Question

Discuss why alternative IS development approaches have evolved, and provide an overview of a couple of these methodologies.

Answer 1

Five alternative IS Development approaches, namely
(a)the Interactionist approach,
(b) the Speech Act-based approach,
(c) Soft Systems Methodology,
(d) the Trade Unionist approach,
(e) the Professional Work Practices approach.

(a) The Interactionist Approach: The principal strength of the interactionist approach is that it can shed light on such organizational issues of ISD as user resistance, work around, and/or the failure to realize the full technical potential of IS.
  
(b) The Speech Act-based Approach:The principal strength of the Speech Act (SA)-based approach is its focus on understanding the rich meanings which are exchanged in ordinary conversation.

(c) Soft Systems Methodology:The strength and distinguishing feature of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) is its explicit focus on problem formulation by helping to identify the "relevant" systems from the perceptions of possibly disagreeing stakeholders.

(d) The Trade Unionist Approach:The strength of the trade unionist approach is its focus on political-institutional power issues. It therefore appears to be best suited to organize the cooperation between management and collective bargaining units or trade unions.

(e) The Professional Work Practice (PWP) Approach:The strength of the PWP approach is its emphasis on studying the actual work practices of systems professionals before attempting to improve them. Its advocates criticize methodologies for not paying sufficient attention to what system practitioners actually do and if what they do is deficient, to take a realistic look how it could be changed for the better.