VETSNET: A Case Study of Escalation and De-Escalation

Information systems development projects are more likely to fail than to succeed. One reason for this failure is a manager’s tendency to maintain commitment to projects despite receiving negative feedback. This phenomenon is known as escalation of commitment to a failing course of action, or simply escalation. This paper examines the case of escalation and de-escalation of commitment in the development of the Veteran’s Service Network (VETSNET) system for the United States Veteran’s Administration (VA). An exploratory content analysis of secondary data sources is performed to identify factors promoting escalation. Consistent with prior literature, support was found for project, organizational, and contextual determinants of escalation. The three relevant project factors were a perceived lock-in effect due to few alternatives, the long-term nature of the project, and ambiguity in the project’s requirements and schedule. Three organizational factors that contributed to escalation were poor software capability of VA, lack of dedicated leadership, and pervasiveness of an institutionalized “One VA” vision. Contextual factors in the form of congressional laws and oversight also impacted the VETSNET case. De-escalation was triggered by publicly committing to a deadline and changing top leadership

Appreciative Inquiry Into IT Projet Management: Understanding Win-Win Contracts

Traditional systems development research largely adopts a negative view and focuses on failures. In contrast, this study adopts a positive approach to improve current practices. We report from an action research project at a small software firm, TelSoft, in which we applied appreciative inquiry to develop information technology (IT) project management skills. The inquiry process offers two contributions. First, we demonstrate how appreciative principles and the four steps of initiating, inquiring, imagining, and innovating were used to learn about existing strengths and share visions of possible futures. Acknowledging that humans under these circumstances respond constructively to change, this led to a new development program for IT project managers. Second, we adapt \u27win-win contracts\u27 to develop generative metaphors for the core knowledge areas: scope, time, cost, and quality management. The resulting metaphors are grounded in the particular context at TelSoft and informed by Theory W. The paper presents the appreciative inquiry process in detail and discusses the results in relation to the IT project management literature

Assessing Blended Learning: Student Outcomes and Perceptions

This paper describes the conversion of an introductory computing course to the blended learning model at a small, public liberal arts college. Blended learning significantly reduces face-to-face instruction by incorporating rich, online learning experiences. We provide the motivation for the change and report initial results from a pilot study. More specifically, we compare student learning outcomes in the traditional and blended learning sections of the course and assess student satisfaction with blended learning. We found that student performance in the traditional and blended learning sections of the course were comparable. Students reported high levels of interaction with their instructor, and student satisfaction with the course increased by the end of the semester. We conclude by offering lessons learned for others interested in adopting blended learning

Evidence of traffic-related pollutant control in soil-based Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS)

SUDS are being increasingly employed to control highway runoff and have the potential to protect groundwater and surface water quality by minimising the risks of both point and diffuse sources of pollution. While these systems are effective at retaining polluted solids by filtration and sedimentation processes, less is known of the detail of pollutant behaviour within SUDS structures. This paper reports on investigations carried out as part of a co-ordinated programme of controlled studies and field measurements at soft-engineered SUDS undertaken in the UK, observing the accumulation and behaviour of traffic-related heavy metals, oil and PAHs. The field data presented were collected from two extended detention basins serving the M74 motorway in the south-west of Scotland. Additional data were supplied from an experimental lysimeter soil core leaching study. Results show that basin design influences pollutant accumulation and behaviour in the basins. Management and/or control strategies are discussed for reducing the impact of traffic-related pollutants on the aqueous environment

Medium-term performance and maintenance of SUDS:a case-study of Hopwood Park Motorway Service Area, UK

One of the main barriers to implementing SUDS is concern about performance and maintenance costs since there are few well-documented case-studies. This paper summarizes studies conducted between 2000 and 2008 of the performance and maintenance of four SUDS management trains constructed in 1999 at the Hopwood Park Motorway Service Area, central England. Assessments were made of the wildlife value and sedimentation in the SUDS ponds, the hydraulic performance of the coach park management train, water quality in all management trains, and soil/sediment composition in the grass filter strip, interceptor and ponds. Maintenance procedures and costs were also reviewed. Results demonstrate the benefits of a management train approach over individual SUDS units for flow attenuation, water treatment, spillage containment and maintenance. Peak flows, pond sediment depth and contaminant concentrations in sediment and water decreased through the coach park management train. Of the 2007 annual landscape budget of £15,000 for the whole site, the maintenance costs for SUDS only accounted for £2,500 compared to £4,000 for conventional drainage structures. Furthermore, since sediment has been attenuated in the management trains, the cost of sediment removal after the recommended period of three years was only £554 and, if the design is not compromised, less frequent removal will be required in future

From Dichotomy to Ambidexterity: Transcending Traditions in Software Management

Despite documented best practices and specialized tools, managers continue to face major challenges in software development. While managers are traditionally advised to choose between plan-driven and agile principles, software organizations increasingly face situations in which they need to take advantage of both. There is, however, limited actionable advice on how managers can shape the organizational context to develop such capability. We therefore combine theory on ambidexterity and contextualist inquiry to report from a two-year action research study at TelSoft. As a result, we propose a model for how software organizations can become ambidextrous through the processes of diagnosing, visioning, intervening, and practicing and discuss the implications for research and practice into software management

The Expanded Very Large Array

In almost 30 years of operation, the Very Large Array (VLA) has proved to be a remarkably flexible and productive radio telescope. However, the basic capabilities of the VLA have changed little since it was designed. A major expansion utilizing modern technology is currently underway to improve the capabilities of the VLA by at least an order of magnitude in both sensitivity and in frequency coverage. The primary elements of the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA) project include new or upgraded receivers for continuous frequency coverage from 1 to 50 GHz, new local oscillator, intermediate frequency, and wide bandwidth data transmission systems to carry signals with 16 GHz total bandwidth from each antenna, and a new digital correlator with the capability to process this bandwidth with an unprecedented number of frequency channels for an imaging array. Also included are a new monitor and control system and new software that will provide telescope ease of use. Scheduled for completion in 2012, the EVLA will provide the world research community with a flexible, powerful, general-purpose telescope to address current and future astronomical issues.Comment: Added journal reference: published in Proceedings of the IEEE, Special Issue on Advances in Radio Astronomy, August 2009, vol. 97, No. 8, 1448-1462 Six figures, one tabl

Using Active Learning, Group Formation, and Discussion to Increase Student Learning: A Business Intelligence Skills Analysis

This paper describes the process used to integrate active learning, group formation, and classroom discussion in a college-level business intelligence class. To assess the impact of active learning and discussion on learning outcomes, we captured student performance on their final data challenge term project across increasingly collaborative and discussion-based sections. To stimulate reflective discussion and to promote cooperative and collaborative teamwork during in-class assignments, we established small groups based on an incoming business intelligence-related skills self-assessment. Our regression results indicate that a skills-based group formation approach enabled an enhanced level of in-class assignment completion and promoted reflective discussion in the classroom. We also find that active learning and discussion increased appropriation of business intelligence concepts and analytical tools. The inherent nuances of business intelligence education, as well as the implications and strategies for improved classroom discussion in a technology class setting, are reviewed

A Proposed Index for Collaboration and Cooperation in Undergraduate Project Teams

All business teams require a mix of individual and group work. This study seeks to identify the levels of individual and group participation necessary to successfully complete projects in the undergraduate classroom. The levels of effort based on time, graded output, and satisfaction will be indexed on a scale from cooperative (working individually) to collaborative (working together). Initial analysis suggests that teams which predominately cooperate are often more successful than teams that predominately collaborate

Convener

Silas House will be convening this session of three of his best students, all Appalachian Studies minors at Berea College