Conceptualizing Workarounds: Meanings and Manifestations in Information Systems Research

We reviewed papers in core IS outlets that defined the term workaround or presented an example of a workaround. In the analysis, we used Ogden and Richard’s triangle of reference as a theoretical framework to analyze the relationship between 1) the term workaround; 2) theories, definitions, and use of the term; and 3) their empirical basis and empirical workaround behavior that the papers describe. First, we summarize the existing theoretical insights regarding workarounds and investigate their validity. Second, we show that studies have defined and used the term workaround differently to the extent that they have not always applied it to the same empirical phenomena, which raises questions about some theoretical insights’ validity. Third, we suggest a definition for workarounds that we inductively derived from empirical accounts of workaround behavior and, therefore, that adequately describes how researchers commonly use the term and makes it possible to distinguish workarounds from other similar phenomena

The impact of information systems on business flexibility from the managerial perspective: multiple cases of enterprise systems enhancement and ongoing changes

Today, flexibility is widely concemed as the key capability an organisation should possess due to the fast change of business and technology environment (Haeckel 1999; Golden and Powell 2000). Business is fundamentally concerned with and driven by changes. It requires flexibility to quickly respond to new conditions, to absorb sudden shocks and to accommodate diversity and heterogeneity. All of these demands, in turn, feed through to the computer-systems that modem organisations rely upon (CBDi Forum 2001). The attainment of information system flexibility is becoming an essential requirement for the business (Golden and Powell 2000; Behrsin et al 1994). Despite ITAS has been developed to achieve great flexibility and functionality in order to provide more agile and more effective solution for the businesses, it is also Widely subject to criticism for its inflexibility and rigidity (Allen and Boynton 1991; Avison et al 1995; Davenport 2000). This research addresses the IS flexibility issue and studies "how organisations adapt their ISs/ESs to accommodate ongoing business changes" A model of tactical ES adaptation for ongoing business changes has been developed from three organisations' ES post-implementation experience. This model depicts a complicated decision making process for ES adaptation to support ongoing business changes and attain flexibility. It demonstrates the dynamic relationship among emerging business needs, adaptation tactics, adaptation activities, performance and resource measurement, and risk evaluation

DevOps and information technology service management: A problem management case study

The use of DevOps is a predominant attribute of businesses engaged in the development and maintenance of Information Technology systems. Although literature exploring DevOps practices has expanded, there is still much unexplored territory on its operational ramifications. This is particularly observed when considering their potential impact on ITSM frameworks such as ITIL, which governs Operations. This research aims to establish how DevOps principles and practices can be applied to Problem Management, a core Service Management process. Specifically, it explores which DevOps practices may be used throughout the Problem lifecycle, as well as benefits which may result from them. An exploratory case study was carried out with the participation of Problem Managers operating in a DevOps environment. Three data collection methods were applied: Semi structured interviews, in which participants described their experience and insight in relation to DevOps and Problem Management; documental analysis and observation, where processes and workflows were examined; and a focus group exercise in which study outcomes were discussed and systematized. This research indicates that DevOps practices have varying degrees of significance for a Problem Management process. Practices associated with continuous planning and collaboration are prone to having greater significance in a Problem lifecycle, with the potential of enabling benefits such as quicker Problem identification, higher quality Root Cause Analysis, and improved resolution times. The novelty of insight gathered in this study benefits both academics, through its contribution to an expanding body of knowledge, and professionals, considering the practical and applicable nature of findings. Future work is also presented.A utilização de metodologias DevOps é hoje uma característica predominante de organizações envolvidas no desenvolvimento e manutenção de sistemas de Tecnologia e Informação. Apesar da crescente produção de literatura a examinar práticas DevOps, existe muito território por explorar referente às suas ramificações a nível operacional. Isto é particularmente notável quando se consideram potenciais interações com frameworks de ITSM como o ITIL, que governam Operações. Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo estabelecer quais princípios e práticas DevOps podem ser aplicadas na Gestão de Problemas, um processo central para a Gestão de Serviços. Especificamente, exploramos quais práticas DevOps podem ser utilizadas ao longo do ciclo de vida de um Problema, tal como que benefícios poderão resultar da sua aplicação. Um caso de estudo exploratório foi realizado com a participação de Gestores de Problemas a operar num ambiente DevOps. Três métodos de recolha de dados foram aplicados: Entrevistas semiestruturadas, onde participantes descreveram a sua experiência e conhecimento em relação a DevOps e Gestão de Problemas; análise documental e observação, onde processos operacionais foram examinados; e uma discussão em grupo onde resultados do estudo foram discutidos e sistematizados. Esta investigação indica que práticas DevOps tem variados níveis de significância para um processo de Gestão de Problemas. Práticas associadas ao planeamento contínuo e colaboração tendem a ter maior significância no ciclo de vida de um Problema, com potencial para gerar benefícios como a mais rápida identificação de Problemas, maior qualidade na análise de causa, e melhorias nos tempos de resolução. As conclusões apresentadas neste estudo trazem benefícios tanto para académicos, expandindo o corpo de conhecimento disponível sobre o tema, como para profissionais, considerando a sua natureza prática e aplicável. Direções para trabalho futuro são também apresentadas

WORKAROUNDS IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESEARCH: A FIVE-YEAR UPDATE

This paper complements an earlier (2019) literature review on workarounds in information systems research by including research that has influenced or been published in core IS outlets during the last five years (2018–2022). Our study captures research that strengthened, widened, and challenged theoretical insights from the previous review. It also provides additional insights and develops seven themes of theoretical insight. The 31 new papers and our updated analysis are most evident in the three themes: Workarounds and power, Temporality of workarounds, and Managing workarounds. We also found additional studies using the term ‘workaround’ differently to the extent that they have not applied the term to the same empirical phenomena, which questions the validity of some theoretical claims. We also found significantly more studies that used quantitative data-collection methods than the previous review

Using Agile Software Development Practices in a Research Oriented Distributed Simulation

Although sometimes controversial, agile methodologies have proven to be a viable choice for some software development projects. Projects suited to agile methodologies are those that involve new technology, have requirements that change rapidly, and are controlled by small, talented teams. Much literature about agile software development leans towards business products and non-government entities. Only a handful of literature resources mention agile software development being used in government contracts and even fewer resources mention research projects. NASA\u27s Airspace and Traffic Operations Simulation (ATOS) is a research oriented simulation that doesn\u27t follow the traditional business project mold. In an effort to gain a better understanding if agile could be used effectively in a NASA contract for a research oriented simulation project, this research looked at what agile practices could be effectively used to help gain simulation reliability while simultaneously allowing routine maintenance, current experiment support, new modeling additions, and comprehensive architectural changes

The impact of information systems on business flexibility from the managerial perspective : multiple cases of enterprise systems enhancement and ongoing changes

Today, flexibility is widely concemed as the key capability an organisation should possess due to the fast change of business and technology environment (Haeckel 1999; Golden and Powell 2000). Business is fundamentally concerned with and driven by changes. It requires flexibility to quickly respond to new conditions, to absorb sudden shocks and to accommodate diversity and heterogeneity. All of these demands, in turn, feed through to the computer-systems that modem organisations rely upon (CBDi Forum 2001). The attainment of information system flexibility is becoming an essential requirement for the business (Golden and Powell 2000; Behrsin et al 1994). Despite ITAS has been developed to achieve great flexibility and functionality in order to provide more agile and more effective solution for the businesses, it is also Widely subject to criticism for its inflexibility and rigidity (Allen and Boynton 1991; Avison et al 1995; Davenport 2000). This research addresses the IS flexibility issue and studies "how organisations adapt their ISs/ESs to accommodate ongoing business changes" A model of tactical ES adaptation for ongoing business changes has been developed from three organisations' ES post-implementation experience. This model depicts a complicated decision making process for ES adaptation to support ongoing business changes and attain flexibility. It demonstrates the dynamic relationship among emerging business needs, adaptation tactics, adaptation activities, performance and resource measurement, and risk evaluation.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceOverseas Research Student Awards Scheme (ORSAS)GBUnited Kingdo

The emergence of the forensic and legal project manager

The worldwide emergence of the distinct legal project manager role is symbolic of the evolving shifts in the management structure of legal projects within all legal service provider entities and brings a new career path for legal environments. This context statement offers a self-reflection of my vision, journey and contribution to global public works delivered through the establishment of the ‘International Institute of Legal Project Management’ (IILPM) that I founded in 2017. The IILPM has become the first and only professional global community of certified legal project management (LPM) practitioners worldwide. It has achieved graduates in fifty-two countries of the world, supported by a global network of accredited training providers in fourteen countries and university partnerships in six countries. It has established practice models for legal matter management, legal process improvement and investigation case management, underpinned by project management principles and practices. An analytical autoethnographic approach was used to explain my thinking, approach and methods to achieve the public works and to overcome the key challenges that I have personally experienced and overcome. It reflects on how the public works has influenced the legal profession worldwide and helped transition the emergence of the legal project manager role from a state of flux to a more defined position. It covers my contributions to research, developed industry standards and frameworks, competency assessment models, training programmes, a multi-tiered credentialing system, workplace practice tools, and other publications, as well as providing a platform for the annual international conference regime, and the innovation-based professional awards programme. This qualitative-based self-reflection considered the ‘interdisciplinarity’ makeup of legal project management, the ‘post-bureaucracy’ managerial influences within the legal profession that has enabled changes in legal practice changes that has recognised the role, and the ‘post-professionalism’ influence on the traditional legal practitioner role that has help supported the emergence of the legal project manager that is now occupied by both lawyers and non-legally qualified allied legal professionals

The bridge of dreams::Towards a method for operational performance alignment in IT-enabled service supply chains

Concerns on performance alignment, especially on business-IT alignment, have been around for three decades. It is still considered to be one of the most important driving forces for business success, as well as one of the top concerns of many practitioners and organizational researchers. It is also found to be a major issue in two thirds of digital transformation projects. Many attempts from researchers in diverse disciplines have been made to tackle this issue. Unfortunately, they have been working separately and the research appears in various forms and names. This dissertation presents a piece of interdisciplinary research that focuses on identifying operational performance alignment issues, discovering and assessing their root causes with attention to the dynamics in operating IT-enabled service supply chain (SSC). It makes a modest contribution by providing a communication-centred instrument which can modularize complex SSC in terms of a hierarchically-structured set of services and analyze the performance causality between them. With a special focus on the impact of IT, it makes it possible to monitor and tune various performance issues in SSC. This research intends to provide a solution-oriented common ground where multiple service research streams can meet together. Following the framework proposed in this research, services, at different tiers of an SSC, are modelled with a balanced perspective on both business, technical service components and KPIs. It allows a holistic picture of service performances and interactions throughout the entire supply chain to be viewed through a different research lens and permits the causal impact of technology, business strategy, and service operations on supply chain performance to be unveiled

Customized agile development process for embedded software development

Agile software development has grown in popularity starting from the agile manifesto declared in 2001. However there is a strong belief that the agile methods are not suitable for embedded, critical or real-time software development, even though multiple studies and cases show differently. This thesis will present a custom agile process that can be used in embedded software development. The reasons for presumed unfitness of agile methods in embedded software development have mainly based on the feeling of these methods providing no real control, no strict discipline and less rigor engineering practices. One starting point is to provide a light process with disciplined approach to the embedded software development. Agile software development has gained popularity due to the fact that there are still big issues in software development as a whole. Projects fail due to schedule slips, budget surpassing or failing to meet the business needs. This does not change when talking about embedded software development. These issues are still valid, with multiple new ones rising from the quite complex and hard domain the embedded software developers work in. These issues are another starting point for this thesis. The thesis is based heavily on Feature Driven Development, a software development methodology that can be seen as a runner up to the most popular agile methodologies. The FDD as such is quite process oriented and is lacking few practices considered commonly as extremely important in agile development methodologies. In order for FDD to gain acceptance in the software development community it needs to be modified and enhanced. This thesis presents an improved custom agile process that can be used in embedded software development projects with size varying from 10 to 500 persons. This process is based on Feature Driven Development and by suitable parts to Extreme Programming, Scrum and Agile Modeling. Finally this thesis will present how the new process responds to the common issues in the embedded software development. The process of creating the new process is evaluated at the retrospective and guidelines for such process creation work are introduced. These emphasize the agility also in the process development through early and frequent deliveries and the team work needed to create suitable process.Siirretty Doriast

Critical success factors, mechanisms, and information technology project success: a case study of a data migration project in a large South African organisation

Background: There are numerous studies in the Information Technology (IT) field on IT project success and/or failure and reasons thereof. There is much discussion about what constitutes IT project success and the main determinants are generally a subjective matter. Several studies address critical success factors and some address success criteria about IT projects. However, the combination of mechanisms, success criteria, and critical success factors has not been adequately researched or widely addressed and hence the need to conduct this study which seeks to examine the aforementioned relationships and propose a modified model to explain the links among them. Objectives: The main objectives of this study are: 1) To identify and discuss the role played by success factors (input variables) in an IT project; 2) To identify and discuss the role played by success criteria (output variables) in an IT project; 3) To identify and discuss the role played by mechanisms (mediating variables) and impact thereof on an IT project; and 4) To identify, investigate and explore the interrelationships between the aforementioned constructs and how they impact the success of an IT project. Research Methodology/Approach: A modified model of the Black Box of IS Project Success Mechanisms was utilised to guide the data collection process. The model was based on three fundamental constructs developed from various sources of literature viz. success criteria, critical success factors, and mechanisms. The study made use of a single case study based on a data migration project which one of the major corporates in South Africa executed. The data migration project provides for a distinct type of IT project suitable to meet the study objectives. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, and a thematic analysis was conducted to identify success factors, mechanisms, and IT project success criteria. Findings: The findings revealed that there are several success criteria measures viz. the traditional project management triangle (cost, scope and time), non-functional requirements, customer satisfaction, other stakeholders' requirements, quality assurance, organisational benefits, and learning and growth. Further, there are several critical success factors including project management factors, team-related factors, organisational factors, business process factors, and governance and risk factors. There are core mechanisms that are pivotal to the success of the IT project which includes project visibility, teamwork, and effective communication