Author Description

The 21 articles in this book address issues in assessing costs and benefits of information systems both in organizations and at the societal level. The topics include both the ex-ante assessment of the consequences of alternative information system designs as well as the ex-post evaluation of implemented information systems. Assessment includes technical, economic, organizational, and social dimensions. These are relevant both prior to decisions about acquisition or design and after the organizational implementation. This book should make a contribution to the field of information systems assessment. The articles are likely to be relevant for a long period due to the high level of theoretical content, and should also have an increasing relevance over time because the potential of information technology to result in changes for the better or for the worse will increase as more complex systems are implemented. Accordingly, it will become even more pertinent to understand and assess the likely consequences of the information systems being designed and implemented before taking irreversible steps. The articles are grouped into three sections.