| This book has three objectives. The first is to present a new methodology for management information system (MIS) development as an application of mathematical general systems theory; the second is to establish a theoretical foundation for MIS development; and the third is to demonstrate the utility of set theory combined with extended Prolog (extProlog) for MIS development.
Traditionally, MISs have been developed from a software engineering perspective, leading to the problem that MIS development is limited to the operational framework allowed for by the lifecycle approach or its variations. Thus, while the lifecycle approach sets a starting point for MIS systems engineering, it is unable to provide an operational framework that is more than simply common sense in systems engineering. Historically, the "hard" systems methodology was proposed in engineering before the inception of the lifecycle approach, and although developed independently, the two approaches are almost identical. A criticism of the hard systems methodology is that it is merely engineering common sense and does not provide operational theory. To establish a more sophisticated theory for MIS development, the problem must therefore be investigated from a viewpoint other than a software engineering perspective. This book sets out to demonstrate that a systems theory approach or model theory approach is a more satisfactory alternative that accounts for the systems nature of an MIS.
In general, MIS development is currently performed without a formal disciplinary framework, and as such remains somewhat of an art. This problem has been pointed out repeatedly by those in pursuit of formal approaches to information systems development as a real engineering discipline. However, it should be noted that although formalism plays a fundamental role in the construction of a solid operational theory for MIS development, a simple formalism that does not include systems concepts is not sufficient. |
