Högskolan i Skövde

The process of evaluating CASE-tools and adopting a suitable tool for each specific situation within organisations is widely recognised as a difficult task. We view it as complex decision making involving a large number of factors. In this paper we address the problem in the light of the recently published ISO standard for evaluation and selection of CASE-tools. The contribution of this paper is threefold. Firstly, we provide a critique of selected parts of the standard, thereby describing our current interpretation of it. Secondly, we discuss the nature and difficulty of complex decision making, thereby relating our own experiences in the light of this standard. Thirdly, we stress the usability of a qualitative methodology within this framework, and motivate why Grounded Theory may be appropriate for use within this complex decision making process. In this way, we hope to illuminate the references to Grounded Theory which appear in an annexe to the standard. To support our standpoint, we provide empirical results from a commercial system in a related area that has applied Grounded Theory for complex decision making in diffuse domains.