The Human Side of Information Systems Development

Author(s):  
Brian Lehaney ◽  
Steve Clarke ◽  
Sarah Spencer-Matthews ◽  
Vikki Kimberlee

Information systems (IS) are growing in importance within the tourism industry, where one key application is database marketing. Evidence from the IS domain suggests systems failure may be due, at least in part, to concentration on technical rather than human issues in the development process. Through an empirical study of visitor attractions in the United Kingdom, the need for a more human-centered approach to IS development is supported, and an example of such an approach is outlined. Both in-depth focus group analysis and a broader questionnaire survey are used and lend weight to the human-centered arguments.

Author(s):  
Brian Lehaney ◽  
Steve Clarke ◽  
Vikki Kimberlee ◽  
Sarah Spencer-Matthews

Information systems (IS) are growing in importance within the tourism industry, where one key application is database marketing. Evidence from the IS domain suggests systems failure may be due, at least in part, to concentration on technical rather than human issues in the development process. Through an empirical study of visitor attractions in the United Kingdom, the need for a more human-centered approach to IS development is supported, and an example of such an approach is outlined. Both in-depth focus group analysis and a broader questionnaire survey are used, and lend weight to the human-centered arguments. From the analysis of a failed tourism database marketing information system, and from evidence of similar successful systems, the value of technology-enabled database marketing within the sector is demonstrated, but its success is seen to rest on participative, human-centered approaches to development.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
FRANCIS KAGAI

Despite continued evolution of information systems methodologies for more than three decades, the rates of software rejection and failure are still high. This paper investigates the technological environment as a major cause of such disruptions. Additionally, the paper evaluates Agile and DevOps as the remedial methodologies for managing the adverse impact of technological disruptions. The main findings affirm both Agile and DevOps as methodologies that emanated from improvements or re-engineering of earlier methodologies. Further findings discern most methodologies; including agile and DevOps; as not strategically focused but appraise DevOps as the most progressive methodology towards this respect. Rather than re-invent the wheel and come up with a new methodology, a framework that aligns DevOps for use in strategic information systems development is proposed. Besides, a more realistic definition of operations is postulated to bolster the alignment.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damjan Vavpotic ◽  
Olegas Vasilecas

The paper presents a decision model and a tool that helps to find an information systems development methodology (ISDM) for a computer-based business information system (IS) that is suitable to a certain IS development project or an organization dealing with IS development. The intention of the model is not only to suggest a certain ISDM, but also to propose the properties an ISDM should have to suite the project or the organization. It is designed in a way that facilitates experimentation with different project, organization and ISDM properties. Based on the model we created a tool that has been applied on several cases in which we validated the correctness of its recommendations and established that it can have a significant positive contribution in the process of ISDM selection and in the process of improvement of existing ISDM.


Author(s):  
Leoni Warne

Managing the power, politics and organizational conflict inherent in information systems is increasingly recognized as being of critical importance to successful information systems development. The focus of this chapter is the extent to which conflict among participants in an information systems development may be said to contribute to project failure. The chapter describes a research study that explores the nature of conflict in an information systems development and the extent to which conflict may be perceived to impact on the successful progress of a project. In particular, the study was designed to determine which type of conflict (i.e., conflict between which type of stakeholders) may pose the most risk to an information systems development and to determine to what extent conflict can be said to be a contributing factor to information systems failure. The study was structured into three distinct stages. The first stage was a major case study conducted to explore the nature of conflict in a prematurely terminated information systems development and to probe the extent to which conflict was perceived to pose a risk to information systems projects. The second stage involved surveying IT Managers to test the wider applicability of the case study findings. The third and final stage involved developing a predictive model of conflict showing the relative weighting of each of the variables investigated, using logistic regression. The most significant outcome of the study was that information systems developments can be detrimentally affected by the impact of conflict among users who have commissioned or will use the system. Managing and resolving conflict in an information systems environment is clearly a difficult, challenging and time-consuming exercise, but the findings of this research study suggest that the rewards, in terms of higher success rates, should be worth the commitment.


2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markos Goulielmos

Defines the concept of “organisational failure” in information systems (IS) development, and proposes a diagnostic model drawn from research done into IS consultancy firms that develop systems using a variety of methodologies. The research involved a qualitative study aimed at the nature of the development process and the role of organisational issues in this process. The model’s elements and relationships were determined by the research findings. Presents two cases of failure that show how IS failure is rooted in organisational pathology and examine existing failure concepts. The concept and model proposed can be used by practitioners and management before and during a project for diagnosing organisational failure before it interferes with IS development and afterwards for extracting deeper rooted organisational learning from failure.


1999 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 33-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Lehaney ◽  
Steve Clarke ◽  
Vikki Kimberlee ◽  
Sarah Spencer-Matthews

Author(s):  
Roland Holten ◽  
Alexander Dreiling ◽  
Jörg Becker

Information systems development has to deal with evolving technologies and changing environments. Therefore, the engineering of methods as the problem of creating suitable instruments for new situations is critical to information systems development. The failure of IS development projects shows that method engineering is an open field. The question is if and how research on ontology can contribute to overcome the current situation. We show, based on linguistic and philosophical findings, how ontology can be used as linchpin in method engineering. We found that the language critique approach of Kamlah and Lorenzen (1984) provides the means to create ontologies by linguistic actions and that ontologies are always related to language communities sharing the knowledge of using a common language in communication processes. We present an ontology-driven engineering method for information systems development. Our method helps to create required language constructs to handle new situations. The ontology-driven engineering method is demonstrated using an elaborate example case.


Author(s):  
Stephen K. Probert

This chapter describes research in progress on the philosophical concept of authenticity – used as a framing device for providing an interpretation of aspects of both ethical and practical action on the part of information systems (IS) professionals. Ethical codes and prescriptive IS development methods for IS professionals can be found in most developed countries in the world. Here it is argued that ethical codes and IS methods may be of limited value in IS work. One key problem here is that IS analysts and designers have to intervene in organisations (and thereby intervene in the lives of the members of those organisations). It is argued that an important issue for IS research is whether they choose to do so in (what will be characterised as) an authentic manner, rather than doing so in sincere adherence with either a code of professional ethics or with a series of methodological precepts.


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