Effective information delivery systems: what's the secret?
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb045288 |
| Pages | 177-181 |
| Published date | 01 March 1994 |
| Date | 01 March 1994 |
| Author | Sandi Kirkham |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Article
Effective information
delivery systems:
what's the secret?
Sandi Kirkham
School of
Information Systems
Management,
Faculty of
Computing
and
Information
Studies,
University of
Central
England
in
Birmingham,
Perry
Barr B42
2SU,
UK
Abstract: This paper takes the view that the design of
information
systems which both do the job they were
designed for and are culturally
acceptable
is
rare,
and that
the problem does not lie squarely at
the
door of unreliable
technology
or bad systems
design.
The
number of
methodologies available which are intended to enable us to
design and build information systems
has
grown rapidly
over the last decade or
so;
one of the outcomes of this
is
a
number of highly structured and mechanistic formulae
which assume that people know from
the
outset what
information
they
want,
where they want it to go and how
they want it to be
delivered.
This paper argues that this
general assumption is false and
has
resulted
in
inadequate
and inflexible information systems which quickly assume
dinosaur status, or which are rejected by
users.
A common
prerequisite of such methodologies is
that
a problem has
been
defined (which the eventual system will
solve),
and
that
the
organisational and cultural context
within
which the
problem exists is agreed and
understood.
This is of course
sometimes the case but it should not be assumed
to
be
generally true.
The
view is taken here that more effective information
systems
are
designed when some time
is
spent at the
beginning
of the analysis exploring the environment in
which the system will
operate,
and account is taken of the
possibly different
views
of this which may
be
held by people
who
work within the
situation.
Additionally,
distinctions
need
to
be made between what
information
is needed and
how it will be
delivered.
This
could be viewed as an
important
distinction between
information
and
communication systems which has to be understood
before
organisations can make expensive procurement decisions
about
communications technology and hardware. The
outcome of this process would be an analysis of information
requirements
using
models which were closer
to
agreed
views of
the
situation.
It could also of course usefully
generate debate about desired changes to current systems
and therefore would be more likely to result in the
design
of
information
systems which matched organisational strategy
and development.
Checkland's
Soft
Systems Methodology is examined as
a
useful methodology
to
use in
this
context.
Its fundamental
features are described and
examples
of models are shown to
demonstrate
how the
methodology can facilitate analysis
of
communication requirements.
1.
Problems for systems analysis
The design and construction of information systems which
serve an organisation's need for relevant, current and accurate
data
to
support both operational and strategic activity
is a
cru-
cial task; crucial in the sense that good information manage-
ment supports organisational effectiveness, and that mistakes
are costly and undermine success. Organisations are getting
better at getting it right but we still sometimes find ourselves
saddled with information systems which, in spite of careful
design by well-informed
people,
do not ultimately do the job
they were designed to do and/or are culturally unacceptable
(for example, electronic communication via networks may
open up opportunities for creative group work and wide-
spread access to information in a role culture where informa-
tion systems have traditionally been used to support
established organisational goals or the needs of managers).
Technology does let us down and represents an obvious
scapegoat, but the real underlying causes for the ineffective-
ness of an information system may be more to do with human
error, i.e. a false assumption that people know from
the
outset
what information they
want,
where they want it
to go
and how
they want it to
be
delivered.
The issue of accurate information requirements definition
is
not new to systems
analysis.
Primarily, it could be said to be
an inevitable consequence of human activity in organisations
which is periodically undermined by poor communication,
misunderstanding and ambiguity. Within the area of informa-
tion systems analysis the issue of accuracy has also arguably
been affected by the evolution of information systems within
organisations, which has progressed from large mainframe
systems (supporting explicit organisational
goals),
to interac-
tive and personal applications which focused on individual
users,
through to networks and groupware. During the 1980s
and
1990s,
therefore, emphasis has shifted towards increasing
informality in computing through the use of personal work-
The Electronic Library, Vol.12, No. 3, June 1994 177
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