EIS INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS DETERMINATION - USING A GROUP SUPPORT SYSTEM TO ENHANCE THE STRATEGIC BUSINESS OBJECTIVES METHOD

Executive information systems (EIS) provide executives with easy acces s to high-level strategic information about a firm's current status. T he potential of EIS is reflected in a growing list of success stories. Unfortunately, more EIS fail than succeed. Among the reasons for EIS failure is the inability to develop systems that meet executive needs. The strategic business objectives (SBO) method has previously been su ggested to meet this challenge. The SBO method takes an organization-w ide view of EIS information requirements by identifying and linking bu siness objectives related to the strategic business objectives of the organization. The method relies on effective communication between EIS executive users and EIS developers. The SBO method can be enhanced by group support systems (GSS). GSS support a variety of group activitie s, including communication, planning, and decision making. Group activ ities within the SBO method that benefit from GSS support are identifi ed and matched with GSS software tools and procedures. Advantages and disadvantages of this approach are discussed.