DESCRIBING THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS LIFE CYCLE AS AN ADJUSTMENT PROCESS BETWEEN INFORMATION AND DECISIONS.

Many of the Information Economics models are engaged in optimizing decision rules for given information structures. This article takes a counter direction - from given decision rules to information structures. It examines decision rules and firstly reduces the number of considerable rules up to a finite number. Then it describes how an optimal information structure can be obtained for any given decision rule, and lays out the adjustment process that leads towards reaching a mutual optimization of decision rules and information structures. The analogy between this adjustment process and the observed phenomenon of information systems life cycle is discussed. This discussion establishes a relationship between descriptive and normative theories in MIS.