In Management Information Systems (MIS) planning, which responsibility should managers—who are the prospective users of the MIS—primarily fulfill during early stages of a project?

Introduction / Context:
MIS succeeds when it meets user decision needs. Managers, as domain experts and future users, must articulate what information is required—metrics, frequency, drill-downs, and exceptions—so that analysts and architects can design the right solution. Hardware selection is typically a technical function informed by these needs, not led by end-users.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Managers know processes, KPIs, and decision cycles.
• Technical teams translate needs into system designs and equipment specs.
• Goal: align capabilities with business value, not merely with hardware features.

Concept / Approach:

User-centered design starts with requirements elicitation. Managers describe information content, timeliness, presentation, and access controls. These requirements drive data modeling, application features, and capacity planning. Equipment evaluation/selection follows as an engineering step constrained by those requirements and standards.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:

RACI charts typically place business users as Accountable/Responsible for requirements, with IT Responsible for solution design and procurement within standards.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

Evaluating or selecting equipment is specialized technical work, often centralized and guided by architecture and procurement policies.

“All” conflates roles and can lead to suboptimal, vendor-led choices.

Common Pitfalls:

Jumping to tools before clarifying information needs causes scope creep and poor adoption.

Final Answer:

describe information needs