Peter Hökenhammar

The thesis deals with information systems that support administrative processes and that are developed by companies themselves, i.e. by a department or a function in the company formulating its requirements and ordering the development of the system from the IT-department. The thesis observes that many systems development projects do have considerable problems, mainly caused by shortcomings in the initial phase in the systems development process, named the requirements phase. Thus, in a customer-/ supplier relationship the shortcomings are mainly related to the procurement process.

In this thesis the perspective on the requirements process is expanded and the concept of a procurement process is introduced. An integrated way of working is defined, aiming to contribute to the procurement process. The integrated way of working is based upon an analysis model where different kinds of information in the procurement process can be stored, related and analysed. In addition to ordinary requirements on the system, such as functional requirements, also underlying information is regarded, for example description of the work processes to be supported and the overall objectives of the company. The different kinds of information in the procurement process are called aspects. They include statements about requirements and other kinds of information, called objects.

The thesis has been carried through in five steps, beginning with the definition of essential objectives in systems development, for example that the system should fit the overall objectives and strategies in the company and that the system should support the work processes in an adequate way. In a second step, aspects in the analysis model and a number of different types of relationships and dependencies between objects within the aspects are defined. It is demonstrated in three case studies that these relationships are extensive as they can be found amongst the aspects in every combination. In the third step, as a consequence from the above mentioned relationships, the integrated way of working is defined, meaning that all aspects should be taken into consideration throughout the procurement process. The advantages with an integrated way of working is also illustrated with case studies, mentioned above. The integrated way of working is described in a fourth step. We describe how the way of working could be applied in practical work. We have developed a computer based support tool that constitutes a workspace, in which the appropriate actors can co-operate throughout the procurement process. In the fifth and last step we explain, with help of some concepts that are defined, how the integrated way of working may contribute to the objectives mentioned above.

The conclusion is that the procurement process should be looked upon in a wide perspective, meaning that different kinds of information, in addition to ordinary requirements on the system, should be regarded and that they reflect the perspectives of different stakeholders on the system and on the process. Another conclusion is that all stakeholders should be active and co-operate throughout the procurement process. This is contradictory to a sequential process, where the company sequentially works out and defines its objectives, its work processes, requirements on the system and requirements on the construction project and the construction process. We observe, however, that there are situations when sequential procedures are necessary and that the integrated way of working in these situations can contribute to reducing the amount of iterations and rework.