Different Approaches to Evaluation of Information Systems

Outsourcing has been one of the most influential factors contributing to changes in information systems development in the last decade. The paper presents findings from an action research project of information systems development in an outsourcing context at a large university hospital in Denmark. The research, and general findings in the literature, indicates that the intended positive effects of outsourcing are hard to achieve without negative bi-products. Decision frameworks to guide the decision-making in this respect are evaluated based on the empirical findings. It is illustrated that the issues of flexibility and controllability are among the most important when an IT-department determines its outsourcing policies. Continuity issues are also important in understanding the relationship between buyer and seller in IS-acquisition as being more complex than in a simple market model

Making SPI Happen: The Roads to Process Implementation

Software Process Improvement (SPI) has been widely adopted by software organizations to enhance their capability to effectively deliver quality software. The approach has several positive merits. But many initiatives fail because the software processes are never adopted in practice. This paper offers a comparative analysis of the implementation strategies and outcomes of 18 SPI initiatives within Ericsson. The analysis draws upon concepts from the diffusion of innovations literature and leads to four different process implementation strategies – High Way, Country Road, Crossroads, and Dead End Street. These roads to software process implementation target different levels of practice and they rely on different mixtures of process push and practice pull. Our research suggests that the High Way with its combination of strong push and strong pull is the most promising road to implementation success, whereas the other roads imply serious barriers to success