Structuring or as it is referred to in the title of this book the art of structuring is one
of the core elements in the discipline of Information Systems. While the world is becoming
increasingly complex and a growing number of disciplines are evolving to help make it a better
place structure is what is needed in order to understand and combine the various perspectives
and approaches involved. Structure is the essential component that allows us to bridge the gaps
between these different worlds and offers a medium for communication and exchange. The
contributions in this book build these bridges which are vital in order to communicate between
different worlds of thought and methodology ¿ be it between Information Systems (IS) research
and practice or between IS research and other research disciplines. They describe how
structuring can be and should be done so as to foster communication and collaboration. The
topics covered reflect various layers of structure that can serve as bridges: models processes
data organizations and technologies. In turn these aspects are complemented by visionary
outlooks on how structure influences the field.
