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School of Information Management & Systems
9.3
Why consider human behaviour?
• Started with participation• History of participation - refer back to
Hirschheim et al.• Early ISD payed lip service to participation• System technically viable – but fails
because?
School of Information Management & Systems
9.4
History of ISD methodologies
Generation Principle management and organisational issues
Formal life-cycle approaches
Control of SDLC; guidance through standardization
Structured approaches
Productivity, better maintainable systems, control over analyst/programmer
Prototyping and evolutionary approaches
Speed and Flexibility, overcome communication gap, right kind of system instead of getting system right
School of Information Management & Systems
9.5
History of ISD methodologies(2)
Generation Principle management and organisational issues
Socio-technical, participatory approaches
Control of ISD by users through participation; conflict management; joint optimisation
Sense-making and problem formulation approaches
Multiple perspectives in problem framing; software development as social reality construction
School of Information Management & Systems
9.6
History of ISD methodologies(3)
Generation Principle management and organisational issues
Trade-Union led approaches
Labour/ management conflict; workers rights; industrial democracy
Emancipator
approaches
Improve communication; furthering emancipatory effects of ISD
School of Information Management & Systems
9.7
Answers to these problems:
• More than interviews• HCI• End user computing• JAD and JRP• Prototyping
School of Information Management & Systems
9.8
Three levels of participation:
• Consultative – lowest level
• Representative – design group, equal say
• Consensus- involve all user department staff, user driven
School of Information Management & Systems
9.9
Human Activity modelling view of ISD:
Conventional
Human-oriented
after Fig 7.1 Avison & Fitzgerald
School of Information Management & Systems
9.10
Soft Systems Methodology
• (always abbreviated to SSM)• came from the failure of systems
engineering to solve management problems• applies systems thinking to messy
problems• not a development methodology
School of Information Management & Systems
9.11
rationale for SSM
• humans attribute meaning to what they experience and observe
• we form intentions and take action based on the meanings we derive
• new experiences can change the meaning we attribute
• this is called learning
School of Information Management & Systems
9.12
application of SSM
• people take purposeful action• using Information Systems as tools• if analysts understand their intentions
we can build better tools• SSM brings rigour to the process of
understanding
School of Information Management & Systems
9.14
the process of doing SSM
• a situation is interpreted by some as being a problem which they want to fix
• the situation is a product of history• it has a cultural dimension and a logic-
based dimension• the one informs the other so that agreed
action is both culturally feasible and systemically desirable
School of Information Management & Systems
9.15
activities in an SSM study
• identify and engage the problem situation• express the problem situation• define “systems” which might be relevant• model the relevant systems• compare them with the real world and discuss• identify changes agreed to be feasible and
desirable• take action to change the situation
School of Information Management & Systems
9.16
the cultural enquiry
• understand the situation• record your understanding
diagrammatically• analyse the intervention• identify the roles being played• place the roles in their social context• try to identify the political dimension in
the problem situation
School of Information Management & Systems
9.17
understanding the situation
• Rich Picture Diagram• interested parties
• alliances
• feuds
• values
• constraints
• perceptions
• documents the people-related issues
School of Information Management & Systems
9.18
Rich Picture Diagrams
• you don’t have to be an artist!• it would take too many words to express• shows complexity better than linear
prose• for the use of the analyst alone; not a
communication tool• refer: Lewis, Avison & Wood-Harper,
Avison & Fitzgerald
School of Information Management & Systems
9.20
RPD examples
• Checkland and Scholes (1990) figures 2.13, 2.14 pp46-47
• Avison and Fitzgerald (1995) figure 4.2 p112
• Lewis P.J in EJIS 1,5 pp351-360
School of Information Management & Systems
9.21
Analysis One
• analysis of the intervention itself• who is the client?• who is the would-be problem solver?• who is the problem owner?
School of Information Management & Systems
9.22
Analysis Two
• roles• norms• values• the interaction of these three determines
the social fabric of the situation
School of Information Management & Systems
9.24
Analysis Three
• who has power in the situation?• how is it manifest?• who can you believe?• you can’t ask straight questions• what do you do when they wont tell you?• can the politics ruin the whole exercise?
School of Information Management & Systems
9.25
Content
• Rich pictures• Root definitions• Conceptual models • SSM• Others (Multiview, Ethics)• Place in ISD• Evaluation of Human Activity modelling
School of Information Management & Systems
9.26
Reading for next week
Checkland and Scholes. 1999. Chapter 2, pp 44-58
Lewis, P. 1992. European Journal of Information Systems 1, 5, pp351-360
Davies, L. 1988. Journal of Applied Systems Analysis 15, 1, pp31-36
School of Information Management & Systems
9.27
• like natural systems and designed systems, they are useful descriptors
• different from the actions which people undertake in life
• a conceptual rather than a descriptive model
• but, a conceptual model from somebody’s point of view
human activity systems
School of Information Management & Systems
9.28
Relevant Systems
a system to…
….perfectly perform some function
• each person involved will have a point of view on what is the perfect performance
School of Information Management & Systems
9.29
selecting relevant systems
• no system is inherently relevant to a given problem situation
• Primary Task system• Issue-based systems• metaphors can help conceptualise
systems
School of Information Management & Systems
9.30
Relevant system
• a system (in the philosophical sense) that is helpful for understanding a real-world situation• scope / boundary• defined purpose• input - transformation - output• consistent / dependable
• it is a human activity system
School of Information Management & Systems
9.31
naming relevant systems
• a Root Definition (the name) expresses the essence of a particular relevant system
• It is a transformation from input to output• “A system to do X by means of Y in order to
achieve Z”
• best done by considering the elements of the CATWOE mnemonic
School of Information Management & Systems
9.32
CATWOE mnemonic
C ustomers
A ctors
T ransformation
W eltanschauung
O wners
E nvironment
The Core issues
School of Information Management & Systems
9.33
Relevant system / Root Definition
• There may be many for any one real world situation
• One primary task Root Definition• Many issue-based task Root Definitions
School of Information Management & Systems
9.34
conceptual models
• the minimum set of activities necessary to undertake the transformation
• based on logical contingency• may be hierarchically decomposed• represented as process bubbles linked
by contingency arrows• includes monitoring and control
School of Information Management & Systems
9.35
conceptual model structure
Do this activity first
1
Then you can do this
activity3
Only do this after the other activities
4
Must do this before the last
activity2
Monitor 1 - 4 Define
performance criteria
Take control action
School of Information Management & Systems
9.36
what use is the model?
• it is an ideal type relevant to the problem• it is neither valid nor invalid, only
defensible or indefensible in terms of the problem
• Used to start a discussion about the model and its relevance to the problem
• Does this model suggest some action for improvement of the problem situation?
School of Information Management & Systems
9.37
achieving results
• several methods of testing the models• search for agreement not compromise• the whole problem wont be “solved”• make the agreed changes• reflect on their outcome• do the whole process over again until
agreement to finish
School of Information Management & Systems
9.39
Advantages/ Benefits of Human Activity modelling
• Include different perspectives on a problem situation
• Compare reality with the conceptual model
• Participation of affected people essential• Change is a central element of the
process• Others??
School of Information Management & Systems
9.40
Disadvantages of Human Activity modelling
• Only useable in soft problems• Can take a long time to reach consensus• Some managers see this as silly• Not well used• Others??