Chapter 01: Requirements of the Executive Information System

An executive information system could be briefly defined as an Information System which is

more similar to a management information system for the purpose of decision making utilized
mainly by the senior executive by accessing internal and external data related to the
organization’s pre determined goals. (Wikipedia,2010)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_information_system

Executive information system is exceptional and expensive compared to other traditional

information systems because it is specifically maifacutred to executive's information needs and
are able to access data about specific issues and problems as well as aggregate reports while
providing extensive on-line analysis tools. Has access to a broad range of internal and external
data,userfriendly (typically mouse or touchscreen driven) are used directly by executives
without assistance present information in a graphical form.

http://dssresources.com/papers/features/kelly11072002.html

Requirements of an Executive information consist of four components. The basic primary two
requirements would be Hardware and Software followed by an User interface and sometimes
supported by Telecommunications. When assigning the Hardware component it is important to
focus on the need of the Executive staff because it should guarantee the advantage of user
friendliness.The

Input data-entry devices plays an important role since it allow the executive to enter,verify and
updata data in a rapid speed. The central processing unit (CPU) which is the core of the entire
system contraols the computer system components. The data storge files would be helpful to
retrieve historical data and business information. The output devices, which provide a visual or
permanent record for the executive to save or read. This device refers to the visual output device
or printer.

In addition, with the advent of local area networks (LAN), several EIS products for networked
workstations became available. These systems require less support and less expensive computer
hardware. They also increase access of the EIS information to many more users within a
company.
The software component should be text based ,should be helpful to the executive to acess both
external and internal data,should be graphic based and model based which means it should
contain a particular procedure for quantitative analysis both statistical and financial.

The other most important component is the user interface. This could include scheduled reports,
questions/answers, menu driven, command language, natural language, and input/output. It is
crucial that the interface must fit the decision maker’s decision-making style. If the executive is
not comfortable with the information questions/answers style, the EIS will not be fully utilized.
The ideal interface for an EIS would be simple to use and highly flexible, providing consistent
performance, reflecting the executive’s world, and containing help information. And also
utilization of telecommunication would increase the accuracy of data since it is capable of
transmitting data form one place to another.

Chapter 02: Executive Information System

When selecting a executive information system one should mainly consider the key features of it such as,
mostly it is preferable to be a web-based application where no plug-ins or downloads involved, easy to
access, the graphical display, provides multiple user accounts, the choose between different chart types
such as bar, pie and line, displays high summarized data and further more process in to detail level, a
good tracking progress with e-mail ,a signal critical situation with security alarm system and finally the
ability to output detailed, accurate and analytical reports rapidly.Worldwide there are may providers who
are enthusiastic to promote their developed system when a organization is seeking for system similar to
the executive information system,but one should always make the most accurate decision of purchasing a
system like this since it is quite expensive and should always match the organization’s need .

Below are some examples of Executive information Systems which are available globally, under
each system there is a very brief introduction, price and the required MB amount is indicated.

EXECUTIVE INFORMATION SYSTEM EXECUTIVE INFORMATION SYSTEM

SOFTWARE IN TITLE SOFTWARE IN DESCRIPTION
 Inventory Executive System
EZ Plan Pro: Executive Summary 101 Business & Productivity Tools -Inventory
Business & Productivity Systems, Shareware, $175.00, 1.3 MB
Tools - Legal, Commercial, $9.99, 504.8 KB
EZ Plan Pro: Executive Summary 101
In Business & Productivity
v Tools - Legal, Commercial, $9.99, 504.8 KB
e
Slide Executive Desktop
nt Business & Productivity Tools -Presentation
or Tools, Shareware, $79.00, 15.4 MB
y
E Inventory Executive System
Business & Productivity
x Tools, Shareware, $175.00, 1.3 MB
e
c Attachment Executive
Internet &
ut Networking - Email, Demo, $28.95, 2.1 MB
iv
e Jar2Exe Standard Edition
S Developer Tools, Shareware, $19.95, 586.7 KB
ys Slide Executive Add-in Collection
te Business & Productivity Tools -Presentation
m Tools, Shareware, $19.00, 668.0 KB
Bu Project.net
si Business & Productivity Tools -Project
ne Management, Freeware, $0.00, 110.0 MB
ss
& Acme CADPacker
Pr Multimedia & Design, Shareware, $99.95, 3.2
od MB
uc
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Quote IT Estimating Software
Business & Productivity Tools -
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Application, Shareware, $500.00, 776 B
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 Slide Executive Desktop
Business & Productivity Tools -Presentation
Tools, Shareware, $79.00, 15.4 MB
Inventory Executive System
Business & Productivity
Tools, Shareware, $175.00, 1.3 MB
Attachment Executive
Internet &
Networking - Email, Demo, $28.95, 2.1 MB
Jar2Exe Standard Edition
Developer Tools, Shareware, $19.95, 586.7 KB
Slide Executive Add-in Collection
Business & Productivity Tools -Presentation
Tools, Shareware, $19.00, 668.0 KB
Project.net
Business & Productivity Tools -Project
Management, Freeware, $0.00, 110.0 MB
Acme CADPacker
Multimedia & Design, Shareware, $99.95, 3.2
MB
Quote IT Estimating Software
Business & Productivity Tools -
Application, Shareware, $500.00, 776 B

From- Supershareware.com

Chapter 03: Description and the features of the EIS

There are millions of executive information systems available worldwide for different purposes
and tasks as in example to have a detail notion about a particular executive information system I
have chosen one form the above software provider as below mentioned

Slide Executive Desktop ( which is highlighted above)

This is one of the most simplest executive information system but which would be very useful.
Generally executives are the people who mostly do presentations, demonstrations to the
organization staff or to the buyers of their product, dealers and for similar purposes since they
hold a vast amount of responsibility of the organization. So for theses presentations they mostly
used to use PowerPoint slides. This is a particular executive information software which helps to
manage, search and reuse your existing PPT slides to create new presentations as an advantage of
time and power saving. Slide Executive Desktop is designed to help users find their existing
presentation assets and to quickly reuse them when building new presentations. The product will
scan the user’s computer, as well as any selected shares, for presentations and index them inside
the system. The repository or library is then intelligently updated so that it keeps track of any
presentations that may have changed or disappeared. The search and retrieval functionality is a
fast and powerful way of finding presentations or slides that can then be reused in new or
existing presentations. The search engine will return specific slides matching the criteria that can
then easily drag and drop into to the new presentation. If there is a need of an existing
presentation to be part of the new presentation then a simple drag and drop would be enough.
Using of the powerful drag and drop functionality of Slide Executive Desktop rearranges the
slides and simply save it as a new presentation applying to the template of choice. Slide
Executive Desktop also allows the executive to organize his/her presentations from a single
point.In my point of view before purchasing a product related to executive information systems it
is wise to check the trial version if it is provided to minimize future failures.Below is an image
which demonstration the functioning of this system
Chapter 04: Advantages and the Disadvantages of the software tool

The main advantage would be it is less time consuming, well organized, suitable for last minute
presentations ,minimizing errors, well structured, user-friendly, web based and help assistance is
provided 24/7,easy to retrieve historical slides and training is not required an initial
demonstration of ‘how it works’ would be sufficient for the executives.

The disadvantage would be minimize space capacity if it is not frequently used, suitable for
limited executives, would be an extra cost for an organization which does not have a stable
profit.
Overall there are more advantages and disadvantages of executive information systems of
different types as in the below table,

Advantages
 Easy for upper-level executives to use,
extensive computer experience is not required
in operations
 Provides timely delivery of company
summary information
 Information that is provided is better
understood
 Filters data for management
 Improves to tracking information
 Offers efficiency to decision makers
Disadvantages
 System dependent
 Limited functionality, by design
 Information overload for some managers
 Benefits hard to quantify
 High implementation costs
 System may become slow, large, and hard
to manage
 Need good internal processes for data
management
 May lead to less reliable and less secure
data

http://www.supershareware.com/info/slide-executive-desktop.html

http://www.supershareware.com/preview/slide-executive-desktop.html

*Please visit all the links I have copy pasted for more details,
modifications and also for citations

85 % own words