Exploring the Nuances of 'Wickedness' in Information Systems Development

Information Systems Development (ISD) practice is an inherently challenging undertaking, as exemplified by the high rate of ISD project failures. The scale of the challenge is often heightened in distributed environments where ISD practitioners can face considerable complexity, uncertainty, and contention. The concept of -˜wickedness’ epitomizes such challenges. However, ISD literature has yet to fully explore the nuances of wickedness found in ISD practices within distributed environments. To address this gap, we use a theoretical framework to analyze case study findings from an interdisciplinary connected health project. In particular, we break open the social aspects of wickedness and explore their impact on shared understanding and shared commitment in ISD projects. The paper highlights the implications that these nuances have for group decision-making in distributed ISD project teams

TOWARDS A FRAMEWORK FOR SHARED UNDERSTANDING AND SHARED COMMITMENT IN AGILE DISTRIBUTED ISD PROJECT TEAMS

Agile distributed Information Systems Development (ISD) is an innately social process in which distributed team members must continuously interact to develop new IT solutions. Existing literature suggests that shared understanding and shared commitment are essential for the effective functioning of agile distributed ISD project teams; however, the factors that shape the emergence of these two phenomena remain elusive. In this paper, we seek to develop a framework for investigating the interplay of factors that shape shared understanding and shared commitment during agile distributed ISD project team interactions. We draw on in-depth case study findings from an agile distributed ISD project called the “CHP project” which involved team members from diverse backgrounds such as academia, healthcare, and industry. The study reveals that shared understanding and shared commitment in agile distributed project teams are shaped by the dynamic interplay between macro-level (contextual) and micro-level (localised) factors. In particular, we find that diverse macro-level structures, identities, and cultures interplay with the micro-level vision, approach, and means of the project to impact shared understanding and shared commitment. Empirical findings also suggest that the absence of shared understanding and shared commitment can sometimes be constructive as conflict allows team members to air differences of opinio

The notion of lifeworld applied to information systems research

The paper revisits the notion of emancipation in Information System Development (ISD) that seems to have lost a battle against functionalist and managerialist approaches dominant in information system (IS) research and practice. Unlike functionalist and managerialist views, the emancipatory view of ISD, informed by Critical Theory, considers ISD as a site of organizational innovation, self-reflection and a struggle for humanization of work and liberation from different forms of domination. Critics of emancipatory project in IS and management literature question the very possibility of the emancipation and deplore its intellectualism, naivety and negativism. The purpose of this paper is to re-consider the notion of emancipatory ISD in the face of these criticisms and develop a more refined and nuanced view of micro-emancipation in ISD that is meaningful in practice. Informed by Alvesson and Willmott (1992, 1996) we explore, question, redefine and ground the micro-emancipatory ISD processes based on a longitudinal (15 year) study of a retail company. Our analysis and critical reflection demonstrate that micro-emancipatory ISD processes have real substance for the people involved, and that their meanings are neither fixed nor universal, but rather local, emergent, uncertain, and sometimes contradictory. This paper contributes an empirically grounded and practically relevant reconceptualization of micro-emancipatory ISD projects which reveals both its benefits and risks for all involved

Machine Learning System Development in Information Systems Development Praxis

Advancements in hardware and software have propelled machine learning (ML) solutions to become vital components of numerous information systems. This calls for research on the integration and evaluation of ML development practices within software companies. To investigate these issues, we conducted expert interviews with software and ML professionals. We structured the interviews around information systems development (ISD) models, which serve as conceptual frameworks that guide stakeholders throughout software projects. Using practice theory, we analyzed how software professionals perceive ML development within the context of ISD models and identified themes that characterize the transformative impact of ML development on these conceptual models. Our findings show that developer-driven conceptual models, such as DevOps and MLOps, have been embraced as common frameworks for developers and management to understand and guide the ML development processes. We observed ongoing shifts in predefined developer roles, wherein developers are increasingly adopting ML techniques and tools in their professional work. Overall, our findings underscore that ML technologies are becoming increasingly prominent in software projects across industries, and that the incorporation of ML development in ISD models is an ongoing, largely practice-driven, process

Exploring the Nuances of \u27Wickedness\u27 in Information Systems Development

Information Systems Development (ISD) practice is an inherently challenging undertaking, as exemplified by the high rate of ISD project failures. The scale of the challenge is often heightened in distributed environments where ISD practitioners can face considerable complexity, uncertainty, and contention. The concept of -˜wickedness’ epitomizes such challenges. However, ISD literature has yet to fully explore the nuances of wickedness found in ISD practices within distributed environments. To address this gap, we use a theoretical framework to analyze case study findings from an interdisciplinary connected health project. In particular, we break open the social aspects of wickedness and explore their impact on shared understanding and shared commitment in ISD projects. The paper highlights the implications that these nuances have for group decision-making in distributed ISD project teams

XP customer practices: A grounded theory

The Customer is a critical role in XP, but almost all XP practices are presented for developers by developers. While XP calls for Real Customer Involvement, it does not explain what XP Customers should do, nor how they should do it. Using Grounded Theory, we discovered eight customer practices used by successful XP teams: Customer Boot Camp, Customer’s Apprentice, Customer Pairing, and Programmer’s Holiday support the well-being and effectiveness of customers; Programmer On-site and Road shows support team and organization interactions; and Big Picture Up Front and Re-calibration support Customers steering the whole project. By adopting these processes, XP Customers and teams can work faster and more sustainably