Exploring the nature of Information Systems Development Methodology: A Synthesized View Based on a Literature Review
---
paper_title: Towards a distinctive body of knowledge for information systems experts: coding ISD process knowledge in two IS journals

paper_content:

This paper introduces the idea of coding a practically relevant body of knowledge (BoK) in Information Systems (IS) that could have major benefits for the field. In its main part, the paper focuses on the question if and how an underlying body of action-oriented knowledge for IS experts could be distilled from the IS research literature. For this purpose the paper identifies five knowledge areas as the most important parts for an IS expert's BoK. Two of these are claimed as dis- tinct areas of competence for IS experts: IS application knowledge and IS devel- opment (ISD) process knowledge. The paper focuses particularly on ISD process knowledge because it allows the organizing of practically relevant IS knowledge in an action-oriented way. The paper presents some evidence for the claim that a considerable body of practically relevant IS process knowledge might, indeed, exist, but also notes that it is highly dispersed in the IS literature. It then argues that the IS research community should take stock of this knowledge and organize it in an action-oriented way. Based on results from prior work it proposes a four-level hierarchical coding scheme for this purpose. In order to test the idea of coding action-oriented knowledge for IS experts, the paper reports the results of a coded literature analysis of ISD research articles published from 1996 to 2000 in two leading IS journals - Information Systems Journal and MIS Quarterly. The results suggest that ISD approaches form a useful framework for organizing practically rel- evant IS knowledge.
---
paper_title: Transfer of development process knowledge through method adaptation and implementation

paper_content:

Information Systems Engineering (ISE) is an interdisciplinary approach to enable the realisation of successful information systems in a broad sense. ISE comprises a number of areas of expertise that must be integrated and managed in order to build information systems. Since ISE is becoming progressively more complex there is an increasing need to codify and manage knowledge within and about the ISE process. From a knowledge perspective the different model types created in an ISE project are examples of codified knowledge about the future system. The descriptions of how work should proceed are examples of codified knowledge of the process of creating the system. In summary, one of the main concerns in the ISE process is to manage the substantial amount of knowledge associated with the process as such as well as with the target domain of the actual development project and the developed software. In the thesis I recognise three areas of knowledge in ISE: development process knowledge, target domain knowledge, and software knowledge. Furthermore, I use a set of knowledge perspectives in order to describe and analyse ISE from a knowledge perspective. Finally, I introduce three aspects: organisation, artefact, and individual in order to be able to discuss and analyse how methods are actually used in organisations and how they affect the work situation. The results are presented in the form of a framework for knowledge transfer in ISE that comprises the knowledge perspective, the knowledge area, and the aspect of knowledge transfer. The framework is thus used to analyse the results from the six papers enclosed in the thesis. The results also comprise an empirical characterisation of a method in use which is based on data collected during an ethnographical study. Finally the results are made concrete in the form of a pattern collection for method introduction and method use.
---
paper_title: Learning failure in information systems development

paper_content:

Information systems development is a high-risk undertaking, and fail- ures remain common despite advances in development tools and technologies. In this paper, we argue that one reason for this is the collapse of organizational intelligence required to deal with the complexities of systems development. Orga- nizations fail to learn from their experience in systems development because of limits of organizational intelligence, disincentives for learning, organizational designs and educational barriers. Not only have many organizations failed to learn, but they have also learned to fail. Over time they accept and expect poor perfor- mance while creating organizational myths that perpetuate short-term optimization. This paper illustrates learning failure in systems development and recommends tactics for overcoming it.
---
paper_title: Amethodical systems development : the deferred meaning of systems development methods

paper_content:

Abstract This paper contributes a deeper understanding of the concept of methodical information systems development. The method concept is an assumption underlying much of the research into systems analysis, design and implementation. A postmodern deconstruction technique is used to discover a deferred concept: amethodical systems development. The methodical and amethodical views are developed in terms of their assumptions and their ideal characteristics. Our understanding of these two opposing views of systems development is important as a means to refocus our aims in research, practice and education in information systems development.
---
paper_title: A Dynamic Framework for Classifying Information Systems Development Methodologies and Approaches

paper_content:

This paper proposes a four-tiered framework for classifying and understanding the myriad of information systems development methodologies that have been proposed in the literature. The framework is divided into four levels: paradigms, approaches, methodologies, and techniques. This paper primarily focuses on the two intermediate levels: approaches and methodologies. The principal contribution of the framework is in providing a new kind of "deep structure" for better understanding the intellectual core of methodologies and approaches and their interrelationships. It achieves this goal by articulating a parsimonious set of foundational features that are shared by subsets of methodologies and approaches. To illustrate how the framework's deep structure provides a better understanding of methodologies' intellectual core, it is applied to eleven examples. The paper also introduces and illustrates a procedure for "accommodating" and "assimilating" new information systems development methodologies in addition to the eleven already discussed. This procedure provides the framework with the necessary flexibility for handling the continuing proliferation of new methodologies.
---
paper_title: Reflective Systems Development

paper_content:

The ways in which we approach systems development practice and research play a major role in shaping professional development within our field. This paper investigates a particular approach, Reflective Systems Development, which has been developed over the past twenty years by a small group of mainly Danish researchers in collaboration with practitioners and students. In this approach, researchers focus on how computer-based information systems are developed in practice; they emphasize the important role played by the local organizational environment; and they combine interpretive understandings of practice with normative propositions to support professional development. The purpose of the paper is to present and evaluate the underlying assumptions and practices of Reflective Systems Development focusing on the following questions: How should we understand, support, and improve practice? How should we organize and conduct research? How should we relate practice and research? The argument draws on the literature on systems development and on the author's experience as an active participant in developing the approach.
---
paper_title: Against method-ism: Exploring the limits of method

paper_content:

Provides a critique of method‐ism ‐ the view that methodology is necessary and sufficient for information systems’ development success; method‐ism presupposes also that systems developers understand the value of methodology and will prefer to work with it rather than without it. Argues, against method‐ism, that method flows from understanding, and not the reverse. Hence method cannot be a substitute for understanding. Discusses the way in which humans tend to interact with the world by means of ready‐to‐hand tools, using the ideas of Heidegger and Ihde. Shows that tools are used only if available (ready‐to‐hand) in the world of doing. If a methodology is not ready‐to‐hand, it will break down and be ignored in the pragmatics of getting the job done. Presents a number of arguments why methodologies by design will tend to break down (not be ready‐to‐hand) and hence be discarded.
---
paper_title: General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications

paper_content:

Keywords: Systeme ; systemique ; theorie Reference Record created on 2005-06-20, modified on 2016-08-08
---
paper_title: Method engineering: engineering of information systems development methods and tools

paper_content:

This paper proposes the term method engineering for the research field of the construction of information systems development methods and tools. Some research issues in method engineering are identified. One major research topic in method engineering is discussed in depth: situational methods, i.e. the configuration of a project approach that is tuned to the project at hand. A language and support tool for the engineering of situational methods are discussed.
---
paper_title: N degrees of separation: multi-dimensional separation of concerns

paper_content:

Done well, separation of concerns can provide many software engineering benefits, including reduced complexity, improved reusability, and simpler evolution. The choice of boundaries for separate concerns depends on both requirements on the system and on the kind(s) of decomposition and composition a given formalism supports. The predominant methodologies and formalisms available, however, support only orthogonal separations of concerns, along single dimensions of composition and decomposition. These characteristics lead to a number of well-known and difficult problems. The paper describes a new paradigm for modeling and implementing software artifacts, one that permits separation of overlapping concerns along multiple dimensions of composition and decomposition. This approach addresses numerous problems throughout the software lifecycle in achieving well-engineered, evolvable, flexible software artifacts and traceability across artifacts.
---
paper_title: How organizations adopt information system process innovations: a longitudinal analysis

paper_content:

This paper describes how three organizations adopted information system (IS) process innovations (ISPI) using a sample of over 200 adoptions over a period of four decades. Four distinct periods that roughly follow Friedman's and Cornford's categorization of IS development eras are analysed in terms of the rate and distribution of ISPI adoptions. These eras include early computing (1954-1965), mainframe (1965-1983), office computing (1983-1991), and distributed applications (1991-1997). We distinguish the following four types of ISPIs: base line technologies (T); tools (TO); description methods (D); and managerial innovations (M). We analyse for each era the rate of adopting different types of ISPIs, identify who made adoption decisions for those ISPI types and determine whether these ISPIs originated internally or externally. Within the three organizations, the types and rates of SPI adoptions varied significantly. These variations can be attributed to learning mechanisms, the influence of legacy platforms and differences in the boundary spanning activities. With the exception of base line technologies, project managers were the most prominent decision-maker group, suggesting a situated ISPI adoption process. In most ISPI adoptions, internal search and experiments were the main source of innovation. The variation in ISPI adoptions can thus be partly explained by development environments, the types of IS involved and attention bias.
---
paper_title: The Individual Deployment of Systems Development Methodologies

paper_content:

This paper reports results of a survey that investigated factors affecting the deployment of systems development methodologies by individual systems developers. The results show that relative advantage, compatibility and trialability of a systems development methodology, an individual's experience in systems development and his/her experience in systems development methodologies, management support and peer developer support, and uncertainty about the continued existence of the IS department significantly influence the deployment of systems development methodologies.
---
paper_title: The Assimilation of Software Process Innovations: An Organizational Learning Perspective

paper_content:

The burden of organizational learning surrounding software process innovations SPIs-and complex organizational technologies in general-creates a "knowledge barrier" that inhibits diffusion. Attewell Attewell, P. 1992. Technology diffusion and organizational learning the case of business computing. Organ. Sci.31 1-19. has suggested that many organizations will defer adoption until knowledge barriers have been sufficiently lowered; however, this leaves open the question of which organizations should be more likely to innovate, even in face of high knowledge barriers. It is proposed here that organizations will innovate in the presence of knowledge barriers when the burden of organizational learning is effectively lower, either because much of the required know-how already exists within the organization, or because such knowledge can be acquired more easily or more economically. Specifically, it is hypothesized that organizations will have a greater propensity to initiate and sustain the assimilation of SPIs when they have a greater scale of activities over which learning costs can be spread learning-related scale, more extensive existing knowledge related to the focal innovation related knowledge, and a greater diversity of technical knowledge and activities diversity. An empirical study using data on the assimilation of object-oriented programming languages OOPLs by 608 information technology organizations strongly confirmed the importance of the three hypothesized factors in explaining the assimilation of OOPLs.
---
paper_title: Four paradigms of information systems development

paper_content:

Developing computer-based information systems necessarily involves making a number of implicit and explicit assumptions. The authors examine four different approaches to information systems development.
---
paper_title: An Integrative Framework of the Information Systems Development Process

paper_content:

Despite more than 25 years of research on the processes and outcomes of information systems development in organizations, deficiencies exist in our knowledge about the effective management of complex systems development processes. Although individual studies have generated a wealth of findings, there is a need for a cumulative framework that facilitates interpretation of what has been learned and what needs to be learned about the process of information systems development. This paper reviews prior research on ISD processes and identifies the different types of contributions that have been made to our growing knowledge. More important, it generates a cumulative framework for understanding the process of ISD that could provide a valuable template for future research and practice.
---
paper_title: Investigating Determinants of Software Developers' Intentions to Follow Methodologies

paper_content:

Seeking to improve software development, many organizations attempt to deploy formalized methodologies. This typically entails substantial behavioral change by software developers away from previous informal practices toward conformance with the methodology. Developers' resistance to such change often results in failure to fully deploy and realize the benefits of the methodology. The present research draws upon theories of intention formation and innovation diffusion to advance knowledge about why developers accept or resist following methodologies. Results from a field study within a large organization indicate that developers' intentions are directly influenced by their perceptions of usefulness, social pressure, compatibility, and organizational mandate. This pattern of intention determinants is quite different from that typically observed in studies of information technology tool adoption, revealing several key differences between the domains of tool versus methodology adoption. Specifically, although organizational mandate had a significant effect on intentions, the strength of its direct influence was the lowest among the four significant constructs, and usefulness, compatibility, and social pressure all influenced intentions directly, above and beyond the effects of organizational mandate. The findings suggest, contrary to popular belief, that an organizational mandate is not sufficient to guarantee use of the methodology in a sustained manner.
---
paper_title: Method engineering: engineering of information systems development methods and tools

paper_content:

This paper proposes the term method engineering for the research field of the construction of information systems development methods and tools. Some research issues in method engineering are identified. One major research topic in method engineering is discussed in depth: situational methods, i.e. the configuration of a project approach that is tuned to the project at hand. A language and support tool for the engineering of situational methods are discussed.
---
paper_title: Reflective Systems Development

paper_content:

The ways in which we approach systems development practice and research play a major role in shaping professional development within our field. This paper investigates a particular approach, Reflective Systems Development, which has been developed over the past twenty years by a small group of mainly Danish researchers in collaboration with practitioners and students. In this approach, researchers focus on how computer-based information systems are developed in practice; they emphasize the important role played by the local organizational environment; and they combine interpretive understandings of practice with normative propositions to support professional development. The purpose of the paper is to present and evaluate the underlying assumptions and practices of Reflective Systems Development focusing on the following questions: How should we understand, support, and improve practice? How should we organize and conduct research? How should we relate practice and research? The argument draws on the literature on systems development and on the author's experience as an active participant in developing the approach.
---
paper_title: The diffusion of information systems development methods

paper_content:

This paper describes an investigation into the diffusion of information systems development methods (ISDMs). Such methods have a critical strategic impact on organizational performance in that they are the means for constructing, adapting and renewing the IS infrastructure in line with organizational strategy. We portray method diffusion as an instance of technological diffusion. Technological diffusion is normally portrayed within the IS industry as an overtly rational process. In this paper we postulate that the external diffusion process of ISDMs has many features in common with broader social movements. We maintain that the diffusion of ISDMs is a key example of knowledge-based diffusion and use the case of the Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), a public domain standard method for Rapid Application Development (RAD), to refine a model of knowledge-based diffusion. Such a framework is important for understanding how such methods shape the community of practice in the IS development domain. Specifically how organizations adapt, deploy and use such knowledge. In further work we intend to verify aspects of this knowledge-based perspective in longitudinal and further case-study work.
---
paper_title: Deployment of systems development methodologies: Perceptual congruence between IS managers and systems developers

paper_content:

We studied the differences in perception between IS managers and developers about the deployment of systems development methodologies. The results indicated that IS managers were generally more positive about systems development methodologies than were developers. IS managers perceived methodology support for organizational alignment, and methodology impact on the productivity and quality of the development process to be significantly more important than did system developers, who, in turn, perceived methodology support for verification and validation significantly higher than did IS managers. These differences can be explained by the relevance and importance of the support to the task that the stakeholders perform.
---
paper_title: The Duality of Technology: Rethinking the Concept of Technology in Organizations

paper_content:

This paper develops a new theoretical model with which to examine the interaction between technology and organizations. Early research studies assumed technology to be an objective, external force that would have deterministic impacts on organizational properties such as structure. Later researchers focused on the human aspect of technology, seeing it as the outcome of strategic choice and social action. This paper suggests that either view is incomplete, and proposes a reconceptualization of technology that takes both perspectives into account. A theoretical model—the structurational model of technology—is built on the basis of this new conceptualization, and its workings explored through discussion of a field study of information technology. The paper suggests that the reformulation of the technology concept and the structurational model of technology allow a deeper and more dialectical understanding of the interaction between technology and organizations. This understanding provides insight into the limits and opportunities of human choice, technology development and use, and organizational design. Implications for future research of the new concept of technology and the structurational model of technology are discussed.
---
paper_title: An Integrative Framework of the Information Systems Development Process

paper_content:

Despite more than 25 years of research on the processes and outcomes of information systems development in organizations, deficiencies exist in our knowledge about the effective management of complex systems development processes. Although individual studies have generated a wealth of findings, there is a need for a cumulative framework that facilitates interpretation of what has been learned and what needs to be learned about the process of information systems development. This paper reviews prior research on ISD processes and identifies the different types of contributions that have been made to our growing knowledge. More important, it generates a cumulative framework for understanding the process of ISD that could provide a valuable template for future research and practice.
---
paper_title: The Duality of Technology: Rethinking the Concept of Technology in Organizations

paper_content:

This paper develops a new theoretical model with which to examine the interaction between technology and organizations. Early research studies assumed technology to be an objective, external force that would have deterministic impacts on organizational properties such as structure. Later researchers focused on the human aspect of technology, seeing it as the outcome of strategic choice and social action. This paper suggests that either view is incomplete, and proposes a reconceptualization of technology that takes both perspectives into account. A theoretical model—the structurational model of technology—is built on the basis of this new conceptualization, and its workings explored through discussion of a field study of information technology. The paper suggests that the reformulation of the technology concept and the structurational model of technology allow a deeper and more dialectical understanding of the interaction between technology and organizations. This understanding provides insight into the limits and opportunities of human choice, technology development and use, and organizational design. Implications for future research of the new concept of technology and the structurational model of technology are discussed.
---
paper_title: The Individual Deployment of Systems Development Methodologies

paper_content:

This paper reports results of a survey that investigated factors affecting the deployment of systems development methodologies by individual systems developers. The results show that relative advantage, compatibility and trialability of a systems development methodology, an individual's experience in systems development and his/her experience in systems development methodologies, management support and peer developer support, and uncertainty about the continued existence of the IS department significantly influence the deployment of systems development methodologies.
---
paper_title: An industry analysis of developer beliefs about object-oriented systems development

paper_content:

Object-oriented systems development (OOSD) is a recent innovation in software development that is often cited as a viable solution to many of the ills plaguing this critical industry. However, some express doubt about the potentially over-hyped claims of OOSD. While there are many accounts of the successful application of OOSD, widespread acceptance has not been achieved, implying that OOSD may not be viewed as positively by industry as the literature would suggest.To address this dilemma, the present study examines a wide variety of specific beliefs about OOSD as provided by a survey of 150 systems developers. Using Ajzen's (1988) theory of planned behavior as a foundation, an exploratory factor analysis is performed to determine which specific beliefs about OOSD are indeed salient indicators of three fundamental concepts that should influence acceptance: the usefulness of OOSD, social pressure to use OOSD, and the ease of using OOSD. The results of the study reveal that while many specific beliefs about OOSD are indeed salient indicators of these more fundamental, potentially influential factors, many other beliefs are not. This study should prove helpful to practitioners who are considering the adoption or continued use of OOSD, and to researchers who are interested in the diffusion of innovations in general
---
paper_title: A knowledge-focused perspective on the diffusion and adoption of complex information technologies: the BPR example

paper_content:

This paper presents a knowledge-focused perspective for the development of a model to explain the diffusion and adoption of complex integrating technologies. Business process re-engineering (BPR) is used as the example to illustrate the model. However, while BPR is used to illustrate our argument, the model that is developed is relevant to understanding the innovation processes surrounding any complex IT-based innovation. It is argued that the strength of this diffusion model is that it focuses not on the spread of particular technological artifacts (whether it is BPR or any other IT-based innovation), but on the spread of the ideas and knowledge underpinning the technology. In particular, the model draws attention to the ways in which technology suppliers commodify knowledge and present ‘packaged’ solutions. This creates problems for potential users who need to unpack this knowledge and integrate it with existing organizational knowledge. The diffusion and adoption of innovations is thus seen as a process of integrating knowledge across disparate communities. Such knowledge integration, however, is difficult. This can help to explain the apparent contradiction between the limited success rate of BPR and its widespread diffusion among western firms.
---
paper_title: Investigating Determinants of Software Developers' Intentions to Follow Methodologies

paper_content:

Seeking to improve software development, many organizations attempt to deploy formalized methodologies. This typically entails substantial behavioral change by software developers away from previous informal practices toward conformance with the methodology. Developers' resistance to such change often results in failure to fully deploy and realize the benefits of the methodology. The present research draws upon theories of intention formation and innovation diffusion to advance knowledge about why developers accept or resist following methodologies. Results from a field study within a large organization indicate that developers' intentions are directly influenced by their perceptions of usefulness, social pressure, compatibility, and organizational mandate. This pattern of intention determinants is quite different from that typically observed in studies of information technology tool adoption, revealing several key differences between the domains of tool versus methodology adoption. Specifically, although organizational mandate had a significant effect on intentions, the strength of its direct influence was the lowest among the four significant constructs, and usefulness, compatibility, and social pressure all influenced intentions directly, above and beyond the effects of organizational mandate. The findings suggest, contrary to popular belief, that an organizational mandate is not sufficient to guarantee use of the methodology in a sustained manner.
---
paper_title: How organizations adopt information system process innovations: a longitudinal analysis

paper_content:

This paper describes how three organizations adopted information system (IS) process innovations (ISPI) using a sample of over 200 adoptions over a period of four decades. Four distinct periods that roughly follow Friedman's and Cornford's categorization of IS development eras are analysed in terms of the rate and distribution of ISPI adoptions. These eras include early computing (1954-1965), mainframe (1965-1983), office computing (1983-1991), and distributed applications (1991-1997). We distinguish the following four types of ISPIs: base line technologies (T); tools (TO); description methods (D); and managerial innovations (M). We analyse for each era the rate of adopting different types of ISPIs, identify who made adoption decisions for those ISPI types and determine whether these ISPIs originated internally or externally. Within the three organizations, the types and rates of SPI adoptions varied significantly. These variations can be attributed to learning mechanisms, the influence of legacy platforms and differences in the boundary spanning activities. With the exception of base line technologies, project managers were the most prominent decision-maker group, suggesting a situated ISPI adoption process. In most ISPI adoptions, internal search and experiments were the main source of innovation. The variation in ISPI adoptions can thus be partly explained by development environments, the types of IS involved and attention bias.
---
paper_title: The Assimilation of Software Process Innovations: An Organizational Learning Perspective

paper_content:

The burden of organizational learning surrounding software process innovations SPIs-and complex organizational technologies in general-creates a "knowledge barrier" that inhibits diffusion. Attewell Attewell, P. 1992. Technology diffusion and organizational learning the case of business computing. Organ. Sci.31 1-19. has suggested that many organizations will defer adoption until knowledge barriers have been sufficiently lowered; however, this leaves open the question of which organizations should be more likely to innovate, even in face of high knowledge barriers. It is proposed here that organizations will innovate in the presence of knowledge barriers when the burden of organizational learning is effectively lower, either because much of the required know-how already exists within the organization, or because such knowledge can be acquired more easily or more economically. Specifically, it is hypothesized that organizations will have a greater propensity to initiate and sustain the assimilation of SPIs when they have a greater scale of activities over which learning costs can be spread learning-related scale, more extensive existing knowledge related to the focal innovation related knowledge, and a greater diversity of technical knowledge and activities diversity. An empirical study using data on the assimilation of object-oriented programming languages OOPLs by 608 information technology organizations strongly confirmed the importance of the three hypothesized factors in explaining the assimilation of OOPLs.
---
paper_title: Towards a distinctive body of knowledge for information systems experts: coding ISD process knowledge in two IS journals

paper_content:

This paper introduces the idea of coding a practically relevant body of knowledge (BoK) in Information Systems (IS) that could have major benefits for the field. In its main part, the paper focuses on the question if and how an underlying body of action-oriented knowledge for IS experts could be distilled from the IS research literature. For this purpose the paper identifies five knowledge areas as the most important parts for an IS expert's BoK. Two of these are claimed as dis- tinct areas of competence for IS experts: IS application knowledge and IS devel- opment (ISD) process knowledge. The paper focuses particularly on ISD process knowledge because it allows the organizing of practically relevant IS knowledge in an action-oriented way. The paper presents some evidence for the claim that a considerable body of practically relevant IS process knowledge might, indeed, exist, but also notes that it is highly dispersed in the IS literature. It then argues that the IS research community should take stock of this knowledge and organize it in an action-oriented way. Based on results from prior work it proposes a four-level hierarchical coding scheme for this purpose. In order to test the idea of coding action-oriented knowledge for IS experts, the paper reports the results of a coded literature analysis of ISD research articles published from 1996 to 2000 in two leading IS journals - Information Systems Journal and MIS Quarterly. The results suggest that ISD approaches form a useful framework for organizing practically rel- evant IS knowledge.
---
paper_title: Reflective Systems Development

paper_content:

The ways in which we approach systems development practice and research play a major role in shaping professional development within our field. This paper investigates a particular approach, Reflective Systems Development, which has been developed over the past twenty years by a small group of mainly Danish researchers in collaboration with practitioners and students. In this approach, researchers focus on how computer-based information systems are developed in practice; they emphasize the important role played by the local organizational environment; and they combine interpretive understandings of practice with normative propositions to support professional development. The purpose of the paper is to present and evaluate the underlying assumptions and practices of Reflective Systems Development focusing on the following questions: How should we understand, support, and improve practice? How should we organize and conduct research? How should we relate practice and research? The argument draws on the literature on systems development and on the author's experience as an active participant in developing the approach.
---
paper_title: The diffusion of information systems development methods

paper_content:

This paper describes an investigation into the diffusion of information systems development methods (ISDMs). Such methods have a critical strategic impact on organizational performance in that they are the means for constructing, adapting and renewing the IS infrastructure in line with organizational strategy. We portray method diffusion as an instance of technological diffusion. Technological diffusion is normally portrayed within the IS industry as an overtly rational process. In this paper we postulate that the external diffusion process of ISDMs has many features in common with broader social movements. We maintain that the diffusion of ISDMs is a key example of knowledge-based diffusion and use the case of the Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), a public domain standard method for Rapid Application Development (RAD), to refine a model of knowledge-based diffusion. Such a framework is important for understanding how such methods shape the community of practice in the IS development domain. Specifically how organizations adapt, deploy and use such knowledge. In further work we intend to verify aspects of this knowledge-based perspective in longitudinal and further case-study work.
---
paper_title: Transfer of development process knowledge through method adaptation and implementation

paper_content:

Information Systems Engineering (ISE) is an interdisciplinary approach to enable the realisation of successful information systems in a broad sense. ISE comprises a number of areas of expertise that must be integrated and managed in order to build information systems. Since ISE is becoming progressively more complex there is an increasing need to codify and manage knowledge within and about the ISE process. From a knowledge perspective the different model types created in an ISE project are examples of codified knowledge about the future system. The descriptions of how work should proceed are examples of codified knowledge of the process of creating the system. In summary, one of the main concerns in the ISE process is to manage the substantial amount of knowledge associated with the process as such as well as with the target domain of the actual development project and the developed software. In the thesis I recognise three areas of knowledge in ISE: development process knowledge, target domain knowledge, and software knowledge. Furthermore, I use a set of knowledge perspectives in order to describe and analyse ISE from a knowledge perspective. Finally, I introduce three aspects: organisation, artefact, and individual in order to be able to discuss and analyse how methods are actually used in organisations and how they affect the work situation. The results are presented in the form of a framework for knowledge transfer in ISE that comprises the knowledge perspective, the knowledge area, and the aspect of knowledge transfer. The framework is thus used to analyse the results from the six papers enclosed in the thesis. The results also comprise an empirical characterisation of a method in use which is based on data collected during an ethnographical study. Finally the results are made concrete in the form of a pattern collection for method introduction and method use.
---
paper_title: The Individual Deployment of Systems Development Methodologies

paper_content:

This paper reports results of a survey that investigated factors affecting the deployment of systems development methodologies by individual systems developers. The results show that relative advantage, compatibility and trialability of a systems development methodology, an individual's experience in systems development and his/her experience in systems development methodologies, management support and peer developer support, and uncertainty about the continued existence of the IS department significantly influence the deployment of systems development methodologies.
---
paper_title: The diffusion of information systems development methods

paper_content:

This paper describes an investigation into the diffusion of information systems development methods (ISDMs). Such methods have a critical strategic impact on organizational performance in that they are the means for constructing, adapting and renewing the IS infrastructure in line with organizational strategy. We portray method diffusion as an instance of technological diffusion. Technological diffusion is normally portrayed within the IS industry as an overtly rational process. In this paper we postulate that the external diffusion process of ISDMs has many features in common with broader social movements. We maintain that the diffusion of ISDMs is a key example of knowledge-based diffusion and use the case of the Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), a public domain standard method for Rapid Application Development (RAD), to refine a model of knowledge-based diffusion. Such a framework is important for understanding how such methods shape the community of practice in the IS development domain. Specifically how organizations adapt, deploy and use such knowledge. In further work we intend to verify aspects of this knowledge-based perspective in longitudinal and further case-study work.
---
paper_title: The Duality of Technology: Rethinking the Concept of Technology in Organizations

paper_content:

This paper develops a new theoretical model with which to examine the interaction between technology and organizations. Early research studies assumed technology to be an objective, external force that would have deterministic impacts on organizational properties such as structure. Later researchers focused on the human aspect of technology, seeing it as the outcome of strategic choice and social action. This paper suggests that either view is incomplete, and proposes a reconceptualization of technology that takes both perspectives into account. A theoretical model—the structurational model of technology—is built on the basis of this new conceptualization, and its workings explored through discussion of a field study of information technology. The paper suggests that the reformulation of the technology concept and the structurational model of technology allow a deeper and more dialectical understanding of the interaction between technology and organizations. This understanding provides insight into the limits and opportunities of human choice, technology development and use, and organizational design. Implications for future research of the new concept of technology and the structurational model of technology are discussed.
---
paper_title: The ‘Soft Information Systems and Technologies Methodology’ (SISTeM): an actor network contingency approach to integrated development

paper_content:

This paper describes the Soft Information Systems and Technologies Methodology (SISTeM), and demonstrates its utility in integrating informational and organisational development. The methodology and its stages are illustrated with examples from recent information systems and technology (IS&T) based projects, mainly in the health sector. Its antecedents in soft systems methodology are identified. The use of the approaches underpinning concept of the human/machine activity system is described. The nature of SISTeM as a social, political and technological form of contingency methodology, working with other approaches and disciplines, is demonstrated. SISTeM, it will be argued has capacity for orchestrating the emergence, consolidation and continual development of real world actor networks.
---

Title: Exploring the Nature of Information Systems Development Methodology: A Synthesized View Based on a Literature Review

Section 1: Introduction
Description 1: This section should introduce the context and motivations for studying Information Systems Development Methodology (ISDM), highlighting the challenges and the need for a synthesized view.

Section 2: Challenging Issues Related to ISDM
Description 2: This section should provide a historical background of ISDM, discuss the existing problems and contradictions in ISDM implementation, and outline the objectives of the paper.

Section 3: Method
Description 3: This section should explain the methodology used for the literature review, including the search and sampling techniques, criteria for selection, and categorization of the studies.

Section 4: Theoretical Perspectives on ISDM
Description 4: This section should present the four different theoretical perspectives on ISDM identified in the literature: system, structure, innovation, and knowledge.

Section 5: ISDM as System
Description 5: This section should explain the interpretation of ISDM as a system, including the components and characteristics that define it.

Section 6: ISDM as Structure
Description 6: This section should describe ISDM as a structural property of organizations, focusing on how ISDM embodies rules and resources that constitute an organization.

Section 7: ISDM as Innovation
Description 7: This section should discuss ISDM from the perspective of innovation, including factors like relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, and their impact on ISDM adoption.

Section 8: ISDM as Knowledge
Description 8: This section should explore ISDM as a source of knowledge, explaining how it supports knowledge transfer, assimilation, and learning within organizations.

Section 9: Discussions
Description 9: This section should provide a synthesis of the literature review, discussing the implications, potential benefits, and unintended consequences of ISDM, and recommend a broad conceptualization for future research.

Section 10: Conclusions
Description 10: This section should summarize the findings of the literature review, reiterate the identified theoretical perspectives, acknowledge the limitations of the study, and suggest directions for future research.