Using influence diagrams for representing organizational and political factors in information system design

Many of the problems in systems development have been caused by the lack of consideration for organizational and political factors. This paper proposes the use of a three-level methodology for representing organizational and political factors in information systems design through the use of influence diagrams. The methodology breaks down the representation into the three levels: communication, probability, and computation. A prototype system was developed to facilitate influence diagram calculations. The proposed framework should facilitate communication between designers and domain experts, identify factors that hinder successful system implementation, and provide a measure for system success.<>