Designing Examinations Information System Management: a comparative case study application of Soft Systems Methodology
Author
Memon, Saifullah
Term
2. term
Education
Publication year
2011
Submitted on
2011-04-18
Pages
187
Abstract
Udvikling af informationssystemer er en socio-teknisk opgave, hvor teknologi skal balanceres med mennesker, arbejdsgange og kultur. Traditionelle metoder som vandfaldslivscyklus, CASE-værktøjer (computerstøttet softwareudvikling), RAD (rapid application development) og OOP (objektorienteret programmering) fokuserer ofte mest på det tekniske og kan overse sociale og kulturelle forhold, hvilket kan føre til fejlslagne systemer. Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) er en tilgang til at håndtere komplekse, uklart definerede problemsituationer ved at arbejde sammen med interessenter om at modellere arbejdssystemer og identificere forbedringer. Tidligere arbejde har kombineret SSM med mere konventionelle metoder, men de fleste studier har taget udgangspunkt i én organisation. Denne afhandling bruger fortolkende aktionsforskning (et samarbejdende studie, der både undersøger og ændrer praksis) og SSM til at sammenligne to eksamensafdelinger: Mehran University (MUET), som primært arbejder manuelt, og Aalborg Universitet (AAU), som er omfattende digitaliseret. Målet er at designe et forbedret eksamensinformationssystem for MUET. Studiet integrerer standard SSM-værktøjer med interaktions- og transformationsmodeller, flowdiagrammer, modeller af det fysiske arbejdsmiljø, brugergrænsefladeprototyper fra kontekstuel design samt POM-modellen (Process of Organizational Meaning) for at indfange både tekniske og kulturelle dimensioner. Resultatet er et systemdesign for MUET, der er ønskeligt fra et systemperspektiv og kulturelt gennemførligt. AAUs digitaliserede arbejdsprocesser giver nyttig inspiration, men designet tilpasses MUETs lokale praksis og underliggende kulturelle forskelle.
Developing information systems is a socio-technical task that must balance technology with people, workflows, and culture. Traditional approaches such as the waterfall lifecycle, CASE tools (computer-aided software engineering), RAD (rapid application development), and OOP (object-oriented programming) often emphasize the technical side and can overlook social and cultural factors, which may lead to failure. Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) offers a way to tackle complex, ill-defined problem situations by working with stakeholders to model work systems and identify improvements. Prior work has combined SSM with more conventional methods, but most studies focus on a single organization. This thesis uses interpretive action research (a collaborative inquiry that both studies and changes practice) and SSM to compare two examination departments: Mehran University (MUET), which relies mainly on manual procedures, and Aalborg University (AAU), which is extensively computerized. The goal is to design an improved examinations information system for MUET. The study integrates standard SSM tools with interaction and transformation models, flowcharts, physical workspace models, user interface prototypes from contextual design, and the Process of Organizational Meaning (POM) model to capture both technical and cultural dimensions. The outcome is a system design for MUET that is desirable from a systems perspective and culturally feasible. AAU’s computerized work processes provide useful inspiration, but the design is adapted to MUET’s local practices and underlying cultural differences.
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