Since the early 1980's, the IFIP WG8.1 conferences have provided a forum for the presentation and exchange of research results and practical experiences in the field of Information System Engineering. The WG8.1 '02 Conference is held in the beautiful Kanazawa area in North western Japan. The ubiquitous Web has revolutionised the way organisations communicate and work internally as well as externally and, consequently, the nature of information systems supporting business activities. Web-based systems have become the state of the art in information systems engineering in a very short time. As companies become more international in their strategies and activities, information systems themselves span the globe, led by the Internet. While the risks from failed systems may be enhanced due to higher expectations and increased complexity, we have the opportunity to learn more about the nature of information systems and to develop new engineering techniques and methods to improve the development of information services in a World Wide Web context. The aim theme of this working conference is "Engineering Information Systems in the Internet Context" and the programme address both technologies and methodologies for building them. x The call for the EISIC Conference was given international audience. The program committee was chosen from very well reputed researchers in the international information systems, web information systems and communication communities. Seventeen papers have been selected for presentation and discussion during the conference.
