IT BENEFITS MANGEMENT IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY

Information technology (IT) is increasingly presented as a driving force for service and efficiency improvement in local governments. However, achieving these goals in creating value from IT investments is a significant challenge for local government organizations. Practitioners and researchers have proposed numerous approaches to IT benefits management, but our knowledge of current practices and capabilities in local government IT management is still limited. Thus, in this paper we present an investigation of what characterizes IT benefits management in local government in order to understand and improve current practices. Through a comparative case study of two Danish municipalities, we have analyzed the different characteristics of benefits management. Based on this analysis we propose an initial framework for understanding IT benefits management in local government

Engaged Scholarship in IS Research

Engaged scholarship (Van de Ven 2007) offers a grand opportunity to address key challenges within the Information Systems (IS) discipline in a novel and constructive way. To explore this opportunity, we adapt the principles of engaged scholarship and apply them to analyze Scandinavian IS research through the lens of Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems (SJIS). We consider the Scandinavian tradition based on review papers in SJIS; we review all research papers published in SJIS over the past 20 years; finally, we discuss the possible role of engaged scholarship in shaping the future of Scandinavian IS research. We conclude with implications of engaged scholarship for IS research and practice in general

Organizational Influence Process in Software Process Improvement

In this paper we investigate organizational influence processes in software process improvement. We analyze an improvement effort through the lenses of organizational influence theory. Our analysis suggests that the framework can explain several significant organizational complexities in software process improvement. Further, the framework point to relevant actions for managers of software process improvement. This will have implications for the creation of effective software process improvement

Assessing Software Processes: Low Maturity or Sensible Practice

Software Process Improvement efforts rely heavily on the use of software capability maturity models. These models are used to identify problems in an organization’s software processes and point to, and prioritize, necessary improvements. Using models for this purpose will, however, automatically turn our attention to certain problems and issues and ignore others. In this paper we argue that the maturity models provide only one perspective on software processes and software process problems. We demonstrate how we, by looking at the organizational context of and the conflicts and uncertainties facing software projects may uncover alternative interpretations of software practices, and identify other problems. The implications for SPI and for the use of maturity models are discussed