Information Systems Development Methodologies - High Level Models and Methodologies for Information Systems - page 46

guez-Ulloa et al. ( 2011 ) state that the aim of SSM is to organize and
establish practical changes in sociocultural systems in which the traditional methods
were unable to distinguish and consider

Rodr í

variables that, in the most cases,
describe the course of action for organizations (such as

“ soft ”

“ political factors, ”“ power

in ) and consequently, SSM is partic-

ularly useful to search for feasible solutions to soft problems in social issues.
By using systems thinking in analysis, SSM has the ability to identify dif

uence, ”“ culture, ”“ ideology, ” and “ values ”

culties
and pinpoint the real source of a given problem, by looking at the organization as a
whole, but also by looking at each of the organization

' s elements and their in uence

and approach over the central issue.
Within the context of information systems, this methodology primarily evolved
from the need to understand other factors and problems that can affect the design and
development of an IS. It allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the
variables that can in

uence IS, combining both the technical and the external factors.

It perceives the signi cance of cultural and social values of individuals and groups

within an organization, which can originate a multiplicity of insights (Savage and
Mingers 1996 ). Savage and Mingers ( 1996 ) also argue that SSM could be of
valuable assistance in improving the perception of user requirements, because this
methodology clearly allows for users to participate in the process and lend their own
perspective and viewpoint, which will have its own impact on the conceptual model.

3.2.4 User-centered Development Methodology

A growing concern with user satisfaction lead to the popularization of user-centered
development methodology, or user-centered design (UCD), a methodology that
places the user at the core of the development process and, more importantly, makes
the user an active component of that process. Gould and Lewis ( 1985 ) were pio-
neers in this approach. They argued that “ any system designed for people to use

should be easy to learn (and remember), which lead to their consideration of three

fundamental principles for user-centered methods: early focus on users and tasks,
empirical measurement, and iterative design (Gould and Lewis 1985 ).
Essentially, their work focused on usability as a form of evaluation of the
system

”

s adequacy. Because often the perspective of the user can be merely
hypothesized by the development team, based on stereotypes or generic expecta-
tions, Gould and Lewis proposed the importance of bringing the user into direct
contact with the development team, to ensure that realistic user requirements and
needs were properly introduced into the system

'

s creation. Likewise, the authors
observe that a truly user-centered methodology interprets the testing and proto-
typing stages as usability assessments, and not marketing opportunities: the user
should be able to test the product without being convinced or talked into accepting
it (Wallach and Scholz 2012 ).
UCD, as de

'

multidisciplinary design approach
based on the active involvement of users to improve the understanding of user and

ned by Mao et al. ( 2005 ), is a “