Explains component-based development (CBD) for distributed information systems and presents an evaluation framework, which highlights the extent to which a methodology is component oriented. Compares prominent CBD methods, discusses ways of modeling, and suggests that this is a first step towards a components-oriented systems development…

Describes digital community information systems (CIS) and the need for improvements in system design. Proposes a layered evaluation framework to guide the evaluation of digital CIS from the perspective of information retrieval, following a selective review of digital CIS and evaluation approaches. Contains 59 references. (Author/LRW)

Considers two aspects of design and performance evaluation of information systems: initiation, planning, development, and testing of new systems, to include modification of existing structures; and appraisals and measurement of operational systems and components. A taxonomy of information systems provides a basis for organized evaluation of system…

A mathematical modeling technique has been developed to provide those having administrative responsibilities for establishing scientific and technical information systems with a flexible and powerful tool for making management decisions. A large number of factors (user communities, document forms, subject disciplines, etc.) are involved in…

Examines studies that evaluate public access systems spanning experiments, field tests, and prototypes, and discusses quality control, cost-effectiveness, and issues for future research. Results suggest that system designers and developers need to be more selective in the type of evaluations they conduct; and there is a need for comparative…

Reports on a project that proposes and tests a comprehensive and systematic model of user evaluation of Web search engines. This article describes the model, including a set of criteria and measures and a method for implementation. A literature review portrays settings for developing the model and places applications of the model in contemporary…

Argues that there is a fundamental gap between the knowledge that the information systems development community values and that which cultural analysis yields. Suggests that developers, rather than trying to explain social behavior and knowledge with rules, should be concerned with the production of contesting rules and what the production tells…

Four articles respond to the Bader and Nyce position that it is unlikely cultural analysis will become a routine tool for information systems developers with these arguments: ethnographic work can aid software development; the problem lies with inappropriate application of social science methods; the problem is technique, not fundamentals; and…

The feasibility of using a centralized data processing facility to sever a large group of secondary schools and the capabilities of two alternative systems were investigated. The population to be served included 100,000 students in grades 9-14 attending 50 schools in an area having a hundred mile radius. Service requirements were defined to…

This report describes an experimental system for remote direct access to files of computer-stored information which has been indexed by the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC). The data base for the experiment consisted of references from a single issue of Nuclear Science Abstracts. The Special Subject Edition of UDC for Nuclear Science and…

Reviews recent and current research and development projects in the United Kingdom dealing with online information systems. Main areas of research (systems design, impact on user behavior and organizational structure, ergonomics and bibliographic factors) and research techniques (features analysis, transaction log analysis, surveys and comparative…