

DBMS

time

Tech

nolo

gy

• DBMS models (hierarchical, network, relational, object)

• Challenges of multimedia data

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Newer Database Developments

• Data Warehousing

• Data Mining

• Online Analytical Processing (OLAP)

• Grayish area: borderline between information and knowledge?

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Managing Information - Life Cycle Metaphor

Collect,Create

Discard (after x cycles)

Filter

Organize

Store

Transfer,Share

Retrieve Use

Update

• Knowledge management uses similar cycle

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Technology for Information Management

• Information filtering (reduce size - increase relevance)

• Databases (organize, store, retrieve)

• Management Information Systems Decision support systems (knowledge implications)

• Communication (transfer, create)

• Groupware (create, store, share)

9.613 Using Information Technology 13

Knowledge Management

Note: Check the other set of slides.