ABSTRACT
This chapter presents evolutionary perspectives on information systems development, outlined in four interrelated eras. During the first era, information systems were viewed mainly as a strictly technical discipline. Information technology (IT) was used to automate existing manual processes, each application was treated as a separate entity, and the overall purpose of using IT was to increase productivity and efficiency, primarily in an organizational context. At the second stage, the introduction of networking capabilities and personal computers (instead of dummy terminals) created the basis for new and more extensive uses of IT and paved the way for a shift away from technology and toward its actual use. Common applications of the second stage aimed to support professional work, while many systems became highly integrated. The most dominant change introduced in the third era is the World Wide Web, which made it possible to transcend conventional boundaries for using IT. Applications became more integral parts of business strategies while at the same time creating new opportunities to establish alliances and collaboration across organizational and national boundaries. The fourth era transfers information technology to the background. New, “off-the-desktop” applications have emerged intended to assist end users in their everyday activities. User experience has become the critical design factor, outweighing the traditional design objectives of utility and productivity.
