Towards an Ontology for Information Systems Development—A Contextual Approach

Advances in Database Research - Contemporary Issues in Database Design and Information Systems Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-289-3.ch001 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 1-36 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Mauri Leppänen

Keyword(s):

Information Systems ◽

Systems Development ◽

Information Systems Development ◽

Shared Understanding ◽

Contextual Approach ◽

Representation Language

This chapter presents an ISD ontology, which aims to provide an integrated conceptualization of ISD through anchoring it upon a contextual approach. The ISD ontology is composed of concepts, relationships, and constraints referring to purposes, actors, actions, and objects of ISD. It is presented as a vocabulary with explicit definitions and in meta models in a UML-based ontology representation language. We believe that although not complete the ISD ontology can promote the achievement of a shared understanding of contextual aspects in ISD. It can be used to analyze and compare existing frameworks and meta models and as a groundwork for engineering new ISD methods, and parts thereof.

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Towards an Ontology for Information Systems Development

E-Learning Methodologies and Computer Applications in Archaeology ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-759-1.ch020 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 342-370

Author(s):

Mauri Leppänen

Keyword(s):

Information Systems ◽

Systems Development ◽

Information Systems Development ◽

Shared Understanding ◽

Contextual Approach ◽

Representation Language

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Using Causal Mapping to Support Information Systems Development

Causal Mapping for Research in Information Technology ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-396-8.ch011 ◽

2005 ◽

pp. 263-283 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Fran Ackermann ◽

Colin Eden

Keyword(s):

Information Systems ◽

Systems Development ◽

Information Systems Development ◽

Shared Understanding ◽

Cultural Elements ◽

Causal Mapping ◽

Structured Design ◽

The Social ◽

Special Software ◽

New System

Identifying what different stakeholders in a business need from Information Systems development has always been seen as problematic. There are numerous cases of failure as projects run over time, over budget, and, most significantly, do not meet the needs of the user population. Whilst having a structured design process can go some way towards reducing the potential of failure, these methodologies do not attend sufficiently to clarifying and agreeing objectives or to considering the social and cultural elements inherent in the ownership and adoption of any new system. Instigating an effective, and structured, dialogue between users, developers and, when appropriate, sponsors, is therefore a critical consideration. Linking user needs, as they see them, to the language of IS developers and vice versa is crucial. Both parties need ownership. This chapter focuses upon the use of causal mapping, supported where appropriate by special software, that facilitates the development of a shared understanding (of both business needs and IT opportunities) and through this common platform enables a negotiated and agreed outcome. The nature of the outcome invites translation to structured design processes.

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Language Quality in Requirements Development: Tracing Communication in the Process of Information Systems Development

Journal of Information Technology ◽

10.1057/jit.2012.33 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 198-223 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Christoph Rosenkranz ◽

Marianne Corvera Charaf ◽

Roland Holten

Keyword(s):

Information Systems ◽

Systems Development ◽

Development Project ◽

Communication Process ◽

Information Systems Development ◽

Shared Understanding ◽

Language Quality ◽

Open Issue ◽

Requirements Development ◽

The Impact

Knowledge transfer, communication, and shared understanding between project stakeholders are important factors in requirements development and in the information systems development process. Nevertheless, the impact and analysis of language and linguistic communication during requirements development is still an open issue. In our research, we claim that requirements development depends on the ability to deal with language and communication issues in practice and reach shared understanding of requirements. We propose the concept of language quality as a suitable means for analyzing the emergence of coherent and meaningful requirements. By applying the thereby developed dimensions of language quality to a real information systems development project, we are able to obtain practice-grounded propositions to further evaluate the consequences of different actions on the interaction and communication process of stakeholders in requirements development.

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