ASSESSING THE SOFTWARE CRISIS - WHY INFORMATION-SYSTEMS ARE BEYOND CONTROL

Today, IS maintenance problems are considered one of the most important problems of the software crisis. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a conceptual framework that explains why progress in the IS field has not reduced the IS maintenance problems. Based on the premise that the software crisis is a flexibility crisis rather than a productivity crisis, the causes of IS rigidity are examined. Subsequently, arguments are supplied for the position that the directions in current IS research offer no prospect for solving today's maintenance problems. Finally, two approaches for solving the software crisis, suggested by the earlier conceptual framework, are examined.