James L. Knight Eminent Scholar in Management Information Systems, Department of Decision Sciences and Information Systems, College of Business Administration, Florida International University, Miami, Florida
The determination of information requirements is one of the most crucial stages in the software design and development process (Montezemi 1988). It is during this stage that the greatest degree of interaction occurs between the analyst and the user (Lauer et al. 1992). Despite the system development method employed, the functional success of many aspects of requirements determination ultimately rests on how wall the user(s) and analyst(s) communicate (Holtzblatt and Beyer 1995). The purpose of this paper is to report the results obtain from a laboratory experiment that investigated the effects of a semantic structuring process of inquiry on the process of interview-derived information acquisition and the subsequent overall correctness of the logical representation of the facts obtained. The study focused on the specific question types used by systems analysts and the role their semantic construction played in representing the information flows in a business system. Three underlying semantic patterns of questions emerged from the analysis. The results showed that certain question types were associated with increased accuracy of logical representations regardless of analyst experience level. Further, the semantic and process patterns that emerged were also directly related to accurate representation of facts and demonstrated an experience-level independence. The results indicate that disciplined questioning strategies are not necessarily learned from practice and they can be improved via structured training. Each of the patterns provide insight into the questioning process employed and the effectiveness of different strategies of inquiry. Implications for both the practitioner and the academic research communities with regard to analyst interview behavior are discussed.
An executive information system (ETS) is a computer-based information system designed to provide senior managers access to information relevant to their management activities. With such trends as globalization and intense competition increasing the importance of fast and accurate decision making, the use of these systems by executives may become a particularly important component of their decision-making behavior. Previous research on EIS has focused on descriptive studies of how and why EIS are used. This research empirically examines the effects of EIS use on aspects of the decision-making process by surveying 46 executive users of US. The frequency and duration of EIS use are shown to increase problem identification speed, decision-making speed, and the extent of analysis in decision making.
This paper reports the results of a study that examined the way that professionals used a particular decision aid, spreadsheet software, to address a business-oriented task. The professionals were divided into four groups, depending on whether they were experts or novices in the functional area of business represented by the task and on whether they were experts or novices in the use of spreadsheet software. The physical interactions as well as the thought processes underlying these interactions were captured. Results of the study indicated that a lack of expertise in spreadsheet software usage inhibited the application of functional area knowledge. The behavior and outcomes of the functional area expert/spreadsheet novice group did not match those of the functional area expert/spreadsheet expert group. In fact, they paralleled more closely those of the other two groups that did not possess functional area knowledge. Results of the study also indicated that individuals need to obtain a level of expertise in using a decision aid before they are able to apply their functional area knowledge to the problem at hand.
It is widely argued that the information systems (IS) leadership function has undergone fundamental changes over the past decade. To better understand the changes, this study compares the backgrounds, responsibilities, reporting relation- ships, and power of newly appointed IS executives (who had been in their position for two years or less) with established IS executives (who had been in their position for five years or more). The study found that approximately half of the new IS executives were external hires, whereas almost all of the established IS executives were promoted from within the company. More than two-thirds of the new IS executives had more than five years' experience managing a non-IS function within the past 15 years. Established IS executives had spent the majority of their career within the IS function. The activities receiving the most attention from new IS executives were in- formation technology (IT) strategic planning and control, IT architecture management and standards development, and human resource management. For established IS executives, the activities receiving the most attention were IT architecture management and standards development, human resource management, and operations. An increasing number of new IS executives reported directly to the CEO, and almost half were members of the senior management' strategic policy committee. These findings have several important implications. First, the senior IS executive must be able to bring a broad business perspective to the position. Current senior IS executives who have not broadened their own knowledge, skills, and experiences in business strategy, management, and operations should immediately develop a personal career development program to gain these valuable perspectives. Second, senior IS executives should implement career development strategies within their own organizations that ensure that IS professionals have the opportunity to acquire the business management experience necessary to advance to higher IS management levels. Third, graduate and executive programs designed to prepare future IS managers and leaders must pro vide both a business and IT perspective throughout the curriculum.
The concept of decision support systems that emerged in the seventies offered the promise of computer-based tools that would enable decision makers to develop better and more creative solutions to the problems they face. The realization of this promise depends on the validity of two assumptions: (1) individuals can be helped to be more creative and (2) software, appropriately designed, can provide this help. Evidence from creativity research supports the first assumption. This paper explores the second assumption. A set of guidelines for designing DSS is developed from the creativity literature and two hypotheses involving the use of a DSS developed in accordance with these guidelines are proposed. To test these hypotheses, an experiment involving three groups of auditors from a 'big eight' accounting firm was conducted. Each group was asked to respond to two different decision situations. Two groups were given separate versions of a DSS specifically selected because it contained features that were thought to enhance creativity. Another group was given no software. The results of the experiment indicate significant differences in the creativity of the responses generated by the three groups. Possible explanations for these differences are explored.