Business Commons^™

Work System Theory As A Platform: Response To A Research Perspective Article By Niederman And March, Steven Alter

Business Analytics and Information Systems

This article responds to “Taking the Work System Theory Forward” (Niederman and March, 2014), a JAIS research perspective article about an article on work system theory (Alter, 2013e). The research perspective article recognizes value in the work system approach, suggests that WST is not a proper theory, and suggests areas for related theory development.

After summarizing the main ideas in WST, this article explains disagreements between Niederman and March (2014) and Alter (2013e), hereafter called N&M and the WST article, regarding what WST is and what WST should become. It notes that N&M interprets basic ideas in WST differently than …

Engineering Enterprises For Emergent Change, Steven Alter

Business Analytics and Information Systems

This paper uses work system theory (WST) and two of its extensions to provide an integrated perspective on engineering enterprises for emergent change. This paper starts by explaining six basic assumptions and distinctions related to emergent change. It introduces four frameworks or models related to WST including the work system framework, work system life cycle model, a theory of workarounds, and a work system metamodel. It shows how each framework or model can help in identifying different aspects of engineering for emergent change and also can be the basis of guidelines for that purpose. Overall, this paper provides a unique …

An "Interpretary" For The Is Discipline, A Compendium Of Interpretations Of Basic Is Concepts And Methods From Different Theoretical Perspectives, Steven Alter

Business Analytics and Information Systems

This article proposes the development of an "interpretary," a compendium of interpretations of IS concepts and methods from different theoretical perspectives. Such an interpretary would recognize the importance of different theoretical perspectives while also moving toward an organized body of knowledge for the IS discipline. An idealized interpretary can be viewed as a two-dimensional concept interpretation matrix whose cells contain interpretations of specific concepts from specific theoretical perspectives. The first column is a list of important IS concepts. The other columns represent specific theoretical perspectives. Each cell contains an interpretation of a particular concept from a particular perspective Thus, the …

Using Work System Theory To Link Managerial And Technical Perspectives On Bpm, Steven Alter

Business Analytics and Information Systems

Work system theory (WST) provides a bridge between managerial and technical perspectives on BPM that often seem distant from each other. In combination, the work system framework, underlying work system metamodel, and the work system life cycle model provide a number of bridges between those perspectives. In relation to managerial BPM, the work system framework treats "business process" as one of nine elements in a basic understanding of a work system. The others are participants, information, technology, products/services, customers, environment, infrastructure, and strategies. The underlying metamodel outlines a precise structure for analysis and design of work systems and for links …

Work System Theory: Overview Of Core Concepts, Extensions, And Challenges For The Future, Steven Alter

Business Analytics and Information Systems

This paper presents a current, accessible, and overarching view of work system theory. WST is the core of an integrated body of theory that emerged from a long-term research project to develop a systems analysis and design method for business professionals called the work system method (WSM). After discussing WST’s basic premises and its two central frameworks, this paper summarizes the relationship between WST and WSM. It shows how experience with early versions of WSM led to three extensions of WST that addressed limitations-in-use in one of the central frameworks in WST. After comparisons with related theories, this paper closes …

Making A Science Of Service Systems Practical: Seeking Usefulness And Understandability While Avoiding Unnecessary Assumptions And Restrictions, Steven Alter

Business Analytics and Information Systems

This book’s theme is “The Science of Service Systems,” yet there is substantial question about whether the definition and nature of service systems have been articulated adequately. This paper examines definitions of service and service system that could frame or otherwise influence future developments in service science and could have implications for what should and should not be included within service science. It argues that the initial development of service science should use straightforward definitions that are understandable, useful, broadly applicable, and teachable. It proposes a definition of service system that is different from the definition proposed in this book’s …

Service System Fundamentals: Work System, Value Chain, And Life Cycle, Steven Alter

Business Analytics and Information Systems

Service systems produce all services of significance and scope, yet the concept of service system is not well articulated in the service literature. This paper presents three interrelated frameworks as a first cut at the fundamentals of service systems. These frameworks identify basic building blocks and organize important attributes and change processes that apply across all service systems. Although relevant regardless of whether a service system uses IT, the frameworks are also potentially useful in visualizing the realities of moving toward automated service architectures. This paper uses two examples, one largely manual and one highly automated, to illustrate the potential …

Information System Risks And Risk Factors: Are They Mostly About Information Systems?, Susan A. Sherer, Steven Alter

Business Analytics and Information Systems

This article is the second of two whose goal is to advance the discussion of IS risk by addressing limitations of the current IS risk literature. The first article [Alter and Sherer, 2004] presented a general, but broadly adaptable model of system-related risk that addressed the limited usefulness of existing IS risk models for business managers. In this article, we focus on organizing risk factors to make them more useful and meaningful for business managers.

This article shows how the nine elements of the work system framework can be used to organize the hundreds of risk factors in the IS …

A General, But Readily Adaptable Model Of Information System Risk, Steven Alter, Susan A. Sherer

Business Analytics and Information Systems

This article is the first of two whose goal is to advance the discussion of IS risk by addressing limitations of the current IS risk literature. These limitations include:

• inconsistent or unclear definitions of risk,
• limited applicability of risk models,
• frequent omission of the temporal nature of risk, and
• lack of an easily communicated organizing framework for risk factors.

This article presents a general, but broadly adaptable model of system-related risk. The companion article, Volume 14, Article 2[Sherer and Alter, 2004] focuses on IS risk factors and how these factors can be organized.

This article starts by identifying criteria for …