Organisations of all kinds continue to expand their involvement in e‑business. This requires considerable financial investment in IT, in processes and in people. It might be expected that there would be a concern to ensure that performance measurement systems are capable of justifying these investments, and of evaluating their worth once implemented. The paper describes research aimed at determining the exact nature of such e‑business performance measurement systems and the benefits that accrue from their use. The research uses a case study methodology to report the performance measurement practices of twelve potentially exemplar organisations that have made efforts to develop distinctive performance metrics for e‑business. Qualitative data was collected from interviews with key informants from each organisation. Additional data came from company documents. The cases reveal a variety of approaches to e‑business performance measurement, with no common framework apparent. Whilst there is considerable disparity in the level of success achieved in developing suitable measures, there is evidence of a common concern to link e‑business performance to organisational objectives. However, there is a general reluctance to embark on major overhauls of existing performance measurement systems. The paper discusses the possible reasons for this and the implications for future developments in e‑business performance measurement practices. 

Content management systems (CMS) provide an optimal solution by organising information and, mostly, creating and managing an enterprise's knowledge. Nevertheless there is a big confusion about the functionalities that characterise CMS and about the differences with less performing products such as web content management systems, document and records management systems and enterprise content management systems. This paper aims to show the mismatches between companies' needs and those information management products, which are often called CMS even if they are not. For this reason the authors first make a theoretical comparison between the functionalities of CMS and those of the systems they are often confused with. Then they show the results of an empirical research on 22 products offered by international vendors. By using an original scheme, enterprises' needs in terms of information collection, management and publication and of knowledge management are compared with the functionalities of the aforementioned systems. The result consists of performing definitions for CMS and the other systems for managing information. Content Management products are analysed, compared and evaluated by using a special table created to point out the actual functionalities of the products offered on the market, despite vendors' declarations. Moreover the highlights are displayed in a matrix to evaluate the level of personalisation‑flexibility of the different products. The paper conclusions show how, on the demand side, companies' needs are growing in a confused framework; at the same time the supply side keeps on feeding this confusion, reducing company satisfaction in regard to knowledge and information management. 

This study evaluates factors involved at different stages in an IS outsourcing decision process. From a theoretical perspective, the motivation for IS outsourcing is often described as a result of three factors: cost reduction, access to technological expertise and focus on core competence. The aim of this paper is to evaluate motivational factors in an outsourcing decision process. The study uses a literature review and a retrospective case study of an outsourcing project in a large Swedish organisation. The idea is to evaluate if there are different factors involved at different stages in an IS outsourcing decision process. It has been found that the cost perspective is often used as a way of motivating the start of the process as well as the result of the process. However, during different stages other factors are involved. The results, based upon the case study, show that the size and reputation of the provider as well as thoughts about the provider's ability to deliver required capability is more important than cost reduction. It can be argued that the impact of IS outsourcing on performance and value of an organisation's IS function can be both positive and negative. To minimise the odds of a negative result, this paper contributes with an evaluation of motivational factors involved at different stages in an IS outsourcing decision process. If they are duly addressed, the chances of a successful IS outsourcing process will improve significantly. 

This paper is a case study examining the impact of the introduction of a large‑scale student ICT system into an Institute of Technology (IoT) in Ireland. The system in question addresses all functions related to the ongoing administration of student affaires. It was implemented as part of a national project driven by the Department of Education and Science and the Council of Directors of the IoTs to standardise the ICT systems of the IoT sector. However, system introduction was problematic and it was necessary to support the new system with a number of additional software tools. The case study considers how well the current ICT arrangements satisfy the IoT's requirements and it identifies remedial action for future success. 

Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) provide many significant advantages to the contemporary business enterprise. WLANs also provide considerable security challenges for network administrators and users. Data confidentiality (ie, unauthorised access to data) breaches are the major security vulnerability within WLANs. To date, the major IT security standards from the International Standards Organisation (the ISOIEC 17799) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (the NIST Special Publication or 'SP' suite) have only a superficial coverage of WLAN security controls and compliance certification strategies. The clear responsibility for WLAN managers is to provide network users with best practice security strategies to mitigate the real risk of unauthorised data access. The clear responsibility for IT auditors is to ensure that best practice security practices are in place and that operational compliance is consistently achieved. This paper describes a newly researched software auditing artefact for the evaluation of the data confidentiality levels of WLAN transmissions — and therefore by extension for the evaluation of existing security controls to mitigate the risk of WLAN confidentiality breaches. The paper describes how the software auditing artefact has been evolved via a design science research methodology, and pivots upon the real time passive sampling of data packets as they are transmitted between mobile users and mobile transmission access points. The paper describes how the software auditing artefact uses these sampled data packets to produce a very detailed evaluation of the levels of data confidentiality in effect across the WLAN. This detailed evaluation includes specific identification (for network managers) of the types of software services operating across the WLAN that are not supported with the appropriate data confidentiality controls. The paper concludes by presenting an analysis of the results achieved during beta testing of the auditing artefact within a university production WLAN environment, together with a brief description of WLAN best practice security. 

Given the plethora of frameworks and models available in this area, not all could be evaluated here. This paper takes seven popular frameworks and examines aspects of IT evaluation with particular emphasis on Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The frameworks were selected from the most well known of IT evaluation research including Delone and McLean, 1992, Seddon et.al. 1999, Farbey et.al, 1999, Levy et.al., 1998. Most of the frameworks were developed for large organisations and therefore those chosen were evaluated for their applicability to the world of SMEs. These are categorised into four areas: people issues, technology focus, evolutionary position and management aspects. The conclusion is reached that the use of a multi‑framework is needed for all organisations. This presents severe difficulties in larger organisations, as the problems of communications can be a stumbling block to completing the evaluation. However, this paper proposes that SMEs may find it easier to take parts of 'tested' frameworks used by larger companies and apply them. The communication links within SMEs are neither as complex nor as highly developed as in large organisations that may make this an appropriate approach. 

Meta‑modelling tools are an important prerequisite for the utilisation of domain specific languages. They allow for the tool‑supported definition of modelling languages and can be used to generate specific editors for the application of a language. However, due to the variety of tools on the market and their inherent complexity, it is a difficult task to select a tool, which suits a set of given requirements best. In this paper we suggest a framework, which comprises a set of criteria for the evaluation of meta‑modelling tools. The framework can be used to assist the tool selection process and hence help to minimise the risk of choosing an inadequate tool for a given application scenario. 

This paper contains a proposal of a compact IT value assessment method. It follows the assumption that most methods available for the public are either described in a very general manner or concentrate on one of the evaluation aspects only. The proposed method relates the evaluation approach to the main IT initiative characteristics, such as the investment purpose and IT element to be implemented. Based on these criteria, the evaluation process is shaped by putting emphasis on the relevant evaluation aspects and choosing the relevant evaluation methods. The method design is focused on the ease of use and practical relevance so it can be used by IT practitioners to assess IT initiatives in their organisations. The paper finishes with the case study of the method usage in a mid‑sized production enterprise. 

Enterprise Systems (ES) are often the largest and most important Information Systems (IS) an organisation employs. Most ES are rented or bought as COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) software. The use of COTS leads to a distinction between the development of the ES software—done by ES software providers, like SAP and Microsoft—and the implementation of ES software in a specific organisation. Implementation of ES are often associated with problems like higher implementation cost and longer implementation process than anticipated. To improve ES implementation, ES providers increasingly support their ES software by, in part computer‑based, implementation methodologies. The paper present an ES implementation evaluation framework called ES Implementation Methodology‑in‑Action. The framework integrates two complementary views: 1) a technology view, focusing on the formalised aspects as expressed in the ES implementation methodology (the content of the methodology), and 2) a structural view, focusing situational aspects as expressed by the implementers (the users of the implementation methodology) including implementers, implementation context, ES software and other individuals participating in the implementation project. Using document studies and interviews with implementers we show how the framework can be used to evaluate ES implementation methodologies. We evaluate one well‑known ES implementation methodology: SAP's ASAP. 

Although some important technological developments have been achieved during last decade, information systems still do not answer efficiently enough to the continuous demands that organisations are facing — causing a non‑ alignment between business and information technologies (IT) and therefore reducing organisation competitive abilities. This paper proposes sixteen metrics for the Information System Architecture (ISA) evaluation, supported in an ISA modelling framework. The major goal of the metrics proposed is to assist the architect previewing the impact of hisher ISA design choices on the non‑functional qualities of the Enterprise Information System (EIS), ensuring EIS better align with business needs. The metrics proposed are based on the research accomplished by other authors, from the knowledge in other more mature areas and on the authors experience on real world ISA evaluation projects. The metrics proposed are applied to an e‑government project in order to support the definition of a suitable ISA for a set of business and technological requirements.