Information Systems’ Models for Success Assessment - High Level Models and Methodologies for Information Systems - page 118

IS are designed for particular reasons and their success depends greatly on their
purpose. An IS success is relative due to all the elements it entails. The effec-

tiveness that top management

'

finds in an IS may not be seen by the remaining
stakeholders. On top of that, IS designers greatly depend on knowing exactly what
their goal is, and comparative research on IS success that is based on solid criteria
can be of great assistance both in designing the system, and in aiding the client ' s

assessment of whether the system is up to their needs (Palmius 2007 ).
Therefore, when assessing an IS, it is important to isolate the different points of
view and the manners in which all the users are affected (Palmius 2007 ). Fur-
thermore, IS success measurement research shares the same predicament as many
other scienti

c theories and models, which is external validity. External validity is
paramount to research as it determines its capacity to be generalized to different
settings. When considering the international application of IS success models, it is
important to assess their external validity and their capacity to be used to explain
other realities across borders (Agourram 2009 ).
The area of IS success assessment in constantly challenged and it remains
problematic, mainly due to the complexity of the subject, as well as the great
number of variables that can be involved in it, and in

uence it. Also, the fact that
work practices are currently so intertwined intricate the separation of their own
effects in IS success. It becomes harder to isolate each of their speci c impacts, and

thus, it becomes harder to evaluate their relevancy in future planning. There is a
“

fundamental gap in both practical and academic thinking about systems lack of
consensus and clarity about the meaning of success where information systems are
concerned. (Agourram 2009 ).

Researchers have tried to overcome this gap, and IS success is broadly con-
sidered the dominant metric for IS assessment inside the IS research community
(Rai et al. 2002 ). Early attempts to establish models that explained and simpli

”

ed
why some IS seem to be more successful than others, turned to user acceptance as
the de ning criterion. However, despite the fact that acceptance is a prerequisite for

IS success, it does not equal success (Petter et al. 2008 ). It is merely a factor.
The intricacy, interdependence, and multi-dimensionality of IS success

s nature
is at the origin of many failed attempts to outline IS success models (Petter et al.
2008 ). There are several models that provide a framework for the measurement of
IS success, nonetheless their approaches and reach present a variety that hinders the
cross comparison of studies and the creation of cumulative research (Sedera and
Gable 2004 ).

'

7.2 Delone and McLean s IS Success Model

'

In 1992, DeLone and McLean proposed a taxonomy of IS success categories,
arguing that if information systems research is to make a contribution to the world

of practice, a well-de

“

(DeLone
and McLean 1992 ). The variety of measures used in prior studies led the authors to

ned outcome measure (or measures) is essential ”