Information Systems Development Review - Term Paper Example

Introduction Many researchers especially those with computing backgrounds represents Information systems development (ISD) as a twofold activities of assess business systems and also designing information systems that are computerized which support them. (Hirschheim et al 1995): states that systems development involves all activities encompassed in the processes of construction, implementation and maintaining of the information system. It is thus important that, any research on ISD should have those aspects. This paper will take a critical review on a previous study on ISD that was carried out by a student. Originality: Today information technology has become increasingly important in every field, thus, I agree and support that research is needed in studying the effects of information technology has on economic units. Today many companies and households have incorporated information technology in their processes yet there is little research on how the systems are affected by economic units. Therefore it is important that such research is carried out to determine the requirements of information system development in economic unit. Technical quality: As pertaining to technical quality of the paper, I strongly feel that the researcher did his home work well and a will strongly argue in favor of the paper. The paper has tried on the part of the technical quality the researcher seems to have a good understanding of the technical aspect of the information technology has he has defined several terms used in the industry and expressed various technical uses of the various information systems. For example the research points out that AIS and MIS are used in the information management of firms. As also observed in the research paper the researcher clearly defines how information systems development is used in accounting system. To express his understanding of the technical world the research paper goes ahead and assesses how the ISD in accounting system is used and gives as the main three functions that the accounting system provides. Through out the paper it is clear the there is quality of technical terms and understanding that are used to enhance the quality of the research. We can there fore ascertain that the technical quality of the paper is good and technical terms and understanding are clear. Overall rating: Generally, the paper was done well and has a lot of consistence. The study also has extensive references from previous works which provides a basis of the study. It can clearly be seen that the researcher carried out a broad research in the study. The review clearly undertakes to touch on important topic that relates to information systems development and how the different aspect of information technology is used in various fields. It is important to note that though, there is some ambiguities on how information systems is it is basically due to different approaches undertaken by the different firm in using of it. The differences can also be brought about by the different approaches that will be undertaken by the colleges which can be either technical or managerial; these views are brought out in the research paper. Comments to the Author In general speaking the paper was done well and gives a lot of insight in use of information systems development in various aspects especially in the accounting system. As noted early the author of the study shows a good understanding of the topic and as tried to express and validated his study. Nevertheless, it is important for any review to be able to bring out other aspects that the indirectly or directly affects to the topic. At this end the paper failed to clearly explore of other aspects affects accounting information systems. Main Contributions of Paper: It is vital to note that the paper gives a good insight on the studies of information systems development in accordance to use of information systems in accounting. The research paper thus makes good contribution in understanding the impact and use of ISD in the accounting and other fields and also use of IT in the organizations. The study also give a good look on information systems practices that have taken place in the past by reviewing the previous research that was undertaken in other studies. The paper has makes contributions on the issues of software development over he years and also the highlights that issues of information systems use in the earlier years for example from 1970-80. In addition the paper also makes a positive contribution by analyzing development of technologies such as client server and electronic data interchange. Thus, it is certain the study tries to shed light on how various technologies in information systems have developed and how they are being used. For any study to be effective and clearly understood it needs to have clear research proposal and methodology that it will follow to arrive to a conclusion. This paper fulfils the above requirements and goes ahead to explore the topic fully. It is important in any study to get different views concerning a topic in order for the study to have a broader perspective about the topic being studied. The study under review goes along way to review different literatures and studies to add quality accuracy to the research. As it can be seen also the study is extensive and has taken a deep look at the use of accounting information system as used in various aspects. It also shows how the researcher understands the depth of his topic. For example, in accounting and ISD the study takes an extensive look at the aspect and goes on to outline two different closely related aims of accounting as reporting to the management and to the people. This is a clear understanding of the topic. Positive Aspects: The positive aspect of this research study is that it takes an extensive look at ISD in relation to economic units, particularly in integrated system of accounting. Thus, gives us a view what the research in the field with can be used when formulating different policies in relation to integrated systems in accounting. The paper contributes a lot in providing a good outline of those interested in field. Another positive feature about that paper is that it takes a comprehensive review on previous studies and tries to come-up with results that are more balanced and accurate information. The study is very much relevant in the information technology as it take a critical look as various aspects in the industry. Thus, it can be used by relevant bodies to understand various aspects in the industry. As the paper states it is that the evaluation of data processing is conventionally rate upon the idea of displacing the economic units. This argument is further accepted by Hirschheim et al (1995) when he points out that, as technology advances and new machines are invented, it becomes necessary to people to adopt new technology in order to increase the efficient of work performance. As this happens some aspects are displayed in the household. It is important the economic development is the main driving force of acquiring new technology. As the research shows a house hold as an economic unit will embrace technology more easily if the economy is good. Negative Aspects: No matter how good a study is it is prone to have some negatives effects, in relation to this study, the negative aspect is that people may take the result of the study and use them while more research is need to be carried out on the same topic to validate the findings. As it has been noted there are some limitations in the study. The research also is not comprehensive and has little information about the topic and aspects that it tries to highlight. It is important that full and inclusive information should be provided in order for one to have a clear understanding of a subject being researched on. The paper only takes a look at economic units in relation to ISD forgetting other aspects that may affect ISD development in a setup. There is too much references all through the study which make the to loss originality, this goes along way to show that the researcher had little ideas of his own and uses reference material so much. Any viable study needs to have good references that are valid in order to support the topic being reviewed. However, it should have been better if the researcher should have reduced the number of sources as they seem to be too many in relation with the scope of the research. Requested Changes: As it has been noted in the study, it has mainly focused on ISD and economic units in the integrated systems of accounting. It is important that the author also instead of the author only basing on previous study, he should formulate a field study which is more accurate as it give the author first hand information. The author also should try a give a comprehensive solutions for problem that arises so that the study can be more helpful to organizations. There researcher should also minimize on the number of references material used so that it can enhance the originality of the paper. It is important that the paper also should try and incorporate other fields in apart from accounting to get more effective results about the development of ISD. According to the search management information systems can also be assessed by examining the firms and another economic unit to measure extent of IMS. But as Galliers (1992): notes, information management of a firm consists all aspects of managing information in that firm. Thus, it is in shows that the study should have focused on all aspects in the firm. Reference: Galliers, R. (Ed.) (1992): Information Systems Research: issues, methodology and practical guidelines, Blackwell, Oxford Hirschheim, R., Klein, H.K. and Lyytinen, K. (1995): Information Systems Development and Data Modeling; Conceptual and Philosophical; Foundations, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Read More