PHILOSOPHY AND INDUSTRIALIZED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

In this paper I will give a contribution to the creative conversation on future development and use of computer technology which Bo Dahlbom and Lars-Erik Janlert invited to in their paper published in the previous volume of SJIS.They argued that as software development now becomes industrialized, the need for organizational competence in this task will disappear. My position is rather the direct opposite: Software development will to a larger extent be taken over by industry. This implies, however, that the software systems being developed have to satisfy the requirements of several organizations, not only one as is the case in in-house development. And further, the software has to be integrated with several existing systems and components. Accordingly, future software development will demand more competent and more interdisciplinary development teams. I will argue that there will, in the future, be a huge demand for computer scientists with a thorough knowledge about organizations. Knowledge from both philosophy and the social sciences will be important. Industrialization of software development, more strategic use of software, and more integrated information systems are important trends causing this demand. Accordingly, I find the systems development educations in Scandinavia, criticized by Dahlbom and Janlert, highly relevant

Toward a Contingency View of Infrastructure and Knowledge: An Exploratory Study

IT infrastructures coupled with BPR initiatives have the potential of supporting and enabling new organiza- tional forms and helping firms face the challenges of globalization. The management literature gives prescrip- tions of how to set up, implement, and use infrastructures to reach a new IT capability; diminish transaction costs; and obtain competitive advantage. However, the scant empirical basis of such literature goes hand in hand with the lack of a theory linking the deployment of infrastructure to the nature of the business and the industry. This study of the deployment and use of infrastructures in six large multinationals sets the ground for a contingency approach to the whole issue. The different implementation processes and applications reported by the case studies suggest that there is much more variety than the “one best way” recommended by the literature. The economic theories of standards and of the firm as a repository of knowledge are good candidates to explain qualitatively the empirical evidence

The Dynamics of Architecture-Governance Configurations: An Assemblage Theory Approach

Research on digital infrastructures and platforms studies large-scale systems that are characterized by constant evolution, loosely defined boundaries, and growing complexity. This research demonstrates that evolution is driven by tensions (between stability and change), which are in turn determined by the systems’ architecture and governance structures. This paper argues that architecture and governance are intrinsically related and conceptualizes them as a unified entity that we call an architecture-governance (A-G) configuration. We focus on the dynamics of A-G configurations—i.e., how architecture and governance interact and, in combination, shape the evolution of digital infrastructures, while, at the same time, change as emergent outcomes of the evolution of infrastructures. Toward this end, this paper applies assemblage theory as a lens for conducting a longitudinal study on an electronic prescription infrastructure. We identify three overall A-G configurations corresponding to different phases of the evolution of the infrastructure. This paper makes three contributions. First, we theorize the A-G configuration as an intertwined intermediate-scale entity that represents the form of the infrastructure and simultaneously constitutes an assemblage in its own right. Second, we demonstrate how an A-G configuration and its infrastructure coevolved through a series of interacting stabilization and destabilization processes operating within and across levels. Finally, we argue that tensions driving the evolution of infrastructures are also dynamic and that, accordingly, the focus of study should be on the processes of stabilization and destabilization rather than on stability and change themselves

Towards a Design Theory of Usability and Generativity

Generativity is introduced and argued as essential as well as interdependent with usability in technology design. Where usability is well rooted in the design discourse, generativity, or how easy independent innovators can leverage on technology as a platform to develop new services and applications, has had little attention. We enquire into how the elements of usability and generativity are interrelated, how they contradict and how they can be combined. The mobile phone in general, as well as the Mobile Internet and iPhone in particular is used to illustrate our argument. We discuss different configurations of mobile phones, such as open, flexible and generative devices actively inviting and supporting free innovation and sophisticatedly designed appliances offering high quality services and superior usability. As an outcome of our discussion, we describe four different design approaches and ways to combine generativity and usability, and the properties of each of them

Local Actors Build Broadband Infastructure

This paper explores how local actors can play a role in bridging the rural broadband divide. It presents the bottom-up development of broadband infrastructure in the rural region of ‘Sogn & Fjordane’, Norway. To bridge the broadband divide individuals, businesses and public sector in several rural communities have joined forces and have taken an initiative to develop and operate local broadband infrastructure. Each initiative faces a different set of challenges depending on the local context. The paper open up the ‘black box’ of the innovative process to get a better understanding of the alternative process needed to develop broadband infrastructure in rural settings when the market forces does not apply. Two initiatives will be used to illustrate how the communities have assembled rural broadband assess using available knowledge and relational resources and infrastructure to achieve the goal, which is contrary to the traditional roll out of telecom infrastructure

MODELLING AND THE REPRESENTATION OF REALITY: SOME IMPLICATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY ON PRACTICAL SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

A conceptual analysis of modelling is undertaken. The major challenges posed by the growth of open and integrated systems prompts a careful rethinking of the basis of modelling. Particular attention is paid to object- oriented modelling. Our approach is characterized by an analytic framework borrowed from the philosophy of language called theories of reference (ToRs). This body of theories aims at accounting for how expressions of language may actually refer to the real world, very much the same task as in modelling. As opposed to most of the related work in the literature, we see this body of theories as a rich class. We argue that a number of the alternative approaches to modelling should be acknowledged to have important and relevant similarities with a rich body of ToRs. Our principal aim, besides the more immediate one to correct what we argue are philosophically inaccurate interpretations, is to encourage a more fruitful discussion regarding modelling. Working out a basis for modelling should not be performed after identifying short-comings in the most simplistic version of ToRs. This strategy is even less appealing when we know that these short-comings have been identified—and to a large extent even solved—a long time ago within the philosophy of language. We ought to learn to appreciate each of the ToRs and use them whenever appropriate; each of them has its merits. The relationship between theoretical discussions of modelling and the practice of systems development is also commente

ICT ARCHITECTURE AND PROJECT RISK IN INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL SETTINGS

This paper investigates the relationship between ICT architectures and project risk, in the context of the development of large inter-organizational systems. Although previous research has identified ICT architecture as a project risk, the focus has been on technical issues. Expanding this perspective, we investigate how technical architectures have bearings on the organization of projects, which may, to a large extent, determine the outcome of large information infrastructure initiatives. Our empirical evidence is ten cases from the health sector, collected over a period of 20 years. Due to space limitations only two cases are presented in this paper. A multi-level analysis allowed us to identify two main architectures; the institutional interface architecture (INA) and the service provider architecture (SPA). Through the careful study of ten cases over a period of 20 years, we present evidence for the high project risk of the INA and the viability of the SPA strategy. We find that the SPA has significant impact not only on the complexity of the technological solutions, but ? more importantly ? also on the complexity of the projects developing the solutions. The organizational complexity of the SPA based projects, and hence the necessary co-ordination activities, were dramatically reduced, and the success rate of the projects and the benefits for the users similarly increased. Our empirical evidence is ten cases from the health sector, collected over a period of 20 years. A multi-level analysis allowed us to identify two main approaches; the institutional interface architecture (INA) and the service provider architecture (SPA). Through the careful study of ten cases over a period of 20 years, we present evidence for the high project risk of the INA and the viability of the SPA strategy. We find that the SPA has significant impact not only on the complexity of the technological solutions, but - more importantly - also on the complexity of the projects developing the solutions. The organizational complexity of the SPA based projects, and hence the necessary co-ordination activities, were dramatically reduced, and the success rate of the projects and the benefits for the users similarly increased

SAP as Emergent Infrastructure in a Global Organization

This article presents and discusses globalization and IT infrastructure development and use in the European fertilizer division of Norsk Hydro. The main element of the infrastructure discussed is a new SAP based solution for this division. However, this solution is not an isolated artefact. Its important aspects are emerging, as it is becoming an integrated part of a larger infrastructure. An SAP installation in a global organization becomes a large and complex infrastructure. Just as much as this infrastructure is designed and controlled by managers and IT personnel, it becomes an actor shaping its environment as well as its own future. Like any actor, the technology builds alliances with others. However, the alliances might change over time. In the case reported here, SAP first got allied with top management, playing the role as a powerful change agent. Later on, however, SAP got allied with local managers and users, helping them bring the change process under their influence and into the speed they preferred. Currently, SAP is changing its role as it gets installed and integrated into a larger corporate infrastructure. As such, it becomes everybody\u27s enemy by resisting all organizational change. (1) More precisely the article addresses the emergence of an IT infrastructure in which SAP R/3 installations are important elements. Just for convenience, we denote this an SAP infrastructure. (2) An earlier version of this article was presented at and published in the proceedings from ICIS \u2798 in Helsinki

DISCURSIVE FORMATIONS AND SHIFTING STRATEGIES IN E-HEALTH PROGRAMMES

Research has shown that large IT programmes in e-government and e-health are challenging not only in terms of project failures and in terms of high costs, but also that the public and sectorial discourses greatly influences the trajectories and outcomes of mega-programmes. However, few IS studies have investigated this phenomenon in much depth, and the aim of this contribution is to shed more light on the relationship of discourse and mega-programmes. We use Foucault’s discourse concept to analyse discursive formations aiming to promote and establish solutions in e-health programs, but frame our investigation in information infrastructure theory. Our empirical evidence is a 15-year study of the growth of the national e-health infrastructure in Nor-way, where we analyse the interplay of the national eHealth discourse and the various programme initiatives. Our study offers two contributions. First, we demonstrate how the concept of discursive formation allows for an in-depth analysis of the role of discourse in large eHealth programs. Second, we show how shifts of discourse, combined with experienced problems in on-going programs, may disrupt the trajectories of large information infrastructures