COM332

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COM332 SA3

• WISDM SSM

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• Web development approaches
• Focused on the user interface and in particular
  the look and feel of a web site
• Failed to address the wider aspect of web-based
  information systems.
• Traditional IS development methodologies
• Have struggled to accommodate web specific
  aspects into their methods and work practice.
• Web based information system requires a mixture
  of web site development techniques together with
  traditional IS development competencies in
  database and program design.

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• WISDM is based on Multiview frame work
• Multiview is framework that provides the basis
  for constructing a situationspecific
  methodology.
• The WISDM matrix
• The IS development matrix categorise the methods
  in two dimension
• Socio (organisation and people) and technical
  (the things)
• On one hand analysis (what is required) and on
  the other design (how it will be achieved).

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• Hard (engineering) based approaches to IS
  development concentrate on right hand side of the
  matrix
• The generation of requirements specification and
  its stepwise refinement into a software model.
• Multiview approach is more even handed
• Seek a socio technical solution giving a balance
  to the left and right hand side of the matrix

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• The matrix does not require activities to be
  carried out in any particular sequence or
  hierarchy
• Vidgen et al. (2002) offer the metaphor of a film
  camera
• The focus of attention changes as the camera
  zooms in and then out moves from one aspect to
  another revisits an aspect and finds that the
  situation has changed. One aspect might be the
  focus of attention , but the other aspects are
  in peripheral vision and can still make their
  presence felt It is possible to see all five
  aspects at the same time, but only by sacrificing
  the level of resolution. By contrast, it is
  possible to focus in and examine one particular
  aspect in great detail, but at the expense of
  losing some of the context

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• ORGANISATIONAL ANALYSIS
• Represents value creation.
• Compare the place of strategy in the traditional
  systems development life cycle.
• Does strategy play a more important rôle in
  web-based systems?
• What is the strategic horizon?

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• INFORMATION ANALYSIS
• Represents requirements specification.
• Data and process requirements need to be modelled
  
• Any form of model may be used
• A verbal descriptive model
• A graphical (diagrammatic) model such as SSADMs
  entity relationship diagrams and dataflow
  diagrams
• The WISDM indicative approach is to use UML
  (Unified Modelling Language) this implies that
  an object-oriented approach is followed
• Strictly speaking, we should not talk of data and
  process being modelled separately, since the OO
  philosophy is that they should not be separated.

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• TECHNICAL DESIGN
• Represents the software model.
• Effectively, this will be the database design.
• For a relational database, this may well be
  derived from an entity-relationship diagram
• Need to be read in conjunction with the UML class
  diagrams produced as part of the Information
  analysis.
• An ER diagram can be seen as a design derived
  from a UML analysis

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• HCI
• Represents the user interface.
• Part of technical and work design
• WORK DESIGN
• Represents user satisfaction.
• The WISDM indicative approach for users inside
  the organisation is to use Enid Mumfords ETHICS
  (Mumford, 1995) method or one of the family of
  methods known as the Scandinavian approach.
• Web-based systems are characterised by users who
  are outside the organisation (particularly
  customers),
• Additional approach such as Webqual (Barnes
  Vidgen, 2002) is recommended in this case.

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SOFT SYSTEMS METHODOLOGY

• Hard approach characterised by
• Engineered
• Systematic
• reduce to parts
• Structured
• Clear boundary
• Clear objectives
• Solve the problem
• Soft approach characterised by
• Systemic
• Holistic view
• ill-structured
• unclear (fuzzy) boundary
• unclear (fuzzy) objectives
• structure the problem

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• Hard approach
• Concerned with artefacts
• Soft
• Concerned with systems (emergent properties)
• Hard approach seeks
• Technical solutions
• Soft approach seeks
• Social, political, economical and technical
  solution

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• Soft System Methodology
• An organised way of tackling the messy situation
  in the real world
• Helps managers of all kinds and all levels to
  cope with their tasks
• Based on system thinking
• Enables it to be highly defined and described but
  is flexible in use and broad in scope.

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• Peter Checkland (1984) systematised the soft
  approach into SSM (Soft Systems Methodology).
• The systems approach means that its important to
  look at the whole context,
• Hard systems thinking assumes that a scientific
  approach - to achieve a specific goal - will
  always work,
• Soft thinking recognises that problems are never
  clearly defined.
• The systems principle also implies that we must
  try to develop applications systems for the
  organisation as a whole rather than for functions
  in isolation.

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• SSM was developed through action research,
• The investigator takes part in the process the
  focus was the search in each case for a set of
  assumptions (Weltanschauung or world-view).

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• There are even stages in SSM.
• There are real world activities and system
  thinking.
• The sequence is merely a logical sequence, it is
  possible to start the project at any step.
• 1.      The problem situation unstructured
• 2.      The problem situation expression
• 3.      Root definitions of relevant system
• 4.      Conceptual model
• 5.      Comparing 4 2
• 6.      Feasible, desirables changes
• 7.      Action to improve the problem situation

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• First two stages is concerned with finding about
  the problem situation from as many peoples in
  that situation as possible.
• There will be many different views.

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• Given the informal view of the problem situation
  gathered in stage 1, stage 2 attempts to express
  the problem situation in more formal way.
• Rich pictures is widely used for this purpose.
• A picture of the situation and environment in
  diagrammatic and pictorial form
• It will show the people involved, problem areas,
  controlling bodies and sources of conflict.
• Aid in discussion between the problem owner and
  problem solver
• To help the problem solver better understand the
  problem situation.
• From rich picture problem solver extracts problem
  themes, things noticed in the picture that are,
  or may be, causing problems
• Rich pictures intended to help in identifying
  problem, not for recommending solutions

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• Next, possible systems that would be useful in
  this situation are identified from the rich
  picture.
• Problem conflict between two departments
• Relevant system systems for reducing
  department boundaries.
• Root definitions are produced for each system
  using the CATWOE criteria (client, actor,
  transformation, world-view, owner, environment).
• Root definition is a concise tightly constructed
  description of a human activity system which
  states what the system is.

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• Next, a conceptual model showing subsystems and
  their interaction is developed.
• Conceptual model is a diagram of activities
  showing what the system, described in the root
  definition, will do.
• Then the conceptual model is compared with real
  life in order to arrive at a useful course of
  action.
• Comparison of rich picture to conceptual model.
• The debate about possible changes should lead to
  a set of recommendations regarding the change in
  order to help the problem situation.

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• Next stage concerns an analysis of proposed
  changes from stage 5 to draw up proposals for
  those changes which are considered both feasible
  and desirable.
• Final stage is about recommending action to help
  the problem situation.
• The methodology does not describe a method for
  implementing the solution.

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• SSM provides all actors including the analysts
  the opportunity to understand and to deal with
  the problem situation.
• The process is iterative and the analysts learn
  about the system and are not expected to follow a
  laid down set of procedures.

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• SSM mode 1 is still the version most commonly
  referred and most useful in an information system
  context.
• There is an alternative version SSM mode 2
  proposed by Checkland and Scholes (1990).
• People using SSM mode 2 follow two strands of
  enquiry.
• Logic-driven stream
• Models human activity system
• Cultural stream
• Examines three aspects of problem situation
• The intervention itself, the situation as a
  social system, and the situation as a political
  system