Information Systems (IS)

The Information System Group conducts research on the development and use of information technology. The research field is development and use of computerized systems at two levels: humans and organisations. This is reflected in the two research groups:

• Human-computer interaction (HCI): design and evaluation of the interaction between a user and a computerised system.

• Systems development (SD): development and use of computerised systems in organisations.

The two groups share the focus on the development and use of information technology. They also share the basic research approach and several research methods. The difference relates to the group of analysis, which is either a human or an organization. The shared research approach is empirical and experimental as well as theoretical.

The research is based on and makes contributions to the intersection between software engineering (as traditionally known within computer science) on the one hand, and either information systems (as traditionally known within business administration) or human-computer interaction on the other hand. Intellectual support is sought in adjacent disciplines: engineering, systems science, organization theory, sociology, media science, theory of research, and philosophy. The empirical research approaches applied by the group encompass action research, longitudinal process research, case research, laboratory experiments, and field experiments. The research is based on qualitative as well as quantitative methods. The types of research results include:

• Theoretical frameworks to understand the field.

• Methodologies and techniques to guide action in practice.

In human-computer interaction, the research deals with design and evaluation of the specific interaction between a user and an interactive computerised system. The goal is to improve design and usability evaluation. This involves design of user interfaces of interactive systems for specific applications. It also involves usability evaluations of specific interactive systems in order to provide a basis for improving the design of these systems.

In systems development, the research deals with systems development, the organizational and social aspects of systems use, IT management, and use of IT in innovation and change. The target of the research is the professional practitioner engaged in the development and use of software and information systems in the broadest sense, e.g., developers, project managers, and IT managers. The research seeks to improve professional practitioners' ability to engineer systems as well as their ability to plan and manage effective social and organisational interventions.