Sessions 10 through 12

Goodness, I really let this blog get away from me.
I've been so focused on my group project, term paper, my other course, and my vacation time that I've let this slide.

Lets do a quick review:

Session 10
I found this chapter on Business Decisions raised a question for me. I don't have a background in management, and the discussion of models made me wonder how you could find an appropriate model without turning to a consulting firm. Is it even possible?

Of course, I know that there are individuals charged with little else than making computer models, my father had a lot of training in Operations Research, and built models of environmental factors for the USDA Forest Service. So, maybe that's what required, a computer engineer to build the models for you?

The concept of an expert system was interesting. I can see how one would work, but I don't know if I've ever really used one. I'm guessing most people have used the "Knowledge Base" archives that most software companies have that are very much like larger, more interactive, FAQs.

I guess I have used troubleshooting expert systems on my computer when my printer stops working, or I have another such problem where a troubleshooting application is available.

I think this was one of the better chapters in the book -as far as interesting content is concerned. The section on AI was fascinating. I wasn't aware of the work into neural networks.

Talking with a 'bot' certainly was interesting, but not very productive!

Session 11
One portion of the chapter on strategic analysis that caught my attention was the fear of some traditional industries of the internet, since more music, video, and printed content is being sold over the internet. Since I'm a big subscriber to iTunes, Amazon UnBox, and the Amazon Kindle, I was pleased to see that the textbook recognized this trend. Of course, I'm hoping that more books will become available over the internet than are currently - since there are many texts I would like to read and yet, in order to I have to buy the actual book or go to the library.

Session 12
One of the most important points in the Systems Development chapter was whenever possible to involve users in the development. Often a product comes out and I wonder if they consulted anyone who would be using the product what they wanted, what they needed it to do, and whether their product fit their needs.