Measuring the Complexity of Information Systems and Organizations - Insights from an Action Case

As organizations increasingly depend on information technology for their operation, complexity of information systems becomes an important issue for management in the context of organizational engineering. This paper shows how the combination of cybernetics with conceptual modelling contributes to the measurement of complexity for the analysis and design of information systems and organizations. Based on the discussion of a language-based approach, we show how conceptual modelling as an instrument for organizational analysis can significantly contribute to organizational engineering if used in combination with an established theory for control and communication. Within an action case study in an information technology controlling setting, we apply the concept of variety as a measure for complexity in combination with conceptual modelling and explore its usefulness for the diagnosis and redesign of a controlling and reporting system.