Data quality has become increasingly important to many firms as they build data warehouses and focus more on customer relationship management. This is especially true in the health care field where cost pressures and the desire to improve patient care drive efforts to integrate and clean organizational data. The paper reviews earlier work on data quality and extends it by providing a process model of architected data environments. This model allows practitioners and researchers to focus on processes that generate data quality problems. The paper also describes how the model was used in a real world health care organization and what implications there are for practitioners and researchers.

Successful use of a computerized database by end users requires both an understanding of the structure of the database and knowledge of the available query language. Previous research has focused almost exclusively on query languages with little concern for how database structure is represented. This paper reports on an experiment that explores the influence of database structure representation on the ability of users to learn and use a database system. Four alternative representations of the same databases are developed and compared. These representations differ in semantics, symbols, and means of representing relationships. Interestingly, representation features that aid in communicating the contents of a database appear to hinder the learning of the SQL query language. We conclude that database representation is an important factor in database use and that the interaction between a database structure representation and a query language may dramatically affect database learning and use.

Successfully defining the information requirements for an information system has proven to be a difficult task. It is even more challenging when there are significant differences in the way analysts and users perceive the world, the application, and each other. Major changes in the cultural makeup of the work force have been projected for the next two decades. This paper explores the influences of cultural differences on the requirements determination process. A model is proposed to explain these influences and to identify research opportunities.

:The effective management of human resources is an important challenge for MIS executives. Part of the challenge is obtaining and retaining MIS personnel with the skills and knowledge required to support the organization effectively. The purpose of this paper is to provide managers and educators with information on the current and future demand for MIS professionals and with information about the relative importance of 8pecific MIS skills. To address these issues a survey of MIS managers was undertaken in the summer of 1990. The results include projections of demand for ten MIS job types. Also reported are the perceptions of importance of fifty-four skills for systems developers and twenty-six technical specialist skills. A model is proposed for explaining perceptions of skill need. Implications of the results are discussed for businesses, educational institutions, and researchers.

Information centers (ICs) are a popular way for firms to facilitate and coordinate end-user computing. A continuing role for ICs in organizations depends on how successfully they meet their goals. This paper explores perceptions of IC success held by IC managers and MIS executives. Data was collected using a mail survey and then analyzed to produce both specific item scores and aggregate measures for realized success, major problems, and critical success factors. Comparisons were done to determine if MIS executives viewed IC success in the same way as IC managers. The results suggest that while some differences exist, on the whole there is agreement about what an IC must do to be successful.

The growth of end-user computing brings benefits and risks to organizations. The advantages and disadvantages of all techniques for providing end-user computing should be carefully evaluated before an approach is implemented. However, the service approach appears to provide the best combination of support and coordination. One implementation of this approach is an information center that is dedicated to supporting end-user computing and committed to meeting organizational requirements for information resource use and management. Additional informationNotes on contributorsRobert L. Leitheiser Robert L. Leitheiser is assistant professor of MIS at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He has held analyst and supervisory positions in several U.S. firms. His research interests include end-user computing, human factors in interface design, and decision support systems. James C. Wetherbe Dr. James C. Wetherbe is director of the Management Information Systems (MIS) Research Center and professor of MIS in the School of Management at the University of Minnesota. He has held MIS management and technical positions with several major U.S. corporations, directed computer centers, and served on the faculties of several universities. His articles have been published m MIS journals, and he is the author of eight cooks in the areas of systems analysis and MIS management, publisher of the MIS Quarterly, a series editor for Prentice-Hall, and editor of Data Base.

The rapid growth of end-user computing is a double-edged sword: it offers new opportunities for improving the effectiveness of organizations, but it also create new risks for a firm's information resources. This paper describes an organized approach for effectively managing end-user computing. It is based on the definition of "service support levels" which link support services to responsibilities. These levels form the basis of a cooperative effort between the MIS department and the end user.

The growth of end-user computing is one of the most important trends in information systems today. Organizations are increasingly turning to information centers to facilitate and coordinate these activities. This paper reports the results of a field survey of information center managers. It attempts to identify major successes and problems that are faced by these managers. It also aims to define critical success factors for such centers. The paper concludes with recommendations on how firms can apply the results of the study to their own situations.

As end-user computing becomes increasingly important in all kinds of businesses, many organizations are responding by installing information centers. This study, based on a survey of 25 diverse organizations within a large metropolitan area, investigates the services, user decisions, problems, and successes of their information centers. The results should prove useful to information center managers and MIS executives attempting to cope with the growth of end-user computing in their organizations.

Managers of information systems development are faced with a substantial backlog of development projects. Traditional approaches to developing systems can not keep pace with new application demand. New methods must be found to develop systems. This study investigates prototyping, an approach that promises order-of-magnitude reductions in the time and effort required to implement satisfactory information systems.

Knowledge of the most important issues in the information systems field would help focus research and educational efforts. A Delphi study, using leading information systems (IS) professionals, was used to identify and rank ten key IS management issues for the 1980's. Measures were also taken to the amount of agreement achieved on these issues and rankings. The number one issue identified was improved IS planning, followed by facilitation and management of end user computing. This article describes the research approach involved and discusses the results.