Information Systems Failure

Essay # 54168

Business > Information Mgmt. and Systems
Computer and Technology > Technology

This paper seeks to critically examine the statement "Most information systems fail in that they are never completed or, if completed, not used as originally intended".

2,176 words () | 9 sources | MLA | 2004 Turkey

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how modern organizations of today use different kinds of information systems (IS) with various needs and objectives and how it is now inevitable that most IS projects are either not completed or not used as originally intended. It shows how statistically only 26 percent of all IS projects are deemed to be successful and attempts to evaluate how we can measure success and failure and what we understand by the term information system.

Outline
What Do We Understand From "Information System?"
What is Failure and For Whom it is a Failure?
Factors Affecting Information Systems
Evaluation of Success/Failure
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"There exists a common sense which suggests that an IS is made of an application program running on some hardware. However IS are not entirely concerned with software and hardware. They also include social elements. Therefore an IS should be treated as a socio-technical entity. The introduction of an IS to an organization brings about many changes in working patterns, organizational structure, job descriptions and so on. As Bostrom and Heinen argue "one cannot install new technology without considering the people who must work with it" (Bostrom and Heinen, 1977). Therefore a socio-technical philosophy has to be adopted while dealing with IS."