Reflections on information systems practice, education and research: 10 years of the Information Systems Journal

This paper celebrates the 10‐year anniversary of the Information Systems Journal (ISJ) and the Editors reflect on the papers that have been published over that period and the changes that have occurred in the discipline of information systems. In the opening paper of ISJ, we suggested that the ‘launch of a new journal in information systems prompts thought and debate concerning the state of the subject area and some contemplation of its past and future’. We discussed three areas of this ‘not‐yet‐established discipline’: practice, education and research. In this follow‐up paper, we forgo our convention of ISJ editors not publishing in the Journal. We examine the issues raised in the first paper and consider what has happened in the intervening years as charted in the ISJ. The overview is necessarily selective, probably Anglocentric (with, perhaps, a slight Francophile tinge), sometimes downright opinionated, as well as over‐estimating, perhaps, the contribution of one particular IS journal.     

Information management and organizational processes: an approach through soft systems methodology

Abstract. This paper explores an approach to understanding information provision in organizations which is built around soft systems methodology (SSM). It also, from recent research in both industry and the National Health Service, derives a sense-making framework for work of this kind. A view of the fundamental nature of information systems is presented. This is compatible with SSM, and uses of SSM in information-focused studies are illustrated. These cover the rethinking of the Manufacturing Function in the Shell Group and a number of studies in the NHS concerned with the information implications of current changes. Out of this work, in order to make sense of disparate experiences, a framework is derived which captures three necessary domains (conceptual, organizational, technological) whose interaction defines an organization's response to its information provision.     

On the discipline of information systems

Abstract. Although information systems is growing rapidly, it has little theoretical clarity. An article in the Times Higher Education Supplement of March 1989 by Liebenau and Backhouse sparked a debate on the character of information systems as a discipline. This paper reviews that debate, bringing out the main points of many of the discussants, and presents an analysis which is intended to carry the discussion further in order to help clarify and to galvanize opinion.     

Partial ordering of information granulations: a further investigation

The notion of information systems provides a convenient tool for knowledge representation of objects in terms of their attribute values, while partial ordering is usually used to research the rough monotonicity of an uncertainty measure in information systems. In this paper, we first reveal the limitations of existing partial orderings to describe information granulations in information systems with several illustrative examples. Then, a generalized partial ordering with a set‐size nature is proposed to overcome their shortcoming and some of its important properties are derived. Finally, we prove that several existing information granulations all satisfy the granulation monotonicity induced by the proposed partial ordering. The presented partial ordering appears to be well suited to characterize the nature of information granulations in an information system. These results will be very helpful for studying granular computing and uncertainty in information systems.     

Hardware options,evaluation metrics,and a design sequence for interactive information systems

Interactive information systems must satisfy a wide variety of users, serve a broad range of tasks, and be suited to diverse hardware environments. This paper concentrates on three aspects of interactive information systems design: hardware options, evaluation metrics, and a possible design sequence. Rigorous pilot studies are emphasized, and supporting experimental evidence is offered.     

The Spiral of Change Model for Coping with Changing and Ongoing Requirements

This paper is a discussion on the problem of establishing information requirements in changing and ongoing business organisations. Attempts within existing software development paradigms to cope with business change are identified and discussed, and their problems concerning business change are highlighted. The alternative spiral of change model of tailorable information systems is proposed for thinking about establishing changing and ongoing information systems requirements. It is also proposed that information should be reconceptualised as tailorable. Such a reconceptualisation would allow us to explore ways of establishing information systems requirements that cope with business change. Deferred system’s design is proposed as a form of business software design and development that can cope with business change, as well as with the contextual and situational nature of tailorable information.     

Dialectical hermeneutics: a theoretical framework for the implementation of information systems

Abstract. Despite the proliferation of information technology, the implementation of information systems remains problematic. Many systems fail to live up to expectations and some end up as disasters. Research on implementation has been conducted for the past two decades, but no theoretical framework for IS implementation has been widely accepted. This paper proposes dialectical hermeneutics as a theoretical framework for IS implementation research. Dialectical hermeneutics, as an integrative theoretical framework, combines both interpretive and critical elements, and addresses those social and organizational issues which are critical to the successful implementation of information systems. The case study research method was used to examine the implementation of systems in three organizations.     

The strategic dimension of transactional information systems: some organizational implications

Abstract. Often information systems (IS) are classified in three groups: (a) transactional, used mainly for co-ordination and resource allocation purposes at the operational level of a company; (b) tactical, often employed to support the resource procurement activities typical of middle management; and (c) information systems for strategic decision making, designed to help in the planning and strategy design processes which are the direct responsibility of top management. In general, the amount of care and management attention that companies give to these different types of systems is proportional to their position in this hierarchy: little attention is devoted to the mundane transaction-pushing systems and exquisite care is put into developing the sophisticated decision making aid for the CEO and his/her staff.
The IS/IT literature has been reporting quite commonly cases in which companies have attained or lost great competitive advantages by way of their transactional information systems [for example, Emery Worldwide, Baxter Healthcare ASAP system, and Frontier Airlines]. The aim of this paper is to identify actions that companies can take to realize potential benefits of their IS, in particular from their low-level, transactional IS.
Among other actions, we will conclude that companies would be better off if they: (a) have the IS department at the right place in the organization, staffed with people knowledgeable about the basic nature of the business in which the company is engaged; (b) are sensible to what can be called 'strategic maintenance' of systems, (c) set up a formal procedure for IS planning to ensure coherence between IS plans and business plans, derived, in turn, from business strategy, and (d) keep abreast of the relevant technology.
Several examples taken from European companies are used to illustrate these conclusions.     

The effectiveness of office information systems: a social action perspective

Abstract. The purpose of this paper is to show that a number of basic issues have not been adequately addressed in existing office information systems research. Prominent among these are the nature and role of offices, the goals of office information systems development, and the nature of its organizational and managerial consequences. It is proposed that office information systems should be analysed as social action systems the behaviour of which is strongly affected by socially determined forces and constraints such as the behaviour-channelling influences of authority, norms, customs, habits and precedence. Four types of social action are discussed: instrumental, strategic, communicative and discursive. Three contexts for perceiving and analysing the effects of social action in offices are introduced: technology, language and organization. Office information systems changes affect elements and relationships in these three contexts in different ways. By cross-relating social action types and contexts, nine classes of object systems are identified. Each object system class implies a different category of effectiveness concerns which in turn implies different office information system design requirements. The paper notes that the existing research literature has primarily been concerned with only three of the nine object systems. For more effective office information systems development, however, the other systems also need to be considered. The paper concludes by exploring how this may be done.     

The organizational fit of information systems

Abstract. One can expect that the fit, match or congruence between an information system and its organizational context will be of increasing importance as information systems become more and more integral parts of organizations. Existing IS research has largely neglected the theoretical analysis of the concept 'fit', however, even though it has been widely used in a 'pre-theoretical' sense. The analysis of the concept of 'organizational fit of an information system' put forward in this article is essentially based on the recent analysis of 'fit' in contingency theory, suggesting three interpretations for the concept: a selection approach, an interaction approach and a systems approach. A review of the IS literature on the organizational fit of information systems indicates a lack of any cumulative tradition in existing empirical contingency research into information systems and dominance of the selection approach. Because of the two limitations, this paper regards any definite assessment of the potential prospects of contingency research into information systems as overhasty and proposes a framework for future research into the situation dependence and organizational fit of information systems which integrates contingency research into information systems, contingency research into IS impacts and contingency research into the IS adoption (development/implementation) process.     

应用型本科院校增设信息系统工程监理专业

随着信息系统工程规模和复杂性的增加,必须对信息系统工程进行监理。该文从信息系统工程监理概况、信息系统工程监理专业增设的必要性以及如何组织该专业的教学等几个方面,对应用型本科院校增设信息系统工程监理专业进行了论证,其目的是为信息化建设培养急需的监理人才。     

Causality in the alignment of information technology and business strategy

The need for a link between information technology (IT) use and organizational strategy has been identified and discussed for a number of years. The thrust of this work argues that the motives for investment in IT should derive from firm objectives and, more particularly, from the strategic plan which the organization wishes to pursue. This paper argues that, often, mere lip service is paid to the strategic nature of IT. Further, strategy justification has become a tool for securing investment in IT by circumventing established organizational policy on investments. Many IT investments labelled ‘strategic’ appear to be operational in nature. This paper discusses the nature and evaluation of strategy and relates it to the literature on IT as a strategic tool. The extent to which the relationship between IT and strategy has altered over recent years is subsequently investigated. The implementation process is investigated and evidence of IT investment activities and the returns available to investing organizations are reviewed. The paper argues that there are a number of alternative views on the IT-strategy relationship, some of which are organizationally detrimental.     

Formal specification – an analytic tool for (management) information systems

Abstract. There appears to be a general consensus within the information systems literature that formal specification of software systems is an inappropriate response to the perceived general failure of information systems to meet user requirements. Such views would seem to be based primarily on the difficulty of constructing formal specifications – and on the difficulty of understanding such specifications once constructed. Research into the applicability of formal methods has therefore tended to concentrate on the needs and the context of software developers specializing in critical and extremely complex software such as operating systems, transaction processing monitors, or nuclear reactor protection. More recently, however, formal methods have been applied successfully in more conventional and commercial areas, such as the development of a CASE tool, indicating that many of the perceived disadvantages of formal methods are merely myths.
This paper discusses the differing research directions of the information systems and software engineering disciplines and suggests that significant beneflts may result from a synthesis of the two approaches. We further suggest that there is a serious danger that approaches which have been shown to have value in one of the two domains are automatically being ignored in the other as being 'irrelevant'. While each of the two areas ignores the contribution of the other, software systems will continue to be sub-optimal (in terms of relevance, as well as quality). We argue the relevance of formal specifications to the information systems discipline, illustrating the argument with a case study based within the IS domain.     

视图发布过程中信息泄漏的测量与消除

视图发布给数据交换带来了方便,但也带来了安全隐患,在视图发布过程中有可能造成信息的泄漏.因此,保证发布视图的安全成为数据库安全的一个新课题.理论上讲,防止视图发布过程中信息泄漏的方法可分为两种:一种是针对视图接受者,另一种是针对视图发布者.在实际应用中,第1种方法是很难实现的,因此,人们把研究重点都放在第2种方法上.到目前为止,人们提出了有关的评估算法和保护模型,但是它们都不能够从根本上解决问题.为了消除信息泄漏,提出了相对误差的信息泄漏测量方法,并给出了相应的算法,在此基础上,给出了一个基于关键元组的信息泄漏消除算法,并用实验证明该算法能够有效地消除信息泄漏,保证视图的安全.     

Computer support for strategic organizational decision-making

While information systems continue to be promoted within organizations as tools to support strategic decision-making, there is growing concern over the ability of such systems to model the social and political complexity of the situations to which they are being applied. This paper examines the nature of organizational decision-making and the use of computer-based systems to support this activity. The debate queries the extent to which such artifacts should be allowed to become enmeshed and embedded within the strategic decision-making activities of organizations which operate within increasingly complex environments.     

Exploring the evaluation framework of strategic information systems using repertory grid technique: a cognitive perspective from chief information officers

This study aims at developing an evaluation framework of strategic information systems (SIS) and evaluating the SIS planning and implementation by using a cognitive approach called the repertory grid technique. The findings are based on in-depth interviews with chief information officers (CIOs) involved with SIS developments in their organisations. This exploratory study builds on a cognitive methodology and enables us to develop the evaluation framework of SIS within the CIO's mind. In a practical viewpoint, we evaluated the effectiveness of the essential activities in the SIS planning and implementation. Results showed that activities on analysing industry and environment, analysing information system weakness and strength, formulating SIS strategy, identifying SIS initiatives, prioritising and allocating resources for SIS, documenting SIS, and liaising with top management team are well performed.     

Learning classifier systems: New models, successful applications

Rules are an accepted means of representing knowledge for virtually every domain. Traditional machine learning methods derive rules by exploring sets of examples using statistical or information theoretic techniques. Alternatively, rules can be discovered through methods of Evolutionary Computation such as genetic algorithms and learning classifier systems.In recent years, new models of learning classifier systems have been developed which have resulted in successful applications in a wide variety of domains (e.g., autonomous robotics, classification, knowledge discovery, modeling). These models have led to a resurgence of this area which for a certain period appeared almost at a dead end. This paper overviews the recent developments in learning classifier systems research, the new models, and the most interesting applications, suggesting some of the most relevant future research directions.     

Information technology in support of individual decision-making

Abstract. The use of computers in organizations has often been justified by reference to the ‘improved decision-making’ which will result from the use of new technology. Rarely, if ever, is any precise measurement given as to how such improvements will be judged. Phrases such as ‘better information leads to better decisions’ and ‘what managers require is more information’ dominate the literature on management information systems (MIS). Alistair Preston argues that this alignment with top management allowed MIS to legitimize and elevate itself as both a serious practice and an academic discipline. The two dominant themes in the relationship between information technology (IT) and managerial decision-making have been the use of Herbert Simon's work on decision-making and Anthony's pyramidal structure of types of application system, the latter model leading to a powerful categorization of types of computer-based information systems (i.e. transaction processing, management information systems, decision support systems, executive information systems). The models of decision-making employed at each level of this hierarchy are those characterized by Simon as ‘objective rationality’ and ‘bounded rationality’ and these models encourage a view of information as representing some objective reality which can be captured, stored and processed within some form of technology. Dick Boland has argued forcibly that Simon's work has been crucial to the current level of understanding of information and technology within organizations. Less concern has been given, however, to the role which IT itself plays in reinforcing this rationalistic view of information and decision-making. As Mitroff has pointed out, to represent (or model) a problem is to conduct an inquiry into its nature. Likewise, Dick Boland suggests that information technologies are themselves social inventions that are malleable and shaped during use but that such sets limits and opens possibilities that shape the users as well. Hence, information technologies both incorporate and give rise to changes in our vocabularies for knowing ourselves and our institutions. It will not be enough, therefore, for us merely to change our existing models of managerial decision-making, it will also be necessary to design new technologies which will reflect and encourage the use of such models. In this paper we shall use the framework provided by Mitroff to try to consider a number of different paradigms of inquiring system and to see what technological forms would need to be developed in order that we may provide technological support for individual decision-making based on each paradigm.     

Causal modelling as a tool for problem framing within a group decision support system: an object-oriented approach

Abstract. This paper contributes toward the design of intelligent group decision support systems (GDSS). It suggests a GDSS architecture that would enable a group of managers to discuss, learn from each other and possibly develop consensus about decisions or their causes. It shows how an object-oriented approach can be used in producing interactive software to support managerial debate about problem solving. The method uses comprehensive situation mapping causal mapping to represent each manager's perceptions of the relationships between key variables of a firm's strategic situation. The paper presents a prototype implementation and, based on experiences from it, discusses issues concerning future development and use.     

Survey of public access information retrieval systems

A London HCI Centre (LHC) project to produce a user interface development environment for screen-based, nondirect manipulation, public use computer systems is described. A survey of available public access computer systems was undertaken to characterize and critically assess the usability of current designs. That part of the survey relating to four particular information retrieval systems is presented. Some serious weaknesses in the user interfaces to these systems are highlighted along with recommendations for improvements. The paper concludes with a general discussion of the major areas of weakness and how human factors guidelines can be used to improve usability.