Lessons learned from manual systems: designing information systems based on the situational theory of agency - Information Systems Foundations: Constructing and Criticising - page 165

14. Lessons learned from manual
systems: designing information
systems based on the situational
theory of agency
Simon K. Milton, Department of Information Systems, The
University of Melbourne
Robert B. Johnston, Department of Information Systems,
The University of Melbourne
Reeva M. Lederman, Department of Information Systems,
The University of Melbourne
Abstract
Information systems are part of purposeful socio-technical systems and consequently
theories of agency may help in understanding them. Current systems analysis and design
methodologies seem to have been influenced only by one particular theory of agency,
which asserts that action results from deliberation upon an abstract representation of
the world. Many disciplines have, however, discussed an alternative 'situational' theory
of agency. There is currently no methodology that fully supports designing systems
reflecting the situational theory of agency. The aim of this paper is to develop a first-
cut of such a methodology based on concepts from the situational theory of agency, and
is supplemented by our exploration of evolved manual situational systems. We intend
to iteratively refine this methodology since we believe the situational theory of agency
provides a better description of purposeful activity than the deliberative theory and is,
therefore, a firmer foundation on which to build successful information systems, espe-
cially in pressured routine environments.
Introduction
Theories of agency discuss the possible ways of designing complex systems that display
purposeful activity. Theories of agency have been researched in several disciplines
(Brooks, 1986; Agre and Chapman, 1987; Suchman, 1987; Hendriks-Jansen, 1996;
Johnston and Brennan, 1996; Agre and Horswill, 1997; Clancey, 1997), where two main
positions are found - which we will call the 'deliberative' and the 'situational' theories
of agency. The two theories have quite different modes of representation and action se-
lection. In previous papers (Johnston and Milton, 2001; Johnston and Milton, 2002a;
Lederman et al., 2003; Lederman et al., 2004) we have argued that information systems
are purposeful, and that methodologies and tools used to build them should be analysed
using theories of agency. However, existing approaches to computerised information
system design and development are implicitly informed by the deliberative theory of
agency. An approach different from present systems analysis and design methodologies
is needed because many information systems fail in pressured routine environments,