Systems Development Methods for the Next Century

This book is a result of the ISD'97, Sixth International Conference on Information Systems Development-Methods and Tools, Theory and Practice held August 11-14, 1997 in Boise, Idaho, USA. The purpose of this Conference was to address the issues facing academia and industry when specifying, developing, managing and improving software systems. The selection of papers was carried out by the International Program Committee. All papers were reviewed in advance by at least three people. Papers were judged according to their originality, relevance and presentation quality. All papers were judged purely on their own merits, independently of other submissions. This year's Information Systems Development Conference-ISD'97 is the first ISD conference being held in the US. ISD was brought into existence almost ten years ago. It continues the fine tradition of the first Polish-Scandinavian Seminar on Current Trends in Information Systems Development Methodologies, held in Gdansk-Poland in 1988. ISD'98 will be held in Bled, Slovenia. ISD'97 consists not only of the technical program represented in these proceedings, but also tutorials on improved software testing and end-user information systems and workshop on sharing knowledge within international high technology industries that are intended for both, the research and business communities. We would like to thank the authors of papers accepted for ISD'97 who all made gal­ lant efforts to provide me with electronic copies of their manuscripts conforming to com­ mon guidelines. We thank them for thoughtfully responding to reviewers comments and carefully preparing their final contributions.

1. Objects through Relations: The ADOORE Approach.- 2. Object-Oriented Information Technologies.- 3. Use of Object-Orientation for Information Systems Development in Software Companies in Finland: A Proposal for Study.- 4. A Feature-Based Approach for Consistent Object-Oriented Requirements Specification.- 5. Creativity, Group Support Systems, and Systems Development.- 6. Team Support for Software Development.- 7. Modelling the Dynamics of Cooperative Work Arrangements.- 8. Systems Integration in a Co-operative Society.- 9. Failure Analysis in Information Systems Design.- 10. Problems Associated with Cost/Benefit Analysis for Strategic Information Systems.- 11. Objectives and Reality: User Participation in Information System Development.- 12. Systems Development Methodologies: Time to Advance the Clock.- 13. The Software Evolution Process, Its Global Improvement, and the Perceived Efficacy of Process Assessment Schemes as Improvement Drivers.- 14. How Shared Is Shared Understanding in Information Requirements Determination?.- 15. Platform Independent TMN Componentware and Data Element Repository Based on Software Farming Methodology.- 16. Automatic Analysis of Natural Language Texts in Man-Machine Communication.- 17. Accommodating Dimension Hierarchies in a Data Warehouse View/Index Selection Scheme.- 18. On Systems, Simplicity, and Granulation.- 19. Agile Manufacturing: The Implications for Technology Strategy, A British Perspective.- 20. ‘Organisational Defenses’ in Requirements Engineering.- 21. Organizational Impact of Component-Based Systems Development.- 22. NESDeM II: A Development Methodology for Knowledge-Based Systems/Expert Systems.- 23. Intelligent Agents: Definitions, Designations, and Development.- 24. A Comparison of the Ability of Neural Networks andLogit Regression Models to Predict Levels of Financial Distress.- 25. A Comparative Review of MetaCASE Tools.- 26. Formal Specifications and Case.- 27. The Role of End-User Computing Support in Auditing.- 28. The Educational Technology of Repetition Spacing in Information Systems Development.- 29. Cooperative Software Development Supporting Financial Product Representation and Distribution in the World-Wide Web.- 30. Addressing the Year 2000 Issue: The Case of Slovenia.- 31. The Use of Systems Development Methodologies, Tools, and Techniques in Western Australia.- 32. Development of Management Information Systems in Poland: Technologies and Tendencies Analysis.- 33. A Critical Framework for Information Systems Methodologies.- 34. Information Systems for Responsible Actors: Basic Concepts for Understanding and Action.- 35. Reconciling the Epistemological Differences between Soft and Hard Information Systems Methodologies.- 36. An Information System Check-Up Model for Small and Medium Enterprises.- 37. Communicating @ Work: Problems in Making IT Work.- 38. The Sources of Power between Information Systems Developers and End Users: A Resource Dependence Perspective.- 39. Theoretical Foundations of Dual Information Systems.- 40. On Application of a Matrix Idea in Management Systems Analysis.- 41. Developing an Information System of Software Metrics.- 42. Development and Optimization of Large System Model with GRADE.- 43. Virtual Reality Prototyping in Development and Web-Based Marketing of Future Electronics Products.- 44. A Dynamic Approach in Information System Development.- 45. Patterned Model for Technology Development: A Study on Knowledge Creation and Repositories with a Cooperative Case in Telecommunication.