Abstract
An information system is not the same as the technology upon which it is based: it is the totality of technological and human components that work together to produce the information services that are needed, for organisational purposes.
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- 1.
It is unfortunate that terminology now presents a small challenge, because we seem to have the interchangeable terms “application” and “information system”, which may or may not mean the same thing to different people. In conversation today, we also have the diminutive term “app”—something that works with your tablet or smart phone. For the present purpose, we will use these terms interchangeably.
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In other literature, “Turnaround” systems are sometimes referred to as “High Potential” systems, but that seems overly optimistic—not all experimental systems certainly have high potential, they have to be turned around in order to test their potential.
- 3.
In his original writing, Warren McFarlan referred to these as “Factory systems” but time and usage have determined that they are better referred to more simply, as “Key operational systems”.
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For a short but informative discussion of the differences between traditional and agile working, Paetsch et al. (2003) provide a useful overview and critical appraisal, highlighting the role of documentation and other factors.
- 5.
This is “Joy’s Law”, attributed to Sun Microsystems’ co-founder, Bill Joy.
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© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
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Bytheway, A. (2014). Exploring Information Systems. In: Investing in Information. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11909-0_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11909-0_4
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Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
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Online ISBN: 978-3-319-11909-0
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