Information Systems Development Methodologies - High Level Models and Methodologies for Information Systems - page 56

five different
views that are important for the successful development of a project, by covering all
the important features. Avison et al. ( 1998 ) state that this framework moves

Furthermore, it can be asserted that this methodology combines

“ from

the general to the speci ”

Multiview can be considered as an intricate methodology for two key reasons: it
combines

c, from the conceptual to hard fact, and from issue to task.

techniques; and since it is a contingent approach, it
does not follow a strict, step-by-step direction (Avison and Wood-Harper 2003 ).
Since information systems are constantly evolving and changing, the multiview
methodology also evolved. The re

“ hard ” and “ soft ”

ned version of Multiview is known as Multi-
view 2. It is an expansion of the Multiview 1, mainly building on the importance of
analyzing and studying how an information system must be used and adjusted at the
software level (Avison et al. 1998 ). It attempts to enhance the framework by
substituting the waterfall-like scheme of Multiview 1 by a more dynamic model that
can better illustrate the relationships between organizational behaviors, work sys-
tems, and technical artefacts. Here, the development process is broken down into
four stages (organizational analysis, information modeling, socio-technical analysis
and design, technical design and construction), with the process of IS development
mediating the scheme (Avison and Wood-Harper 2003 ).
Multiview attempts to address real-world problems. It includes phases, which are
related to the human and social dimensions as well as the technical aspects. It
attempts to address all questions related to the organization as a whole, such as the
people working in the organization, the human computer interaction, the various

purposes that the information system has to carry out and the technical aspects for
executing those functions.

-

3.3 Conclusion

According to Avison and Taylor ( 1997 ), ISDMs are commonly categorized

according to speci c subjects or characteristics. We have discussed a variety of the

most popular ISDMs, and following the system presented by Avison and Taylor
( 1997 ), the following categories can be inferred:

(a) Process-oriented methodologies that are appropriate to well-structured problem
situations and focus on the structure of the system design, presenting structured
guidelines;
(b) Methodologies used on unstructured problems, where the purpose is uncertain;
(c) Methodologies that promote elevated user interaction with the system;
(d) Methodologies that combine features from other models.

Based on the above ISDMs categorization, we can classify the presented ISDMs
as described in Table 3.4 .
These categorizations are not to be seen as an absolute truth. All these meth-
odologies have in common the main purpose of improving and facilitating an
information system development process. In addition, several methodologies or