People themes in information systems development

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IMS5006 - Information Systems Development
Practices

• People themes in information systems development
  

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The role of people in ISD

• importance of user involvement/participation in
  systems development
• user/developer communication and cultures
• the developer as technical expert
• lack of user satisfaction and commitment
• technical success is not enough
• user vs IT department relations

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The role of people in ISD

• Some potential solutions
• Participative approaches
• Management commitment/leadership
• Improved human-computer interfaces
• Training and education developers and business
  users
• End user computing
• JRP and JAD sessions

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People themes in IS development

• User participation
• End user computing
• Stakeholder analysis
• JAD (Joint Application Development)
• Groupwork and groupware

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People themes in ISD

• in what ways have information systems development
  methodologies been influenced by these people
  themes?
• how have techniques and tools relating to these
  people themes been incorporated into
  information systems development methodologies?

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User participation

• early systems development approaches
• - focus on technical aspects of computer systems
• - little actual decision-making by users
• problems
• - users resented developers as outsiders with
  little understanding of the business environment
• - systems imposed on users and not user
  friendly
• - systems did not adequately support business
  needs

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User participation definitions

• participation as user involvement in systems
  design
• a process in which two or more parties
  influence each other in making plans, policies or
  decisions. It is restricted to decisions that
  have future effects on all those making the
  decisions or those represented by them
• (Mumford 1983, p. 22)
• participation may have different meanings for
  different groups
• e.g. morally right, employee commitment,
  management tool, empowerment of employees etc.

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User participation definitions

• Barki and Hartwick (1989) distinguish between
• user participation
• a set of activities and behaviours performed by
  users
• user involvement
• a subjective, psychological state when a user
  considers a system to be both important and
  personally relevant
• How do these affect system usage and user
  satisfaction?
• How can we define and measure user
  satisfaction?

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Mumfords three levels of user participation

• three levels are identified by Mumford (1983)
• consultative
• all users are consulted about/contribute ideas
  to the design process but the design task is
  carried out by systems analysts
• representative
• design groups formed from elected or selected
  representatives take design decisions
• consensus
• design group members constantly discuss ideas
  and solutions with all users

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User participation

• expected benefits of user participation
• improved system quality
• more complete, accurate requirements
• provides expertise about the organisation
• avoids development of unacceptable or
  unimportant features
• improves user understanding of the system
• increased user acceptance
• realistic expectations
• arena for conflict resolution
• users more committed to the system
• decreased user resistance

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User participation

• Avison and Fitzgerald (2003)
• user participation has been growing
• managers should provide leadership by example
• better user / developer communication
• systems analysts need to understand business
  areas
• Improved human - computer interface
• Enid Mumfords three levels of participation
  (ETHICS)
• potential problems fragmentation of user groups,
  developer resentment, power relationships

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User participation and ISD methodologies

• Structured analysis
• user walkthroughs, users select implementation
  option
• SSADM
• user walkthroughs, user representation in
  development teams, users select technical option,
• Information Engineering
• users active in design activities, management
  involved in ISP and BAA, user reviews
• SSM
• users part of team problem owners and solvers
• ETHICS
• users do the design

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End-user computing

• Enabled by PCs and application packages for
  non-IT people
• e.g. spreadsheets, database, VisualBASIC etc
• Users in business organisations were able to
  build their own business applications, either
  stand-alone or integrated with organisational
  systems
• Definitions of end-user computing
• e.g.
• the practice of end-users developing,
  maintaining, and using their own information
  systems
• (Mirani and King 1994)

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End-user computing

• Early 1980s user-driven computing
• -end-user computing enabled by introduction of
  PCs
• -decentralisation of computing resources
• Resulted in user satisfaction
• -met needs unlikely to be satisfied by IT
  departments
• -some pressure off IT departments
• -end-users close to the business problems
• -systems resourced/costed within user
  department budgets

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End-user computing

• problems of control
• validity and integrity of data
• lack of documentation
• security issues
• maintainability
• application islands
• duplication and inconsistencies
• assistance required by users

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End-user computing

• A solution Information Centres
• -Staffed and run by IT department
• -Provide consultation, software and tools,
  liaison with vendors etc. to assist users in
  developing their own departmental information
  systems
• Significant in 1980s and early 1990s
• Increasingly sophisticated users of today have no
  need for Information Centres
• Users today need support from IT corporate
  specialists when developing customer-oriented
  systems in particular
• i.e. change from the tactical, problem-solving
  role of the past to a strategic, consultant role

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Stakeholder analysis

• Stakeholder
• Those groups either vital to the survival and
  success of of the corporation or whose interests
  are vitally affected by the corporation
• Smith and Hasnas (1999) in Avison and
  Fitzgerald (2003), p. 278
• Seven primary stakeholders
• Shareholders and investors
• Employees
• Customers
• Suppliers
• Trade associations
• Environmental groups
• Public groups (government, communities etc.)

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Stakeholder analysis

• Unstructured identification of potential
  stakeholders e.g. brainstorming
• Consult/involve those identified
• Problems
• primary stakeholders easy to identify
• accountability to stakeholders
• Establishing legal, moral rights e.g. privacy,
  risk
• Stakeholder interests difficult to define e.g.
  subjective, unclear (interorganisational/global)
• Balancing of stakeholder interests

• A managerial imperative leads to successful
  systems

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JAD (Joint Application Development)

• can be for analysis and/or design
• originated in late 1970s at IBM
• bring together key users, managers, systems
  analysts in a group meeting with a specific
  structure of roles and agenda
• JRP (Joint Requirements Planning) key system
  requirements
• JAD specify the systems design (external design
  only)
• group meeting
• avoid distractions
• identify areas of agreement and conflict
• resolve conflicts during the period of sessions

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JAD sessions roles

• JAD participants
• facilitator organise and run the sessions
• scribe(s) takes notes on a PC, CASE tool etc
• users understand the system requirements
• managers organisational overview
• systems analysts technical knowledge,
  learn about the system
• sponsor senior executive who commits and funds
  the process

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Joint Application Development
(JAD)

• JAD sessions
• from one to five days
• structured meeting room with white boards etc.,
  CASE tools
• located away from users workplace
• outcome is documents detailing the system
  workings of/requirements for the system/design

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Joint Application Development (JAD)

• Preparing for JAD sessions
• JAD leader prepares and distributes agenda and
  documentation about scope and objectives
• Agenda specifies issues to be discussed and time
  allocated to each
• Ground rules for running the sessions are made
  clear
• Ensure users who attend are knowledgeable about
  their business area

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Joint Application Development (JAD) sessions

• Conducting JAD sessions
• Avoid deviating from the agenda
• Keep to schedule (time for topics)
• Ensure scribe takes adequate notes
• Avoid using technical jargon
• Use conflict resolution strategies
• Allow ample breaks
• Encourage group consensus
• Encourage participation vs individuals dominating
• Ensure ground rules are adhered to

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JAD sessions

• benefits
• reduced time to move requirements/design forward
  (group vs one-on-one, details worked on between
  meetings)
• key people work together to make important
  decisions
• commitment is focused and intensive, not
  dissipated over time
• conflicts and differences can be understood and
  resolved
• improved quality and productivity

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Groupwork and Support Systems

• a group (or workgroup)
• 2 or more people (up to 25?) whose mission is to
  perform some task and who act as one unit
• group support systems
• systems which support organisational group
  activities, improving their effectiveness and
  efficiency
• includes
• CSCW (computer-supported co-operative work) -
  groups of people working together, especially
  professionals working on creative tasks
• GDSS (group decision support systems) - groups of
  people involved in decision-making tasks

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Group Support Systems

• related and overlapping concepts/technologies
• groupware
• software products designed to support groups of
  people engaged in a common goal or task
• office automation
• technology designed to improve the functioning
  of the office,
• e.g. word processing, LANs
• computer conferencing
• electronic communication allowing two or more
  people at different locations to have a
  conference or collaborate on a task, an aid to
  discussion
• electronic meeting system
• IT-based environment supporting a group meeting
  that may be distributed geographically and
  temporally

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Time/Place Communication Support
Same Time
Different Time
e.g. meeting room
e.g. team room, shared offices (e.g. shift
work)
Same Place
mutimedia presentation systems, keypad-based
voting systems, facilitated meetings using
networked PCs
e-mail, messaging
e.g. meeting
e.g. group task
e-mail, data and file sharing, group
authoring tools, workflow software
Different Place
screen sharing, video conferencing
from DeSanctis Gallupe (1985)
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Group Support Systems

• working in groups
• e.g. committees, teams, review panels, task
  force
• advantages
• a group has more information than any one member
• working in a group stimulates the process, ideas,
  problem solving
• risk balance moderate high riskers and encourage
  conservatives
• better at finding errors
• synergy, accountability, commitment

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Group Support Systems

• working in groups
• e.g. committees, teams, review panels, task
  force
• disadvantages
• groupthink pressures to conform
• tendency of group members to rely on others to do
  the work
• time-consuming, expensive
• inappropriate influences domination, fear of
  speaking up
• difficulties of co-ordination, and need for
  planning
• non-productive time, e.g. socialising, waiting
  for people
• compromise, poor quality decisions, lack of
  participation

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Groupware

• software tools that support and help co-ordinate
  the activities of a group require their users to
  be connected to a network of computers and
  databases
• intranets
• provide access to internal organisational
  information and facilities e.g. e-mail, corporate
  databases, directories, software
• the Internet
• provides access to external information and
  communication and collaboration facilities
• groupware products can be used as separate
  packages or as integrated systems

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Groupware

• groupware is an ambiguous term, 100s of products
  on the market
• integrated systems
• e.g. Lotus Notes, Netscape
  Communicator
• separate applications
• browsers, intelligent agents, search engines
• electronic mail
• bulletin boards and newsgroups (email-based
  discussion groups)
• messaging systems
• workflow software accessing, tracking, and
  directing documents and information
• screensharing same material shown on
  participants' screens
• (e.g. manuscripts, spreadsheets)
• integrated conferencing services
  teleconferencing, video conferencing

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Groupware

• Lotus Notes an integrated system groupware
  product
• A group communications environment for users to
  access and create information that is collected,
  stored, organised and disseminated on one or more
  networks
• Direct web access and access to we browsers
• Provides workgroup email, distributed databases,
  bulletin boards, text editing, document
  management, application development tools, and
  workflow capabilities all integrated using a
  graphic menu-based interface
• (Windows interface in client/server
  architecture)

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References

• Prescribed text
• Avison, D.E. Fitzgerald, G. (2003).
  Information Systems Development Methodologies,
  Techniques and Tools. (3rd ed), McGraw-Hill,
  London.
• Chapters 1, 7, 16
• Turban, E. and Aronson, J. (1998) Decision
  Support Systems and Intelligent Systems, (5th ed)
  Prentice-Hall
• DeSanctis, G. and Gallupe, R. (1985) Group
  Decision Support Systems A New Frontier, in
  Database
• Jessup, L. and Valacich, A. eds (1993) Group
  Support Systems New Perspectives, MacMillan