MYTHS, TABOOS AND MISCONCEPTIONS IN IS

1. MYTHS, TABOOS AND MISCONCEPTIONS IN IS FRANK LAND LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS PRESENTATION AT NOTTINGHAM UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL APRIL 2005

2. MYTHS, TABOOS AND MISCONCEPTIONS IN IS: INTRODUCTION • IS, IN THE SENSE OF BUSINESS PROCESSES, CELEBRATED ITS 50TH BIRTHDAY IN 2001 • MARCH 1951 – 1st UNIVAC INSTALLED AT CENSUS BUREAU • NOVEMBER 1951 – FIRST REGULAR TIME- CRITICAL APPLICATION LAUNCHED AT THE HQ OF J. LYONS, THE UK CATERING AND FOOD COMPANY • 50 YEARS HAVE PROVIDED PLENTY OF TIME FOR MYTHS, TABOOS AND MISCONCEPTIONS TO ACCUMULATE • OF THE WIDE RANGE OF MYTHS, TABOOS AND MISCONCEPTIONS I HAVE SELECTED A FEW EXAMPLES. BUT THE LIST IS BY NO MEANS COMPREHENSIVE • DERIVED FROM YEAROF REVIEWING, CONFRENCE ATTENDING, REFEREEING AND EXAMINING

3. MYTHS, TABOOS AND MISCONCEPTIONS IN IS: OUTLINE • THE TABOOS SURROUNDING THE STUDY OF FAILURE • THE MISSING TOPICS • THE MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT IS HISTORY • WHAT IS INFORMATION? KNOWLEDGE • THE NOTION OF REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING • THE ROLE OF IS ACADEMIA

4. MYTHS, TABOOS AND MISCONCEPTIONS IN IS: TABOOS (1) FAILURES • FACTORS BEHIND FAILURES • RESEARCH STUDIES AND RESEARCH MODLES • EXAMPLE FROM ERM STUDY • MODEL EXPLAINED 26% OF VARIANCE • BUT LITTLE ATTEMPT AT EXPLAINING THE OTHER 76% • ARE WE PERMITTED TO STUDY INCOMPETENCE

5. MYTHS, TABOOS AND MISCONCEPTIONS IN IS: TABOOS (2) WHAT IS MISSING FROM THE AGENDA • ARE THERE TOPICS WHICH ARE OUTSIDE OUR FRAME OF REFERENCE • COMPUTER CRIME FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE CRIMINAL • PORNOGRAPHY • SPAM YET THESE ARE SOME OF THE LARGEST USERS OF THE TECHNOLOGY AND SOME OF THE MOST INNOVATIVE USERS

6. MYTHS, TABOOS AND MISCONCEPTIONS IN IS: IS HISTORY (1) • THE NOTION THAT EACH TECHNICAL INNOVATION LAUNCHES A NEW AGE OF REVOLUIONARY CHANGE • HENCE IS ONLY STARTED WITH COMPUTERS • NOTE CONTINUITY • NAPOLEONS TABLES, THE EARLY “SYSTEMISERS”, SYSTEMS RESEARCH • THE NOTION THAT ALL PROGRESS IS UPWARDS TOWARDS SOME MILLENIUM • THE NOLAN & NORTON DEVELOPMENT CURVE AND ASSUMPTION OF MATURITY • THE RHETORIC OF EACH NEW IDEA

7. MYTHS, TABOOS AND MISCONCEPTIONS IN IS:IS HISTORY (2) • THE NOTION THAT OUTCOMES ARE PREDICTABLE AND DETERMINISTIC • MANY HISTORICAL INTRODUCTIONS ARE BOTH INACCURATE AND SELF-SERVING

8. MYTHS, TABOOS AND ISCONCEPTIONS IN IS: WHAT IS INFORMATION? (1) • THE DATA, INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE HIERACHY • THE OFTEN IMPLIED ASSUMPTION THAT WHAT WE CALL INFORMATION REPRESENTS A TRUE PICTURE OF THE REAL WORLD • ONLY MALFUNCTION OR ERROR CAN PREVENT THE SYSTEM REPRESENTING THE REAL WORLD • A VIEW SHARED BY MANY DESIGNERS OF DATA BASES AND DATA WAREHOUSES • PERHAPS THE NEW PREVELANCE OF WEBSITES IS MAKING IT OBVIOUS THAT INFORMATION SYSTEMS ARE NOT PURE VEHICLES OF TRUTH • KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION • DISPUTE OVER DEFINITIONS • TACIT VERSUS EXPLICIT KNOWLEDGE • WILSON AND IMPLICIT KNOWLEDGE

9. MYTHS, TABOOS AND MISCONCEPTIONS IN IS: WHAT IS INFORMATION? (1) • INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE, CONTROL AND POWER • INSTRUMENTAL USE OF KNOWLEDGE • ASSYMETRY IN TREATMENT OF KNOWLEDGE – INFORMATION SOURCES ARE NOT NEUTRAL WITH RESPECT TO THE MESSAGES THEY DISSEMINATE • THE INFORMATION WE HOLD IN OUR INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE STORES DESIGNED TO HAVE A PARTICULAR IMPACT • ENRON AS AN EXAMPLE OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT WITH THE SHREDDER AS ITS KM TOOL • LONG HISTORY AND WIDE SCOPE OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

10. MYTHS, TABOOS AND MISCONCEPTIONS IN IS: REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING • THE LITEARTURE FREQUENTLY ASCRIBES IS FAILURES TO: • INADEQUATE REQUIREMENTS ELICITATION – BLAME ANALYST • WRONGLY STATED REQUIREMENTS – BLAME THE USER • MISINTERPRETED SPECIFICATIONS – BLAME THE METHOD • ALL HAVE SOME VALIDITY BUT THERE IS A WIDESPREAD MISCONCEPTION THAT: REQUIREMENTS HAVE AN EXISTENCE WHICH IF ONLY WE USED THE RIGHT METHOD AND COMPETENCE TO USE IT COULD UNCOVER THE REQUIREMENTS AND EXPRESS THEM IN UNAMBIGOUS LANGUAGE

11. MYTHS, TABOOS AND MISCONCEPTIONS IN IS: IN PRACTICE • REQUIREMENTS ARE OFTEN THE PERSONAL BELONGINGS OF THE INDIVIDUALS WHO MAKE UP THE ORGANISATION AND WHO WORK TO PERSONAL AGENDAS • THEY ARE OFTEN PART OF AN INTUITIVE, TACIT UNDERSTANDING WHICH HAS NOT BEEN OR CANNOT BE ARTICULATED • WE CANNOT SECOND GUESS THE CHANGES ENGENDERED BY AN INNOVATION OR THE RESPONSE TO IT • THE NOTION OF REQUIREMENTS IS AN ABSTRACTION BORROWED FROM ENGINEERING WHICH HAS LITTLE REALITY IN THE COMPLEX, TURBULENT WORLD OF ORGANISATIONS.

12. MYTHS, TABOOS AND MISCONCEPTIONS IN IS: THE ROLE OF IS IN ACADEMIA • IN MANY DISCIPLINES ACADEMIA HAS LED TO NEW DISCOVERIES AND INNOVATIONS • IS THIS TRUE OF IS AND ISD • MANY OF THE BIG IDEAS (FADS?) HAVE COME FROM VENDORS, CONSULTANTS AND USERS • IS ACADEMICS SCRAMBLE BEHIND, TRY TO GET ON THE BANDWAGON, AND RESEARCH THE NEW IDEAS • THE EXAMPLE OF ERM • NOTE THE REVERSAL OF THE PREVIOUSLY DOMINANT PARADIGM THAT WE DESIGN THE SYSTEM TO FIT THE ORGANISATION • WE REDESIGN THE ORGANISATION TO FIT WITH THE ERM PACKAGE • DID ACADEMIA ANTICIPATE THE NEW PARADIGM • WHAT ARE THE CURRENT HOT ISSUES?

13. MYTHS, TABOOS AND MISCONCEPTIONS IN IS: CONCLUSION • BEFORE IS CAN CONSIDER ITSELF A MATURE DISCIPLINE IT HAS TO RID ITSELF OF MANY OF THE MYTHS, TABOOS AND MISCONCEPTIONS WHICH ARE PREVALENT IN MUCH OF THE ACCEPTED WISDOM OF THE DISCIPLINE • PERHAPS IT HAS TO BE MORE REFELXIVE IN THE WAY IT ABSORBS CONCEPTS FROM OTHER DISCIPLINES SUCH AS ENGINEERING, THE NATURAL SCIENCES AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES • FINALLY WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED BY ACADEMIA IN THE 50 YEARS OF STUDY OF IS? • MY ANSWER, DESPITE THESE STRICTURES, IS A GREAT DEAL – EVEN IF OUR DISCIPLINE CONTAINS A FLAWED DISCOURSE