An information processing framework for understanding success and failure of MIS development methodologies

Factors affecting information systems’ success

“…Work by Jones and Kydd (1988) and Galloway and Whyte (1989) suggests that these causes may themselves be symptoms of some other underlying problems or are instances of certain information processing problems. These underlying problems have been identified as uncertainty (the lack of information), equivocal@ (the absence of clarity, or excessive ambiguity in the project) and internal inconsistency (between the key elements of an information system project -for example the users, developers, tools and technology used in it),…”

Lessons From a Virtual University Task Force

“…Information systems will fail if they are insensitive to the work conditions of those who are to use the systems (Duchessi & O'Keefe, 1995;Jones & Kydd, 1988). For instance, the expert systems that were to help doctors diagnose patients were shown to be accurate under experimental conditions but did not succeed in the marketplace because doctors were not prepared to enter a keyboard culture.…”

Unraveling equivocality in evaluation of information systems projects

“…However, several of these practices might contribute substantially to the induction of equivocal situations if they are not handled correctly (Hartman and Ashrafi 2002). For instance, equivocal situations might emerge when there are volatile requirements associated with ever changing expectations of numerous stakeholders (Jones and Kydd 1988;Kydd 1989). It is also reported that the manner in which projects are planned and defined in the project charter, for instance lacking clear objectives, measurable goals, important assumptions and constraints to guide the project, often leads to equivocality when assessing such projects (Mähring and Keil 2008).…”

“…Bragger et al (1998) Griesinger (1990) Daft et al (1987) IS/IT projects typically demand more conceptual work and knowledge-intensive processes, involving wide-ranging expertise. The craft aspects of the development process in such projects have an impact on the complexity, on promoting equivocality (Jones and Kydd 1988). Even so, the project is typically made up of many intricate and interdependence parts and elements of the intended systems as well as the required technologies (Chang and Tien 2006).…”

“…These papers address the suitability of using 'richer' media or decision support systems to address the problem of the emergence of equivocality in communication. Next, equivocality is discussed in light of (3) MIS development methodologies (requirement determination, success and failure, and management tools) (Fazlollahi and Tanniru 1991;Jones and Kydd 1988;Kydd 1989); (4) users/clients satisfaction of IS/IT development (Watts Sussman and Guinan 1999);…”