The Delphi Method as a tool for information requirements specification

An application of the Delphi Method to the logical design of an Information System supporting the operation, control, evaluation and planning of student -related academic administration activities is presented. The logical design process was as follows: (1) a traditional top-down approach was used to define the system objectives and the information required to support structured (i.e., operational) activities; (2) the Delphi Method was used for generating a group opinion with respect to the proposed system objectives and the information required by unstructured and/or ill-structured decision making. The paper finally discusses how this search for group opinion significantly enhances the effectiveness of the resulting information system.