Designing information systems requirements in context: Insights from the theory of deferred action

Abstract

This paper considers conceptual and contextual issues relating to the problem of developing systems models capable of representing knowable and unknowable information requirements. It postulates that the systemic emergence property of systems is the cause of unknowable organisational information requirements. The Theory of Deferred Action and its systems constructs are invoked to explain emergence and how it can be modelled in formal systems. The insights proposed are believed to assist designers in developing functional and relevant approaches within dynamic organisational contexts.