D075 IT Management Essentials - Master Study Guide
D075: IT Management Essentials
Master Study Guide for the WGU Objective Assessment
How to use this guide
Read straight through once for full coverage. Then come back and focus on any section you
cannot summarize in your own words. The cheat sheet, glossary, and practice test are
companion documents - use them after this one.
This guide is organized by the OA's competency domains: Information Systems, Hardware
& Software, Networking, Databases, Cybersecurity, Enterprise Systems, E-Commerce, IT
Project Management, Cloud, Emerging Tech, and Ethics & Governance.
Page 1 of 26
, D075 IT Management Essentials - Master Study Guide
1. Information Systems Fundamentals
What is an information system?
An information system (IS) is an organized combination of people, hardware, software,
communication networks, data resources, and policies/procedures that stores, retrieves,
transforms, and disseminates information in an organization.
The five components of an IS
• Hardware - physical computing devices (servers, laptops, routers).
• Software - operating systems and applications that direct hardware.
• Data - raw facts; becomes information once organized and given context.
• People - users, IT staff, analysts, managers; the most critical and most overlooked
component.
• Process - the rules and steps that govern how the system operates.
Data vs. information vs. knowledge vs. wisdom (the DIKW hierarchy)
• Data: raw, unprocessed facts (e.g., 72, 98.6, ZIP 84109).
• Information: data with context (e.g., 'patient temperature is 98.6°F').
• Knowledge: information combined with experience (knowing what 98.6 means
clinically).
• Wisdom: applied knowledge to make sound judgments.
Types of information systems
System Who uses it What it does
TPS - Transaction Operational staff Records day-to-day transactions (sales,
Processing System payroll, inventory). High volume, structured,
repetitive.
MIS - Management Middle managers Summarizes TPS data into reports for
Information System monitoring routine operations and short-term
decisions.
DSS - Decision Middle/senior Interactive, model-based; supports semi-
Support System managers structured decisions ('what-if' analysis).
ESS / EIS - Executive Senior executives Dashboards, KPIs, external + internal data;
Support System used for unstructured strategic decisions.
KMS - Knowledge Knowledge workers Captures, stores, and shares organizational
Management System knowledge and best practices.
OAS - Office All employees Word processing, email, calendars, video
Automation System conferencing - supports productivity.
ES - Expert System Specialists Rule-based AI that mimics decisions of a
human expert in a narrow domain.
Page 2 of 26
, D075 IT Management Essentials - Master Study Guide
Levels of organizational decision making
• Operational (lowest): structured, routine, daily; supported by TPS and MIS.
• Tactical (middle): semi-structured, monthly/quarterly; supported by MIS and DSS.
• Strategic (top): unstructured, long-term, external focus; supported by ESS and BI.
Strategic uses of IT
Porter's Five Competitive Forces
Michael Porter identified five forces shaping competition in any industry. IT can be used to
influence each:
• Threat of new entrants - IT raises entry barriers (e.g., Amazon's logistics platform).
• Bargaining power of buyers - e-commerce price comparison gives buyers more
power.
• Bargaining power of suppliers - supply-chain integration with EDI shifts power.
• Threat of substitutes - streaming substituted DVDs; IT enables substitution.
• Rivalry among existing competitors - IT differentiation, cost leadership, customer
lock-in.
Porter's Generic Strategies
• Cost leadership: be the lowest-cost producer (Walmart). IT lowers operating costs.
• Differentiation: offer unique features (Apple). IT enables product/service differentiation.
• Focus / niche: target a specific segment (Lululemon early on). IT enables tight
customer targeting.
Value chain
Porter's value chain breaks the firm into primary activities (inbound logistics, operations,
outbound logistics, marketing & sales, service) and support activities (firm infrastructure, HR,
technology, procurement). IT can add value at every link - for example, ERP integrates across
primary activities; CRM strengthens marketing & sales and service.
Page 3 of 26
D075: IT Management Essentials
Master Study Guide for the WGU Objective Assessment
How to use this guide
Read straight through once for full coverage. Then come back and focus on any section you
cannot summarize in your own words. The cheat sheet, glossary, and practice test are
companion documents - use them after this one.
This guide is organized by the OA's competency domains: Information Systems, Hardware
& Software, Networking, Databases, Cybersecurity, Enterprise Systems, E-Commerce, IT
Project Management, Cloud, Emerging Tech, and Ethics & Governance.
Page 1 of 26
, D075 IT Management Essentials - Master Study Guide
1. Information Systems Fundamentals
What is an information system?
An information system (IS) is an organized combination of people, hardware, software,
communication networks, data resources, and policies/procedures that stores, retrieves,
transforms, and disseminates information in an organization.
The five components of an IS
• Hardware - physical computing devices (servers, laptops, routers).
• Software - operating systems and applications that direct hardware.
• Data - raw facts; becomes information once organized and given context.
• People - users, IT staff, analysts, managers; the most critical and most overlooked
component.
• Process - the rules and steps that govern how the system operates.
Data vs. information vs. knowledge vs. wisdom (the DIKW hierarchy)
• Data: raw, unprocessed facts (e.g., 72, 98.6, ZIP 84109).
• Information: data with context (e.g., 'patient temperature is 98.6°F').
• Knowledge: information combined with experience (knowing what 98.6 means
clinically).
• Wisdom: applied knowledge to make sound judgments.
Types of information systems
System Who uses it What it does
TPS - Transaction Operational staff Records day-to-day transactions (sales,
Processing System payroll, inventory). High volume, structured,
repetitive.
MIS - Management Middle managers Summarizes TPS data into reports for
Information System monitoring routine operations and short-term
decisions.
DSS - Decision Middle/senior Interactive, model-based; supports semi-
Support System managers structured decisions ('what-if' analysis).
ESS / EIS - Executive Senior executives Dashboards, KPIs, external + internal data;
Support System used for unstructured strategic decisions.
KMS - Knowledge Knowledge workers Captures, stores, and shares organizational
Management System knowledge and best practices.
OAS - Office All employees Word processing, email, calendars, video
Automation System conferencing - supports productivity.
ES - Expert System Specialists Rule-based AI that mimics decisions of a
human expert in a narrow domain.
Page 2 of 26
, D075 IT Management Essentials - Master Study Guide
Levels of organizational decision making
• Operational (lowest): structured, routine, daily; supported by TPS and MIS.
• Tactical (middle): semi-structured, monthly/quarterly; supported by MIS and DSS.
• Strategic (top): unstructured, long-term, external focus; supported by ESS and BI.
Strategic uses of IT
Porter's Five Competitive Forces
Michael Porter identified five forces shaping competition in any industry. IT can be used to
influence each:
• Threat of new entrants - IT raises entry barriers (e.g., Amazon's logistics platform).
• Bargaining power of buyers - e-commerce price comparison gives buyers more
power.
• Bargaining power of suppliers - supply-chain integration with EDI shifts power.
• Threat of substitutes - streaming substituted DVDs; IT enables substitution.
• Rivalry among existing competitors - IT differentiation, cost leadership, customer
lock-in.
Porter's Generic Strategies
• Cost leadership: be the lowest-cost producer (Walmart). IT lowers operating costs.
• Differentiation: offer unique features (Apple). IT enables product/service differentiation.
• Focus / niche: target a specific segment (Lululemon early on). IT enables tight
customer targeting.
Value chain
Porter's value chain breaks the firm into primary activities (inbound logistics, operations,
outbound logistics, marketing & sales, service) and support activities (firm infrastructure, HR,
technology, procurement). IT can add value at every link - for example, ERP integrates across
primary activities; CRM strengthens marketing & sales and service.
Page 3 of 26
