Authors:
David Lanc
and
Lachlan MacKinnon
Affiliation:
Heriot-Watt University, United Kingdom
Keyword(s):
HISSOM, SISP, SISA, IS Alignment, Holistic IS, Decision Support Applications, HDSA
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support Systems
;
Enterprise Information Systems
;
Strategic Decision Support Systems
Abstract:
Strategic information systems planning, SISP, methods have proven organisationally complex to utilise, despite 40 years of research and evolution of Information Systems, IS, in the organisational context. The diverse nature of organisational strategy and environmental factors have been mooted as primary causes. On one hand, confusion exists in the literature due to divergent, deficient definitions of SISP. On the other, a lack of distinction exists between SISP as a planning process, and the broader alignment of organisational direction with the IS capability that provides the context for sustainable IS intellectual and cultural integration. Consequently, no methods or models for alignment of IS and organisational activities exist that have both validity in the literature and sustainability in practice. HISSOM (Holistic Information Systems Strategy for Organisational Management) is a practical, holistic model that co-ordinates and facilitates cohesive alignment of organisational need
s and the IS capability required to meet those needs, at (1) stakeholder; (2) feedback metrics; (3) strategy and change management; and (4) organisational culture and capability levels. HISSOM was initially developed as a logical extension of the IS-alignment literature, and has been validated by action research in several significant studies in different industries, markets and organisational settings. The HISSOM model has been revised in the light of these studies, and a practical, Web-based decision support application, the HISSOM Decision Support Advisor, HDSA, is now under development, to promote wider use of the model and obtain evolutionary feedback from the user community. A synthesis of the development of HISSOM and work on designing the HDSA architecture is described, together with the impact of this research on extending the field of SISP and IS-alignment.
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