Management Information

System
Assignment-2 (case study)

Topic

Use of MS Access in MIS

 What is MIS?
 The standard definition
 A supporter of business
 A program in the SBA at OU
 A career
 A mindset, a way of thinking

Session #1 - Intro to MIS 100 2

 What is MIS? – Some Standard
Definitions
A work system produces products for internal and
external customers through a business process
performed by human participants with the help of
information and technology. Example: Registration
A management information system is a work system
that uses information technology to capture, transmit,
store, retrieve, manipulate or display information,
thereby supporting other work systems. Example: SAIL
Management information system - A set of
interrelated components that collect, manipulate
& disseminate data & information & provide
feedback to meet an objective.

Session #1 - Intro to MIS 100 3

What is Information Technology?
 Hardware
 Computers – PC’s, mainframes, workstations, handheld
 Data input – keyboard, mouse, pen, touchscreen, microphone
 Data storage – hard disk, CD/DVD, magnetic tape, removable
disks
 Date output – monitor, paper, audio
 Data transmission – networks, cables, routers, hubs
 Software
 Programming languages – Java, C++, C#, Visual Basic, COBOL
 Applications – spreadsheets, database managers
 Systems software and Operating systems – Windows XP/2000/98,
NT, Linux, Unix

Session #1 - Intro to MIS 100 4

What is MIS? – A Enabler of Business
 MIS is about applying information
technology to business problems. The
emphasis is on finding solutions.

 To the MIS professional, information

technology is a tool, not an end in
itself.

Session #1 - Intro to MIS 100 5

A spreadsheet app for analyzing surgical
recovery room occupancy
 Transaction Processing Systems
 Process business exchanges
 Maintain records about the exchanges
 Handle routine, yet critical, tasks
 Perform simple calculations
 We’ll build some of these using MS Access

Session #1 - Intro to MIS 100 7

 Management Information Systems
(MIS)
 Routine information for routine decisions
 Operational efficiency
 Use transaction data as main input
 Databases integrate MIS in different
functional areas
 We’ll do some of this using Excel and
Access

Session #1 - Intro to MIS 100 8

 Decision Support Systems (DSS)
 Interactive support for non-routine or extremely
complex decisions or problems
 End-users are more involved in creating a DSS
than an MIS
 Data may be integrated from numerous internal
and external information systems
 DSS = Data + models + user interface
 We’ll do some neat stuff with Excel

Session #1 - Intro to MIS 100 9

After MIS 100, you should be able to:
 Converse intelligently about the basic concepts and terminology of
computing and information systems.
 Have a working knowledge of the fundamentals of desktop
application software packages (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint,
and Access)
 Use desktop application software to facilitate communication,
decision support and process support in typical business settings –
i.e. solve business problems using personal IT
 Effectively use the Internet and computing resources available at
Oakland University.
 Begin to understand what it means to be a problem solver using IT

Session #1 - Intro to MIS 100 10

 The Flow of MIS 100

 Before each lecture session

 read through any assigned readings from the
InBusiness text or the Tech in Action Text
 make sure you can answer the Review questions
 read any other related material assigned (e.g. web)

Session #1 - Intro to MIS 100 11

 The Flow of MIS 100
 During the lecture sessions
 Intro to the software being used
 Discussion of concepts related to using the software
in practice
 Discussion of relating IT current events, concepts,
trends, gizmos, etc.
 Explore relevant web sites
 Homework guidance
 Questions and answers, group help
 The midterm and final exams

Session #1 - Intro to MIS 100 12

 The Flow of MIS 100
 During the optional lab sessions
 202EH on MW from 3-5
 Work on Video Workshop tutorials to learn
specific techniques
 Work on homework projects
 Get help from the lab assistant and classmates

 Often on Friday, instead of lecture, I’ll be in

223EH teaching lab from 12-1:07.

Session #1 - Intro to MIS 100 13

 Why MS Office 2007?
 You will use Office 2007 at OU.
 Highly, highly likely you have used or you will use
MS Office in your professional work.
 MS Office is comprehensive:
 Office productivity software
 Information systems development environment
 End-user tools
 Prototypes
 Office 2007 is good vehicle for illustrating MIS concepts
 We will see non-Microsoft alternatives such as
OpenOffice

Session #1 - Intro to MIS 100 14

 Microsoft Access

 Microsoft Office Access, previously known as

Microsoft Access, is a pseudo-
relational database management system
from Microsoft that combines the
relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine
with a graphical user interface and
software-development tools. It is a
member of the Microsoft Office suite of
applications, included in the Professional
and higher editions or sold separately.
 Uses of Access in MIS
 Microsoft Access is used to create simple database solutions. Access tables
support a variety of standard field types, indices, and referential integrity.
Access also includes a query interface, forms to display and enter data,
and reports for printing. The underlying Jet database, which contains these
objects, is multiuser-aware and handles record-locking and referential
integrity including cascading, updates and deletes.
 Simple tasks can be automated through macros with point-and-click
options. Microsoft Access is very popular among non-programmers who
can create visually pleasing and relatively advanced solutions on their own.
It is also easy to place a database on a network and have multiple users
share and update data without overwriting each other's work. Data is
locked at the record level which is significantly different from Excel which
locks the entire spreadsheet.
 Microsoft offers a wide range of template databases within the program
and for download from their website. These options are available upon
starting Access and allow users to quickly use and enhance a database
with pre-defined tables, queries, forms, reports, and macros. Popular
templates include tracking contacts, assets, issues, events, projects, and
tasks. Templates do not include VBA code.
 Features
 Users can create tables, queries, forms and reports, and connect them together with
macros. Advanced users can use VBA to write rich solutions with advanced
data manipulation and user control.
 The original concept of Access was for end users to be able to "access" data from
any source. Other uses include: the import and export of data to many formats
including Excel, Outlook, ASCII, dBase, Paradox, FoxPro, SQL Server, Oracle, ODBC,
etc. It also has the ability to link to data in its existing location and use it for viewing,
querying, editing, and reporting. This allows the existing data to change and the
Access platform to always use the latest data. It can perform heterogeneous joins
between data sets stored across different platforms. Access is often used by people
downloading data from enterprise level databases for manipulation, analysis, and
reporting locally.
 There is also the Jet Database format (MDB or ACCDB in Access 2007) which can
contain the application and data in one file. This makes it very convenient to
distribute the entire application to another user, who can run it in disconnected
environments.
 One of the benefits of Access from a programmer's perspective is its relative
compatibility with SQL (structured query language) — queries can be viewed
graphically or edited as SQL statements, and SQL statements can be used directly in
Macros and VBA Modules to manipulate Access tables. Users can mix and use both
VBA and "Macros" for programming forms and logic and offers object-oriented
possibilities. VBA can also be included in queries.
 Microsoft Access offers parameterized queries. These queries and Access tables can
be referenced from other programs like VB6 and .NET through DAO or ADO. From
Microsoft Access, VBA can reference parameterized stored procedures via ADO.
 Access to SQL Server Upsizing
(SQL as a backend)
 To scale Access applications to enterprise or web solutions, one possible technique
involves migrating to Microsoft SQL Server or equivalent server database. A client–
server design significantly reduces maintenance and increases security, availability,
stability, and transaction logging.
 Access includes an Upsizing Wizard that allows users to upsize their databases to
Microsoft SQL Server, an ODBC client–server database. An additional solution, the
SQL Server Migration Assistant for Access (SSMA), is also available for download
from Microsoft.[9]
 A variety of upsizing options are available.[10] After migrating the data and queries
to SQL Server, the MDB/ACCDB Access database can be linked to the database. This
is the easiest migration and most appropriate if the user does not have rights to
create objects such as stored procedures on SQL Server. Retrieving data from linked
tables is optimized to just the records needed, but this scenario operates less
efficiently for multi-table joins that may require copying the whole table across the
network.
 Access databases can also be converted to Access Data Projects (ADP) which is tied
directly to one SQL Server database. ADPs support the ability to directly create and
modify SQL Server objects such as tables, views, stored procedures, views, and SQL
Server constraints. The views and stored procedures can significantly reduce the
network traffic for multi-table joins. Fortunately, SQL Server supports temporary
tables and links to other data sources beyond the single SQL Server database.
 Protection
 Microsoft Access offers several ways to secure the application while allowing users to
remain productive.
 The most basic is a database password. Once entered, the user has full control of all
the database objects. This is a relatively weak form of protection which can be easily
cracked.
 A higher level of protection is the use of workgroup security requiring a user name
and password. Users and groups can be specified along with their rights at the
object type or individual object level. This can be used to specify people with
readonly or data entry rights but may be challenging to specify. A separate
workgroup security file contains the settings which can be used to manage multiple
databases. Workgroup security is not supported in the Access 2007 ACCDB database
format, although Access 2007 still supports it for MDB databases.
 Databases can also be encrypted. The ACCDB format offers significantly advanced
encryption from previous versions .
 Additionally, if the database design needs to be secured to prevent changes, Access
databases can be locked/protected (and the source code compiled) by converting the
database to a .MDE file. All changes to the VBA project (modules, forms, or reports)
need to be made to the original MDB and then reconverted to MDE. In Access 2007,
the ACCDB database is converted to an ACCDE file. Some tools are available for
unlocking and "decompiling", although certain elements including original VBA
comments and formatting are normally irretrievable.