Högskolan i Skövde

There are many reports on how Information Systems Development ISD) methods are adapted before they are used. The need to customise methods is explained by the variety of systems that are developed and the various situations in which information systems can be developed. This means that the development process knowledge embedded in an ISD method can be used in different ways in different situations. The study presented in this paper is a follow up of a study of how a widespread ISD method was adapted and introduced in an organisation. In this paper we focus on how the development method was actually used in a project. The paper extends an earlier model of analysis for characterising information systems development in terms of knowledge work. The model recognises four classes of knowledge work: routine, craft-like, professional, and creative knowledge work. We use that particular model to elaborate on how the various kinds of knowledge work presented interact in an actual development situation. The main contributions of the paper are the application of the analysis model on an empirical case and the extension of the analysis model to comprise the interactions between the different types of knowledge work.

There are a large number of Information Systems Engineering methods available. The aim of these methods is to support the development process. In doing so, they become subject to the forces, which have an impact on the development process. The paper applies the method-in-action framework on four different cases in order to describe the adaptations, which are made when utilising a method. The situational factors and methodological issues identified in this project show that the method-in-action framework may be used in order to extend the area of use for situational factors. We have also identified some factors, which supplement the characteristics of the sets of factors in the method-in-action framework.

The increasing complexity of information systems development (ISD) projects calls for improved project management practices. This, together with an endeavor to improve the success rate of ISD projects, has served as drivers for various efforts in process improvement such as the introduction of new development methods. An ISD method may be perceived as a means for managing projects. Commercial development methods are typically combined with in-house methods for managing parts of the development process. In this paper we investigate in what way in-house methods and commercial methods are combined and used in an ISD project. In order to get a better understanding for how these issues are actually dealt with in the daily work, we have followed a project with a focus on how the group and the individuals implement the managerial decision to introduce a new development method.

Knowledge transfer is one of the key problem areas in knowledge management. This paper focuses on the transfer of knowledge about the software development process. There is an aim to improve process knowledge and one way of doing it is to introduce commercial development methods. However, doing this is not an easy task. We present a study of how such an introduction of a widespread method was carried out in two large software development organisations. We conclude that a new method has to be adapted and implemented in the organisation in order to make it a part of the organisation specific knowledge base. The new method has to become an integrated part of the existing development process knowledge of the organisation, meaning that it has to be adapted to fit with other organisation specific processes. The ability to do so is the absorptive capacity: the capability to identify and recognise the value of new external knowledge, assimilate it, and apply it.