Glossary D-H
Dashboard - similar to a dashboard in a car, the digital dashboard is a business management tool used to visually ascertain the status of an organisation via key performance indicators.
Data Warehouse - a central repository of data, or database, that integrates information from different operational systems and stores up-to-date information for creating reports or analysing business performance over time.
Database - a collection of organised information records that are stored in a systematic way and can be rapidly be searched and accessed electronically.
Decentralised Software Systems - software applications that are not integrated and require inefficient manual data entry or importation of data from other business applications.
Depreciation - a decrease in the value of a capital asset through age and the reflected loss on the balance sheet.
Development - in regard to software development, it is the process of creating, modifying, re-engineering and maintaining a software application.
End-to-End Solution - a software application that covers an enterprise from the senior management level through departments down to individual cost centres and staff.
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) - (also known as Business or Corporate Performance Management) concept introduced by Gartner Research in 2001, which "all of the processes, methodologies, metrics and systems needed to measure and manage the performance of an organization." 1
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) - information management software system that automates many of the business processes associated with operations, production and inventory aspects of the organisation.
Feasibility Study - a detailed analysis of factors that may influence a potential project to determine whether the project is possible and practical. Structure type, location, funding sources and resource availability are weighed against the expected return on investment of the project.
Forecasting - organisational future budget planning that extends from the medium to the long-term future, allowing organisations to map out the effects of emerging trends, test alternative strategies and forecast corporate performance over multiple years.
Hardware - the physical equipment including the mechanical, magnetic, electronic, and electrical components that make up a computer system.
Help Desk - a single point of contact to provide speedy assistance to users of a specific software application via telephone, fax or email.
Human Resources (HR) - individuals within an organisation and the department and support systems responsible for personnel sourcing and hiring, applicant tracking, skills development and tracking and compliance with associated government regulations.
1 Buytendijk, Frank; Geishecker, Lee; Wood, Brian (2004), Gartner Research, "Magic Quadrant for CPM Suites: No Dramatic Movement in 2004" Accessed 14 June 2007.