systems analysis and design best practices with successes
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Best Practices With SuccessesTRANSCRIPT
Systems Analysis and Design Best Practices with Successes
Fon SundaravejCollege of Business Administration, University of Missouri – St. Louis
8001 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO 63121Phone: 314-516-7322
Email: [email protected]
Abstract
While a system success and failure has been an important concern in systems analysis
and design, there is no theoretical paper attempting to relate the overall systems analysis
and design best practices to system successes. This paper analyzes the systems analysis
and design best practices found in existing information systems (IS) literatures. These
practices studied by IS researchers are compared to the practices proposed by IS
practitioners. The findings from this study confirm that many best practices such as user
involvement, executive management support, clear statement of requirements, proper
planning, realistic expectations, competent staff, and hard-working and focused staff,
yield a system success, whereas some other systems analysis and design best practices
such as smaller project milestones, ownership, and clear vision and objectives, are still
challenging IS researchers for their future studies.
1. Introduction
The 1994 CHAOS Report proposed by the Standish Group represents a failure record of
IT application development. Only 16 % of surveyed projects are completed on-time and
on-budget with all features and functions as initially specified. The project success and
failure factors are specified. Unfortunately, little theoretical knowledge is available on
how systems are best designed and analyzed in order to reduce the number of IT project
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failures and increase more successes. The Standish Group does not describe theirresearch
methodology, resulting in an invalidity and unreliability of their results (Jorgensen &
Molokken, 2006). The objectives of this research are to learn the systems analysis and
design best practices and their successes presented in IS leading journals and to be able to
specify which area in systems analysis and design has been explored or needs more
attention from IS researchers.
2. Theoretical Background
The Standish Group surveyed and interviewed IT executive managers for their major
reasons of a project success and failure. The samples include all size companies across
industries. The top ten project success factors are 1) user involvement, 2) executive
management support, 3) clear statement of requirements, 4) proper planning, 5) realistic
expectations, 6) smaller project milestones, 7) competent staff, 8) ownership, 9) clear
vision and objectives, and 10) hard-working, focused staff. The first three factors are
major elements of a project success. The success defined by the Standish Group refers to
the project implementation within time and budget and with initially specified features.
Unfortunately, the statistical records presented by the Standish Group demonstrate only
16% of successful projects, whereas almost 53% of challenged projects and 31% of
impaired projects.
Even if the findings by the Standish Group inform us the situations of the IT project
development and implementation, including how to achieve a project success or to avoid
a project failure, a research method to validate the outcomes of the success or failure
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factors is not discussed. As a result, the validity and reliability of these findings are still
questionable. In addition, the definition of each best practice, including processes to
achieve the practice is ignored. It would be more beneficial to practitioners if they are
equipped with some guidelines to execute the best practices in their IT projects. Besides
the results offered by IT consultants, it is also interesting to investigate what IS
researchers have presented in terms of the systems analysis and design best practices
towards a success.
The rest of this paper is organized as follows. The research methodology discusses the
data collection and operationalization of key constructs. The results, including the
limitations, of the study are revealed and discussed. The contributions and implications
for theory and practice are provided at the end of this paper.
3. Research Methodology
The research methodology is differentiated into two sections: data collection and
operationalization of key constructs. How to gather and analyze data for the current study
is discussed below.
3.1 Data Collection
The article search is based on the following author supplied keywords: systems analysis,
systems design, systems development, information systems analysis, information systems
design, information systems development, systems analysis and design, IS analysis, IS
design, and IS development from the EBSCO host research database on the selected top
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three IS journals. The journals include MIS Quarterly (MISQ), Journal of Management
Information Systems (JMIS), and Information Systems Research (ISR). These three high-
quality journals are believed to be sufficient representations of majority works of IS
researchers. The abstract of each matched articles is reviewed. Only articles that represent
best practices and successes in systems analysis and design will be selected by the
researcher. If the abstract contains unclear information regarding the best practices and
successes, the content of the article is further analyzed.
3.2 Operationalization of Key Constructs
Two key constructs, systems analysis and design best practice and success, are analyzed
in this study. Best practice is defined as a form, manner, and order of conducting actions
towards a success in systems analysis and design. Success refers to a favorable or desired
outcome derived from the best practice. These two definitions are used to determine if an
article should be retained or dropped from the study. The selected articles must contain
an empirical study to prove the association between a defined best practice and success.
4. Results
The search results are presented in Table 1. The first three rows represent the search
results of the three different journals. The last row displays the grand total number of
selected and matched articles, including its percentage. The first column presents the
name of the selected three journals in this study. An article is selected into the study if it
represents a relationship between a best practice in systems analysis and design and a
success. The second column shows the number of selected articles. The selected articles
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come from a pool of matched articles based on the key word search. The third column
represents the total number of the matched articles. Finally, the last column is the
percentage of the selected articles from the matched articles.
The results from Table 1 inform us that less than one fourth (23%) of the systems
analysis and design articles correlate a best practice to a success. MISQ yields 33 of 163
articles, which represents 20%. JMIS yields 12 of 44 articles or 27%. Finally, ISR yields
16 of 55 articles or 29%. The detailed of best practices and their successes in the selected
articles from the three journals are demonstrated in Appendix.
Journal Number of Selected Articles
Total of Matched Articles
Percentage
MISQ 33 163 20%JMIS 12 44 27%ISR 16 55 29%
61 262 23%Table 1: Search Results
5. Discussion
An analysis of the results of this study leads to six notifications. First, several matched
results represent the best practices with a success specific to a particular context. Second,
the findings from many studies prove many systems analysis and design best practices
provided by the Standish Group. Third, some studies appear to present overlapped best
practices due to a lack of exact definition of each best practice by the Standish Group.
Fourth, in some studies, the best practice appears to be the success and the actual success
is missing. Fifth, there are tremendous volumes of studies that demonstrate best practices
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but lack a specification of the success to strengthen their findings. Lastly, some best
practices proposed by the Standish Group need more attentions from IS researchers.
Several matched results represent best practices that lead to a success but are specific to a
particular context. Examples are the geographical information system (Puri, 2007),
physicians’ profile system (Kohli and Kettinger, 2004), Teledemocracy (Ytterstad and
Watson, 1996), database (Ahrens and Sankar, 1993), integrated computer-aided software
engineering system (Subramanian and Zarnich, 1996; Banker and Kauffman, 1991),
payment processing (Kozar and Mahlum, 1987), Financial and Accounting Management
Information System (Semprevivo, 1980), online relational database management system
(Berrisford and Wetherbe, 1979), electronic data processing (Rittenberg and Purdy,
1978), computer-mediated knowledge sharing system (Ma and Agarwal, 2007), online
searching (Galletta et al, 2006), peer to peer file sharing networks (Asvanund et al.,
2004), expert system (Kim et al., 2000; Gill, 1996; Abdul-Gader and Kozar, 1990),
colonial system (Porra, 1999), decision support system (Sinha and May, 1996; Kasper,
1996; Houdeshel and Watson, 1987), and executive information system (Wall et al.,
1992; Fowler, 1979). Although these studies provide an evidence of how the proposed
best practices bring a certain type of successes, the generalization of these practices to
different contexts may be doubtful.
The findings from many studies, however, help strengthening the systems analysis and
design best practices provided by the Standish Group such as user involvement
(Baskerville and Stage, 1998; McKeen and Guimaraes, 1997; Barki and Hartwick, 1994;
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Newman and Noble, 1990; Baronas and Louis, 1988; McNeil, 1979), executive
management support (Ravichandran and Rai, 2000: Banker and Slaughter, 2000; Guinan
et al, 1998; Schonberger, 1980), clear statement of requirements (Sun et al., 2006;
Burton-Jones and Meso, 2006; Marakas and Elam, 1998; Wang, 1996; Tan, 1994; Abdul-
Gader and Kozar, 1990; Montazeml and Conrath, 1986), proper planning (Tam, 1990;
Colter, 1984; McKeen, 1983), realistic expectations (Lawrence and Low, 1993),
competent staff (Majchrzak et al., 2005; Tiwana and McLean, 2005; Guinan et al, 1998;
Janz et al., 1997; Markus and Benjamin, 1996), and hard-working, focused staff (Guinan
et al, 1998).
Unfortunately, due to a lack of definition of each best practice by the Standish Group,
some studies appear to present overlapped best practices. Proposed by Kim et al. (2000),
the best practice of visual cues and contextual information in multiple diagrams that
facilitate a process of searching for related information and of developing hypotheses
about the target system can be accounted for either clear statement of requirements,
proper planning, or both. There is no clear boundary between these two best practices.
Another example is a study by McLean (1979). The study proposes that to allow end
users to function as their own developers is a way to relieve workload and to lessen the
maintenance load. The best practice represented in this study can be seen as user
involvement, ownership, or both. It is again difficult to classify the best practice of this
study. Thus, there should be a call for a definition or categorization of systems analysis
and design best practices to promote clearer understanding.
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Additionally, in some studies, the best practice appears to be the success and the actual
success is missing. For example, Te’eni (2001) uses a model of organizational
communication to obtain a balance between relationship and action, between cognition
and affect, and between message and medium. These balances are believed to reflect a
more realistic picture of communication behavior in organizations. The realistic picture
of communication within an organization can be considered as a realistic expectation.
This study can be accounted into a valid study if the author further investigates what
success gained from such realistic communication. The second example can be
represented from a study by Ahituv and Neumann (1984). They claim that each step
along the information systems development life cycle (ISDLC) should be decomposed
into several dimensions, resulting in periodic reviews and revisions whenever the project
reaches a certain milestone. Again, this study would be more valuable if the authors
demonstrate a success that is derived from smaller project milestones. The last example is
a study by Shomenta et al. (1983). They specify that the application approach worksheet
is used to identify the characteristics of a proposed application. Once the application’s
characteristics are defined, the user utilizes the worksheet’s matrix to determine which
development method might be most appropriate for the application. The practice would
be strengthened by a specific success obtained from the clear vision and objectives from
the worksheet’s matrix.
Moreover, even if many studies demonstrate best practices, they lack a specification of a
success to strengthen their findings. Sharma and Yetton (2007) claim that training is a
critical intervention to support the successful implementation of information systems
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innovations when technical complexity and task interdependence are high. Ba et al.
(2001) assert that incentive management is recommended as an important dimension of
any information systems design and evaluation. Mann and Watson (1984) specify that the
level of user involvement in DSS development varies considerably. These studies are not
counted into the current study because there is no proof to shows that such practices
result in what type of successes in systems analysis and design.
Finally, even though many studies prove the best practices presented by the Standish
Group, there are still some areas of systems analysis and design best practices lacking
attentions from IS researchers, for instance, smaller project milestones, ownership, and
clear vision and objectives. Future researchers should put greater efforts in studying these
best practices to completely validate the results proposed by the Standish Group.
6. Limitations
The main limitation of this study is a single researcher. Even though a definition of
systems analysis and design best practice and success are carefully defined, it is very
difficult to avoid bias from a single researcher to determine a valid article in this study.
Without a clear definition of best practices, it is also challenging for a single researcher to
categorize the best practices of valid articles. To reduce bias, at least three researchers are
needed to bring a majority agreement and more reliable results into the study.
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7. Implications
This study benefits both IS researchers and practitioners. The contributions and
implications for theory and practice are discussed below.
7.1 Contributions and Implications for Theory
This study presents a general picture of existing studies regarding to the systems analysis
and design best practices in the IS discipline. There are many areas that prior IS
researchers have been putting their efforts on and helping strengthen the 1994 CHAOS
report proposed by the Standish Group. Still, the future study of systems analysis and
design best practices needs greater concerns. First, researchers should ensure the
generalization of their proposed best practices in different contexts. Second, there are
several unexplored areas, especially the best practices other than top three factors offered
by the Standish Group. Third, to strengthen the findings of the study, researchers should
clearly define a definition of best practices, including processes to achieve such practices.
Moreover, researchers should prove that their proposed best practice lead to a type of
successes. With all these considerations, the future studies are hopefully able to
contribute more value to the IS discipline.
7.2 Contributions and Implications for Practice
Without a doubt, best practices in systems analysis and design proposed by the Standish
Group is useful resources for practitioners to be aware of what factors bring a project
success or failure. This study, however, informs practitioners that not every best practice
is confirmed to yield a desirable result. Some best practices need further explanation on
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their definition, categorization, or process to achieve a project success. To apply these
practices into a real setting, practitioners should keep in mind that some best practices
suggested by the Standish Group may not valid and reliable. Some best practices do not
bring a clear success. On some occasions, a success is even omitted.
8. Conclusion
The 1994 CHAOS Report proposed by the Standish Group suggests the top ten systems
analysis and design best practices that lead to a project success. A literature review from
the three leading IS journals validates many of these best practices. User involvement,
executive management support, clear statement of requirements, proper planning,
realistic expectations, competent staff, and hard-working, focused staff are found
supported by the literatures. Yet, some best practices need more validation by
researchers. There is vague or no evidence per se to prove smaller project milestones,
ownership, and clear vision and objectives as best practices that result in a success in
systems analysis and design. Researchers should explore these areas in their future
research to generate more validation and reliability of the 1994 CHAOS Report.
Practitioners who consider applying the best practices from the 1994 CHAOS Report
should place concern on the context and selected practice and its success.
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Appendix
MIS Quarterly (MISQ) yields valid 33 out of 163 matched results. Details of best practices and successes are explained below.
Best Practice Success SourceThe use of geographical information systems (GIS) for land management in India had made possible effective action leading to a significant rise in the water levels, which in turn allowed beneficial changes in the cropping patterns. These changes also came as a result of the associated redefinition of the relationships between scientists and community members, and the restructuring of the institutional framework.
Rise in the water levelsBeneficial changes in the cropping patterns
Puri, 2007
A cooperative learning strategy called collaborative elaboration provides a theoretical and practical basis for stimulating client learning during an IS design process. Teams using more collaborative elaboration had more client learning and teams with more client learning achieved better IS design-phase outcomes.
Client learningBetter IS design-phase outcomes
Majchrzak et al., 2005
A physicians’ profiling system (PPS) was used to monitor and benchmark physicians’ clinical practices and outcomes resulting in changed practice behaviors in closer congruence with management’s goals. It reduced clinical procedural costs and adopted practices benchmarked to produce better outcomes by legitimize managerial authority to a better understanding of how to informate autonomous professionals.
Closer congruence with management’s goalsReduced clinical procedural costs
Kohli and Kettinger, 2004
A model of organizational communication provides a balance between relationship and action, between cognition and affect, and between message and medium. Such a balance is believed to reflect a more realistic picture of communication behavior in organizations.
More realistic picture of communication behavior in organizations
Te’eni, 2001
Software quality goals are best attained when top management Software quality Ravichandran and Rai,
creates a management infrastructure that promotes improvements in process design and encourages stakeholders to evolve the design of the development processes. All elements of the organizational system need to be developed in order to attain quality goals and piecemeal adoption of select quality management practices are unlikely to be effective.
2000
Increased behavioral flexibility of IS specialists, the ability to switch roles in different circumstances, would improve organizational effectiveness and IS specialist credibility.
Organizational effectivenessIS specialist credibility
Markus and Benjamin, 1996
Risk analysis enables appropriate risk resolution strategies to be placed in effect before the prototyping process breaks down. It facilitates consensus building through collaborative decision making and is consistent with a high degree of user involvement.
Consensus building Baskerville and Stage, 1996
A job design perspective of expert systems adoption can be a valuable tool in predicting user acceptance and ultimately systems usage.
Predicted user acceptance and systems usage
Gill, 1996
Teledemocracy is used as information technology implemented in Norway to enhance political work in supporting the exchange of documents between politicians and local government officers.
Exchange of documents Ytterstad and Watson, 1996
To avoid the lack of familiarity with database design methods and increase effective implementation of the database management packages, the solution would be for end users to learn required database design skills from software tutors. The tutors were based on a modified Entity-Relationship database design method. Empirical comparison of the tutors tested the teaching effectiveness of the facilitators.
Familiarity with database design methodsIncreased effective implementation of the database management packages
Ahrens and Sankar, 1993
The user perception of representation is the most significant influence on user satisfaction.
User satisfaction Lawrence and Low, 1993
The application of modern information systems development methodology does not decrease maintenance time. However, time spent on emergency error correction, as well as the number of system failures, decreased significantly with the application of modern methodology.
Decreased time spent on emergency error correction and the number of system failures
Dekleva, 1992
An order of magnitude gain in software development productivity and the importance of reuse in integrated computer-aided software engineering (ICASE) as a driver in realizing this result was indicated. In addition, the viability of the firm’s information systems strategy was demonstrated. It offered new ideas for code reuse and software development measurement that could be applied in development environments that emphasize reuse.
Code reuse Banker and Kauffman, 1991
System implementation represents a threat to users’ perceptions of control over their work and a period of transition during which users must cope with differences between old and new work systems. User involvement is effective because it restores or enhances perceived control.
Enhanced perceived control Baronas and Louis, 1988
Up-to-date payment processing would provide information valuable to generating increased organization revenues. The backlogged project was given life by having the users, with tutoring and guidance, perform tasks usually assigned to systems analysts.
Increased organization revenues Kozar and Mahlum, 1987
Traditional user/analyst interactions display primarily error-prone characteristics, and that the new organizational learning interaction methodology successfully generated more valid information with increased detection of errors.
More valid information with increased detection of errors
Salaway, 1987
Factors contributing to the success of the Management Information and Decision Support System (MIDS) include a committed senior executive sponsor, carefully defined systems and information requirements, a team approach to systems
Better informationImproved communicationsAn evolving understanding of information requirements
Houdeshel and Watson, 1987
development, an evolutionary development approach, and careful computer hardware and software selection. MIDS’ benefits include better information, improved communications, an evolving understanding of information requirements, a test-bed for system evolution, and cost reductions.
A test-bed for system evolutionCost reductions
Managers’ information preferences were not influenced by their characteristics but were influenced by the decision task. The managers demonstrated an understanding of information uses, providing support for user specification of MIS information requirements.
Understanding of information usesUser specification of MIS information requirements
Nutt, 1986
The use of cognitive mapping for information requirements analysis provides three benefits. It aids in the identification of irrelevant data. It can be used to evaluate the factors that affect a given class of decisions. It enhances the overall understanding of a decision maker’s environment, particularly when it is ill-structured.
Identification of irrelevant dataEvaluated factors that affect a given class of decisionsEnhanced the overall understanding of a decision maker’s environment
Montazeml and Conrath, 1986
Each step along the information systems development life cycle (ISDLC) should be decomposed into several dimensions, resulting in periodic reviews and revisions whenever the project reaches a certain milestone.
Periodic reviews and revisions Ahituv and Neumann, 1984
One methodology for fully utilizing human resources to implement effective computer systems has been maximizing productivity by stressing team effort.
Fully utilizing human resources White, 1984
The combination of systems analysis tools ensures complete analysis products.
Complete analysis products Colter, 1984
The application approach worksheet is a document used by mid-level and senior user management to identify the characteristics of a proposed application. Once the application’s characteristics are defined, the user utilizes the worksheet’s matrix to determine which development method might be most appropriate for the application.
Determined characteristics of a proposed application
Shomenta et al., 1983
Systems which spent more time in the analysis phase required less time to code, resulting in greater user satisfaction, and were developed in agreement with established budgets and deadlines.
User satisfactionAgreement with established budgets and deadlines
McKeen, 1983
The major advantage of the mis-en-scene approach, a framework used in file criticism, is that it allows the information analyst to classify, document, and interpret important factors which usually remain at the subconscious level.
Determined analysis Kendall and Kendall, 1981
A Dictionary/Directory Facility (DDF) of the integrated online Financial and Accounting Management Information System (FAMIS) proved to reduce significantly the amount of conventional computer programming required to develop FAMIS. It also proved to be a valuable aid in facilitating systems, and user and management interaction.
Reduced amount of programmingSystems, user, and management interaction
Semprevivo, 1980
Executives or even various stakeholder groups may assume active leadership where warranted by the circumstances. With design leadership correctly placed, project purpose may be more carefully identified and design activities may be properly channeled to meet those objectives.
More précised project purpose Schonberger, 1980
The executive intelligence system was used as a design strategy for providing managers with relevant information for choosing courses of action.
Relevant information for managers Fowler, 1979
The diversity of client characteristics and of output media which can be handled through the functional interface standards for all software run on its central processing facility has made possible an extraordinary corporate growth rate in excess of 25% per year, with a corresponding expansion in client base and MIS services.
Corporate growth McNeil, 1979
To meet the demand of computer-based information systems, one solution is to allow end users to function as their own developers, relieving workload and lessening the maintenance
Relieved workload and maintenance load
McLean, 1979
load.A structured group process as a decision-oriented approach is used to generate both critical decisions and information needs for a manufacturing firm. The approach is effective, particularly for organizational units that are line oriented.
Critical decision and information needs
Henderson and West, 1979
Heuristic development simulates user capabilities early in the systems development process. Such approach is made possible by the use of an online relational-type Database Management System. Introduction of such user capabilities allows users to interact with the system and heuristically determine information requirements.
User and system interactionDetermined information requirements
Berrisford and Wetherbe, 1979
Upgrading of internal auditor expertise in EDP systems appears to be the key to improved acceptance.
Improved acceptance Rittenberg and Purdy, 1978
Journal of Management Information Systems (JMIS) yields valid 12 out of 44 matched results. Details of best practices and successes are explained below.
Best Practice Success SourceTeam creativity results primarily from integration of individually held expertise of team members at the team level through the process of expertise integration.
Team creativity Tiwana and McLean, 2005
Creativity techniques are strategies for strengthening system analysis skills, especially of novice systems analysts, in the problem-solving approaches during an information requirement task.
Strengthening system analysis skills Schenk et al., 1998
The cognitive interview was found to be both more effective and more efficient than standard interviewing techniques in eliciting episodic knowledge from reference librarians, resulting in a richer recall of details relevant to the task domain.
A richer recall of details relevant to the task domain
Moody et al., 1998
Not all user participative behaviors were equally effective in all User satisfaction McKeen and Guimaraes,
situations. Depending on the level of task complexity and system complexity, some user participative behaviors resulted in imported user satisfaction, while others had no relationship with satisfaction.
1997
While employee autonomy may lead to increased levels of satisfaction and motivation, the level of team development and an organization’s learning capacity may be more important in achieving improved work outcomes.
Improved work outcomes Janz et al., 1997
Superior performance was observed when the process-oriented tool was applied to the process-oriented task. For the object-oriented task, however, the performance effects of cognitive fit require further investigation since there was no difference in subject performance across the two tools.
Superior performance Agarwal et al., 1996
The protocol-based method, which was used to formalize procedures for object-oriented analysis, produced analyses that more closely matched the problem. It required less time to complete an analysis, and it was perceived as easier to use than the structured analysis method.
Analysis that is more closely matched the problemLess time analysisEase of use
Wang, 1996
For integrated computer-aided software engineering (ICASE) projects, function points accounted for 74 to 82 percent of the variance in software development effort. Technical complexity factor, however, had only a small indirect effect on software effort. Productivity was significantly higher for the rapid application development method in comparison with the productivity associated with the traditional systems development life cycle method. Higher levels of tool experience were associated with significant increases in software productivity.
Software productivity Subramanian and Zarnich, 1996
A framework for injury assessment and reduction of legal liability that can be used to guide computer-based systems (CBS) developers in assessing the possibility of injury resulting
Safer systems Bordoloi et al., 1996
from development flaws might provide safer systems to avoid harming individuals.The effective communication between systems analysts and clients is the outcome of complex processes that are influenced by the personal and situational characteristics of the participants.
Effective communication between systems analysts and clients
Tan, 1994
In learning to specify information requirements, novice analysts performed more effectively when trained to use a methodology, when familiar with the application, and when they used procedural methodology knowledge rather than declarative methodology knowledge alone.
Novice analyst performance Vessey and Conger, 1993
The Coherence Method proved useful in facilitating the understanding of the experts’ discourse, especially in early knowledge acquisition interviews.
Understanding of the experts’ discourse
Abdul-Gader and Kozar, 1990
Information Systems Research (ISR) yields valid 16 out of 55 matched results. Details of best practices and successes are explained below.
Best Practice Success SourceIT features that facilitate computer-mediated knowledge sharing are those supporting virtual co-presence, persistent labeling, self-presentation, and deep profiling.
Member satisfaction and knowledge contribution
Ma and Agarwal, 2007
Data flow specification and data flow analysis are two basic components that increase analytical rigor to business process management by detecting data flow anomalies such as missing data, redundant data, and potential data conflicts.
Analytical rigor to business process management
Sun et al., 2006
Delay, familiarity, and breadth factors collectively impact performance and user attitudes, in turn affecting behavioral intentions to return to the site which are concerned as the cognitive costs and penalties that users incur when making
Improved performance and attitudeBehavioral intention
Galletta et al., 2006
choices in their search for target information.Five conditions (minimality, determinism, losslessness, weak coupling, and strong cohesion) of the good decomposition model that explains the degree to which conceptual models communicate meaning about a domain to analysts result in effectively domain communication.
Effectively domain communication Burton-Jones and Meso, 2006
In peer to peer file sharing networks, a proper amount of contribution from users helps increase resource sharing. At some point the costs will exceed the value the users provide to the network.
Resource sharing Asvanund et al., 2004
High investment in software quality practices such as structured design is not economically efficient in all situations. Instead, organizational mechanisms in promoting efficient design choices are encouraged.
Reduction of costs and errors Banker and Slaughter, 2000
Visual cues and contextual information in the multiple diagrams facilitate a process of searching for related information and of developing hypotheses about the target system is involved.
Understanding a system by multiple diagrams
Kim et al., 2000
The mean-risk measure in expert system which has consistent and separable properties helps decision making under risk.
Decision making under risk Mookerjee and Mannino, 2000
Colonies in colonial systems can be used as a metaphor to design new human systems that capture a greater degree of humanness than do the models of machines and organisms.
Degree of humanness Porra, 1999
Certain question types during system analysis phase are associated with increased accuracy of logical representations regardless of analysis experience level.
Accuracy of logical system representations
Marakas and Elam, 1998
A computer-based design assistant, an integrated and comprehensive framework for decision support, provides effective and efficient assistance in solving routine design problems.
Decreased routine design problems Sinha and May, 1996
Expressiveness, visibility, and inquirability are requisite components of the DSS design for user calibration.
User calibration Kasper, 1996
Team skill, managerial involvement, and little variance in team experience enable more effective team processes than do software development tools and methods.
Effective team processes Guinan et al., 1998
User participant, conflict, and influence play a key role in the satisfactory resolution of conflict.
Resolution of conflict Barki and Hartwick, 1994
The executive information system can be addressed through a design theory of vigilant information systems which denote the ability of an information system to help an executive remain alertly watchful for weak signals and discontinuities in the organizational environment relevant to emerging strategic threats and opportunities.
Executive alertness Walls et al, 1992
Four processes of user involvement: learning, conflict, political, and garbage-can occur in different stages of system development and contexts. Such processes lead to a two stage model of user involvement for complex design situations. The two stages are structuring of conflict and its development and conflict resolution.
Resolution of conflict Newman and Noble, 1990
Concept induction that infers concept description from sample instances of the concept is a viable tool to automate the process of knowledge acquisition by shortening the development cycle.
Knowledge acquisition Tam, 1990