A review of information systems evaluation: content, context and process

Computer-based information systems are difficult to evaluate. The difficulties are both conceptual (what should be involved in evaluation) and operational (how to carry out evaluation). Information systems evaluation is generally taken to mean the identification and quantification of the costs and benefits of an IT investment. We maintain that this approach is too narrow, and hence problematic. A broader conceptualisation is set out, which entails management of the linkages between content, context and process: the ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ of evaluation. A categorisation of the IS evaluation literature according to its emphasis on content/context/process is used to argue that effective evaluation requires a thorough understanding of the interactions between these three elements. Implications for the practice of IS evaluation are drawn out.