In order to promote more creative solutions to Information Systems (IS)
design problems, this paper identifies four roles that images or diagrams can play in
the IS development process. These roles are characteristics of the interaction between
the image and its creator or viewer, rather than of the diagram itself. One of these
roles in particular, the constructive role, can do much to support the generation of
creative designs, to the benefit of both systems developers and their clients.
The goal of constructive systems thinking is to enhance the creative solution of IS
development problems, and it cannot be reduced to a specific, highly structured
technique. We can, however, outline a general approach to building constructive images:
1. Create a set of candidate analogies, elaborate them, and evaluate the degree
to which each guides design of the target system.
2. Evaluate how completely this working set of analogies in forms the
important aspects of the target system, and create additional analogies to
fill any major gaps.
3. Over the relevant scope of each analogy, research its structure and dynamic
interactions. Use these as templates within which to model the target
system.
4. Validate this design and its functional implications with the system client,
adjusting it as required.
5. Complete the design by removing details specific to the analogous system
and adding those relevant to the target system.Information Systems Working Papers Serie