ICS administrivia 132: Organizational Information Systems
Paul Dourish Winter 2001 UCI Information & Computer Science class times
lectures: M, W 11-12:30, SH 174 discussion: F 1-1:50, SSL 270
add/drop dates
add deadline is January 26 drop deadline is February 16
this course is...
intermediate between ICS 131 and 135 the classes with a satisfaction guarantee!
personnel
instructor
Paul Dourish <[e-mail]> office ICS2 206 office hours: W 3-4; F 11-12
please email me first to guarantee appointment
grading
breakdown
10% attendance 20% project 35% midterm 35% final ... but you must do everything!
teaching assistants
Victor Gonzales <[e-mail]> Vijay Jayanti <[e-mail]>
policies
academic honesty
simple: zero tolerance
texts and resources
Alter, Information Systems
management perspective on information systems
spelling
"organization" and "organisation" are both fine
I'm not going to be so careful about "z" in future
Lofland and Lofland
field work and qualitative methods
attendance
discussion sections are important!
a lot of reading
not just volume, but also a different style
timing
final will be during last teaching week
class web page
http://www.ics.uci.edu/~jpd/ics132
1
topic
organizational information systems
how do organizations work? how do information systems support organizations? techniques for understanding organizations designing and deploying organizational IS
why study organizations?
most information systems are used:
in organizations for organizations between organizations
need to understand the organization
so so so so that that that that we we we we can understand what systems should do can understand how systems will be used can understand how people work can make systems more successful
focus on requirements
what they are why they're hard to uncover what to do with them once you've got `em
what is an organizational information system?
why study organizations?
because we so often get it wrong!
technology matters, but when people are involved, people always matter more
why study organizations?
because we so often get it wrong!
technology matters, but when people are involved, people always matter more things that never work:
forcing a system down people's throats telling users that you know better than they do complaining that it isn't your fault the system failed
not just about understanding the user's work
need to understand the user's point of view
what is an organization?
examples
what is an organization?
examples
IBM, Apache Foundation, UCI, the Mafia
what do these have in common? in what ways do they differ?
2
what is an organization?
examples
IBM, Apache Foundation, UCI, the Mafia
what do these have in common? in what ways do they differ?
organizational conundrums
how do organizations achieve their goals?
organizations don't do things; people do why do people do what organizations want? why do organizations do what people want?
definition
organizations are arrangements of people and processes that achieve collective action
how do organizations learn and survive?
organizations last longer than their members is IBM really the same organization now as in 1930?
organizations and information
organizations depend on information
information about their own processes
how quickly can we build a widget? how much it does cost us to make one? are our costs increasing or decreasing?
organizations and IS
information systems
collect information transmit information store information retrieve information process information display information
information about clients and customers
what sorts of widgets do people want? when do they buy them?
information about what's going on
when will the new widget line be ready? who is responsible for managing the process?
organizations and IS
information systems
collect information transmit information store information retrieve information process information display information
example
the impact of a highly significant technology...
but...
who decides what information should be collected? to whom is the information transmitted & displayed? what can organizations do once they have it?
3
example: vertical filing
what was the world like before filing cabinets?
example: vertical filing
example: vertical filing
lessons
organizations depend on processing information information transforms organizations
what they can do how they can do it
who studies organizations?
systems analysts & consultants
systems need to be tailored to contexts of use
organizational contexts are often the most significant
"technology" isn't always "hi-tech" small changes can have massive repercussions
most technical problems have an organizational component many "technical" problem are entirely organizational
if they're smart, all system developers
if your system will be used by an organization, shouldn't you know how to study it?
how to study organizations?
background and theory
how do organizations work? what do they do?
what will we do?
learn about organizations
what they do how they work
case studies
examples show us how these work in practice opportunities to learn how to look at problems
no formulas or absolutes this is about looking at problems through the right kinds of lenses
learn about information systems
how they support organizational wor...