The main aim of this paper is to present a systemic framework of what the field of Information Systems (IS) is about; its connecting areas and its central theme. It was born out of a search for structure in providing a cohesive picture of the subject and field of IS for students and business managers. The average manager and executive has difficulty in obtaining an integrated and holistic view of information systems, and it is said that this leads to a lack of alignment between IS and the strategic aims of the enterprise. Students, particularly MBA students, have a similar problem. Using a large number of disparate data sources, including a delphic survey of leading academics, the paper adopted a grounded theory approach in developing an integrating framework of five main areas for the field: (1) IS Development,

The academic field of information systems has developed because organizations use a specialized body of knowledge about information and communications systems. Teaching and research support these organization needs. The field may be defined in terms of observed information systems in organizations and also in terms of the function or field of activity for system planning, development, management, and evaluation. Since the systems deal with capture, repositories, processing, and communication of data, information, and knowledge, these are also defined. Conceptual foundations for the field are the set of concepts and propositions that explain why structures are designed the way they are, tasks are scheduled and accomplished in the way they are, and activities are performed the way they are. There are three approaches to conceptual foundations: an intersection approach that accepts any concept from any field if it appears to add insight and explanation to information systems practice and research, a core approach that seeks to define those ideas that characterize the discipline and make it distinct, and an evolutionary approach that seeks a cohesive set of concepts by combining the concepts from the core approach with concepts from other fields that over time are found to be especially useful to information systems. At this time, there is significant variety and a number of concepts that are said to be useful in research and practice. In the long run,

This article presents a multifaceted case for the inclusion of the important Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) subject matter at both the graduate and undergraduate levels of the Association of Information Systems (AIS) model curricula. Based on the presentations and discussions during a panel at the 2003 Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), we first present the rationale for incorporating HCI materials in Management Information Systems (MIS) curricula. Second, we present a list of relevant and important HCI knowledge and skills that our students need for effective careers. Third, given the limited number of credit hours available to each MIS program, we explore several strategies and options for the integration of HCI into current and future MIS courses. Finally, drawing upon teaching experiences of the authors, we provide pedagogical suggestions for teaching HCI to undergraduate and graduate students.

By incorporating aspects of coordination and collaboration, workflow implementations of information systems require a sound conceptualisation of business processing semantics. Traditionally, the success of conceptual modelling techniques has depended largely on the adequacy of conceptualisation, expressive power, comprehensibility and formal foundation. An equally important requirement, particularly with the increased conceptualisation of business aspects, is business suitability. In this paper, the focus is on the business suitability of workflow modelling for a commonly encountered class of (operational) business processing, e.g. those of insurance claims, bank loans and land conveyancing. A general assessment is first conducted on some integrated techniques characterising well-known paradigms - structured process modelling, object-oriented modelling, behavioural process modelling and business-oriented modelling. Through this, an insight into business suitability within the broader...

The thesis is a collection of five papers that approach networking from the perspective of “the New Informatics.” Networking is a kind of working practice that typically is concerned with knowledge or service work, carried out by empowered employees who are engaged in highly co-operative efforts, and who rely extensively on the use of information technology (IT). “The New Informatics ” is an artificial science that explores the possibilities for inventing new ways of using IT with the objective to produce elaborated ideas that seem likely to be applicable in several situations. The overall research question asked in the thesis is: What are the possibilities to improve existing and invent new ideas of CSCW technology use in networking? The research question is approached from an individual and a group perspective. These perspectives are investigated in two empirical studies exploring the work in a dispersed and mobile IT support

Abstract. In the broadest sense, the term telework refers to organizational work

Developing countries (DCs) have yet to fully benefit from the many advances in the Information Technology (IT) field, mainly due to problems such as lack of resources and systems infrastructure. COTS-Based Systems (CBS) entail purchasing a number of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software components, each satisfying some part of the requirements of the system and integrating these components into the required system. CBS offers a number of benefits that the DCs can access, such as reducing development and maintenance costs. Therefore, CBS can be used to provide support for DCs to improve their IT processes.

The availability of effective management information is essential when coping with today’s complexity and dynamism, both within and around organizations. Information technology can be used to derive such information. The enormous amount of electronic data currently available, and the development of new technologies like data warehousing and data mining, have intensified efforts to support organizational control. However, the contribution of the management information generated is disappointing. Many projects do not produce the results that organizations expect and the added value of the implemented technology seems to be limited. This paper examines the effectiveness of management information for organizational control. Through literature research and field experiences, we identify important shortcomings of current methods, techniques, and supporting technologies. On this basis, four design guidelines for the specification of effective management information are presented. Their application is illustrated in a case study at the Dutch Internal Revenue Service. 1.

Many scientific fields share common interests for research and education. Yet, very often, these fields do not communicate to each other and are unaware of the work in other fields. Understanding the commonalities and differences among related fields can broaden our understanding of the interested phenomena from various perspectives, better utilize resources, enhance collaboration, and eventually move the related fields forward together. In this article, we present a conceptual framework, namely the Information-Model or I-model, to describe various aspects of information related fields. We consider this a timely effort in light of the evolutions of several information related fields and a set of questions related to the identities of these fields. It is especially timely in defining the newly formed Information Field from a community of twenty some information schools. We posit that the information related fields are built on a number of other fields but with their own unique foci and concerns. That is, core components from other fundamental fields interact and integrate with each other to form dynamic and interesting information related fields that all have to do with information, technology, people, and organization/society. The conceptual framework can have a number of uses. Besides providing a unified view of these related fields, it can be used to examine old case studies, recent research projects, educational programs and curricula concerns, as well as to illustrate the commonalities and differences with the information related fields.

While the specification languages of workflow management systems focus on process execution semantics, the successful development of workflows relies on a fuller conceptualisation of business processing, including process semantics. Traditionally, the success of conceptual modelling techniques has depended largely on the adequacy of certain requirements: conceptualisation (following the Conceptualisation Principle), expressive power (following the One Hundred Principle) , comprehensibility and formal foundation. An equally important requirement, particularly with the increased conceptualisation of business aspects, is business suitability. In this paper, the focus is on the suitability of workflow modelling for a commonly encountered class of (operational) business processing, e.g. those of insurance claims, bank loans and land conveyancing. Based on a previously conducted assessment of a number of integrated techniques, the results of which are summarised in this paper, fiv...