Towards a pattern language for information-centred business change

Business change designates one of the most conspicuous and most pervasive features of organisational life. However, there has been very little consideration of business change in itself, rather the emphasis has been on studying the outcomes of this change. This paper focuses on a subset of business change which is centred on the information flows of the organisation and is stimulated by catalysts and enablers which induce such changes. Furthermore, change is recognised in a generic sense as either internal or external to an organisation. This generic split is further dissected and begins to challenge the homogenous perception of business change. In order to capture this model of change a language of patterns is suggested which makes it possible to identify change in different contexts and respond appropriately. The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Environmental and Physical Sciences Research Council, grant reference GR/L42353.