In this paper we consider the WWW system on the Internet as an information system, and demonstrate that it has a characteristic such that it connects companies with customers directly. We propose new information system called "customer support system" which delivers information to customers from companies. We also discuss an overview and some envisioned characteristics of the customer support system taking WWW home pages for examples of it.

This study discusses the evaluation of the effectiveness of an information system in a system audit. This study develops to systematize evaluation factors of effectiveness and proposes a model pattern of the verification process of a system audit. Through these processes a model of effective evaluation factors and a verification structure model are proposed. Evaluation criteria for the evaluation factors are also proposed with the intention of applying them to several actual audits of information systems in corporate business. Although studies and research into auditing of the effectiveness of information systems have long been discussed, auditing methods and evaluation criteria are not sufficiently well systematized. The length of experience and subjectivity of the auditors who carry out system auditing account for large part of the auditing. Authors believe that the study presented in this paper will increase objectivity in auditing and that the results of this paper can be applied to a much wider area of effectiveness evaluation of information systems.

To make realization of effective software development of customer applications, for eliminating of troubles, waste of time, cost, manpower and difficulties of technical or project management. Based on actual experience, I propose effective project review process for each phase of development by using standardized review items, several new checklist and review process. This review will be conducted by independent reviewer under participation with member of customer and project team. At the point of view of technical aspect or project management, each phase review on the project including final phase will be judged whether the present status would be possible to advance to the next phase or to release the project. Comparing before and after the execution of the project review process based on the standardized review items and review process, this new system have been brought to remarkable improvement on the development works and reduced troubles.

In the case of small supermarkets, the manager seeking to improve the management of the store to ensure its survival over the long term can employ a method by which he or she grasps customer needs directly to flexibly correspond to changes of markets, finds out improvement contents, makes plans for improvement of the store, and selects one plan among them and carries it out. This study concentrates on l) clarifying a method to quantitatively measure the degree of customer satisfaction and validating the method, and 2) designing a method to establish prioritizing contents for management improvement. The following results have been achieved by this study: a) a method to quantitatively measure fuzzy integral has been established; b) a method to prioritize contents of management improvement has been established.

Mobile computing has been becoming one of current topics along with the development of information devices and the wider use of portable communication tools, so called PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). A lot of papers about the mobile computing can be found, however, most of them are focused on technical aspects, that is, information technology oriented, and very few of them are written from a point of view of groupwork support. In this paper, we pick up three typical tasks as groupworks and discuss relationships between mobile computing and groupwork from a point of view of groupwork support. Furthermore, we explore the possibility of supporting groupworks with mobile computing environment through the implementation using PHS(Personal Handy-Phone System), which is one of the most easily available devices. This shows that mobile computing for personal use can be easily built. Finally, the possibility of realization of groupwares based on communication support will be shown with an example situation.

Many organizations have come to outsource development and operation of information systems. And its aim has expanded from the contractual type of outsourcing which substitutes information processing personnel or reduces the processing cost, to the strategic type of outsourcing which copes with the change of business environment flexibly. However, information systems outsourcing contains a number of unsolved issues, such as content of vendors services, quality of information systems, change and maintenance of systems, reliability, and Security of informations. Moreover, in the strategic type of outsourcing, the effectiveness on business must be confirmed. Against these backgrounds, this paper identifies the aim of outsourcing, clarifies the current outsourcing situation, and analyses the issues of outsourcing, such as administration, relationship with vendors, and security. Also this proposes a new approach to evaluate information systems outsourcing.