An evaluation of the Hong Kong design and development strategy

This chapter addresses the complex issues of a district-wide school information system design and development in Hong Kong. The SAMS (School Administration & Management System) is being implemented by the government in about 1,500 schools. The focus of the chapter is on the system design and development strategy and the related outcome. Evidence that a design and development strategy without genuine user participation produces a low quality system and low user acceptance is provided. Besides technical issues there are political factors that need to be considered in designing and developing a district-wide school information system. Moreover, an officially intended design and development strategy is one thing; the actual strategy is another. Furthermore, the SAMS project shows that high quality systems cannot be developed using a strategy that ignores a detailed study of school organizational information requirements.