MIS Design: A Contingency Approach

This article identifies six MIS design approaches, ranging from no user involvement to considerable user involvement. It also examines the justification for their use under different conditions. The six approaches are merged with Gorry and Scott Morton's [10] MIS framework and Simon's [23] classes of decision making to create a contingency model for MIS design. The contingency model provides for MIS design leadership to be dependent upon type of decision making. A broad view of MIS design is taken wherein executives or even various stakeholder groups may assume active leadership where warranted by the circumstances. With design leadership correctly placed, project purpose may be more carefully identified and design activities may be properly channeled to meet those objectives.