Editorial
WecommencethisissueoftheJournalofStrategicInformationSystemswitha
ViewpointarticlebyGiovanFrancescoLanzaraoftheUniversityofBologna,Italy
andDuxxInstitute,Monterrey,Mexico.Developedfromapaperdeliveredasa
KeynoteAddresstotheEuropeanConferenceonInformationSystemsheldin
CopenhageninJune1999,thisViewpointarticletouchesonhighlytopicalissues
associatedwiththedevelopmentofIT-basedinformationsystemssuchassense
makingandknowledgetransfer.Eschewingtherationalengineeringparadigm,
ProfessorLanzarademonstrateshowthesystemsdevelopmentprocessoftendisplays
surprisingfeaturesthatdefyunderstanding,logicandextantplans.Theresultant
systemsemergeas“fragmented,untidyandunpredictable,oftenturningthe
designers’settingintoaswamp”.Highlightingtheroleoftransientconstructsas
dynamiccarriersofknowledgeandparticularlyeffectivesensemakingdevices,
ProfessorLanzarareflectsontheiruseinhelpingtoresolvethedynamictension
betweenstabilityandchangeintheprocessofdevelopinganddesigningeffective
informationsystems.
FollowingthisViewpointarticle,wehavefourresearcharticlesfromauthors
locatedinIreland,Korea,NewZealandandtheUK.Thefirstofthese,byTom
ButlerandBrianFitzgeraldfromUniversityCollegeCork,Ireland,providesfurther
foodforthoughtregardingtheinformationsystemsdevelopmentprocess.Giventhe
increasinglycomplex,distributedandstrategicnatureoftheinformationsystems
thatarebeingdevelopedinandbetweentoday’sorganizations,theauthorsargue
thatthedevelopmentprocesstakesplacesimultaneouslyinanumberofdifferent
socialenvironments.Bydescribingin-depthresearchintofourdiversesystems
developmentprojects,thisarticlehelpstounpacktheblackboxofwhatisa
complex,multi-dimensionalprocessofchange.Thepapershedsnewlightonthe
challengesfacingbothISprofessionalsandusersindevelopinginformationsystems
thatservetheorganizationwellintherapidlychangingcommercialandtechnolo-
gicalenvironmentsoftoday.
Notwithstandingthecomplexandoftenunpredictablenatureofboththedevelop-
mentprocessandthecontextwithinsuchdevelopmentstakeplace,organizations
stillhaveaneedtoplanforthesedevelopments.Thearticlethatfollows,writtenby
SeungKiMin,Eui-HoSuhandSu-YeonKimofHyundaiandPohayUniversityof
JournalofStrategicInformationSystems8(1999)327–329
0963-8687/99/$-seefrontmatter᭧1999 ElsevierScienceB.V.Allrightsreserved.
PII:S0963-8687(00)00030-5
www.elsevier.com/locate/jsis