Frank Land

Evaluating investments in IT

Evaluating the costs and benefits of IT projects is currently a major issue for senior general managers. This paper focuses on a particular aspect of the problem: how organizations appraise IT investments in taking the decision whether to go ahead with them or not. The paper looks first at the different roles of evaluation; second at what is done in practice and third at what might be done given the wide range of techniques that are available and the widely different circumstances in which appraisal is undertaken. A speculative heuristic is proposed for matching an evaluation method with a particular situation. The method is presented in the hope of stimulating further research into the matching problem.

Moving IS evaluation forward : learning themes and research issues

“Value for IT money” has been and is an issue. There is concern that poor evaluation procedures mean it is difficult to select projects for investment, to control development and to measure business return after implementation. This concern has been matched by increased activity in researching IT evaluation. The purpose of this paper is to consider what is now needed to make further progress. We do this by drawing together diverse findings from three major research projects, conducted by the authors between 1989 and 1998, in the context of the literature. We suggest five “learning themes”, concepts which we believe would better inform future research and practice. These are: more extensive use of the theory of evaluation as a frame for classifying present prescriptions and discovering new ones; closer attention to multiple relationships among stakeholders; the development of more complex models of decision making; more emphasis on “whole life” studies of project dynamics and, finally, further exploration of the role of evaluation in management learning.

Viewpoint: choosing appropriate information systems research methodologies

We believe we should draw attention to two disturbing tendencies in information systems (IS) research. The first relates to the primacy of traditional, empirical research more suited to the natural sciences, at the expense of less conventional approaches that nevertheless provide important contributions to our search for improved knowledge. Although the experimental design of such IS research may well be academically acceptable and internally consistent, all too often it leads to inconclusive or inapplicable results. The second relates to the tendency of some of our most respected institutions to advocate a particular mode of IS research irrespective of the particular IS topic being studied. Evidence for both these contentions can he found in the results of a study undertaken by Vogel and Wetherbe [6]. For example, they suggest that as much as 85 percent of published IS research undertaken by leading U.S. institutions is of the traditional kind. In order to gain some insight into what constitutes appropriate research in the field of IS, it is advisable first to consider the nature of information systems themselves and then to look at what we hope to gain from undertaking research in the area. Traditionally, the topic has often been viewed as residing, for the most part at least, within the province of technology. Increasingly,

Adapting to changing user requirements

Abstract Systems which have the capability of adapting to changing user requirements must be founded on accurate and perceptive models of the organisation in which they have to function. Design methods based on active user participation and the use of experimental and prototyping methods help to ensure accurate models. But because systems are expected to survive even when circumstances change, the designers have to have a view of what the future world will look like. A technique which helps to provide such a view is called “ future analysis ”. However, even designs based on the best prediction technique cannot guarantee a fit between the currently designed system and future needs. Hence it is important to design systems with built-in flexibility. A number of methods have been developed which reduce the disruption caused by the amendment or even replacement of a system or systems component.

Evaluation in a Socio-technical Context

The socio-technical approach to managing business and organizational change has been around for about half of the 20th century. Ever since the pioneers of the approach at the Tavistock Institute for Human Relations published the outcome of their study of the attempts by the National Coal Board in the UK to improve productivity by the introduction of mechanization (Trist 1981; Trist and Bamforth 1951; Trist et al. 1963), socio-technical methods have been discussed and used in the implementation of change and in particular for the introduction of new technologies. Advocates of the socio-technical approach can be found over the entire industrialized world (Coakes, Lloyd-Jones, and Wills 2000). Indeed, the philosophy that underlies much of the thinking of IFIP’s Working Group 8.2 rests firmly on socio-technical foundations.

On the discipline of information systems

Abstract. Although information systems is growing rapidly, it has little theoretical clarity. An article in the Times Higher Education Supplement of March 1989 by Liebenau and Backhouse sparked a debate on the character of information systems as a discipline. This paper reviews that debate, bringing out the main points of many of the discussants, and presents an analysis which is intended to carry the discussion further in order to help clarify and to galvanize opinion.

Matching an IT Project with an appropriate method of evaluation: a research note on ‘Evaluating Investments in IT’

This note addresses the problem of choosing an appropriate method when evaluating an IT investment as set out in a previous work. The problem arises immediately because there are many methods on offer for performing the evaluation and a great number of different situations in which those methods could be applied. There is thus a problem of matching the method to the situation across many dimensions. In the previous paper the authors spelled out some of these dimensions on the basis of empirical work and proposed a matching method derived by trial and error which had, at the time, no theoretical foundations. Further research has suggested a possible rationale and it is that which is presented here, together with a further dimension on which the matching may be carried through.

The first business computer: a case study in user-driven innovation

In 1949, the worlds first business computer application was rolled out. The host for the application was a British catering and food-manufacturing company, which had developed and built its own computer, designed for business data processing. The author traces the endeavours history and presents an analysis of how and why the company-J. Lyons & Co.-was in a natural position to take on the challenge, the precursor of the information revolution we see today.

The importance of laboratory experimentation in IS research (authors' response)

these laboratory studies was not tested by examining the naturalness or the representativeness of the laboratory to the real world but by testing systematically the success of laboratory results in predicting real world processes with different research participants, settings, and responses. Additionally, to truly test the predictive ability of the research results, the studies must also involve a multiplicity of research methodologies in order to avoid biases due to the methods used. Each methodology plays an important role in the advancement of knowledge.

The Ethics of Knowledge Management

KM motivations and behaviour are intertwined with power relations and the self-interests of engaged actors, including researchers, and where during the design, implementation use and research into KM systems, dilemmas, sometimes explicit, but more often tacit, may affect behaviour. The public discussion around the relationship between business organizations and “social responsibility†is a relatively recent phenomenon. The discussion has been a useful one for reminding business organizations, and government at times, of their position, relationship, and responsibility to a social world beyond their corporate boundaries. In doing so the discussion introduces the concept of accountability which is helpful for thinking about the ethical dimensions relating to KM systems, processes and research. Furthermore, the article draws attention to the distinction between the subject matter of Knowledge Management and the much older topic, not specifically articulated within the IS discipline, of the Management of Knowledge. The latter is more concerned with the manipulation (and often distortion) of knowledge to obtain desired outcome (Land, Amjad & Nolas, 2004). The article draws from examples where the design, implementation, and use of KM systems and processes overlooked questions of accountability — what we have called the dark side of knowledge management (Land, Amjad & Nolas, 2005a, 2005b) and draws on examples from both business organizations and government. The first part of the article establishes why an ethics dimension is necessary in KM theory and practice and the second section identifies questions on how an ethics dimension could be integrated with current KM research and practice.