Information System - Example
An information system includes entities, input and output data, and process(es). As an example, in the payroll system - this is a Transaction Processing System - an internal entity is the accountant who processes the payment of the employee's salary or wages, and an external entity is the bank that processes the check to the employee. The employee's timesheet is data that flows into the system, and the employee's check is data that flows out of the payroll system. The procedure that transforms the system's input, the employee's timesheet, into system's output, the employee's check, is called a process. A system includes one or more processes, which are interconnected and mutually dependent.
Information Systems vs. Information Technology
Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) are two different areas of study. While IS studies computer technologies applied to business activities, IT refers to the study of computer science, which is a discipline that concentrates on hardware and software of computer systems.