Critical Skills and Knowledge Requirements of IS Professionals: A Joint Academic/ Industry Investigation
Authors: Lee, Denis; Trauth, Eileen; Farwell, and Douglas
Journal: MIS Quarterly (1995)
DOI: 10.2307/249598
This study was initiated in response to concerns expressed by the membership of the Boston Chapter of the Society for Information Management (Boston SIM) to investigate anticipated changes in the information systems (IS) profession, to study the impact of these changes on the skills and knowledge requirements, and to relate these requirements to the academic preparation of future IS professionals. To provide as broad a perspective as possible, the study was conducted by a joint industry/academic group of investigators. A series of focus group meetings was conducted first with representatives of the profession’s different stakeholder groups (i.e., IS managers, user managers, and IS consultants) for issue generation. A survey instrument was then designed for data collection on computing trends and changing knowledge and skills requirements. Overall, our study suggests that industry will demand a cadre of IS professionals with knowledge and skills in technology, business operations, management, and interpersonal skills to effectively lead organizational integration and process reengineering activities. The lower-level IS jobs are rapidly disappearing, and the requirements for IS prof…