ICT612 – Topic 8.1 – Extra Material
Overview re People and Procedures aspects of
information systems:
Should IS analysts have to worry about
organisational issues?
First principles analysis:
Five aspects of information systems :
H/w; S/w; Data; People; Procedures:
. Who are the People involved in IS?
. What are the Procedures required for IS?
Individual and organisational human
factors and procedural issues must be
included in design.
Fig. 4.3 in Eason (1988)
ICT612 – Topic 8.1 – Extra Material - Page 1
Flynn (1992) Ch. 12
"The values that shape systems design are
also influenced by how powerful groups
and individuals believe that people in
organizations should behave. For example,
there is a difference between seeing people
in organizations as skilled and trustworthy
and seeing them as unskilled and lazy"
(p. 267)
" … a Rational Systems approach to
organizations assumes that organizational
goals are clear, resources are ample, and
that organizational members are generally
cooperative. Years of research on
organizations shows that these assumptions
are routinely violated in typical
organizations … Computer scientists
making important changes in organizations
need to have a more complete
understanding of how organizations
actually behave" (p. 268)
ICT612 – Topic 8.1 – Extra Material - Page 2
"Systems design in real organizations is
difficult. Diversity within organizations
makes system design as much an
organizational activity - and thus a social,
cultural, economic, and political activity as a technical activity. (p. 268)
"Organizational implementation means
making a computer system accessible to
those who could or should use it, and
integrating its use into the routine work
practices." (p. 269)
"People are more likely to share
information when the system helps provide
social feedback about the value of their
efforts, or when they are rewarded (or at
least not punished) for contributing" (p.
269)
"People compute in a social world of
relationships to others. they are concerned
about acceptance, status, resources, power
and meaning.
ICT612 – Topic 8.1 – Extra Material - Page 3
This "web" of social relationships and
technological dependencies extends beyond
the formally defined group and
organizational boundaries that computer
scientists usually rely on as an adequate
description of organizational behavior. ...
Understanding the use and value of
computing requires knowledge of informal
social behavior, available resources, and
the dependencies between key groups" (p.
269)
ICT612 – Topic 8.1 – Extra Material - Page 4
Organisational Theory and Information
Systems: Flynn (1992) Ch. 13
Examination of an approach to handling
organisational issues within an IS
framework.
Flynn explains why it isn't easy and the
application of a contingency approach,
involving various factors:





Psychological / social factors;
Uncertainty and organisation structure;
Technology;
Tasks;
Power
ICT612 – Topic 8.1 – Extra Material - Page 5
Practical recommendations:
A way of coping with the complexity of
the interaction of factors is to adopt a
broad sequential strategy, as follows:
1. Decide on key aspects of appropriate
organisational structure, taking into
account views of power holders in the
process.
2. Decide on appropriate type of
information system bearing in mind
the goals, tasks, information flows
and organisational structure
3. Design the detail of the information
system and the user's tasks, roles etc,
so that it is congruent with the
previous decisions. Some revisions of
earlier decisions may be required to
maintain coherence/congruency.
ICT612 – Topic 8.1 – Extra Material - Page 6
Review of BPR
What is BPR?
Business Process - Reengineering /
Redesign / Review / Reorganisation / etc.
Lots of different view points re:
. what does BPR mean
. rapid vs gradual change
. is BPR just good management
. use of tools for BPR
. cross-cultural issues
BPR as reengineering
(Hammer & Stanton, 1995)
Reengineering not yet a science, but more
than an art - a craft.
There are no fixed formal procedures or
guarantees of success.
ICT612 – Topic 8.1 – Extra Material - Page 7
“Reengineering: (The Official Definition)
The fundamental rethinking and radical
redesign of business processes to bring
about dramatic improvements in
performance.” (p. 3)
- key aspects: dramatic; processes ;
radical redesign
BPR as Redesign (Kubeck, 1995)
- perhaps a more conservative view
Various levels (scopes) of intervention:
. technology application (narrowest)
. work-flow analysis
. business process redesign
. business reengineering (widest)
Relationship of business reengineering to:
. software engineering
. information engineering
. modern structured systems analysis
ICT612 – Topic 8.1 – Extra Material - Page 8
Relationship Between BPR and IS
Socio-Technical Methodologies
BPR as a possible means of integrating IS
socio-technical design with business
change processes.
- Can BPR mean that we only need
technical IS methodologies?
- Are the BPR processes sufficient from
the social point of view?
- Are they sufficiently integrated with IS
design processes?
BPR = “Don’t automate - obliterate!”
Is IS part of the problem or part of the
solution?
A traditional approach to IS development
could be seen as reinforcing existing
practices (maybe even propping-up
fundamentally inefficient ones) rather
than enabling radical chance.
ICT612 – Topic 8.1 – Extra Material - Page 9
BUT - in cases of successful BPR - IS
developments are key facilitating aspects
for changes.
Key issue is the marrying of IS
developments to BPR processes
(in the cases where they occur)
via an extended concept of the sociotechnical approach.
Otherwise IS development and BPR may
fight against each other.
ICT612 – Topic 8.1 – Extra Material - Page 10
HOW?
. integrate IS strategic planning with
reengineering;
. incorporate IS development activities in
reengineering processes;
. ensure a flexible approach to sociotechnical IS methods to accommodate
BPR practices,
whatever form they take;
. facilitate radical thinking in IS solutions
(when called for);
. assist in identification of key areas for
improvement;
. ensure IS design maximises flexibility for
individual workers
- so that IS facilitates and/or survives
BPR
ICT612 – Topic 8.1 – Extra Material - Page 11
Extra socio-technical IS development
methodology requirements:
. need to address design of full range of
procedures required for IS
. wide range of people involved with systems
- need job descriptions and organisational
design
. it isn’t easy - option of a contingency
approach (inadequate) (Flynn)
. why not leave it to the managers to provide
needed socio-technical mix? - too hard
. need to engage managers and facilitate
their involvement - how ?
. a key issue is managing organisational
interdependence (internal/external)
So we are still seeking a method to achieve
an integrated socio-technical design process
- together with client management
ICT612 – Topic 8.1 – Extra Material - Page 12
Designing the organisational structure
aspects of information systems:
Organisational factors can play a
significant role in the optimisation of IS
use because they determine who uses the
system and the types of tasks performed.
Key organisational issues include the
following:
. design of an organisational structure to
successfully integrate IS use with
required work procedures;
. system implementation and work-role
transition strategies;
. human resources planning and staff
selection, education and training
arrangements;
. performance evaluation and quality
management practices;
ICT612 – Topic 8.1 – Extra Material - Page 13
. data sharing and inter-organisation
coordination arrangements, including
ethical issues relating to validity and
confidentiality of information.
It is important that the implementation of
organisational change and the redesign of
procedures and job specifications be
carried out with the cooperation of
existing staff.
This will facilitate the changes in
'organisational culture' required for the
successful introduction of IS technology.
Special attention needs to paid to workflow and group decision-making aspects,
especially where any form of CSCW
procedure is introduced.
Many of the task analysis procedures
required for a thorough approach to
organisational design for IS
implementation are also required for
design of the system's functionality and
user interface.
ICT612 – Topic 8.1 – Extra Material - Page 14
Hence, the organisational and personnel
aspects should be examined within an
integrated, comprehensive system
development methodology.
If the (methodology level) combination of
hard and soft approaches (e.g. in
Multiview) is not adequate then we need
to identify sub-methodology sets of
procedures for key aspects of human
factors design and ways to integrate them
within other methodologies.
ICT612 – Topic 8.1 – Extra Material - Page 15