-- System Quality --
(Measures of the Information Processing System Itself)

Measures of System Quality typically focus on performance characteristics of the system under study. Some research has looked at resource utilization and investment utilization¹, hardware utilization efficiency², reliability, response time, ease of terminal use³, content of the database, aggregation of details, human factors, and system accuracy⁴. Hamilton and Chervany's⁵ list of system quality measures is probably the most well known: data currency, response time, turnaround time, data accuracy, reliability, completeness, system flexibility and ease of use.

More recently, Seddon⁶ considers system quality to be concerned with "bugs" in the system (system reliability), user interface consistency, ease of use, documentation quality, and quality and maintainability of the program code.

Select a topic from the drop-down list below to see research pertaining to each of these areas:

Select a linkEase of UseInterface ConsistencyMaintainabilityResponse TimeSystem Reliability

¹ Kriebel, Charles and Artur Raviv, "An Economics Approach to Modeling the Productivity of Computer Systems," Management Science, Vol. 26, No. 3, March 1980, pp. 297-311.
² Alloway, Robert M., "Defining Success for Data Processing: A Practical Approach to Strategic Planning for the DP Department," CISR Working Paper No. 52, Center for Information Systems Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, March 1980.
³ Swanson, E. Burton, "Management Information Systems: Appreciation and Involvement," Management Science, Vol. 21, No. 2, October 1974, pp. 178-188.
⁴ Emery, J. C., "Cost/Benefit Analysis of Information Systems," SMIS Workshop Report Number 1, The Society for Management Information Systems, Chicago, IL, 1971.
⁵ Hamilton Scott and Norman L. Chervany, "Evaluating Information System Effectiveness. Part I. Comparing Evaluation Approaches," MIS Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 3, September 1981, pp. 55-69.
6 Seddon, Peter B., "A Respecification and Extension of the DeLone and McLean Model of IS Success," Information Systems Research, Vol. 8, No. 3, September 1997, pp. 240-253.