Information Systems

An in-context assessment approach for information systems (IS) is an improvement over normative evaluation or evaluation with unspecified criteria. The 3 stages in this type of approach consist of 11 steps. These steps are: 1. Analyze the industry and competitive environment. 2. Analyze the firm's historical development and culture. 3. Analyze factors that determine the organizational structure. 4. Determine the IS support needed for competitive strategies and advantage. 5. Determine management information needs in each functional area or major organizational unit. 6. Identify needed transaction processing and important operational control information for each unit and function. 7. Assess how well current and planned information architectures meet information needs. 8. Examine the fit between the IS function and the organization. 9. Evaluate IS planning. 10. Evaluate IS activities and functions. 11. Evaluate IS personnel management. This approach has been refined in an action research setting.