An information processing approach to the coordination of components in distributed software systems

The increasingly dynamic, competitive, and global business environment in which many organizations operate has created a need for new business and information systems (IS) models. These new models must be (1) flexible to enable the rapid redesign of business processes, (2) clearly focused on internal competencies to insure efficiency, and (3) responsive to allow rapid response to changes in customer demand (Wernerfelt 1984). Technological paradigm shifts are enabling the new models through a broadening of what Malone (1997) calls the organizational “design space.” This design space is the set of all possible organizational configurations given existing conditions. The new technologies are lowering coordination costs and enabling more flexible, coordination-intensive business models (Malone and Rockart 1991). In many such business models, object technology (OT)-based IS are an important facet in providing the required flexibility, efficiency, and responsiveness. However, problems such as difficulties in conceptualizing business processes and predicting future business practices, inherent difficulties in understanding very large applications and their problem domains, and complexity of enterprise-wide coordination (Lewis 1994; Newman 1995) have slowed the acceptance of OT in the business community (Pancake 1995). What is lacking is a theoretical foundation on which to build the OT-based IS that are an integral part of the new business models. A theoretical foundation is required that will facilitate an understanding of the structure of the business model, its information processing requirements, and its business environment.