Information systems professionals now face the automation of their own work in integrated computer aided software engineering. Organizations need to achieve all the leverage possible from costly IT implementations to enhance competitiveness, profitability, and survival in a rapidly changing environment. ICASE technology is a part of the infrastructure necessary to meet this challenge but appears to present significant difficulties in implementation.

The purpose of this research was to determine whether changes in the presentation format of items in a computer display could be used to alter the impact of specific cognitive biases, and to add to the knowledge needed to construct theory-based guidelines for output design. The problem motivating this study is twofold. The first part of the problem is the sub-optimal decision making caused by the use of heuristics and their associated cognitive biases. The second part of the problem is the lack of a theoretical basis to guide the design of information presentation formats to counter the effects of such biases. An availability model of the impact of changes in presentation format on biases and heuristics was constructed based on the findings of a literature review. A six-part laboratory experiment was conducted utilizing a sample of 205 student subjects from the college of business. The independent variable was presentation format which was manipulated by altering the visual salience or visual recency of items of information in a visual computer display. The dependent variables included recall, perceived importance, and the subjects' responses to three judgment tasks. The results clearly demonstrate that changes in presentation format can be used to alter …

The purpose of this study is to identify what detail design tools are more productive for the different types of professional software developers. By establishing a match between the detail design tool and the cognitive style of the professional programmer, the end product (Information Systems) should be of a higher quality. Two laboratory experiments were conducted. The first experiment was with professional Software Developers; the second one was with students. The dependant variables considered in this study were the number of semantic errors and the time required to complete a design task for conditional logic. The independent variables were the cognitive style of the subject, the complexity of the task, and the detail design tools. Decision trees, flowcharts and pseudocode were used as detailed design tools. Field dependence was the only dimension of cognitive style that was tested.

Although several studies question information technology's contribution to productivity, organizations continue to invest in client/server systems (CSSs) particularly as enablers of business process reengineering (BPR). These efforts may be wasted if they do not improve business processes. This study focused on business processes and investigated the role of workstation-based CSSs in changing business processes. A multiple case study of workstation-based CSS databases in three organizations was performed with the proposition that they moderate the relation between managerial action and changes within business processes. The research framework suggested that changes to business processes are achieved by reducing uncertainty. In order to measure change in business processes, this study categorized business process change into: (1) compressing sequential tasks across functions, (2) compressing tasks vertically within the managerial hierarchy, (3) eliminating slack resources, (4) reducing the distance between the point of decision and the point of information or eliminating intermediaries, (5) reconfiguring sequential processes to operate in parallel, and (6) linking parallel activities during the process. Data collected from questionnaires, interviews, and observations from three case studies were used to construct network diagrams, relationship matrices, reachability matrices, and task tables of business processes. The results of this research partially support the proposition that …

IS outsourcing, especially large-scale IS outsourcing, is a comparatively recent and rapidly growing IS phenomenon, but it is also an inherently risky activity. In an IS outsourcing arrangement, the outsourcing vendor accepts responsibility for IS resources and functions formerly controlled directly by the firm. This research examines IS outsourcing from two perspectives. (1) From an IS perspective, it examines the risk perceptions of IS managers of fourteen Fortune-500 firms who had recently conducted an outsourcing evaluation. (2) From a financial perspective, it examines the theoretical relationship of IS outsourcing with financial performance, and investigates the empirical effects of IS outsourcing on the firm's market value and market risk. This research views IS outsourcing as an independent variable whose effects on the firm may be measured as changes in security returns, changes in asset risk, changes in capital structure, and long-term changes in profitability. To accomplish this, it characterizes IS outsourcing as a sale-and-leaseback transaction.

Several studies have suggested that the effect of cultural differences among Information Systems (IS) professionals from different nations on the development and implementation of IS could be important. However, IS research has generally not considered culture when investigating the process of systems development. This study examined the relationship between the cultural backgrounds of IS designers and their process-related values with a field survey in Singapore, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Hofstede's (1980) value survey module (i.e., Power Distance (PDI), Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI), InDiVidualism (IDV) and MASculininity/femininity) and Kumar's (1984) process-related values (i.e., technical, economic, and socio-political) were utilized in the data collection. The hypotheses tested were: whether the IS professionals differed on (H.,) their cultural dimensions based on country of origin, (Hg) their process-related values based on country of origin, and (H3) whether a relationship between their cultural dimensions and their process-related values existed. The countries were significantly different on their PDI, UAI and MAS, but not on their IDV. They significantly differed on their technical and sociopolitical values but not on their economic values. IDV and MAS significantly correlated with the process-related values in Singapore, Taiwan and the United States. In the United Kingdom, UAI significantly …

This study investigates the influence that increasing end user autonomy has on organizational data models. The independence offered by microcomputer technology offers users increasing independence in their information-handling activities. As independence increases, uniformity of data models across the organization is theorized to diminish. The problem motivating this study is the potential for improper allocation of resources that may result from a misinterpretation of organizational data. This study suggests that the expanding use of microcomputers in the business setting will contribute to diversity of data models. This may eventually lead to confusion and even lack of confidence in the information produced.

The purpose of this research was to determine if presentation format, given a particular task to be performed, would affect the decision-making process of financial decision makers. The problem motivating this study is the potential for managers to make inefficient decisions when they use reports which are presented inappropriately for a given task.

The purpose of this research is to continue examining the project management process. The management of projects is complicated. It is the complexity of the process that makes a project so difficult to control. This research examines the effect of particular facets of the project manager's skill set and operating environment on management decisions.

The purpose of the study was to investigate a modification of a managerial accounting technique, Activity-Based Costing (ABC), as a tool for addressing Information Resource Management (IRM) concerns within business processes. To indicate that ABC has been adapted for the IRM context, this study called the tool "Activity-Based Analysis" (ABA). ABA includes ABC's costing methodology as well as additional methods to address broader issues. The research method was a single-site case study at a property and casualty insurance company. The unit of analysis was a business process consisting of activities needed to provide claims handling services for workers' compensation insurance. Four questions guided the study: 1. Did ABA identify management information required to monitor process effectiveness and efficiency? 2. Did ABA support outsourcing decision making by identifying IRM cost components within business processes? 3. Did ABA identify information resources; that are sharable? 4. Did ABA identify differences between Company organizational characteristics andIRM department organizational characteristics?

Decision makers require the right information at the right time, in the right place and in the right format so that they can make good decisions. Although business intelligence (BI) has the potential to improve decision making, there is little empirical evidence of how well this has been achieved. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the quality of decisions made using BI. The research question it addresses is what are the key antecedents of decision quality for users of business intelligence systems? The theoretical support for the model is developed based on the literature review that draws on decision support systems (DSS), group decision support systems (GDSS), and BI. Grounded on this literature review, the antecedents of decision quality are operationalized in this dissertation through independent variables such as the problem space complexity, the level of BI usage, the BI user experience, and information quality. The dependent variable is operationalized as decision quality and it captures the self-satisfaction with a decision made by users in a BI environment. The research model was tested using a survey of BI users whose names were provided by a marketing company. This research suggests that BI user experience is a more complex …

Companies have invested large amounts of money on information systems development. Unfortunately, not all information systems developments are successful. Software project failure is frequent and lamentable. Surveys and statistical analysis results underscore the severity and scope of software project failure. Limited research relates software structure to information systems failures. Systematic study of failure provides insights into the causes of IS failure. More importantly, it contributes to better monitoring and control of projects and enhancing the likelihood of the success of management information systems. The underlining theories and literature that contribute to the construction of theoretical framework come from general systems theory, complexity theory, and failure studies. One hundred COBOL programs from a single company are used in the analysis. The program log clearly documents the date, time, and the reasons for changes to the programs. In this study the relationships among the variables of business requirements change, software complexity, program size and the error rate in each phase of software development life cycle are tested. Interpretations of the hypotheses testing are provided as well. The data shows that analysis error and design error occur more often than programming error. Measurement criteria need to be developed at each stage of the …

This study investigated, in the context of a field-based case study, possibilities for formation of a synergistic union between CSCW and CASE tools. A major dimension of today's software challenge is in gearing up for large-scale system development necessitating large teams of systems engineers. The principal goal of this research was to advance the body of knowledge regarding the nature of collaborative technological support in the software development process. Specifically, the study was designed to evaluate the potential for using a CSCW tool as an effective front-end to a CASE tool in the furtherance of SDLC goals.

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the external factors that influence an organizations' business intelligence (BI) data collection strategy when mediated by BI attributes. In this dissertation, data warehousing strategies are used as the basis on which to frame the exploration of BI data collection strategies. The attributes include BI insightfulness, BI consistency, and the organizational transformation attribute of BI. The research population consisted of IT professionals and top level managers involved in developing and managing BI. Data was collected from a range of industries and organizations within the United States. An online survey was used to collect the data to empirically test the proposed relationships. Data was analyzed using partial least square path modeling (PLS). The results of this study suggest that there exists a positive relationship between institutional isomorphism and BI consistency. The results also indicate that there exists a positive relationship between BI consistency and BI comprehensive data collection strategy, and the organizational transformation attribute of BI and BI comprehensive data collection strategy. These findings provide a theoretical lens to better understand the motivators and the success factors related to collecting the huge amounts of data required for BI. This study also provides managers with …

Since the concept of business intelligence (BI) was introduced in the late 1980s, many organizations have implemented BI to improve performance but not all BI initiatives have been successful. Practitioners and academicians have discussed the reasons for success and failure, yet, a consistent picture about how to achieve BI success has not yet emerged. The purpose of this dissertation is to help fill the gap in research and provide a better understanding of BI success by examining the impact of BI capabilities on BI success, in the presence of different decision environments. The decision environment is a composition of the decision types and the way the required information is processed to aid in decision making. BI capabilities are defined as critical functionalities that help an organization improve its performance, and they are examined in terms of organizational and technological capabilities. An online survey is used to obtain the data and partial least squares path modeling (PLS) is used for analysis. The results of this dissertation suggest that all technological capabilities as well as one of the organizational capabilities, flexibility, significantly impact BI success. Results also indicate that the moderating effect of decision environment is significant for quantitative data quality. These …

The objective of this research is the investigation of the patterns of information growth to test whether there has been an "information explosion." To tackle the main problem, there are three issues which need to be addressed: (1) the concept of information dimensionality; (2) determination of common parameters to measure the amount of information within each dimension; and (3) a working definition of "explosiveness. "

The problem motivating this research is that ineffective communication may hamper systems development efforts. Specifically germane to this study are development efforts characterized as task-oriented, and which require information-sharing and problem-solving activities. This research problem motivated an analysis of the communication process and lead to the development of a temporal framework that delineates variables associated with task-oriented, end user/systems analyst communication interactions. Several variables within this framework are depicted in two theoretical models. The first model shows the theoretical relationship between an independent variable, communication mode (represented by asynchronous computer conferencing and face-to-face conferencing), and five dependent variables: (1) the amount of information shared, (2) the significance of the information shared, (3) the comprehensiveness of the information shared, (4) the perception of progress toward the goal, and (5) the perception of freedom to participate. The second model depicts the assumed interaction between communication mode, the five variables cited above (now acting as independent variables), and a dependent variable, communication quality. There are two theoretical components of communication quality: (1) deviation from an optimal set of user requirements, and (2) the degree of convergence (unity based on mutual understanding and mutual agreement) emanating from a communication interaction. Using the theoretical models …

The purpose of this study was to test the comparability of several psychological instruments commonly used in Information Systems (IS) cognitive style research. The objective was to determine the limitations of: existing instruments in IS cognitive style research. The motivation for this research was the inconclusive findings reported in IS human information processing research. The study used a repeated measures design. Each individual completed the following cognitive style and personality instruments; the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Group Embedded-figures Test, the Learning Style Inventory, the Human Information Processing Survey, and the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (Figural Form A). The individual also completed a dichotic listening and tachistoscope task. Data was collected from business administration, BCIS, liberal arts majors, and IS professionals. The results of this study indicate IS researchers need to consider several factors in the use of these instruments. A direct relationship exists between cognitive ability and results on the GEFT. Cognitive ability should be considered a moderating variable in interpreting the results of the GEFT. Also, the hypothesis that the GEFT is a surrogate for analytical and low-analytical abilities is not supported by this study. Other reported results include the inappropriateness of using the TTCT with adult populations. …

The purpose of this research was to determine if personality type and system response time have any effect on state anxiety and user response time. The sample for this study consisted of senior and graduate level college students who possessed basic know 1 edge of a text editor. Each test subject was administered the Jenkins Activity Survey to determine scores for Type A versus Type B, speed and impatience, involvement, and competitiveness. The test subjects were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups (good, variable, and poor system response time). They were required to edit a text file which contained multiple errors. The test subjects were provided hard copies of the file with errors (errors highlighted) and the file as should appear without the errors. The test situation for each test subject was identical, except for changes in system response time. The A-state scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was administered to the test subjects immediately prior to the edit task in order to determine pre-task state anxiety levels. The A-state scale of the STAI was again administered immediately after the edit task in order to determine post-task state anxiety levels. Analysis of variance, analysis of covariance, regression, …

The problem motivating this study is that database query facilities are not effectively meeting the needs of casual users. A solution to this problem is especially important due to the increasing number of potential casual users. There is considerable controversy revolving around the question of which elements and/or which combination of elements within the casual users' environment are necessary to provide an effective man/machine interface. The purpose of the study is to extend the basic knowledge relating to the effect of using different data models, the effect of cognitive style differences, and the interaction effects of these two independent variables on casual users' performance and confidence in writing database queries. The data models being investigated are the relational, hierarchical, and network models. The cognitive style classifications used are two of the Jungian dimensions, Sensing/Intuition and Thinking/Feeling.

The objectives of this research were to: (1) augment existing research regarding the impact of information retention resulting from the application of redundant color codes; and (2) determine whether the application of color in hard-copy documents has a positive influence in business reports by non-color deficient subjects. This research was an extension of work done by Lamberski and Dwyer (1983) and Moore and Dwyer (1991). Both studies were hard copy based and focused on the impact of information retention resulting from the application of redundant color codes.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of information technology (IT) on the competitive position of a firm. The problem motivating this study is the potential for misallocation of scarce resources on new technology without realizing the level of competitive advantage (CA) expected. This study was a single-site case study. It examined the factors related to the selection, design, development, implementation, use, and effects of an information system (IS) intended to generate CA. The study examined all these factors within the organizational and industrial contexts of the subject firm.

The widespread distribution of personal computers (PCs) throughout organizations has made a substantial impact on information systems. Additionally, the tremendous growth of the Internet has changed the way business is carried out. As the user population evolves into a much more technical and demanding group, their needs are also changing. With this change, Management Information Systems (MIS) departments must develop new ways of providing service and support to the user community. This study investigates the relationship between information systems support structures, support services, service quality and the characteristics of a diverse user population. This includes investigating technical support issues influencing user satisfaction. This study attempts to improve the understanding of the support function within MIS. The results of this study clarify the support needs of the users and identify user satisfaction factors, as well as factors relative to the quality of the support received. Six streams of prior research were reviewed when developing the research framework. These include: user support, end users and end-user computing, identifying and classifying user types, information centers, user satisfaction, service quality and other sources of computer support. A survey instrument was designed using the (UIS) user satisfaction instrument developed by Doll and Torkzadeh (1988) and …

Software implementation projects struggle with the delicate balance of low cost, on-time delivery and quality. The methodologies and processes used to create and maintain a quality software system are expensive to deploy and result in long development cycle-time. However, without their deployment into the software implementation life-cycle, a software system will be undependable, unsuccessful. The purpose of this research is to identify a succinct set of software implementation success criteria and assess the key independent constructs, activities, carried out to ensure a successful implementation project. The research will assess the success of a software implementation project as the dependent construct of interest and use the software process model (methodology) as the independent construct. This field research involved three phases: (1) criteria development, (2) data collection, and (3) testing of hypotheses and discriminant analysis. The first phase resulted in the development of the measurement instruments for the independent and dependent constructs. The measurement instrument for the independent construct was representative of the criteria from highly regarded software implementation process models and methodologies, e.g., ISO9000, Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model (SEI CMM). The dependent construct was developed from the categories and criteria from the Delone and McLean (1992) MIS List of …