Framework for Information Activities

This chapter defines a fundamental conceptual component of an information system. This component, together with the principles of systems-theoretical control structure and linguistic abstraction, is employed in constructing a universal hierarchical framework for the information activities in an organization. The framework lays the foundations for the analysis, modeling, and evaluation of different kinds of information systems and their relevance for information activities in an organization. It thus offers a comprehensive model of information systems and a basis for research problem settings on all framework levels, e.g., on the information systems development (ISD) level and the ISD model construction level. The framework is shown to compete favorably with earlier frameworks.