Review of research in feature-based design

Research in feature-based design is reviewed. Feature-based design is regarded as a key factor towards CAD/CAPP integration from a process planning point of view. From a design point of view, feature-based design offers possibilities for supporting the design process better than current CAD systems do. The evolution of feature definitions is briefly discussed. Features and their role in the design process and as representatives of design-objects and design-object knowledge are discussed. The main research issues related to feature-based design are outlined. These are: feature representation, features and tolerances, feature validation, multiple viewpoints towards features, features and standardization, and features and languages. An overview of some academic feature-based design systems is provided. Future research issues in feature-based design are outlined. The conclusion is that feature-based design is still in its infancy, and that more research is needed for a better support of the design process and better integration with manufacturing, although major advances have already been made

The design research pyramid: a three layer framework

To support knowledge-based design development, considerable research has been conducted from various perspectives at different levels. The research on knowledge-based design support systems, generic design artefact and design process modelling, and the inherent quality of design knowledge itself are some examples of these perspectives. The structure underneath the research is not a disparate one but ordered. This paper provides an overview of some ontologies of design knowledge and a layered research framework of knowledge-based engineering design support. Three layers of research are clarified in this pattern: knowledge ontology, design knowledge model, and application. Specifically, the paper highlights ontologies of design knowledge by giving a set of classifications of design knowledge from different points of view. Within the discussion of design knowledge content ontology, two topologies, i.e., teleology and evolutionary, are identified

Organizational Change Perspectives on Software Process Improvement

Many software organizations have engaged in Software Process Improvement (SPI) and experienced the challenges related to managing such complex organizational change efforts. As a result, there is an increasing body of research investigating change management in SPI. To provide an overview of what we know and don’t know about SPI as organizational change, this paper addresses the following question: What are the dominant perspectives on SPI as organizational change in the literature and how is this knowledge presented and published? All journals on the AIS ranking list were screened to identify relevant articles and Gareth Morgan’s organizational metaphors (1996) were used to analyze this literature considering the following dimensions of each article: organizational perspective (metaphor), knowledge orientation (normative versus descriptive), theoretical emphasis (high versus low), main audience (practitioner versus academic), geographical origin (Scandinavia, the Americas, Europe, or the Asia-Pacific), and publication level (high versus low ranked journal). The review demonstrates that the literature on SPI as organizational change is firmly grounded in both theory and practice, and Scandinavia and the Americas are the main contributors to this research. The distribution of articles across Morgan’s metaphors is uneven and reveals knowledge gaps that present new avenues for research. The current literature offers important insights into organizational change in SPI from machine, organism, and brain perspectives. Practitioners may use these articles as a guide to SPI insights relevant to their improvement initiatives. In contrast, the impact of culture, dominance, psychic prison, flux and transformation, and politics in SPI have only received scant attention. We argue that these perspectives offer important insights into the challenges involved in managing change in SPI. Researchers are therefore advised to engage in new SPI research based on one or more of these perspectives. Overall, the paper provides a roadmap to help identify insights and specific articles related to SPI as organizational change.Software Process Improvement; Organizational Change; Organizational Metaphors; Images of Organization; Literature Review

Assessing partnership alternatives in an IT network employing analytical methods

One of the main critical success factors for the companies is their ability to build and maintain an effective collaborative network. This is more critical in the IT industry where the development of sustainable competitive advantage requires an integration of various resources, platforms, and capabilities provided by various actors. Employing such a collaborative network will dramatically change the operations management and promote flexibility and agility. Despite its importance, there is a lack of an analytical tool on collaborative network building process. In this paper, we propose an optimization model employing AHP and multiobjective programming for collaborative network building process based on two interorganizational relationships’ theories, namely, (i) transaction cost theory and (ii) resource-based view, which are representative of short-term and long-term considerations. The five different methods were employed to solve the formulation and their performances were compared. The model is implemented in an IT company who was in process of developing a large-scale enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The results show that the collaborative network formed through this selection process was more efficient in terms of cost, time, and development speed. The framework offers novel theoretical underpinning and analytical solutions and can be used as an effective tool in selecting network alternatives

Reviewing the Role of Culture in Strategic Information Systems Research: A Call for Prescriptive Theorizing on Culture Management

Culture is an important topic in strategic information systems (IS) research, particularly because information technology (IT) projects are often accompanied by cultural challenges. While culture has been widely analyzed in this discipline, there is a lack of research that systematically examines the role of culture in strategic IS research. With a structured literature review, we investigate the relation patterns between culture, strategy, and IS-related concepts in terms of dependent, moderating, and independent variables and the research approach in terms of descriptive, normative, and prescriptive. Four different patterns emerge, each one closely related to specific forms of theorizing and corresponding research designs. Research streams focusing on descriptive explanations of culture’s role are rather exhausted. IS research that builds on a normative understanding of culture exists in selected areas, while theorizing on the prescriptive management of culture has been largely neglected despite the relevance of cultural challenges in IS projects. We derive areas for future research and present two themes that emerged in our study to demonstrate how descriptive and normative approaches can provide a foundation for research on the prescriptive management of culture in strategic IS projects: the management of cultural clashes and the management of cultural identity

Career development, management, and planning from the vocational psychology perspective

This chapter is a consideration of career development, planning, and management from the perspective of vocational psychology. Before describing career development, management, and planning, the chapter begins with a brief overview of the discipline of vocational psychology, highlighting recent trends toward its redefinition. This is followed by a description of the significant constructs and theories of vocational psychology, along with the paradigms under which they are subsumed. In concluding, there is reiteration of a call for paradigmatic diversity in theory, research, and practice

The spiral of applied research: A methodological view on integrated design research

Abstract not available