The case of moving to self-service registration: an analysis using the work system method

has been extended debate on the core and scope of the IS discipline and multiple meanings of the "IT artefact" term. Steven Alter in 2003 proposed that IS should "lay claim to systems in organisations" and proposed the "IT-reliant work system" as the core of the field. The author subsequently proposed the work system method or framework to help understand IT-reliant systems in organizations and put a call out for research studies to use the work system framework and hence identify its strengths and limitations. This paper used the work system framework as a lens to understand the factors influencing the adoption of online registration at a University. The qualitative study uses predominantly semi-structured interviews to investigate the opinions of academic and administrative staff, as well as those students that interact with the registration process. The paper deals with the broader organisational concerns and the environment in which the registration process resides. The current registration activities and information requirements and participants as well as the required features of the future service and actual IT application are reviewed. The derived model gives a rich holistic perspective of the adoption challenges faced by the university and is a valuable conceptual tool to aid the required change. Finally the paper concludes with recommendations regarding using the work system framework in research.