Modeling the dialogue aspects of an information system.

In this paper we investigate techniques offered by current object-oriented development methods for the specification of the user-system dialogue aspect of a software system. Current development methods do not give very extensive guidelines on how to model this aspect and the available techniques need some refinement and elaboration to fit this particular task in the software specification process. The paper first compares a number of approaches. The common elements of these approaches are summarized and further developed into one comprehensive set of techniques that addresses the needs of functional requirements analysis.

Analysing usability and security issues in design and development of information systems

Recent technological advancements and the global economic challenges have meant that, individuals and businesses are constantly seeking new ways to exploit Information Systems (IS) and in manners that not only enhance user experiences and/or improve business processes and productivity, but also protect the individual‟s privacy and business assets for competitive advantage. Therefore, Information Systems need to be designed and developed to meet these challenges and/or other objectives. This thesis will delve primarily into the history of IS as a basis for establishing where the problem(s) lie or emanate from. It will focus on critically analysing existing Information Systems, and investigating the conflicting issues of usability and security, from an Information Systems Design and Development perspective by analysing various approaches. An in-depth review of literature and critical analysis of requirements necessary for the design and development of a usable and secure Information System will be carried out and will form the intellectual framework for this research. The premise therefore, is to look for a balanced approach or appropriate trade-off framework for designing usable-secure systems. The research will conclude with a discussion on how an envisaged conceptual framework or model can be developed based on certain influential factors, and how the framework can be experimentally evaluated, and to suggest areas for further improvement or future research

A framework for the analysis and evaluation of software development methodologies based on formal, intrinsic and pragmatic criteria

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-151)

Design science research with focus groups - a pragmatic meta-model

Purpose – The purpose of this research paper is to present a pragmatic and systematic approach to conduct and document Design Science Research (DSR) activities with Focus Groups (FG), exploring its continuous usage and providing traceability between problem, requirements, solutions, and artifacts. Design/methodology/approach – To conduct the research and produce the meta-model for DSR with FG, a DSR approach was adopted using a conceptual model for Action Design Research already available. The artifact is the result from a specific literature review to define requirements, a careful design, and a refinement stage where it was widely used and tested in real IS implementation projects. Findings – The main outcome of this research is a specific meta-model for DSR with FG, that delivers new insights and practical guidelines for academics and professionals conducting and documenting real-world research and development initiatives deep-rooted in stakeholders’ participation. Rigorous and committed stakeholder engagement is a critical success factor in complex projects. The use of a meta-model enables to increase the process effectiveness, by framing debate and stimulating stakeholders’ participation. Research limitations/implications – The meta-model has been endorsed as a practical and useful artifact by the stakeholders participating in the IS projects where it was adopted. However, to fully demonstrate its capabilities and to become more robust, the model must be further used and tested in other application situations and environments. Originality/value – The usage of Focus Groups (FG) in Design Science Research (DSR) has already been proposed as an effective way, either to study artifacts, to propose improvements in its design, or to acknowledge the utility of those artifacts in field use. The paper provides a sound contribution to this line of research by presenting a meta-model that integrates process and data that may be used by researchers and practitioners to conduct their projects.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Investigating methodologies for evaluating the effectiveness of Integrated Spatial Information System (ISIS) implementation in the valuation department of the City of Cape Town

Includes bibliographical references.The increasing need to develop fully integrated spatial information systems that help improve planning and decision making have led the countries to create partnerships as to facilitate the improved sharing of spatial data and to realise the full potential of spatial data infrastructure. In this process researchers and practitioners use appropriate methods, tools and frameworks to examine, analyse and evaluate the new implemented systems after its implementation. The attempt to find suitable methodologies for evaluating the effectiveness of the system has led to extensive research to develop, identify and test suitable methods and frameworks and to apply these to case studies. This research investigates the methodologies for evaluating the effectiveness of Integrated Spatial Information Systems (ISIS) implemented in the Valuation Department of the City of Cape Town. The spatial information systems of Valuation Department and the effectiveness of ISIS implementation in this Department are investigated

ADDRESSING TACIT KNOWLEDGE IN ISD METHODOLOGIES

This paper identifies a gap in ISD methodologies regarding the exclusion of tacit user requirements in the development of information systems (IS). It recognises that this will lead to IS failure, since given that tacit requirements are not considered or incorporated, these systems will not address these types of requirements. In the mid 90’s Clegg et al (1997) argued that 80-90% of IT investments do not adhere to the performance objectives of the user. They identified a number reason for systems failure, one of them being the poor articulation of user requirements. Tacit knowledge is inarticulable (Wong & Radcliffe, 2000) and subjective (Baumard, 1999). Therefore requirements that result from tacit knowledge use are omitted from consideration in current ISD processes. This paper identifies three characteristics and five acquisition dimensions of tacit knowledge that have a significant impact upon the ISD process. Four well-known ISD methodologies are then critiqued in relation to these. This leads to a revised perspective on current ISD methodologies, which challenges the traditional view regarding the development of systems

Experiences of revalidating the undergraduate and postgraduate courses within the information systems curricula at University of Westminster, UK

Information systems (IS) is the commonly accepted title for academic programs focusing on applied information technology provided by a range of Universities in the UK. The University of Westminster based in central London has successfully run BSc and MSc courses in IS for more than a decade. The courses underwent a major revision in 2002 focusing on subject content, construction of courses and teaching/learning strategies. We address the purpose of course reviews within the UK higher education (HE) environment, gives a rationale for our curriculum changes, describes the revalidated IS courses at both BSc and MSc levels including our teaching and assessment strategies, and comments on our progress to date

Compliance flow: an intelligent workflow management system to support engineering processes

This work is about extending the scope of current workflow management systems to support engineering processes. On the one hand engineering processes are relatively dynamic, and on the other their specification and performance are constrained by industry standards and guidelines for the sake of product acceptability, such as IEC 61508 for safety and ISO 9001 for quality. A number of technologies have been proposed to increase the adaptability of current workflow systems to deal with dynamic situations. A primary concern is how to support open-ended processes that cannot be completely specified in detail prior to their execution. A survey of adaptive workflow systems is given and the enabling technologies are discussed. Engineering processes are studied and their characteristics are identified and discussed. Current workflow systems have been successfully used in managing "administrative" processes for some time, but they lack the flexibility to support dynamic, unpredictable, collaborative, and highly interdependent engineering processes. [Continues.