Expecting the unexpected : beyond teleological information systems development

[摘要] Information systems have become a standard and essential feature of contemporaryorganisations as they are applied to enable the management of information as anorganisational asset in the unstable business world of the knowledge economy. The academicfield, though extremely young, is a dynamic permutation of various professional domains andscientific research areas, making information systems a complex and often confusing subject.Traditional information systems development methodologies, like the Systems DevelopmentLife Cycle, approach systems development with a teleological paradigm. This implies thatinformation systems should be developed to adhere to a certain set of predefined systemrequirements. Although organisations have widely accepted this paradigm, some expertsargue that it is insufficient when organisations are subject to frequent change as a result ofturbulent business sectors. They suggest that information systems will operate in a changingcontext that will render any predefined set of system requirements futile.In contrast to the teleological paradigm, these experts proclaim the ateleological paradigm asa more suitable approach to information systems development in organisations that requirethe inherent ability to adapt to a changing environment. The ateleological paradigmapproaches an information system as a living system that should have the ability to adaptcontinuously to emerging or changing system requirements. Instead of being driven bysystem requirements that were fixed at a specific point in time, these information systems aredeveloped over time continuum to ensure that the system remains relevant with the changingcontext in which it operates.Tailorable Information Systems (TIS) is an information systems development approach thatembodies the ateleological paradigm. As a central principle, TIS operates around the notionthat information systems development should be done by the end-users of the system asopposed to the traditional system analysts and developers. By empowering the end-users ofan information system with adequate technology and relying on their technical sophistication,organisations can implement truly flexible systems that are particularly responsive tocontextual changes.In the light of the ateleological paradigm, this thesis critically evaluates traditionalinformation systems development approaches and compares these two approaches thatsupport the notion of an information system as a living system.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University