Information, Systems and Information Systems : Making Sense of the Field

by Peter Checkland, Sue Holwell

Science-based technology helps to shape our lives, and no technology is more powerful in this respect than that associated with information. But the emerging linked fields of information systems and information technology are still in a very confused state. There is a torrent of technical developments but the concepts which bring structure to the field and make sense of it lag behind. This book seeks to dispel that confusion, and aims to make sense of IS and IT as a whole. Conventional theory bears little relation to the experience most people have with computer-based systems in organizations. Based on real-world experiences in both the private and public sectors, this book from Peter Checkland and Sue Holwell tackles the subject afresh. Information, Systems and Information Systems provides a practice-based approach to the thinking needed to underpin provision of information support in organizations. Starting from fundamentals, the book develops a coherent account of the field. The book is thus a work of conceptual cleansing. It presents a well-argued and tested account of IS and IT which is both holistic and coherent. The sense-making models which emerge can encompass any particular assumptions about the nature of organizational reality and management, whether 'hard' functionalist or 'soft' interpretive ones, though the authors' sympathies are with the latter.  

278 pages, Hardcover

First published November 27, 1997

Reviews

[Bart Du Bois · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refreshingly clear. Excellent illustration of the setup of informational support for purposeful action, and how this setup was supported by a mix of technical and operational experts.

Merely have chapter five, though.

[Tweetyich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love how they explain the difference between information, systems and information systems and why we should care about differentiating them. Working in IT this was quite interesting!
Also got inspired by the systems approach for a change project I am part of. Overall an entertaining, practical and easy to read introduction into Checklands methodology.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Soft Systems Methodology book - okay if you like that sort of thing

[Jan]

A very unusual approch (soft systems) to analysing and designing information systems. The book defines what information and information system actually is, and what purpose IS serves.