Development of Information Systems Design Models: an Empirical Investigation of Indian Electronic Industry

The system design phase plays an important role in the development of Information Systems (ISs). The success of an information system largely depends on this phase. Stepwise Refinement; Level of Abstraction; Structured Design; Integrated Top-down Design and Jackson Structured Programming are some of the most commonly used system design models. Also the developers use various design tools like  'Top-down';  'Bottom-up'; 'Modular'; 'HIPO/IPO chart'; 'Structured Walk Through';  'Object Oriented Approach' and 'CASE Tools'. In order to know and analyze the IS design models so as to suggest the best practices and their applications for the successful design of the information systems, the researchers have undertaken a study in some of the large organization in India. The data was collected through interview-cum-questionnaire method from the developers of ISs in Electronic Industry in India. In all 49 developers participated in the study from public, private and joint sector organizations. The data analysis was done by using various statistical tools like average scores, test of significance (t-test) critical ratio etc. On the basis of the findings, several suggestions and recommendations have been made so as to help developers systematically select appropriate models and tools. It is expected that the recommendations made will go a long way in improving the information systems design, which in turn will improve the efficiency of the systems in general and in the Indian electronics industry in particular.