Dennis Hart

Enterprise architectures: enablers of business strategy and IS/IT alignment in government

Purpose – Drawing on established alignment and architectural theory, this paper seeks to present the argument that an organisations enterprise architecture can enable the alignment of business strategy and information systems and technology (IS/IT).Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a detailed case study of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), where a high degree of alignment and international recognition of excellence in business and enabling IS/IT performance are documented.Findings – The ABS enterprise architecture was developed in 1999‐2001 and describes the organisations physical business and IS/IT elements, and the connective relationships that inform the alignment condition. The ABS architecture is robustly holistic in form, and is characterised by a strong and equal focus on business operations, the deliberate inclusion of an IS/IT governance framework, the structuring and hosting of corporate information for business delivery, and the efficient reuse of IS/IT components.Orig...

The impact of organizational politics on information systems project failure-a case study

The information systems literature has long been concerned with the factors that influence success or failure in information systems development projects. Factors such as top management support, user involvement and the use of effective development methodologies have often been quoted as essential for success. This paper reports on a case study into an information system project in a large public sector organization which, at least initially, had most of the traditional success factors operating in its favour. Nevertheless, the project was terminated early without delivering any software product. The reasons for the termination seemed purely political and the research reported in this paper sets out to analyze what happened to the project and why. Data for the study was obtained by a combination of project document analysis, participant interviews and widely distributed questionnaires.

Comparing Cultural and Political Perspectives of Data, Information, and Knowledge Sharing in Organisations

This paper raises issues concerning data, information, and knowledge sharing in organisations and, in particular, compares an organisational cultural analysis of why such sharing is often difficult to achieve with an organisational political one. The issues raised are often insufficiently attended to by practitioners who are attempting to build technological information and knowledge management systems. The driver for the paper is that despite impressive advances in technology and its now almost ubiquitous presence in organisations, as well as academic study over several decades, many of the benefits originally expected concerning improved data, information, and knowledge sharing have not materialised as expected. Basic reasons for this lie in the lack of attention to the cultural foundations of organisations and because matters relating to organisational power and political matters are often misunderstood, overlooked, or ignored. These different perspectives are discussed and contrasted in order to tease out the important differences between them and assess the prospects for a synthesis. It is concluded that while there are important commonalities between the two perspectives there are also fundamental differences, notably regarding what are causes and what are effects and, therefore, how to go about effecting change regarding data, information, and knowledge sharing.

Using a common architecture in Australian e-Government: the case of smart service Queensland

In this paper, we present the findings of a case study which examines the use of enterprise architectures in the context of the development and implementation of an Electronic Government (e-Government) Services Delivery initiative by the Queensland State government of Australia. The paper employs strategic alignment theory to critically examine the progress of the initiative from the development of public policy and business case documents, through to the pilot program, and progressive implementation of an electronic government environment that includes a number of redesigned Internet gateways, integrated contact (call) centres, electronic kiosks, and web-enabled customer service counters. The case is also compared with similar e-Government initiatives and provides an interesting example of how governments can use the electronic domain to service a diverse range of clients in a large and wide spread community.

Exploring mobile commerce intention: Evidence from Australia

Mobile commerce is a new technology that offers significant adoption benefits, allowing consumers to make Internet transactions over wireless networks anytime anywhere. This paper presents some initial findings from a study into the uptake of mobile commerce services. Attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control were positively correlated with the intention to adopt mobile commerce. In contrast to prior research, perceived image was not significantly related to adoption intention.

Information Systems Foundations Part Three : The Role of Design Science

This volume presents papers from the fourth biennial Information Systems Foundation Workshop, held at The Australian National University in Canberra from 2–3 October, 2008. The focus of the workshop was, as for the others in the series, the foundations of Information Systems as an academic discipline. The emphasis in this workshop was on the movement known as ‘Design Science’ and its importance in practical disciplines such as Information Systems. The chapters in the volume provide a critical examination of current design science ideas, with the role of human creativity given special mention. The philosophical underpinnings of design science thinking are also examined. Practically, the volume shows how the design science approach can be used in academic research that leads to artefacts that add value for individuals, organizations and society.