INFORMATION-SYSTEMS - A CONSTRUCT OF TRANSFORMATIONS

The paper provides a classification and typology of various configurat ions which make up the definition of an Information System (IS), It is based on five basic building blocks: source, data, prediction, value, and action. Using those building blocks, it is possible to formally o utline many configurations including data base management systems (DEM S), decision support systems (DSS), expert systems (ES), and autonomou s intelligent machines (AM), This paper formally defines the building blocks, functions and operators of systems that fall into the class of information system, The result is a cohesive construct of transformat ions for IS through which a variety of new configurations and systems are enumerated and explained. Such model, may make it possible to asse mble an information system from ''of the shelf'' components rather tha n constructing it as done today.