Methods for developing flexible strategic information systems: is the answer already out there?

This chapter begins by looking at the changing nature of business strategy as flexible strategies become more important in a changing business environment. It then reviews the phenomenon of strategic information systems that support such flexible strategies, and discusses the problems of developing such systems using existing systems development techniques. Some methods and techniques are described that have recently been put forward as possible solutions to these problems, but the main contention of the chapter is that long-standing frameworks, methods and techniques may offer a solution when used in combination. A range of candidate techniques from the business and IT domains is evaluated using a panel of domain experts, and a three-stage method is suggested that uses the chosen techniques in combination. These techniques are well established and in most cases have been used and proven in other contexts for more than a decade, but their application to the development of flexible strategic information systems is new.