Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
conveys what it has to convey — efficiently and effectively. The beauty
of the vessel cannot override the objective of delivering the right content,
although good report design plays an important role in how that content
is received and absorbed. Reports should be like windows that let the
outside view in — the viewer wants to see the view, not the window.
In the 1960s, systems called EDP (electronic data processing) were
used to record and process data electronically. Data has been processed
in organizations for centuries — it was the electronic nature of the
processing that was emphasized. Subsequently, management information
systems (MIS) were created to generate a limited set of predefined reports.
In those days, processing costs were expensive, and, consequently, access
to computing facilities was restricted. Reporting methodologies and
requirements adjusted to those constrained environments. Because most
of the processing was batch mode and involved considerable lead-times,
it made more sense to avoid asking for or delivering fine-grained sets of
data. Formatting facilities were basic, especially where line printers were
used. Some may recall the big bold job number or username drawn out
of smaller ASCII characters on the front page of a report that helped one
pick out one's own printouts. Reports were bulky data extracts generated
on a scheduled basis, supplying information in a batch mode. It worked
well for getting access to historical data, and many managers made good
use of it.
Later, when
(DSS) were introduced, reporting
became more interactive, needing more resources and powerful engines
to deliver them. As the power of computing moved to desktops and users
became familiar with powerful desktop tools, their expectations of the
reporting they were getting from stovepipe applications changed. The
reality was, however, that the desktop tools were often more powerful
than the reporting tools on centralized servers. In the area of reporting,
considerable legacy thinking remained — the mindset did not change,
but the graphics did. With the Web driving much of the current experience,
another sea of change in expectations and possibilities in reporting is
already becoming apparent.
One of the problems with the legacy reporting mindset is that these
information systems produced mountains of paper, most of it ignored. (A
common techniques for pruning distribution lists for batch reports was to
stop sending them for a few cycles and see who asks for that report).
Heaps of reports were generated, just because it was possible to do so.
This encouraged people to create
decision support systems
. They
were supposed to streamline processes, giving the executives exactly, and
only what they wanted. Decades later, armed with a host of specialized
systems such as CRM (customer relationship management), ERP (enterprise
resource planning), SCM (supply chain management), SFA (sales force
executive information systems
