The systems movement, now 40 years old, is made up of many associations of systems thinkers from different disciplines all over the world. The United Kingdom Systems Society (UKSS) was formed in 1978. Today it has over 300 members and is committed to the development and promotion of "systems" philosophy, theory, concepts and methodolo gies for improving decision making for the benefit of organizations and wider society. The first UKSS International Conference was held at the University of Hull in July ofHuddersfield 1989. Since then we have held International Conferences at the Universities (1991) and Paisley (1993). The UKSS International Conferences are now an established biannual event and this, our fourth international conference, will be jointly hosted by the Universities of Hull and Humberside. Systems science is considered to be a trans-discipline which promotes critical and effective intervention in complex organisational and social problem situations. As such it traverses "hard", through "soft" to "critical" systems thinking and methodologies. Yet, despite the currently robust state of the UKSS the systems movement cannot be described as an international movement: different subdisciplines are at different stages of development and are often engaged in pursuing their own particular interests and themes with little "conversation" between the subdisciplines despite their common interest in systems.

This volume presents findings and insights from contemporary thinking and research on the application of Information Technology in Educational Management. It analyzes the ways in which ICT has been used, across a range of educational institutions, to support various aspects of educational management. It is the latest in a series of books produced by IFIP Working Group 3.7.

In this third edition, the author has arranged the material in five major parts: context, tools, techniques, methods, management and discipline. Within the parts, popular chapters have been retained and updated to reflect modern developments in the area of information systems development. A number of new chapters have been included on topics such as object-oriented analysis and design methods, rapid applications development and business process re-engineering. Each chapter contains a number of case studies illustrating the frameworks, techniques and concepts discussed. A number of exercises are also included to test the understanding of the material.

This book is a result of the Seventh International Conference on Information Sys tems Development-Methods and Tools, Theory and Practice held in Bled, Slovenia, Sep tember 21-23, 1998. The purpose of the conference was to address issues facing academia and industry when specifying, developing, managing, and improving information comput erized systems. During the past few years, many new concepts and approaches emerged in the Information Systems Development (ISD) field. The various theories, methods, and tools available to system developers also bring problems such as choosing the most effec tive approach for a specific task. This conference provides a meeting place for IS re searchers and practitioners from Eastern and Western Europe as well as from other parts of the world. An objective of the conference is not only to share scientific knowledge and in terests but to establish strong professional ties among the participants. The Seventh International Conference on Information Systems Develop ment-ISD'98 continues the concepts of the first Polish-Scandinavian Seminar on Current Trends in Information Systems Development Methodologies held in Gdansk, Poland in 1988. Through the years, the Seminar developed into the International Conference on In formation Systems Development. ISD'99 will be held in Boise, Idaho. The selection of papers was carried out by the International Program Committee. All papers were reviewed in advance by three people. Papers were judged according to their originality, relevance, and presentation quality. All papers were judged only on their own merits, independent of other submissions.

The book is divided into two sections:Section 1 - Introduces the subject as a whole and describes the key generic tools and techniques to support the manufacturing organisation.Section 2 - Modern planning and control methods at a detailed level. - Each chapter begins with a summary of key points and objectives to aid learning - Case studies included throughout to illustrate the key elements of the text in a practical context - Introduces a range of systems and management topics supported by examples and case studies