Self-organizing, social and adaptive nature of agile information systems development teams : essays on leadership and learning

Information Systems Development (ISD) keeps changing and evolving rapidly in a huge variety of aspects, including the technologies that are developed, the methods that are applied, and the structures in which it is organized (Avison & Fitzgerald, 2006). Noticing the need for further understanding of adaptive outcomes such as learning and leadership in agile ISD teams, this research is divided into different phases. The first phase was the review of the literature on learning in the Information Systems literature within IS development teams. Findings from the systematic literature review are reported in Paper 1, entitled “Team Learning in Information Systems Development: A Literature Review”. The last phase includes a comprehensive case study through which Paper 2, entitled “Self-Organization and Leadership in Agile Teams: A Complexity Leadership Approach”, and Paper 3, entitled “Social Capital and Adaptive Outcomes in Agile Information Systems Development Teams”, are derived

Informal learning in Portuguese companies: the managers' perceptions

Regardless of the advances that technology and instructional design have brought, there is lack of information regarding an emergent topic of the 21stcentury business: informal learning. Academic research does not fully cover its state, and much less considers the Portuguese reality. Following this line of reasoning, the purpose of this dissertation is to address informal learning, withdrawing and clarify "How managers in companies operating in Portugal face informal learning". The study follows a qualitative method, with a content analysis of eleven interviews to managers from companies of diverse industries. The main results are presented in the form of four streams of analysis: "concept", "antecedents", "organizational supporting methods" and "outcomes". The findings show that, more than a modality of training, informal learning is a journey which shapes knowledge, through a combination of diversified learning tools and experiences. Results highlight that managers are aware of its importance and are giving way to disruptive pedagogical events in their respective companies, to ensure that employees "reflect" on their own learning needs, access key "organizational" resources and rely on "peer-to-peer interaction" to expand their knowledge. The results suggest that informal learning boosts communication and increases motivation and engagement level, contributing to improved organizational performance. The study finalizes with guidelines to reshape and complement traditional formal training programs, established in most organizations. These practical implications delineate a structure and advocate informal learning, delving into its design.Apesar dos avanços tecnológicos e da engenharia pedagógica tornaram possíveis, existe pouca informação relativamente a um tema emergente do contexto empresarial do século XXI: aprendizagem informal. A investigação académica não aborda por completo o seu estado de arte, e tampouco a realidade portuguesa. Assim, o propósito desta é abordar o tema da aprendizagem informal e clarificar "Como é que os gestores nas empresas a operar em Portugal encaram a aprendizagem informal". Este estudo segue o método qualitativo, com a análise de conteúdo de onze entrevistas a gestores, de empresas a operar em indústrias diversas. Os resultados principais são apresentados na forma de quatro linhas de análise: "conceito", "antecedentes", "métodos organizacionais de apoio" e "consequências". Os resultados demonstram que, mais do que uma modalidade de formação, a aprendizagem informal é uma jornada que reconfigura a aprendizagem, através da combinação de diversas técnicas e experiências de aprendizagem. Os resultados destacam que os gestores estão cientes da importância desta vertente da aprendizagem e estão a abrir caminho a eventos pedagógicos disruptivos, que asseguram que os colaboradores "refletem "acerca das suas necessidades de aprendizagem, acedem a "recursos organizacionais" chave e contam com a "interação com os pares" para alargar o seu conhecimento. Os resultados sugerem que a aprendizagem informal acelera a comunicação, aumenta a motivação e o nível de comprometimento, contribuindo para a melhoria do desempenho organizacional. O estudo conclui com linhas guia para moldar e complementar os programas tradicionais de aprendizagem formal, estabelecidos na maioria das empresas. Estas implicações práticas visam delinear uma estrutura e suportar a aprendizagem informal, investigando a sua conceção

Spacecraft software training needs assessment research

The problems were identified, along with their causes and potential solutions, that the management analysts were encountering in performing their jobs. It was concluded that sophisticated training applications would provide the most effective solution to a substantial portion of the analysts' problems. The remainder could be alleviated through the introduction of tools that could help make retrieval of the needed information from the vast and complex information resources feasible

Encouraging IS developers to learn business skills: an examination of the MARS model

Though prior research has recognized business skills as one of the keys to successful information system development, few studies have investigated the determinants of an IS developer’s behavioral intention to learn such skills. Based on the Motivation–Ability–Role Perception–Situational factors (i.e., the MARS model), this study argues that the intention of IS developers to acquire business skills is influenced by learning motivation (M), learning self-efficacy (A), change agent role perception (R), and situational support (S). Data collected from 254 IS developers are analyzed using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique. Results show that a developer’s intention to learn business skills is positively influenced by intrinsic learning motivation and both absolute and relative learning self-efficacy. Furthermore, in comparison to two other change agent roles, the advocate role leads to a significantly higher level of learning intention. Finally, work and non-work support positively influence both extrinsic and intrinsic learning motivation. Notably, non-work support has a greater impact on both absolute and relative learning self-efficacy. Our results suggest several theoretical and practical implications

Examining the Influencing Factors of Cross-Project Knowledge Transfer: An Empirical Study of IT Service Firms

Despite the significance of knowledge transfer in IT service industry, our understanding of knowledge transfer between projects remains limited. Different from the existing studies mainly examining knowledge transfer at organizational level or at individual level within the same project team, this study examines the factors that influence cross-project knowledge transfer in IT service firms. Based on the process logic of knowledge transfer, we develop an integrated theoretical model that posits that cross-project knowledge transfer is influenced by knowledge, transfer activities, project teams’ transfer capabilities, project team context and project task context. We use the recipient IT project implementation performance to measure the effectiveness of cross-project knowledge transfer. Results of the preliminary test show that the designed questionnaires have scalability for the latent constructs, and the theoretical model has its rationality to some extent. To fully assess our proposed research model, we will collect large data set and perform a complete data analysis to test our model. Our study contributes to existing research by focusing on cross-project knowledge transfer and empirically investigating the performance effect of project-related factors. Results of the study will have important implications for IT practitioners

Method Engineering as Design Science

In this paper, we motivate, devise, demonstrate, and evaluate an approach for the research-based development of information systems development methods (ISDMs). This approach, termed “method engineering as design science” (ME-DS), emerged from the identified need for scholars to develop ISDMs using proper research methods that meet the standards of both rigor and relevance. ISDMs occupy a position of central importance to information systems development and scholars have therefore invested extensive resources over the years in developing such methods. The method engineering (ME) discipline has developed different frameworks and methods to guide such development work and, for that purpose, they are well-suited. Still, there remains a need for applications and evaluations of ISDMs based on the demands for knowledge justification. Unfortunately, in many cases, scholars come up short with regard to how ISDMs are generated and empirically validated. While design science (DS) stresses knowledge justification, prominent DS approaches seem to be biased toward the development of IT artifacts, making this approach ill-suited for the development of method artifacts. We therefore propose eight principles that marry ME and DS, resulting in a process model with six activities to support research-based development of ISDMs. We demonstrate and evaluate ME-DS by assessing three existing research papers that propose ISDMs. These retrospectives show how ME-DS directs attention to certain aspects of the research process and provides support for future ISDM development

Exploring the Role of Dynamic Capabilities of Information System Development Project Teams

The increasingly dynamic external environment serves as one risk factor which undermines information system development (ISD) project performance. This highlights the importance of ISD teams having certain capabilities to respond to the external variations. In this study, we proposed that ISD teams can better react to external changes and achieve goals if they have sufficient dynamic capabilities: a combination of market/environment orientation, absorptive capacity, coordination capability and collective mind. We also proposed that a team has stronger dynamic capabilities when team members possess complementary expertise and know the expertise and tasks of others. In addition, after examining the moderating effect of knowing the expertise and tasks of others on the relationship between complementary expertise and team dynamic capabilities, we found that complementary expertise can substitute for knowing the location of expertise and complements knowing the tasks of others. Based on the results, implications for academia and practitioners are also provided

A model for analyzing changes in systems development practices

This paper introduces an empirically grounded model for analyzing intended and unintended changes in the prevalence of information systems development practices. In the model, any development practice observable in a development organization can be analyzed according to two dimensions: the intended scope of defined practices versus the actual scope of enacted practices. Furthermore, the model identifies eight types of change paths in systems development practices based on the two dimensions: emergence, entropy, initiation, abandonment, formalization, informalization, implementation, and recalcitrance. The eight types of change paths provide an integrated theoretical model for understanding how systems development practices can change in organizations and projects and among individual developers in a given context. The paper concludes by discussing how the model complements and integrates concepts of the contemporary research on systems development practices and outlines its potential uses for future research

Knowledge Location, Differentiation, Credibility and Coordination in Open Source Software Development Teams

A number of high-quality, large-scale, complex software systems, such as Linux, Apache, and Perl, have been successfully produced through the open source software (OSS) paradigm. This fact suggests that effective knowledge coordination must exist within some OSS teams. However, very few studies have attempted to explicate what these coordination mechanisms are. Therefore, this study examines how knowledge is coordinated between the members of an OSS team from the transactive memory system (TMS) perspective. Specifically, we investigate 1) the relation between TMS and the team members’ knowledge coordination behaviors, and 2) the relation between knowledge coordination and the team’s performance. By surveying 61 OSS project teams, the study validates the important role that TMS plays in OSS developers’ knowledge coordination behaviors, which, in turn, have positive influence on their projects’ technical achievement

Knowledge Transfer in Distributed Software Support with a Traceability Framework

Distributed software support has become increasingly common especially due to the rampant globalization of the software development process. Transfer of contextual knowledge across stakeholders involved in such distributed environments is critical to successful product development and support. Timely transfer of appropriate knowledge about issues faced in production environments to support teams and within support teams can result in significant economic benefits. Failure to share contextual knowledge and lack of common understanding significantly impact the quality of support. We draw from the literature on knowledge transfer and adaptive structuration theory to develop a theoretical basis and an approach to knowledge transfer in distributed software support contexts. Based on a multi-site case study, we develop a traceability framework to enhance shared understanding among team members. A qualitative evaluation of the usefulness of our traceability-based approach to knowledge transfer is presented