Information Systems Intervention: A Total Systems View

Abstract

Computer information systems development has grown out of the functionalist traditions of natural science. Whilst the structured or ‘hard’ approaches resulting from this have undoubtedly given rise to successful developments, increasingly in the last 20 years or so concentration has been on those problem contexts in which a functionalist, problem-solving method has proved least effective; contexts categorised primarily by the ‘soft’ issues of human activity.

Unfortunately, rather than this giving rise to a conciliation between the two approaches, with each being seen as valuable in its own context, what has happened has been an increasing divergence, with ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ methodologies competing for pre-eminence.

The intervention on which this chapter is based involves the surfacing of both ‘hard’ and’ soft’ issues, and initially not only was a choice between a ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ methodology found to be inadequate, but even the nature of the problem context was not clear.

What was found to be needed went beyond selection of methodology, and demanded a com-plementarist approach in a systemic framework to control the intervention and ultimately arrive at a ‘solution’ which met the consensus view of all parties.

The course of action undertaken takes a ‘total systems view’ of the problem context.

An appraisal of the value of such an approach in this case, and the possible applicability to similar interventions, is the focus of this chapter.