Defining the Target Environment: A Shared Vision Methodology for Information System Planning

Most information system plans include an objective description of system requirements, but fail to describe the qualitative environment they will produce. For most users the qualitative environment is what counts. Experience in one organization demonstrates that developing an explicit "shared vision" of the target computing environment can strengthen the weak link between objective requirements and subjective user expectations. The shared vision statement uses anecdotal "scenes" to portray the "look andfeel" of the service environment and the precise makeup of required services. It also defines appropriate implementation priorities and contains information from which to derive a traditional system requirements definition. The authors have adopted the phrase Shared Vision Methodology to mean the process of involving a broad spectrum of those who will be affected by the introduction of a new systems environment in the definition and planning of that environment. This paper is a case study of the use of the proposed methodology.