Enterprise Technology Dictionary -- Letter M
Major IT Project
A project subject to State CIO/OCIO oversight based on risk/severity assessment, a statute or some other factor as determined by the State CIO.
Malicious Code
Software (such as a Trojan horse) that appears to perform a useful or desirable function, but actually gains unauthorized access to system resources or tricks a user into executing other malicious logic.
Malware
A general term coined for all forms malicious software including but limited to computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, crimeware and other malicious and unwanted software.
Management Accounting
The process of preparing management reports and accounts that provide accurate and timely financial and statistical information required by managers to make day-to-day and short-term decisions. Unlike financial accounting, which produces annual reports mainly for external stakeholders, management accounting generates monthly or weekly reports for an organization's internal audiences such as department managers and the chief executive officer. These reports typically show the amount of available cash, sales revenue generated, amount of orders in hand, state of accounts payable and accounts receivable, outstanding debts, raw material and inventory, and may also include trend charts, variance analysis, and other statistics
Mapping / Geospatial
Provide for the representation of mapping and geospatial information through the use of attributes such as zip code, country code, elevation, natural features and other spatial measures
Meta Data Management
Support the maintenance and administration of data that describes data
Mobile
Mobile Device
Any hand-portable device capable of text, voice, email, instant messaging (“IM”), photo messaging or other types of data communication. This policy is not meant to apply to: cars, boats, airplanes, laptop computers, desktop computers, unpiloted aerial vehicles (drones), gps receivers, radios
Modernization Efforts
Modularity
Modularity refers to the extent to which a software/Web application may be divided into smaller modules. Software modularity indicates that the number of application modules are capable of serving a specified business domain. Allows typical applications to be divided into modules, as well as integration with similar modules, which helps developers use prewritten code. Modules are divided based on functionality, and programmers are not involved with the functionalities of other modules. Thus, new functionalities may be easily programmed in separate modules. It is a practical application of the principle of "Separation of Concerns" by dividing a complex system into simpler and more manageable modules that will work together Modularization can take place in two ways: The Composition or bottom-up approach takes modules and puts them together to form a larger system The alternative approach is to take a complete system and decompose it into its modules. This approach is known as the decomposition or top-down approach. Modules are technically connected to one another. The measure of inter-module relation is known as coupling. Design goals require modules to have low-coupling and high cohesion. Cohesion is a measure of the inter-relatedness of elements (statements, procedures, declarations) within a module. A module is said to have high cohesion if all the elements in the module are strongly connected with one another. Tight coupling of modules makes analysis, understanding, modification and testing of modules difficult. Reuse of modules is also hindered. Modularity enhances the understandability of software systems and change process. Developers need not have to understand the entire system for changes to be made as details are localized into components; modularity separates concerns down to the modules and is thus a direct realization of the principle of "Separation of Concerns"
Multi-factor Authentication
A security system or mechanism in which more than one form of authentication is implemented to verify the legitimacy of a transaction. In contrast, single factor authentication involves only a UserID/password.
In 2-factor authentication, the user provides dual means of identification, one of which is typically a physical token, such as a card, and the other of which is typically something memorized, such as a security code.
Additional authentication methods that can be used in MFA include biometric verification such as keyboard cadence, finger scanning, iris recognition, facial recognition and voice ID. In addition to these methods, device identification software, smart cards, and other electronic devices can be used along with the traditional UserID and password.
