Soft Systems Methodology in IT-Related Organizational Change

2021 ◽  
pp. 32-54
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Soft Systems Methodology ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
Systems Methodology ◽  
Soft Systems ◽  
Meaningful Information ◽  
Development Methodology ◽  
Is Development

Any organization needs information technologies (IT) to attain efficient process and make effective decisions. The main discussion of this study is focused on IT as a reason of change in an organization. Besides providing a definition for information systems (IS), this chapter aims at explaining soft systems methodology (SSM) as an IS development methodology. Considering seven elements of philosophy, model, techniques and tools, scope, output, practice, and product, it clarified the SSM position in other methodologies. In this concern, it revealed the main concern of using SSM in the development of information systems (i.e., meeting the real needs of the organization through generating meaningful information based on the available data) as represented in five case studies of SSM in IT-related organizational change.

An Analysis-Form of Soft Systems Methodology for Information Systems Maintenance

2009 ◽  
pp. 197-209
Author(s):  
Ivan Ka-Wai Lai ◽  
Joseph M. Mula
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Conceptual Analysis ◽  
Soft Systems Methodology ◽  
Requirement Analysis ◽  
Systems Methodology ◽  
Soft Systems ◽  
Systems Maintenance ◽  
Is Development

Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) has been employed to increase the effectiveness of organizational requirement analysis in Information Systems (IS) development in recent years. Various forms of SSM for IS development have been developed and examined in different environments by different researchers. There appears to be little research or application that can be identified of the use of SSM in IS maintenance. The objective of this chapter is to develop a conceptual “analysis-form” of SSM for IS maintenance, so that further research can be undertaken in the application of this conceptual model.

scholarly journals Logical Soft Systems Modelling for Programme Development: An Action Research

10.28945/2779 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ho-Leung Tsoi
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Soft Systems Methodology ◽  
Major Drawback ◽  
Systems Methodology ◽  
Soft Systems ◽  
Information Systems Professionals ◽  
Planning Methodology ◽  
Teaching Modules ◽  
Programme Planning

Business Information Systems education-such as majoring in Business Computing, E-Commerce and Business Computing, and Information Systems--is the basic foundation of all Information Systems professionals. So good planning of these programmes is an indispensable element in the development of computing disciplines. The traditional ways of planning an education programme are mainly based on understanding the goals and including appropriate teaching modules to fulfil the requirements. The major drawback of this development methodology is that the importance of different (though relevant) modules in the development process may be undermined. For instance, human and environmental factors are fundamental to planning an education programme and must be taken into account. Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) is a well-known model for information system design. This paper proposes to see an education programme as a system and adopts the soft systems concept to represent the design of the programme. Based on the soft systems concept, a new methodology, named Soft Systems Programme Planning Methodology (SSPPM), for programme planning is proposed to support designing and planning a new postsecondary programme. The SSPPM not only considers all relevant facets, but it also helps the school management to clarify the connectivity of the elements in the design of a programme.

Information Systems Project in China: action research and soft systems methodology

2000 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-192
Author(s):  
Simon Bell ◽  
Gilroy Coleman ◽  
Jian Qiang Guo ◽  
Martin Sewell
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Soft Systems Methodology ◽  
Systems Methodology ◽  
Soft Systems ◽  
Testing Stage ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Beta Testing ◽  
Learning Issues ◽  
Is Projects

Developing Information Systems is a process fraught with danger and often resulting in failure. Failure rates now run at 80% and there is no sign of decline [16,17,18,20,21,30,31,35,36,40]. If Information Systems (IS) projects are high risk even in industrialised societies, then projects in developing countries and newly emerging economies are even more prone to failure. Putting IS projects together with the developing economies would appear to be a recipe for disaster but this paper describes an IS project developed between the UK and China which has got to beta testing stage and shows early signs of success. The paper describes the process whereby the project was developed, the methodology applied and the problems and difficulties encountered. Taking as its point of reference the autumn 1999 review mission, the paper describes the situation for the Feasibility and Appraisal Information System (FAIS) at that time and draws out some policy and methodology learning issues relevant to others planning IS in similar contexts.

Using a Systems Thinking Perspective to Construct and Apply an Evaluation Approach of Technology-Based Information Systems

2010 ◽  
pp. 294-309
Author(s):  
Hajer Kefi
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Data Warehouse ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Financial Institution ◽  
Soft Systems Methodology ◽  
Systems Methodology ◽  
Problematic Situation ◽  
Soft Systems ◽  
Evaluation Approach

In this article, we use soft systems methodology and complexity modeling to build an evaluation approach of a data warehouse implemented in a leading European financial institution. This approach consists in building a theoretical model to be used as a purposeful observation lens, producing a clear picture of the problematic situation under study and aimed at providing knowledge to prescribe corrective actions.

Cultural Problems in Applying SSM for IS Development

2011 ◽  
pp. 104-116
Author(s):  
Trevor T. Moores ◽  
Frank H. Gregory
Keyword(s):  
Soft Systems Methodology ◽  
Problem Structuring ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Systems Methodology ◽  
Soft Systems ◽  
Eastern Culture ◽  
Stakeholder Views ◽  
High Staff Turnover ◽  
Open Discussion ◽  
Is Development

Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) is a general problem structuring approach that seeks to incorporate multiple stakeholder views in the analysis of a given problem. When applied to IS development, the method requires negotiation and debate between the stakeholders when exploring the feasibility of developing an information system. The applicability of this approach depends, however, on the willingness of participants to enter into such an open discussion. This paper reports on a case study that highlights the problems of applying such a confrontational method in an Eastern culture, such as Hong Kong. Three main problems were identified: Group discussions were avoided; Interviews were conducted in multiple languages; and, High staff turnover made it difficult to develop and maintain mature stakeholder views.

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