EXECUTION SYSTEMS

The information system categories discussed so far (visit : http://www.management4all.org/2014/03/computer-based-information-systems.html) are primarily oriented toward planning and control activities or toward general office and communication activities. What about systems designed to directly support people doing the value added work that customers care about, such as practicing medicine, designing buildings, or selling investments? Some people call these systems “functional area systems”. Because there is no generally accepted term from information systems that support value added work, we will call them execution systems. These systems have become much more important in the last decade as advances in computer speed, memory capacity, and portability made it increasingly possible to use computerized systems directly while doing value added work. Such systems help plastic surgeons design operation and show the likely results to their patients, help lawyers find precedents relevant to lawsuits, and help maintenance engineers keep machines running. 

Expert systems are a type of execution system that has received attention as an offshoot of artificial intelligence research. An expert system supports the intellectual work of professionals engaged in design, diagnosis, or evaluation of complex situations requiring expert knowledge in a well-defined area. Expert systems have been used to diagnose diseases, configure computers, analyze chemicals, interpret geological data, and support many other problem solving processes. This type of work requires expert knowledge of the process of performing particular tasks. Although these tasks may have some repetitive elements, many situations have unique characteristics that must be considered based on expert knowledge. Intellectual work even in narrowly defined areas is typically much less repetitive than transaction processing general office work.