Measuring the complexity of information system based on the data complexity

Measuring the complexity of information system (IS) is a prerequisite for information systems cost estimating and information systems pricing. For measuring the IS complexity more comprehensive and dynamically, one new construct of data complexity is brought forward and is divided into three dimensions, which are data structure, data volume, and data manipulation. Then, information entropy models are used to compute the complexity of data structure, data volume, and data manipulation, and the grid space theory is employed to calculate the overall data complexity. Finally, an empirical study is conducted with the material management system and sale management systems in two manufacturing firms, and the results indicate that the measurement model and computation method of data complexity are useful to measure the complexity of information system.