Methods of IS evaluation
Evaluation of the effectiveness or the impact of an information system constitutes one
of the major areas in information systems research. It should be stressed that the
measures used in each research exercise must be well defined to ensure that the results
from different studies are comparable. Furthermore, for the results of the information
systems research to be useful they must contribute towards the development and
application of these systems. In practice, success measures are needed to evaluate
information system software packages, rules, policies and procedures (DeLone and
McLean, 1992).
Various approaches have been developed for the evaluation of information systems,
and each is characterized by its individual positive and negative features. While a
single measure of IS success or IS effectiveness would certainly be desirable, it seems
unlikely that such a measure could be found. Instead, research has provided
taxonomies of success variables, which can be applied in different situations (DeLone
and McLean, 1992; Grover et al., 1996). Generally, the success of an information system
can be evaluated through:
. the quality of information provided to users;
. the impact of IS on users’ thinking, decisions or actions; and
. the impact of IS on costs and benefits at an organizational level.