Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

In order to survive and thrive, organizations need to adapt, reinvent themselves, and innovate. However, many intentional efforts to bring about innovation do not succeed. In order to be successful, innovation requires the support of individuals throughout the environment in which it is emerging. In many cases, such support is not forthcoming for a variety of reasons. In this paper, the authors discuss a number of barriers that may inhibit the success of innovative practice. They then discuss a role for contextual analysis as the means to target individual engagement, and present an example of a method which could be used to conduct such analysis.

This paper examines the key lines of inquiry that have been used in research focused on the identity, dynamics, and diffusion of MIS, as well as the strengths and weaknesses associated with each approach. We present five primary means: (1) citation analysis, (2) classification analysis, including rneta-analysis, (3) editorials and opinion pieces, (4) historical surveys of previous work, and (5) forums. We use the term “line of inquiry” since this allows us some latitude in considering dissimilar approaches—methods as well as communication channels. Using examples from the published literature on the status of MIS, we define and illustrate the five approaches. Subsequently, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each. Where possible, we extend the discussion to consider the implications of these lines of inquiry for future research.

Traditionally, software processes improvement (SPI) has been approached. from a problem-oriented perspective, focusing on diagnosing and solving problems using methods such as the IDEAL model and DMAIC. In contrast, appreciative inquiry is an approach that focuses on what is best in an organization in order to further develop this to create a better future. It is, therefore, interesting to explore if and how software organizations familiar with problem-solving approaches can benefit from using appreciative inquiry. In this paper, we present an action research study conducted at the telecom company Ericsson in Sweden. Appreciative inquiry was used to facilitate an SPI initiative implementing a new process and tool for requirements and test case management. While the SPI initiative was considered successful, important lessons were learned regarding the application of appreciative inquiry. We conclude that the use of appreciative inquiry does not eliminate the dependence of other well-known key factors for SPI success. Also, the study indicates that the preference and satisfaction of problem-solving among individuals familiar with problem-oriented approaches may impede the use of appreciative inquiry.

A major challenge in process improvement is to understand process innovation. and improvement efficiency and use. How do we know that process innovations and improvements give organizational benefits? We need a mechanism for measuring. In this paper, we report from a longitudinal action research study at the telecom company Ericsson where a measurement mechanism was designed and successfully used in practice to understand, learn, and measure process efficiency. In the concrete, the measurement mechanism was built through empirical testing combined with using a goal-question-metrics (GQM) approach. The resulting measurement mechanism consists of four correlated metrics that indicate process use, process commitment, process learning, and process improvement. The same measurement mechanism can also he used to obtain feedback and evaluation, thereby allowing the organization to determine process efficiency and use, and to determine the success of the process improvements.

As stated in the conference theme, the failure of information systems and information technology projects remains stubbornly high. Agile methods have recently emerged as a new and seemingly popular alternative approach to systems development. Purveyors of these methods claim they solve many of the problems that have plagued the field for over 40 years, and there is now anecdotal evidence to suggest that these benefits are being realized and that diffusion of agile methods is rapidly increasing. However, a key factor in the diffusion of any technology or method is its ability to be customized. Innovative customization, tailoring, and fragmentation of systems development methods are viewed by many as a necessary step to avoid project failure like so many projects in the past. The ability to tailor any method is considered critically important given the complex and unique nature of each and every ISD environment, and in particular, one would logically expect that a method labeled as agile should be malleable. However, it is still unclear whether agile methods are amenable to tailoring. On one hand, purveyors of these methods advocate and often recommend tailoring. On the other hand, however, tailoring of agile methods has been described as a potential minefield due to the fact that their practices are interconnected, synergistic, and socially embedded in the development effort. This study develops a better understanding of agile method tailoring in practice through semi-structured delphi interviews with 40 ISD expert practitioners and academics. The study sought to ascertain their opinion on the tailoring of agile methods in general, and then honed in on specific critical success factors (CSFs) of tailoring, namely built-in contingency, clear rationale behind method practices, independence of method practices, and disciplined and educated tailoring of practices. The study found that these factors are largely ignored by the agile method movement except in rare instances, and concludes with a set of recommendationsfor agile method creators and users to ensure agile methods experience higher diffusion rates than at present.

Agile software development methods have become increasingly popular since the late 1990s, and may offer improved outcomes for software development projects when compared to more traditional approaches. However there has previously been little published empirical evidence to either prove or disprove this assertion. A survey carried out in March 2006 gathered responses from a large number of software development professionals who were using many different methods, both traditional and agile. A statistical analysis of this data reveals that agile methods do indeed improve outcomes from software development projects in terms of quality, satisfaction, and productivity, without a significant increase in cost. However, adoption of methods appears to involve a high degree of adaptivity, with many methods being used in combination and sets of techniques being adopted on an ad hoc basis. In this context, our analysis suggests that choosing specific combinations of methods can be particularly beneficial. However, we also find that successful adoption of an agile method is to some extent dependent on rigorous integration of certain core techniques.

Models of the diffusion of innovation have received wide acceptance in IS research. Such diffusion models are typically based on the assumption that projects are either accepted or rejected by adopters, without recognizing or accounting for the negotiation, adaptation, and drift that take place during the implementation (). This paper presents an alternative view, based on the actor network theory (ANT) concepts of translation, moving the token, and modality. This lens reveals that software implementation projects, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), have no inertia in themselves. Instead, a project’s fate depends on each move it takes and each party involved in handling that move. Every handling of the project by different parties could present either a positive modality (that strengthens it and pushes it forward on its track) or a negative modality (that weaken its initial form and drags it in a different direction). The findings provide an explanation of drift and an alternative view of the diffusion of innovation in the ERP case. This could be extended to other technological projects. The findings also invite practitioners to monitor the various movements of their projects and encourage academics to revise their endorsement of the previously dominant diffusion model. They also contribute to the drift argument by identifying and discussing one of the sources of drift.

Today’s organizational renewal and change is conducted primarily within projects (i.e., temporary organizations), and, in varying degrees, includes information and communication technology (ICT) systems that should mediate or trigger intended changes. However, the definite duration of a project process and the indefinite duration of ICT-mediated change processes cause challenges for the permanent organization when intra-organizational transfer of intended and emergent project outcomes would be managed. However, when studying the interaction between ICT and an organizational context, it is of crucial importance to also include the ICT in the analysis. Accordingly, the aim this paper is to uncover technology features and their consequences for the permanent organization when intra-organizational transfer of intended and emergent project outcomes is managed. In order to achieve the aim of the paper, three case studies of ICT projects are analyzed and discussed. The ICT features predefmition of processes to change and the ease of making the ICT into an obligatory passage point will have consequences for the permanent organization’s management of intra-organizational transfer of intended and emergent project outcomes. The conclusion is that these features of ICT have an impact on arrangements to be made by the permanent organization in order to support the intra-organizational transfer and integration of intended and emergent project outcomes.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United Kingdom are undergoing strategic changes, not least being the introduction of a new fees scheme and the identification of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as central to their strategic vision. However, little is known about the contexts and processes of formulating and implementing information systems strategy to support university “customer” and “user” communities. This paper investigates the process of customer service strategy implementation as at GM University using an integrated perspective that conceptualizes the implementation process as a network formation, interconnected with both the strategy context and content. Our theoretical framework draws on both “contextualism ” and actor network theory to understand the IS strategy implementation process. We demonstrate that IS strategy implementation is an emergent and dynamic process. Our conceptual framework provides us with an insight into the process of implementation that transcends the human strategic agency to the“collective” transformation process.

On the basis of a longitudinal interpretive case study, this paper explores the dynamics in the implementation of an industry interorganizational information system (IOIS). The paper covers 11 years (1994–2005) of the implementation process. We use the lens of actor network theory (ANT) to analyze the process of emergence, development, and progressive stabilization of a socio-technical network, that of the IOIS. We focus on the negotiations and translation of interests that occur during the implementation of the IOIS. By using ANT we develop a different reading of the implementation process, which we believe provides a holistic view of the implementation, and can be adapted and applied to similar implementation projects. ANT is suitable as it helps us trace the course of the implementation, and because of the nature of the IOIS and of the implementation process, which involves political negotiations.