Journal of Systems and Information Technology

Iyamu, Tiko

2018 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/JSIT-06-2017-0047

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a guide through which the Zachman Framework can be used to address challenges and for successful implementation of enterprise architecture (EA) in an organisation that deploys it.Design/methodology/approachQualitative research methods were followed, within which the case study approach was applied. The interpretive method was used in the analysis of the qualitative data.FindingsBased on the findings, a method is proposed through which EA can be implemented in an organisation by using the Zachman Framework.Originality/valueThis is an original research work. Also, the paper has not been submitted to other journal for review and possible publication.

Saad, Aslina; Dawson, Christian

2018 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/JSIT-12-2016-0080

PurposeThis paper presents a recommendation on how one requirement elicitation technique supports the other techniques in defining system requirement for a case-based system. A case-based lesson planning system aims to assist teachers in constructing quality lesson plans through its cycle which begins with case retrieval. To retrieve relevant lesson plans, appropriate inputs should be used and the intended output needs to be identified via suitable requirement elicitation techniques. The use of a single technique might result in inadequate requirement specification, thus affecting the quality of the output requirements as well as quality of the final information system.Design/methodology/approachRequirement elicitation was carried out in three phases: phase I involved document review, phase II was an interview and phase III used a survey. Respondents of the study comprised experienced teachers as well as new teachers. This research used both qualitative and quantitative approaches to answer the research questions, which involved semi-structured interviews, document review and survey to collect the relevant data. Documents were reviewed by analysing lesson plans from three different countries. In addition, a review of lesson plans prepared by teachers and the standard syllabus were carried out. Findings from the document review were used in structured interviews using a teach-back technique, sorting and matrix of attribute-values. A questionnaire was then constructed based on the interviews and document review.FindingsThe findings of this initial study, as part of a larger research investigation, would help in knowledge modelling and representation. This will contribute to effective case retrieval via good design of the system input and output. The study identifies important elements of a lesson plan according to their ranking. Keywords that were used by teachers as input for retrieval were identified together with the expected output.Research limitations/implicationsThe main goal of requirement elicitation is to specify complete and detailed requirements of the proposed system. There are two main types of requirement: functional and non-functional requirements. This paper only focuses on functional requirements – specifically case retrieval with appropriate input and output.Practical implicationsVarious requirement engineering (RE) techniques can be applied in different phases of requirement elicitation. Suitable technique should be chosen at different phases of RE, as it is important for triangulation purposes. Incomplete RE will affect the modelling part of system development, and, thus, affect the design and implementation of an information system.Social implicationsSoftware engineer or anybody involved in system development should plan accordingly for the RE process. They should be creative and reasonable in selecting suitable RE techniques to be applied.Originality/valueThis study aims to gain understanding of the various aspects of lesson planning. Crucial knowledge in lesson planning that was gathered from the elicitation phase is modelled to have a good understanding of the problems and constraints among teachers. The findings of this initial study, as part of a larger research investigation, would help in knowledge modelling and representation. This will contribute to effective case retrieval via a good design of the system input and output.

Valsamidis, Stavros; Kontogiannis, Sotirios; Theodosiou, Theodosios G.; Petasakis, Ioannis

2018 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/JSIT-01-2017-0002

PurposeCurrently, electronic election is one of the most popular issues of e-democracy. This has led to the development of applications and several security mechanisms to address such necessity. The problem that arises is that such applications are created either on demand for a specific election process, or experimentally for scientific purposes. The purpose of this study is to present a new e-voting system, called VOTAN. The VOTAN system involves a combination of new features with basic advantages, the implementation as open source software, its modular organization covering the functional requirements of a typical electronic voting system (EVS) and the capability of data analysis of candidates and voters.Design/methodology/approachVOTAN stands for VOTes Analyzer. It is a secure application for the conduct of electronic elections through the internet based on its own security protocol. It also includes a data analysis component which analyzes the election results and investigates the factors that play a crucial role. The major advantages of the system are that it is an open source and includes a data analysis module that can distinguish important variables from the elections and help make predictions for the outcome based on the selected variables. It is a practical solution to the existing e-voting applications and is ideal for small communities such as organizations, universities and chambers.FindingsIts main advantage, compared to similar e-voting systems, is the integration of the data analysis component. The analysis of the data produced from elections is considered a critical process to fully comprehend the outcome of the elections and its correlation to specific attributes/variables of the election process. The data analysis module is a unique feature of VOTAN. It facilitates the selection of the most important attributes that influence the outcome of elections and creates a mathematical model to predict the outcome of an election based on the selected attributes. The method used in the module is the LDA.Originality/valueThe originality of the paper derives from the data analysis component and its security protocol/schema that fulfils several requirements.

Rouhani, Saeed; Mehri, Mobin

2018 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/JSIT-05-2017-0038

PurposeEnterprise resource planning (ERP) is a useful system in today’s organizations that can lead to numerous benefits for them. The employees and managers are the most important stakeholders of this system that can both affect it and be affected by it. This paper aims to study the empowerment benefits resulted from ERP implementation in industrial companies.Design/methodology/approachThis paper investigated the ERP benefits through survey by defining 31 empowering benefits for this enterprise system based on reviewing the literature and classifying them into four groups of empowering benefits including informative, communicative, growth and learning and strategic benefits. Statistical population of the study is the core specialist and managers of these corporations.FindingsThe results indicated that the communicative, strategic and informative empowering benefits are as important common advantages. Furthermore, the results of computing the regression coefficient represent that the empowering benefits of strategic, informative, communicative and growth and learning had the maximum impact on the firms’ empowering benefits from ERP implementation.Originality/valueThe findings of this study provide a general overview of what to expect from ERP with respect to empowerment and based on it, features, modules and innovations that should be present for realizing these expectations can be determined.

Mohammad Salameh, Anas Abdelsatar; Ahmad, Hartini; Zulhumadi, Faisal; Abubakar, Faruq Muhammad

2018 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/JSIT-03-2017-0016

PurposeThis study aims to explore the impact of system quality dimensions, namely, ease of use, accessibility, interactivity and website innovativeness on service quality (SQ) and customer satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a quantitative approach, by using a survey method. The unit of analysis was the individual. A total of 618 questionnaires were randomly distributed to university students and staff in Jordan. The partial least square path-modeling method was used in the estimation of causal relationships of the constructs examined in the study.FindingsThe outcomes of this study showed that ease of use, interactivity and website innovativeness have significant positive relationships with the SQ. Consequently, SQ significantly influences customer satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations of this research were related to the unit of analysis, as it was conducted within the geographical region of Jordan and the university context, where the culture and level of the technological advancement may be different than other countries.Practical implicationsThis research can assist mobile commerce (m-commerce) service policymakers to formulate significant policies that could enhance the nature of services being rendered and thus bring greater benefits to the customers.Originality/valueThis research has extended the body of knowledge on emerging trends in m-commerce innovation adoption, more specifically in the university context. Furthermore, it offers insight on the importance of m-commerce in the minds of customers, in such a way that it will bring about the intention to repeat patronage in the future.

Reyes-Mercado, Pável

2018 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/JSIT-04-2017-0025

PurposeThis paper aims to analyse the adoption of fitness wearables by using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). The study analyses the relative weights and causal combinations of antecedent variables on use and intention to use fitness wearables.Design/methodology/approachThe study design involves two stages: first, from the perspective of variable-oriented analysis, a structural equation model is tested using partial least squares (PLS) technique on a sample of 176 adopters and a second sample of 187 non-adopters. Second, from the perspective of case-oriented analysis, a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) identifies causal combinations of variables that lead to use of wearables by adopters and intention to use by non-adopters.FindingsPLS results show that performance expectancy and effort expectancy have high net effects on use and intention to use for adopters. FsQCA analysis shows that current users follow a streamlined path to adoption. High beliefs on performance expectancy and effort expectancy are the main influences of intention to use a fitness wearable for non-adopters. In contrast to adopters, non-adopters may follow a number of paths to intention to use through performance expectancy, effort expectancy or facilitating conditions. This insight was apparent only after analysing the data sets by using fsQCA.Research limitations/implicationsFor sake of parsimony, this paper tested UTAUT model instead of the more complex unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2.Practical implicationsMarketers in the fitness category can enhance use and intention to use by utilising not one but a combination of causal factors such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy and facilitating conditions. Wide societal deployment of wearables depends on performance and expectations.Social implicationsThe widespread use of mobile devices depends on performance expectancy and effort expectancy. To transit to a real knowledge economy, co-creation should occur at early stages of product development so that these expectations are shared and better products be developed.Originality/valueThis paper offers a nuanced understanding of fitness wearable adoption by analysing adopters and non-adopters through variable- and case-oriented techniques. It complements the one-linear-path perspective with a number of alternative causal combinations of variables that lead to use and intention to use fitness wearables. While the causal path for adopters is unique, there are a number of causal combinations of antecedents that lead to high intention to use in potential adopters.