IMS5024%20Information%20Systems%20Modelling

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IMS5024 Information Systems Modelling

• Human Activity modelling

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Content

• Soft Systems Methodology

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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?

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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
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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
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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
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Answers to these problems

• More than interviews
• HCI
• End user computing
• JAD and JRP
• Prototyping

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Three levels of participation

• Consultative lowest level
• Representative design group, equal say
• Consensus- involve all user department staff,
  user driven

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Human Activity modelling view of ISD
Human-oriented
Conventional
after Fig 7.1 Avison Fitzgerald
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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

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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

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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

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the basic shapeof SSM
Checkland and Scholes (1990) p29
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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

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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

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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

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understanding the situation

• Rich Picture Diagram
• interested parties
• alliances
• feuds
• values
• constraints
• perceptions
• documents the people-related issues

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Rich Picture Diagrams

• you dont 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

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Rich PictureDiagram
Checkland and Scholes (1990) p47
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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

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Analysis One

• analysis of the intervention itself
• who is the client?
• who is the would-be problem solver?
• who is the problem owner?

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Analysis Two

• roles
• norms
• values
• the interaction of these three determines the
  social fabric of the situation

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Analysis Two
Checkland and Scholes (1990) p49
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Analysis Three

• who has power in the situation?
• how is it manifest?
• who can you believe?
• you cant ask straight questions
• what do you do when they wont tell you?
• can the politics ruin the whole exercise?

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Content

• Rich pictures
• Root definitions
• Conceptual models
• SSM
• Others (Multiview, Ethics)
• Place in ISD
• Evaluation of Human Activity modelling

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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

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human activity systems

• 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 somebodys point of
  view

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Relevant Systems

• a system to
• .perfectly perform some function
• each person involved will have a point of view on
  what is the perfect performance

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selecting relevant systems

• no system is inherently relevant to a given
  problem situation
• Primary Task system
• Issue-based systems
• metaphors can help conceptualise systems

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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

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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

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CATWOE mnemonic

• C ustomers
• A ctors
• T ransformation
• W eltanschauung
• O wners
• E nvironment

The Core issues
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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

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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

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conceptual model structure
Must do this before the last activity 2
Do this activity first 1
Take control action
Then you can do this activity 3
Only do this after the other activities 4
Monitor 1 - 4
Define performance criteria
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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?

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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

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comparison matrix
from Checkland Scholes (1990) p43
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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??

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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??

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References

• Checkland and Scholes (1990) Soft Systems
  Methodology in Action. John Wiley Sons
• Avison and Fitzgerald (2003) Information Systems
  Development. 3rd edn. McGraw-Hill
• Stowell (1995) Information Systems Provision.
  McGraw-Hill.