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Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words? The Use of Non-Text Items in Information Systems Research
Get PDFThe use of non-text items (graphs, graphics and tables) is firmly established in the publishing tradition of information systems research. Non-text images are used to convey complex information in a pictorial or diagrammatic sense, adding additional meaning to the discussion. Non-text images also highlight results, and meaningfully represent both quantitative and qualitative data.
This paper examines the use of non-text items in information systems journals. Three measures of use are employed: rate of use of non-text items; academic and practitioner journal usage of non-text items; and citation rates of articles with varying levels of non-text items. The sample research articles represent a 30- year timeframe and include articles from six prominent information systems journals. The research results show an increasing use of non-text items in information systems research. In addition, articles that utilise a higher rate of non-text items were more likely to be cited in other works. Practitioner journals were found to utilise more non-text items than academic journals, and to utilise a different mixture of non-text items.
It would appear that articles that use higher levels of non text items are more widely cited, so if citedness is the definition of 'success', then it may be practical to incorporate a range of non-text items. If consideration is given to the motive behind selection of articles for citation when preparing research, it seems possible that increased use of non-text items improves the clarity of research findings, leading to their increased usage, uptake and citation levels
Preliminary Insights into the Implementation of Standardised IT in Franchise Systems
Get PDFThe franchise context provides a rich background for studying the implementation of standardised, interlinked IT systems. Benefits of IT implementation in franchises appear obvious, but the small business context and potential tension between the two main stakeholders (franchisor and franchisees) tend to create difficulties in the implementation process. Case study methods were used to investigate IT implementation in franchise systems. Franchisee-related factors that clearly impact on implementation include perceived need for the IT system, cost of the system and the level of IT literacy among franchisees. Franchisor-related factors like coercion of franchisees and education of franchisees strongly facilitate implementation
Automating Requirements Refinement with Cross-Domain Requirements Classification
No full textIntroduction of software reuse into the development process significantly alters the life-cycle model, and has a tremendous impact on all of its software development phases. This also includes the phase of requirements engineering, its activities and the tools used in the process. To deal with the consequences of incorporating reuse in the early phases of software development, we suggest the use of a special process model, capable of simultaneously meeting the goals of software reuse and the goals of requirements engineering. The RARE (Reuse Assisted Requirements Engineering) method proposes such a model. RARE places a particular emphasis on two aspects of requirements processing, i.e. requirements classification and domain mapping. Both of these aspects are especially helpful in the automation of requirements refinement into reusable designs
Confusion with Diffusion? Unravelling IS Diffusion and Innovation Literature with a Focus on SME'S
Get PDFThe aim of this paper is to contribute to understanding of the various models used in research for the adoption and diffusion of information technology in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Starting with Rogers' diffusion theory and behavioural models, technology adoption models used in IS research are discussed. Empirical research has shown that the reasons why firms choose to adopt or not adopt technology is dependent on a number of factors. These factors can be categorised as owner/manager characteristics, firm characteristics, and other characteristics. The existing models explaining IS diffusion and adoption by SMEs overlap and complement each other. This paper reviews the existing literature and proposes a comprehensive model which includes the whole array of variables from earlier models
Constructing Multidatabase Collections Using Extended ODMG Object Model
Get PDFCollections are an important feature in database systems. They provide us with the ability to group objects of interest together, and then to manipulate them in the required fashion. The OASIS project is focused on the construction a multidatabase prototype which uses the ODMG model and a canonical model. As part of this work we have extended the base model to provide a more powerful collection mechanism, and to permit the construction of a federated collection, a collection of heterogenous objects taken from distributed data source
Strengthen and Support the Maintenance of Object-Oriented Software
Get PDFInheritance is one of the most common features of object oriented languages, and has been widely applied to develop large and complex software system. However, designing a suitable inheritance hierarchy, involving redundant inheritance, is a difficult task and easily suffers from name-confliction and repeated inheritance which are error-prone and difficult to test. In this paper, we explain how redundant inheritance makes object-oriented programs difficult to test and maintain, and we give a concrete example of the problems that arise. We show that the difficulty lies in the fact that we lack an effective detection tool suited for work with inheritance problems. Therefore, a formal checking mechanism is proposed to detect and resolve redundant inheritance. Furthermore, this checking mechanism can be easily incorporated with object-oriented CASE tool to enhance software quality
Requirements Evolution and Reuse Using the Systems Engineering Process Activities (SEPA)
Get PDFAs more organizations attempt to reuse previous development efforts and incorporate legacy systems, typical software development activities have transitioned from unique ground-up coding efforts to the integration of new code, legacy code, and COTS implementations. This transition has brought on a whole new set of development issues, including resolving mismatches between integrated components and tracing legacy and COTS components to requirements. This paper presents the Systems Engineering Process Activities (SEPA) methodology, developed to address these and other issues in current software development practices. SEPA aids the reuse and integration process by focusing on requirements integration and evolution, while maintaining traceability to requirements gathered from domain experts and end users. The SEPA methodology supports the development process by promoting requirements analysis prior to design, separation of domain-based and application-based (i.e. implementation-specific) requirements, and evaluating system component suitability in terms of domain and application requirements. The paper also presents an example illustrating the application of SEPA in the emergency incident response domain to facilitate requirements management and foster requirements reuse