ONE SIZE FITS ALL - OR DOES IT

There seem to be two driving forces in systems development. Systems ca n be developed based on either tradition or on innovation. Whereas tra dition often has much to offer in planning information systems of an o perational character, strategic information systems clearly necessitat e new ways of thinking, i.e. innovation. You can't get any advantage w ith information systems without being original. Therefore, rigid metho ds initially designed for the development of operative information sys tems and based on following up old established conventions are not sui table for the development of strategic systems. Such methods, based on a technical view of information systems, also ignore the social dimen sions of computing, whereas innovative uses of computers create new an d socially acceptable ways to use computers. In order to clarify the i deas we shall first discuss the difference between operational and str ategic information systems. Discussion on the 'traditional methods' fo r building operational systems is conducted and their characteristics that inhibit innovation and creativity are reviewed. Based on this dis cussion, it is claimed that strategic information systems exhibiting i nnovative solutions should not and cannot be built based on methods de rived from the building of operational information systems. We will al so take up the factors allowing and at the same time demanding innovat ion. Several Finnish examples of innovation in information systems are presented.