Skip to main content

The Work that Analysts Do: A Systemic Functional Approach to Elicitation

  • Conference paper
Advances in Information Systems Development

Abstract

In this paper we advocate the view of systems analysis as an activity where communication and social interaction within the developer community and between developers, users and other stakeholders is central. Analysis involves a complex bridging process (Quintas 1993) between IS professionals and users implying different backgrounds, knowledge, agendas and social relations of power. We need to study communication in organisational contexts to better understand how we can conduct effective systems analysis and also in order to improve our pedagogic practices. However while there is a general recognition of the importance of communication it is none-the-less a complex social phenomena that is not well understood within the IS discipline and not explicitly addressed in traditional methods and methodologies despite growing interest and recognition in various qualitative, interpretive and ethnographic approaches (Easterbrook 1993).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Burch J, Grudnitski G (1989) Information Systems: Theory and Practice. 5th ed. John Wiley & Sons NY

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke RJ (2000) An Information System in its Organisational Contexts: A Systemic Semiotic Longitudinal Case Study. Unpublished PhD Dissertation Department of Information Systems University of Wollongong Australia

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke RJ (2003) The Discursive Organisation of Action and Language in Work-practice Descriptions. In: Goldkuhl G, Lind M, Ågerfalk PJ (eds) ALOIS 2003 — Action in Language, Organisations and Information Systems. VITS Research Network Linköping University Sweden 12th–13th March 2003

    Google Scholar 

  • Easterbrook S (1993) Negotiation and the Role of the Requirements Specification. In: Quintas P (ed) Social Dimensions of Systems Engineering: People, Processes, Policies and Software Development. Ellis Horwood New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Eggins S (1994) An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics. Pinter Publishers London United Kingdom

    Google Scholar 

  • Eggins S, Slade D (1997) Analysing Casual Conversation. Cassell London and Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Halliday MAK (1985) An Introduction to Functional Grammar. Edward Arnold London

    Google Scholar 

  • Hasan R (1985) The Structure of a Text. In: Halliday MAK, Hasan R (1985) Language, Context, and Text: Aspects of Language on a Social-Semiotic Perspective. Deakin University Press Geelong Victoria

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin JR (1992) English Text: System and Structure. John Benjamins Publishing Company Philadelphia/Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Quintas P (1993) Introduction — Living the Lifecycle: Social Processes in software and systems development. In: Quintas P (ed) Social Dimensions of Systems Engineering: People, Processes, Policies and Software Development Ellis Horwood Series in Interactive Information Systems. Ellis Horwood Limited London

    Google Scholar 

  • Sekaran U (1992) Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach. Second ed. John Wiley and Sons USA

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2006 Springer Science-Business Media, LLC

About this paper

Cite this paper

Clarke, R.J. (2006). The Work that Analysts Do: A Systemic Functional Approach to Elicitation. In: Nilsson, A.G., Gustas, R., Wojtkowski, W., Wojtkowski, W.G., Wrycza, S., Zupančič, J. (eds) Advances in Information Systems Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-36402-5_28

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-36402-5_28

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-30834-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-36402-5

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics