Mario G. Piattini - Böcker

In a global and increasingly competitive market where organizations are driven by information, the search for ways to transform data into true knowledge is critical to a business's success. Few companies, however, have effective methods of managing the quality of this information. Because quality is a multidimensional concept, its management must consider a wide variety of issues related to information and data quality. "Information and Database Quality" is a compilation of works from research and industry that examines these issues, covering both the organizational and technical aspects of information and data quality. It should be a useful reference for both researchers and professionals involved in any aspect of information and database research.

The purpose of the 4th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems (ICEIS) was to bring together researchers, engineers and practitioners interested in the advances and business applications of information systems. The research papers focused on real world applications covering four main themes: enterprise database applications; artificial intelligence applications and decision support systems; systems analysis and specification; and internet and electronic commerce. This book should be of interest to information technology professionals, especially those working on systems integration, databases, decision support systems or electronic commerce. It should also be of use to middle managers who need to work with information systems and require knowledge of current trends in development methods and applications.

This book comprises a set of papers selected from those presented at the fifth « International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems », (ICEIS’2003) held in Angers, France, from 23 to 26 April 2003. The conference was organised by École Supérieure d’Électronique de l’Ouest (ESEO) of Angers, France and the Escola Superior de Tecnologia of Setúbal, Portugal. Since its first edition in 1999, ICEIS focuses on real world applications and aims at bringing together researchers, engineers and practitioners interested in the advances and business applications of information systems. As in previous years, ICEIS’2003 held four simultaneous tracks covering different aspects of enterprise computing: Databases and Information Systems Integration, Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support Systems, Information Systems Analysis and Specification and Software Agents and Internet Computing. Although ICEIS’2003 received 546 paper submissions from over 50 countries, only 80 were accepted as full papers and presented in 30-minutes oral presentations. With an acceptance rate of 15%, these numbers demonstrate the intention of preserving a high quality forum for future editions of this conference. From the articles accepted as long papers for the conference, only 32 were selected for inclusion in this book Additional keynote lectures, tutorials and industrial sessions were also held during ICEIS’2003, and, for the first time this year, the 1st Doctoral Consortium on Enterprise Information Systems gave PhD students an opportunity to present their work to an international audience of experts in the field of information systems.

In a global and increasingly competitive market, where organizations are driven by information, the search for ways to transform data into true knowledge is critical to a business's success. Few companies, however, have effective methods of managing the quality of this information. Because quality is a multidimensional concept, its management must consider a wide variety of issues related to information and data quality. Information and Database Quality is a compilation of works from research and industry that examines these issues, covering both the organizational and technical aspects of information and data quality. Information and Database Quality is an excellent reference for both researchers and professionals involved in any aspect of information and database research.

The purpose of the 4th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems (ICEIS) was to bring together researchers, engineers and practitioners interested in the advances and business applications of information systems. The research papers focused on real world applications covering four main themes: Enterprise Database Applications, Artificial Intelligence Applications and Decision Support Systems, Systems Analysis and Specification, and Internet and Electronic Commerce. This book will be of interest to information technology professionals, especially those working on systems integration, databases, decision support systems or electronic commerce. It will also be of use to middle managers who need to work with information systems and require knowledge of current trends in development methods and applications.