Karel Lemmen

The MEMA-model: towards a new approach for Method Engineering

Method Engineering is defined as the construction of an information systems development (ISD) approach which is customized to suit the actual project situation. Customizing an ISD-approach to suit the actual situation in most cases means that more than one design method or parts thereof are used. Selecting and especially combining (parts of) methods is one of the main topics in the field of Method Engineering. This paper is intended to serve as a contribution in the effort to solve this problem. It describes the MEMA-model as an approach for Method Engineering.

What is lacking in curriculum schemes for computing/informatics?

In this paper we elaborate on the work done by IFIP Working Group 3.2 in 1997 and 2002 on various curriculum schemes for computing/informatics. It is the aim of this paper to contribute to this work by bringing in concepts and insights from curriculum research and curriculum theory. This offers an additional view on the curriculum schemes besides the more disciplinary content driven approach that mostly dominates the curriculum work. We analyze three curriculum schemes: Computing Curricula 2001 (CC2001), Informatics Curriculum Framework 2000 (ICF-2000) and Career Space (CSP) with two confronting exercises. The first exercise introduces the concepts of planned, enacted, experienced, and hidden curriculum and applies these to the process of development and implementation of curriculum schemes in general. The second exercise positions the three curriculum schemes in a generic set of curriculum components that is being used frequently in, for example, secondary education as well as in other disciplines. It appears that quite a few components are not included. The paper concludes with some suggestions for improving the development process of curriculum schemes.

MODULAR BEHAVIOUR MODELLING OF SERVICE PROVIDING BUSINESS PROCESSES

We examine possibilities for modularizing the executable models of Service Providing Business Processes in a way that allows reuse of common patterns across different applications. We argue that this requires that we can create independent models for different aspects of the process, and then compose these requirements related partial behavioral models to form a complete solution. We identify two areas of modeling that should be separable from the main, application specific, process model: the underlying subject matter with which the process is concerned, and standard reusable process-level behavior that is common across many processes. Using an example of a Service Providing Business Process concerned with Accreditation of Prior Learning we show that the Protocol Modeling approach has the capability to support modularization of functional and non-functional requirements, when other paradigms cannot completely support it.

Variety in Views of University Curriculum Schemes for Informatics / Computing / ICT

Various recognized international professional organizations have recently developed university curricula concepts and models for the broad field which is referred to as computing, informatics or I(C)T (= Information and Communication Technology). The outcomes show a significant diversity, a little maybe because of the difference in terminology but much more so because of a variation in views and approaches. If one expects a strongly grown maturity of the field paralleled by paradigmatic convergence, after so many decades of development, this is a surprising result. In order to gain more insight in this matter this paper presents an assessment exercise for three such curriculum schemes. They are compared on a series of characteristic features as well as judged against a set of general guiding principles. The assessed schemes are ICF-2000 (by IFIP in commission of UNESCO), CC2001 (by ACM and IEEE-CS) and Career Space (by a European consortium of ICT industry in partnership with the European Commission).

Classifying information systems education by method engineering

Method engineering (ME) deals with the selection and assembly of situation-specific methods for information systems development. In this short paper we propose to use ME with an educational goal, that is to evaluate information systems curricula.

An innovative university program on management and ICT

In the mid nineties the idea came up to introduce a University program on information and communication Technology (ICT) and management aspects as a unique operative project of the Open University of the Netherlands, together with some colleges of higher Professional education and other universities in the Netherlands. The program is meant to meet the growing demand for people mastering the mixture of ICT and management. It aims at a specific target group of students, @@@@mely experienced professionals who have already finished a higher professional education program in @@@@ormatics. Through the so-called MICT program they can @@@@end and upgrade their management & ICT knowledge, @@@@ich effort — after successful completion — is leading to a higher) university degree. In this paper we will describe @@@@ philosophy behind the MICT program and its contents. @@@@ so we will discuss its position as a university program @@@@d some of the results that have emerged to date.

Information Systems Curricula Evaluated by a Method Engineering Framework

Method engineering (ME) deals with the selection and assembly of situation-specific methods for information systems development. In this paper we use ME with a somewhat unusual perspective, that is, an educational one. We introduce a procedure for the evaluation of information systems curricula within an ME framework. Using this approach it is possible to quantitatively characterise and compare information systems curricula, showing their relative strengths and weaknesses. As an example we evaluate three model curricula (IS’90, IS’97 and ISCC’99) and analyse their differences and similarities.

An empirical study on the educational effects of a course in Method Engineering for Information systems

Method Engineering (ME)1facilitates the use of situation-specific methods for information systems development (ISD). We have studied the educational effects of ME by monitoring the process of students experiencing ME. First we describe the course of the Open University of The Netherlands that introduces ME. We then elaborate on the specifics of ME and present results related to the learning process of a population of over 70 students having professional experience in ISD already. In this paper we concentrate on some entry and exit level characteristics of the students and the feasibility and reproducibility of ME in a practical case study done by the students.

The direct use of already existing user manuals for computer aided instruction and information retrieval with the aid of hypermedia

By implementing on-line manuals and CAI-programs for car repair with the aid of a hypermedium, using already existing user manuals, it was found that working with a script gives a suitable way for transformation. The existing material which was examined is very well suited for transformation, although a page often contains too much text. When a company wants to computerize all its existing documentation material, both for instructional purposes as for information retrieval, it is a cheap way to copy the existing material directly. New material could be constructed in such a way that it is more suitable for the use in an on-line application. An extension to the system is the possibility to couple several manuals by means of a multi-layered hypermedium-application. Each layer has its own functionality such as for documentation purposes, diagnostics and instruction. A user can, by clicking on a specific item, jump from layer to layer. Each layer contains its own control structure.

Smea/L: An Approach to Engineering Situational Methods by Matching Project Situations to Existing ISD -Methods

Organizations are always struggling with the development of information systems. One of the problems is to find a uniform approach to information systems development (ISD) that is flexible enough to adapt to the actual project situation. In this respect Method Engineering is very promising. The approach to Method Engineering presented in this paper—the SMEA/L-model—shows that uniformity and flexibility in ISD can be achieved by characterizing and matching project situations and methods for ISD on a common basis. Opportunities offered by the Internet create the possibility to make such an approach company wide available as an interactive tool for management consultants.