Information systems: Achieving Success by Avoiding Failure

Despite people's best efforts information systems are particularlyprone to failure. Some systems never materialize, others appearlate and/or over budget and those that are implemented often failto deliver the promised levels of performance. The consequences ofthese failures affect people throughout the organization concernedand beyond, sometimes to the point where they even threaten acompany's future survival.  They also damage the companiesthat develop and supply such systems.  Worse still, the sametypes of problems occur again and again; even the most exhaustivemethods are not able to ensure success.

This book aims to help all those people involved withinformation systems to break that repeating pattern offailure.  Using real life examples it introduces asophisticated approach based around the notion of system to come togrips with the causes of actual and potential failure.  Itpresents a model of a system capable of action without failure thatcan be used as a yardstick to judge existing and plannedinformation systems and suggest measures that need to be taken toachieve success.

Dr Joyce Fortune is a Senior Lecturer and Head of theTechnology Management Department at the Open University. Herteaching and research interests include systems failures, qualitymanagement and technology strategy. Her most recent papers havecovered a wide range of topics including risk in projectmanagement, human rights and ethical policing, emergence andsystems approaches to failure. This is her third book on systemsfailures.

Professor Geoff Peters is Professor of Systems Strategyat the Open University and Chairman of UKERNA Ltd, the company thatmanages JANET, the UK’s academic and research network. Hismain research interests are failure in complex human systems andchange in higher education systems. He has edited and authoredbooks on system failures, systems behaviour, corporate universitiesand the works of Sir Geoffrey Vickers.