Papers by Michael Eierman
Business Process Reengineering: Issues for Research and Practice
American Journal of Business, 1995
Downloadable! Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is the radical, cross-functional redesign of t... more Downloadable! Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is the radical, cross-functional redesign of the standard operating practices used by organizations to produce or achieve certain outcomes. BPR has received considerable attention from practitioners and consultants. However ...
Decision Support Systems, 1995
A theoretical framework for DSS research is developed in terms of the key elements of theory: dom... more A theoretical framework for DSS research is developed in terms of the key elements of theory: domain boundaries, constructs, and relationships among constructs. Eight broad DSS constructs (environment, task, implementation strategy, DSS capability, DSS configuration, user, user behaviour, and performance) are identified. Based on a review of the literature, 17 relationships among these constructs are examined. The most frequently studied relationships in the model are the influences of: (1) DSS capabilities on user behaviour; (2) user behaviour on performance; and (3) DSS capabilities on performance. Studies regarding these relationships use a wide variety of measures and present generally divergent results. Although studied less frequently, fairly consistent relationships were observed, suggesting: (1) the strategy used for DSS implementation influences both user behaviour and DSS performance; and (2) environmental factors such as top management support and user training influence DSS performance. Conclusions include: (1) there has been some progress toward understanding DSS based on the accumulation of research to date; (2) past research has examined less than half of the possible relationships among constructs, creating opportunities for new insights; and (3) divergent results on key pairs of constructs may result from interaction with other constructs, necessitating the simultaneous examination of fuller DSS research models to understand the contingencies influencing these relationships. 2
The process of software maintenance: a comparison of object-oriented and third-generation development languages
Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution: Research and Practice, 2007
Page 1. JOURNAL OF SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE AND EVOLUTION: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE J. Softw. Maint. Evo... more Page 1. JOURNAL OF SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE AND EVOLUTION: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE J. Softw. Maint. Evol.: Res. Pract. 2007; 19:3347 Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/smr.343 Research ...
The Journal of International Information Management, 1995
While the importance of creativity and innovation in organizations continues to grow, many organi... more While the importance of creativity and innovation in organizations continues to grow, many organizations rely on questionable mechanisms such as group brainstorming and other such techniques to facilitate creativity. Group decision support systems (GDSS) promise to pro vide an effective means of enhancing group creativity. However, much of the research on GDSS focuses on group processes. This paper takes the position that the individual is the primary determinant of group creativity and develops a model of the individual process of idea genera tion. This model is applied to GDSS to examine the implications of this perspective on group creativity output. INTRODUCTION One of the great fallacies of modem management is that group idea generation is an effec tive method of supporting creativity in organizations. In particular, group brainstorming (Osbom, 1957) is still widely used for idea generation despite much empirical evidence that it is not as effective as the combined product o...
INTRODUCTION The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has received significant attention as the tool o... more INTRODUCTION The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has received significant attention as the tool of the future for modeling information systems. According to Rumbaugh, Jacobson, and Booch (1999), models serve several purposes: (1) to capture and state requirements and knowledge so that all stakeholders understand and agree on them; (2) to facilitate thinking about the design of a system; (3) to capture design decisions separate from the requirements; (4) to generate usable work products; (5) to manage information about large systems; (6) to explore multiple solutions economically; and (7) to master complex systems. The UML is purported to facilitate the development of models to help achieve these goals. However, IS modeling was done prior to the development of the UML with tools such as Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) and EntityRelationship Diagrams (ERDs). These tools have been developed over many years of information systems development and are (and have been) taught to thousands of info...
Journal of Education and Learning, 2018
This study continues a long running effort to examine collaborative writing and editing tools and... more This study continues a long running effort to examine collaborative writing and editing tools and the factors that impact Task-Technology Fit and Technology Acceptance. Previous studies found that MS Word/email performed better than technologies such as Twiki, Google Docs, and Office Live. The current study seeks to examine specifically the impact of experience on these outcomes. Fortuitously, during the course of the study, Office Live was redesigned and renamed as Office 365, thus also allowing the examination of tool characteristics. In contrast to previous studies, Google Docs and Office 365 now performed significantly better than MS Word/email on the outcome measures despite users having significantly more experience with the latter. We speculate that as users gain experience with tools that perform the collaborative writing and editing task differently than did past tools, they perceive that the old technology no longer fits the task as well and thus it performs lower on outco...
Journal of the Midwest Association for Information Systems, 2018
This article explores student perceptions of the impact that test-driven development (TDD) and pa... more This article explores student perceptions of the impact that test-driven development (TDD) and pair programming has on their ability to learn programming. In particular, we examine how test-driven development compares to pair programming in student's perceptions. The basis of the study is a survey of students who have completed two programming courses that use the C# programming language and use both pair programming and testdriven development techniques to support learning of object-oriented programming. The results indicate that both pair programming and TDD are considered helpful by students but TDD is seen as the more valuable practice.
The Communication Effectiveness of System Models Using the UML versus Structured Techniques: A Field Experiment
American Journal of Business, 2005
... Both end-users and developers use system diagrams during the analysis and design of aninforma... more ... Both end-users and developers use system diagrams during the analysis and design of aninformation system. When users are involved in a systems project they may be asked to comment on the analysis or design of the system as described by the system model. The ...
Modeling Tool Impact on Defect Identification in IS Design
American Journal of Business, 2006
The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has received significant attention as the tool of the future ... more The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has received significant attention as the tool of the future for modeling information systems. However, prior to the development of the UML, IS modeling was done with tools such as Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) and Entity‐Relationship Diagrams (ERDs). These tools have been developed over many years of information systems development and taught to thousands of information systems professionals. Many organizations continue to use these tools, and many other organizations use these tools but are considering switching to the UML. While the UML is being promoted as the future of IS modeling, there is little empirical evidence that suggests it is a better tool than the traditional approach. This research seeks to inform the decision to adopt the UML over traditional modeling tools by examining the efficacy of the two modeling tools in the identification of design defects in an information system model. The study involved MIS students attempting to find defe...
Mobile computing has increased dramatically in the past few years. Many businesses are either pur... more Mobile computing has increased dramatically in the past few years. Many businesses are either pursuing or considering mobile computing as either a tool to improve their own business processes, a strategy to link to customers, or both. This trend suggests an increased demand for graduates who are able to develop systems for a mobile platform. Some schools are already experiencing this demand from employers. This paper discusses the options and challenges associated with integrating mobile computing into the IS curriculum.
The Task of Problem Formulation
International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making, 2003
Problem formulation is an important organizational task because it facilitates effective problem ... more Problem formulation is an important organizational task because it facilitates effective problem solving. However, it is not well understood. Past studies have examined problem formulation by examining the behavior of individuals performing problem formulation tasks. This approach has proven difficult due to differences in individual knowledge of the task domain. This study examines problem formulation by focusing on the characteristics of the task rather than on an individual performing the task. A rational model of the task of problem formulation is developed and examined for its implications on individual problem formulation behavior. An empirical investigation of individual's performing problem formulation shows limited support for the proposed model.
This material is brought to you by the Midwest (MWAIS) at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has ... more This material is brought to you by the Midwest (MWAIS) at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been accepted for inclusion in MWAIS 2011 Proceedings by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contact elibrary@aisnet.org.
There is no turning back on the information age. Employers are very interested in employees that ... more There is no turning back on the information age. Employers are very interested in employees that understand the appropriate use of information technology to support their organization. This does not mean that the students must be able to program; however they do need to understand the issues associated with applying information technology. In addition educational institutions are exploring the use of technology enhanced delivery methodologies, such as the world wide web. This research evaluated the effectiveness of the use of a computerized, interactive case. This case uses hypertext media to engage the students in a problem solving activity in which they apply theory learned in lecture and text material to successfully accomplish a "real world" type problem. This is an example of an active learning methodology, which leads to improved learning of the content areas, with higher-order reasoning and increased retention.
MWAIS 2007 Proceedings, 2007
This material is brought to you by the Midwest (MWAIS) at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has ... more This material is brought to you by the Midwest (MWAIS) at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been accepted for inclusion in MWAIS 2007 Proceedings by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contact elibrary@aisnet.org.
Journal of Cases on Information Technology, 2009
This case discusses the process and challenges of identifying and adopting an ERP system at Braeb... more This case discusses the process and challenges of identifying and adopting an ERP system at Braebill Company. The desire to investigate ERP solutions was brought about by their recent adoption of Lean Manufacturing and its associated kaizen events, which allowed them to change their business processes very quickly. However, their homegrown IT systems are difficult to change, and cannot always accommodate the rapid changes in the business processes. IT management wants to adopt a new ERP system to replace many of their existing homegrown systems. This process is complicated by the need for significant flexibility in the adopted system, by a desire to standardize platforms across all companies held by Braebill, and by a previous effort by a sister company to adopt an ERP system. The Braebill IT organization will have to navigate a complex political and organizational environment to successfully adopt an adequate ERP system.
This paper describes an ongoing field study to examine the differences and similarities of softwa... more This paper describes an ongoing field study to examine the differences and similarities of software maintenance in the Object Oriented and conventional 3GL programming environments. We expect our results will show that the maintenance process will differ between environments in that programmers working in Object Oriented environments may need to spend more time understanding and coordinating their changes and less time making the changes.
Productivity from information technology investment in knowledge work
Strategic Information Technology Management, Jan 2, 1993
Google, Inc. (search), Subscribe (Full Service), Register (Limited Service, Free), Login. Search:... more Google, Inc. (search), Subscribe (Full Service), Register (Limited Service, Free), Login. Search: The ACM Digital Library The Guide. ...
Information Systems in Business Process Reengineering: An Exploratory Survey of Issues
American Journal of Business, 1997
Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is the radical, cross‐functional redesign of the operating p... more Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is the radical, cross‐functional redesign of the operating practices usedby organizations to achieve certain outcomes. While BPR has received considerable attention from practitioners and consultants, there has been little empirical research published on BPR. This study explores why and how organizations are using business process re‐engineering and identifies problems that effect re‐engineering success.The results showed that organizations generally considered themselves successful at re‐engineering. However,while they achieved significant improvement in process operation, they were not achieving the order of magnitude improvements ascribed to re‐engineering.
Creativity in idea generation: an application to GDSS
[1993] Proceedings of the Twenty-sixth Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
Several models of the individual's creative process are examined and merged to develop a low... more Several models of the individual's creative process are examined and merged to develop a low-level description of the creative process of idea generation that provides an explanation for the phenomenon associated with creativity, i.e., the incubation and illumination stages of G. Wallas' (1926) model of the creative process. This description is then applied to creativity in a group setting. In particular, the authors examine the implications of this integrated perspective on the value of group decision support systems (GDSS) as a means of enhancing group creativity output
MWAIS 2008 Proceedings, 2008
This material is brought to you by the Midwest (MWAIS) at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has ... more This material is brought to you by the Midwest (MWAIS) at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been accepted for inclusion in MWAIS 2008 Proceedings by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contact elibrary@aisnet.org.
Uploads
Papers by Michael Eierman