The processes of managing (creating, using, storing, exchanging, etc.) information in an organizational setting (in work activities) for a purpose. An information system consists of people (actors), information (contents) and technology (means), linked together by a process directed towards a purpose. Information systems are mediated by various information technologies. An information system is not always a ‘system’ (a systemic entity) but can consist of bits and pieces of processes and technology subsumed in a systemic work activity. Information system is a socio-technical entity that has both human and technological aspects.
Published in Chapter:
Researching an Activity-Driven Approach to Information Systems Development
Irmeli Luukkonen (University of Eastern Finland, Finland), Marika Toivanen (University of Eastern Finland, Finland), Anja Mursu (Salivirta Partners, Finland), Kaija Saranto (University of Eastern Finland, Finland), and Mikko Korpela (University of Eastern Finland, Finland)
Copyright: © 2013
|Pages: 20
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-3990-4.ch022
Abstract
The primary objective of this chapter is to introduce a socio-technical approach called the Activity-Driven (AD) approach to Information Systems Development (ISD) in healthcare and social services. The approach is based on the application of Activity Theory in ISD and on participatory and cooperative design principles. It has been studied and developed for over a decade in cooperation between IS researchers and healthcare professionals around twenty practice-oriented research cases, hosted by the participating health facilities. The authors define the AD approach and describe the characteristics of the AD approach and the continuum of the interrelated research projects since 1998. They also provide a glance at the business utilisation of the approach and discuss the tentative educational experiences of the approach. The aim is to contribute to the knowledge of socio-technical ISD by providing a versatile description of the AD approach, the characteristics, and the long-term cooperative multidisciplinary research efforts, and show the interplay between the AD approach that was developed and the conditions under which it was elaborated.