The Effects of Knowledge Embeddedness on the Diffusion of Case Technologies within Organizations

Systems development in organizations is well recognized as a knowledge-intensive effort. Since the relevant application domain knowledge is thinly spread across an organization, the acquisition, sharing, and integration of knowledge are significant activities during the development process. Advocates of computer-aided software engineering tools (CASE) claim that these tools offer a potentially valuable feature/\u27or facilitating such knowledge integration and management activities: the central repository\u27, which is a location for storing, retrieving, and maintaining a variety of applications development information. Yet, the effects of the CASE repository on the diffusion of the technology have received limited attention in prior research. This study exmnines whether the embedding ofapplications developmentknowledge withintheCASErepositoryinfluencesthediffusionoftheCASE technologyacross apphcations projects in organizations. We develop a consmmt called knowledge embeddedness, which refers to the extent to which relevant applications development knowledge is systematically populated within the CASE repository. Based on data gathered from 168 organizations, through a large-sample survey of CASE user groups, we found strong support for the relationship between kalowledge embeddedness and diffusion of CASE technology. These results have interesting implications for future research and practice

Hvilke utfordringer er involvert ved å benytte standardiserte arbeidsmetodikker i en konsulentorganisasjon? – en casestudie av DevOps

The influence of technological development and intense competition in the marketplaces demands on the use of standardized working methods in the software industry. The speed to issue frequent software releases and flexibility for changes has led to DevOps. DevOps is a standardized work methodology that has been praised for allegedly providing several benefits. Despite this attention to the benefits, it is also important to explore potential challenges. The purpose of this study is to investigate and identify the challenges that arise when using standardized work methodologies through a case study of DevOps in a consulting organization. The study deals with three research aspects: theoretical review, literature analysis and research interviews. The theoretical review is summarized in three categories: organizational culture, organizational learning and organizational management. Through the literature analysis, 13 primary challenges are identified based on previous empirical studies. Then, the actual process of implementing DevOps is summarized through interviews with seven respondents and compared to the challenges identified in the theoretical review and literature analysis. A thematic analysis is used to analyze the data. The clear challenges from the interviews were categorized into three main areas: 1) Culture, 2) Adaptation and 3) Organization. The paper concludes that the challenges linked to the use of standardized work methodologies in a consultancy organization are complex and compound. Both positive and negative impacts were uncovered using standardized work methodologies. Faster feedback, improved quality of software releases was among the positive effects, while silo thinking, and reduced collaboration were among the negatives. Optimizing the use of standardized work methodologies can be challenging, especially if the training and understanding are not present. Moreover, it is important that management encourages employees to use these methodologies, as their support is essential. A careful understanding and treatment of these challenges is essential to reap the potential benefits that such methods are expected to provide

Unleashing the Effectiveness of Process-oriented Information Systems: Problem Analysis, Critical Success Factors, Implications

Process-oriented information systems (IS) aim at the computerized support of business processes. So far, contemporary IS have often fail to meet this goal. To better understand this drawback, to systematically identify its rationales, and to derive critical success factors for business process support, we conducted three empirical studies: an exploratory case study in the automotive domain, an online survey among 79 IT professionals, and another online survey among 70 business process management (BPM) experts. This paper summarizes the findings of these studies, puts them in relation with each other, and uses them to show that "process-orientation" is scarce and "process-awareness" is needed in IS engineering