***************** CALL FOR PAPERS ******************
SUBMISSION DUE DATE: April 15th, 2015
SPECIAL ISSUE ON: SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND SYSTEMIC THINKING –
RESEARCH AND TEACHING ISSUES to be published in the
International Journal of Information Technologies and Systems Approach
(IJITSA), IGI Global
Guest Editors:
Dr. Don Petkov, Eastern Connecticut State University, USA
Dr. George Schell, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, USA
Dr. Theo Andrew, Durban University of Technology, South Africa
INTRODUCTION:
The importance of Systems Analysis and Design (SA&D) for any program of study in
information systems and to the field of Information Technology (IT) development is
well summarized by Harris et al. (2006:242). The re-emerging interest in SA&D a few
years ago (see Parsons et al., (2005)) was evolving in parallel with a renewed interest in
the applicability of systems thinking to Information Systems as a discipline (see Mora et
al., 2007, Petkov et al, 2008). A number of relevant papers on the application of
systemic approaches to Information Systems development were published over the last
seven years in the International Journal on Information Technologies and the Systems
Approach (IJITSA). The body of knowledge in Soft Systems Methodology has reached
a stage of maturity that allows reflections on how it is applied in practice (see
Checkland & Winter (2006) for general insights on SSM and Rose & Saifullah (2012)
for a recent case study of its application to IS development). The Work System Theory
by Steven Alter, a systemic methodology specifically developed to bridge the gap in the
language of IT practitioners and the clients, has also been the subject of increasing
research (see Alter (2013), Petkov et al (2012)). We seek to identify the state of research
on applying or teaching systemic approaches to systems analysis and design in the last
several years and hence this special issue call for papers.
The objective of the special issue is to disseminate high quality research that links
systemic approaches and systems analysis and design and shows how that can be
practiced in IT projects or how such ideas can be taught to IT students at undergraduate
or postgraduate level.
Topics to be discussed in this special issue include issues in research and teaching
of systems thinking applied to systems analysis and design including (but are not
limited to) the following:





Systemic thinking and software requirements analysis.
Soft Systems Methodology and action research applied to IS development.
Work System Theory and its applications.
Combining systemic thinking and object oriented analysis.
Using systemic action research for studying the effectiveness of object oriented
modeling.
 Combining systemic thinking and agile software development.
 Using systemic approaches to decide on development methods enabling balance
between discipline and agility in software development (as advocated by Boehm
and Turner, 2004).
 Systemic approaches, systems analysis and design science research in IS.
 System Dynamics Models for supporting System Analysis and Design.
 System Analysis and Design methods and Process Models and Standards (ISO
12207, ISO 29110, CMMI, among others).
 Management of software development, action research and systems thinking.
 Systems approaches applied to the management of IT outsourcing.
 Teaching systems approaches to IT students and practitioners.
 Systems Analysis and Design in the curriculum.
SUBMISSION PROCEDURE:
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit papers for this special theme issue
on SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND SYSTEMIC THINKING – RESEARCH AND
TEACHING ISSUES on or before April 15th, 2015. All submissions must be original
and may not be under review by another publication. INTERESTED AUTHORS
SHOULD CONSULT THE GUIDELINES FOR MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS at
http://www.igi-global.com/Files/AuthorEditor/guidelinessubmission.pdf . All submitted
papers will be reviewed on a double-blind, peer review basis. Papers must follow APA
style for reference citations. All manuscript submissions to IJITSA should be sent
through
the
online
submission
system:
http://www.igiglobal.com/authorseditors/titlesubmission/newproject.aspx
All submissions and inquiries should be directed to the attention of:
Don Petkov Guest Co-Editor International Journal of Information Technologies and
Systems Approach (IJITSA) E-mail: petkovdon@yahoo.com
ABOUT International Journal of Information Technologies and Systems
Approach (IJITSA):
The Journal of Information Technologies and Systems Approach (IJITSA) is an
academic and practitioner journal created to disseminate and discuss high quality
research results on Information Systems and related upper and lower level Systems as
well as on its interactions with Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, Complex
Systems and Philosophy issues, through rigorous Theoretical, Modeling, Engineering or
Behavioral studies in order to explore, describe, explain, predict, design, control,
evaluate, interpret, intervene and/or develop organizational systems where Information
Systems are the main objects of study and the Systems Approach –any variant- is the
main research methodology and philosophical stance used. This journal is an official
publication of the Information Resources Management Association (http://www.igiglobal.com/ijitsa).
Editor-in-Chief:
Dr. Manuel Mora, Autonomous University of Aguascalientes, Mexico
Published: semi-annually (both in Print and Electronic form)
PUBLISHER:
The International Journal of Information Technologies and Systems Approach (IJITSA)
is published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), publisher of the “Information
Science Reference” (formerly Idea Group Reference), “Medical Information Science
Reference”, “Business Science Reference”, and “Engineering Science Reference”
imprints. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit www.igiglobal.com.
All inquiries regarding this special issue of IJITSA should be directed to the attention
of:
Dr. Don Petkov
Guest Co-Editor
International Journal of Information Technologies and Systems Approach
(IJITSA)
E-mail (please send to both addresses) : petkovdon@yahoo.com ;
petkovd@easternct.edu
References
Alter, S. (2013). Work system theory: overview of core concepts, extensions, and
challenges for the future. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 14 (2): 72121.
Boehm, B. and R. Turner (2004). Balancing Agility and Discipline: A Guide for the
Perplexed, Reading, MA, Addison-Wesley, Inc.
Checkland, P. and Winter, M. (2006). Process and content: Two ways of using SSM.
Journal of the Operational Research Society, 57 (12): 1435-1441.
Harris A. L, Lang, M., Oates B., Siau, K. (2006) “Systems Analysis & Design: An
Essential Part of IS Education, Journal of Information Systems Education, 17 (3): 241248.
Mora, M. Gelman, O, Forgionne, G. Petkov D and Cano, (2007) J. Integrating the
fragmented pieces in IS research paradigms and frameworks – a systems approach,
Information Resource Management Journal, 20(2): 1-22.
Parsons, J., Iivari, J., & Hevner A. (2005) Research in Information Systems Analysis
and Design: Introduction to the Special Theme Papers, Communications of the AIS, 16:
810-813.
Petkov, D., Edgar-Nevill, D, Madachy, R., O’Connor, R. (2008). Information Systems,
Software Engineering and Systems Thinking? Challenges and Opportunities.
International Journal on Information Technologies and the Systems Approach 1 (1):
62—78.
Petkov, D., Petkova O., Sewchurran, K., Andrew T. and Misra, R. (2012) The work
system method as an approach for teaching and researching information systems, in
Dwivedi, Y.K, Wade, M.R. and Schneberger, S.L.(eds), Information Systems Theory:
Explaining and Predicting Our Digital Society, Vol.2, ch.43, Springer, New York. 413424.
Rose, J., Saifullah, M. (2012), Bridging Worlds: Information Systems Development
through Cross-Cultural Comparison, Systemic Practice and Action Research, 25 (6):
511-536
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