Product Description

Information Systems Development has been adopted as the key text for many information systems, business and management, and computer science courses. The book has seven parts which relate to the Information Systems Development Context, the Systems Development Lifecycle, Themes of Systems Development, Techniques, Methodologies, Tools and Toolsets and finally Issues and Frameworks. This structure enables flexible use, either sequentially or by selecting sections or chapters to fit the specific needs of particular courses and favoured approaches. Offering comprehensive coverage from traditional approaches through to the most recent agile methods, the book’s unique strength lies in its combination of descriptions and insight into methodologies, techniques and tools with the analysis of context, issues and real-world problems associated with information systems development. Retaining these existing strengths, the fourth edition has been thoroughly updated and revised to reflect progress in this fast-paced discipline and to include the authors’ recent experience of teaching with the text, as well as feedback from reviewers, colleagues and students.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #97494 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback

From the Publisher
NEW! Themes in Information Systems Development: Including: Flexibility; Packages and specifically SAP; Electronic commerce; Knowledge Management; Evolutionary development; Component development ; Data Mining
NEW! Techniques: UML notation; Effect/Correspondence diagrams
NEW! Tools: Focus on Oracle development tools; Have a sub section on SELECT; Describe the PRINCE project management method; Discuss some web based development tools
NEW! Methodologies: Object-Orientation, e.g. OMT / Booch / Rombough; UML; CMM and Stages of Growth; DSDM; ERP
NEW! Issues and Frameworks: Contingency; Metaphors of ISD; Eras of methodologies, including critiques; Web based development
Each element is treated separately and in depth, enabling the student to acquire a complete and focussed understanding of the issues
Integrates technical, social and economic views of information systems development, which will aid the student in all areas of the information systems industry
Provides a comprehensive framework to assess information systems methodologies
Independent of any particular methodology or supplier, so creating an unbiased outlook on information systems development
Structured so that the student and instructor can use the text with flexibility, enabling them to use the book in a way which suits the individuals needs
Can be used as a teaching and a reference text, so is a complete resource for students and instructors on information systems courses

About the Author
David Avison is Distinguished Professor of Information Systems in the Department of Information Systems and Decision Sciences (SID) at ESSEC Business School, Paris, France. He has published and edited over twenty leading texts on Information Systems. Guy Fitzgerald is Professor of Information Systems at the School of Information Systems and Computing at Brunel University, UK. He has published widely in the areas of systems development, flexibility, outsourcing and strategy.

Customer Reviews

Does exactly what it says on the tin
A superb book for undergraduates to show them all about methodologies, techniques and tools. I recommend this book to all undergrads studying this area. The only critisism is it needs to be supplemented with additional material on diagramming techniques (ERM's etc.) to make it a 5*. Its also a shame that it was not made bigger with the material from the 2nd edition that seems to have disappeared.

Another Course Textbook
Like many students I look at text books with an air of caution. What can this book teach me that I can't find by reading something else or just getting from experience.

Well, the answer is quite a lot. Personally I bought this book for a masters course, having bought it once before for an undergrad course and it scales up very well. Much like the other reviewers I agree it lacks the depth required to make it fully comprehensive (and also the size of War and Peace), but for someone who needs to know this stuff, whether student or otherwise I found it a valuable asset to my learning.

Core understanding to the book is that it isn't going to drop knowledge into your head, this isn't "The idiots guide", it's more a thinking persons book and while giving you the base knowledge will allow you to explore the areas by posing well thought out statements and examples.

Overall, you would buy this book if you want something you'll flick through time and time again, something you can keep on your desk and refer to when you need guidance. This is certainly not a book you'll be using as a door stop (like many others of this type).

Complex but well explained
This book was required reading for my course, Ive just had the exam that was based on the most part on this book and its refreshing to be comming out of it thinking that you knew what you were talking about.

It was an invaluable aid to explain the otherwise tortuously explained field of Software methadologies, leaving no stone unturned but at the same time not giving overwhelming levels of detail.
However as a warning, it starts off easy and very quickly builds momentum. HOwever the way the book is structured allows you to use it as a reference, giving excellent examples and decent tutorials that make you think and use the information provided in a constructive way, perfect for actually learning something.
Superb are the first and last few chapters that talk about the issues that permiate the use of methadologies, setting their context and also providing a means to compare and contrast their attributes. The authors always maintain an impartial aspect and when they do voice their opinion you know its an intelligent evaluation of the subject.

Its only drawback is that if you really want to get into the meat of a particular topic then this book is a roadmap at best, it does that very well but for a greater level of detail you really want something more specific, probably from the expert in that particular methadology or field. Thats pretty much the only thing that stops me from giving this a 5 star rating. Otherwise as a course companion this is invaluable!