Center for Research on Information Systems Information Systems Area (original) (raw)

Using information systems while performing complex tasks: an example from architectural design

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 1997

Nowadays , information systems , such as hypertexts , allow a variety of ways in which to structure information . Information systems are also used for an increasing number of purposes . In our study we examined two dif ferent purposes for using information systems in the context of a real task : architectural design . In design processes , information gathering plays a dif ferent role depending on design phase , and both exploration and finding information are important sub-processes . A study is presented in which the main goal was to determine whether there are advantages of certain information structures when carrying out a particular activity . Both tasks and variables used in the experiment were related to characteristics of the design process as identified in the literature . Two dif ferent kinds of information gathering behaviour , browsing and searching were studied , and criterion tests corresponded to the desired outcome in the design context , i . e . enlargement of the users' information span for browsing and their knowledge of specific topics for searching . Results showed a number of interactions between information structure and information gathering task depending on the particular criterion test examined . Inspection of each purpose on its own criterion test revealed the merits of network structures for browsing , but also for searching . These results parallel the recommendations emanating from design disciplines to provide information structures for design that do not impose a hierarchical structure , but that show the complexity of design information . Recommendations for hypertext research include the study of navigational characteristics in combination with tasks and variables that are meaningful in a specific context .

Concept and Design of Information and Information Systems

2010

'Means with meaning' when used for transmission of messages is called 'information', their evolution over the past is described. Information encoded in medium is called 'informatic product' directed at changes of mental states. In linguistic modelling information is carried in the subordinate clauses of certain dynamic verbs. This notion is used for developing 'selective' and 'semantic' information in which 'quantity of information' is related to 'variation' and 'precision of information'. A 'design methodology' for design of information systems is demonstrated. Dynamic linguistic modelling is used for developing 'prototypes' of information systems which show how information is propagated in time towards outcome or final state of change of mental state and how it is used for compensating resistance to change.

Designing complex systems---a structured activity

Proceedings of the conference on Designing interactive systems processes, practices, methods, & techniques - DIS '95, 1995

This paper com:erns the development of complc:x ~ystems from the point of view of design as a structure of activitiL'S. related hnth to the di.:nts and the users. Several modeling approaches will he adopted for different aspects of design. and several views t>n design will bc integrated. The propos..:d activity structur..: is has<.:d on teaching design practice. and will be illustrall.:d by examples from design courses for university students and for practitioners in industry. I. CO\IPLEX SYSTEMS .-\S A CHALLENGE FOJ(DESIG:\ Thi., contribution focussl's on the lh.:sign of that part of information systems. that is facing the U~l'rs. We will only consider thosl' ~tspccts of the system th<tt arc.: of relevance to the u'..:r in working with the system. In terms of the S..:chcirn model (Pfaff <tnd ten I bgcn. l'!K:') these arc the parh indicated by the u~cr interface and thl' ~tppl ieation interface. raubcr (1 1 1XK) and Van d.:r Veer .:t al. (l 1 1K:') indicat.: this a~ the UV:\1. the user's 1•inual mach inc. d.:noting all asp.:cts of a systl'm th.: user should he ~tware of during interaction (including planning. <tnd .:valuation of interaction). Tradition~tl user interface d.:sign mainly ctlnc.:rns thc situation of a single user ~111d a monolithic sy~tcm. In currem applications of information technology the UVM should includl• ;til aspects nf communication h.:tween the user and <lthcr users of the ,ystl'm as iar as communication is routed through the system. It should also include aspl'cts of distrihutl'd computing. and net11orking as far as this is rl'levant for the user. like the ;u.:ccss to and structural and time asp.:cts of rc.:mote sourc.:s of data and computing.

Special Issue: Information Systems Design--Theory and Methodology

2004

ROBERT O. BRIGGS is Research Coordinator at the Center for the Management of Information at the University of Arizona and Associate Professor of Collaboration Engineering at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. He is also Director of Research and Development for GroupSystems. com.

Paradigms Of Information System Design

The paper presents a review of design theories, derived from CIS, HCI, CSCW, and Organizational Science literatures. It is argued that newer models of design address the deficiencies of current models of design, that focus on design closure. The focus on closure de-legitimizes the essential activities of investigating, negotiating and formulating requirements for an effective design. IS design faces five "problems" that need to be resolved: (i) employing an effective model of design by with which to manage the labor process, (ii) defining the role of the information system, (iii) bounding the organizational locus of the system problem, (iv) understanding the cultural, social and business context of which the IS will be a part, and (v) managing collaboration between cross-functional stakeholders.

An exploration of the concept of design in information systems

Information Systems Foundations: The Role of Design Science, 2010

This chapter explores the concepts of design and design science in a number of disciplines, including information systems (IS). The authors identify and explore various viewpoints or perspectives on design in a number of disciplines including management, engineering, architecture and product development. These perspectives include design as product, design as process or action, design as intention, design as planning including modelling, representation and method, design as communication, design as user experience, design as a value, design as professional practice and design as service. This broad and diverse set of perspectives is contrasted with what is identified and characterised by the authors as a limiting technological perspective of design adopted by the current extant papers in the mainstream IS journals. The chapter concludes with a call to broaden and further develop the concept of design, and hence design science, into an integrated holistic socio-technical view that includes the human social and organisational factors alongside the technical factors.

Design Theory in Information Systems

2002

The aim of this paper is to explore an important category of information systems knowledge that is termed "design theory". This knowledge is distinguished as the fifth of five types of theory: (i) theory for analysing and describing, (ii) theory for understanding, (iii) theory for predicting, (iv) theory for explaining and predicting, and (v) theory for design and action. Examples of design theory in information systems are provided, with associated research methods. The limited understanding and recognition of this type of theory in information systems indicates that further debate concerning its nature and role in our discipline is needed.

Task analysis and system design: the discipline of data

Interacting with Computers, 1992

In the previous issue of Interacting with Computers, I offered a critique of Task Analysis (TA) arguing that, in general, task analysis techniques had failed to appreciate the significance of the shift in emphasis -towards logical modelling of the system and away from physical modelling -which had taken place during the early 1980s in information systems. As a result TA (if used on its own) would produce poor system designs because it fails to achieve sufficient device independence . In their commentary on this paper, Diaper and Addison (Diaper and Addison, 1991) defended TA in general and TAKD (e.g. Diaper, 1989b) in particular against the criticisms and made a number of assertions about my stance regarding humans and computers.

AN ASSIGNMENT ON INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Information Systems is an academic study of systems with a specific reference to information and the complementary networks of hardware and software that people and organizations use to collect, filter, process, create and also distribute data. An emphasis is placed on an information system having a definitive boundary, users, processors, storage, inputs, outputs and the aforementioned communication networks. . Any specific information system aims to support operations, management and decision-making. Bulgacs et al (2013).