Software complexity decreases maintenance productivity, as do team attributes of instability and knowledge diversity. We know little about the extent to which the two team attributes interact with software complexity and shape productivity across systems of varying complexity. We address this gap by investigating whether and to what degree software complexity moderates the effects of team instability and knowledge diversity on maintenance productivity over the life of a system. We posit, given the exponential growth of code and task dependencies inherent in complex software systems, that system-level complexity has a significant nonlinear amplifying effect on the adverse effects of the two team attributes. To validate the presence of such an effect, we conduct a robust split-sample econometric analysis using three years of maintenance data from 426 mission-critical systems of a Fortune 100 company. The sampled systems vary in size (50KLOC to 2000KLOC, where 20% exceed 500KLOC), with a considerable portion of the sample manifesting “high” to “very high” software complexity. The analysis corroborates the known adverse effects of team instability, team knowledge diversity, and software complexity on maintenance productivity. More importantly, it shows—as theorized—that the adverse effects of the team attributes on maintenance productivity are significantly amplified only when software complexity grows high. We conclude with practical and research implications about how to manage software teams maintaining complex software over the life of a system.

This paper provides theoretical and practical implications for the application of agent-based models (ABMs) to address the issue of coevolutionary business-IS alignment. The implications stem from the following arguments: (a) the alignment issue can be modelled by an ABM to describe the features of complex adaptive systems (CAS); (b) the coevolutionary principles of business and IS alignment stipulate individual behaviours and guide organisational order; (c) ABM development and experimentation offer guidance to better explain how organisations control the alignment trajectory with coevolutionary principles. To extend the extant coevolutionary research on alignment, this paper develops an ABM for a hierarchical organisational structure and validates three coevolutionary principles.

We employ a conversational genre of performative research in order to explore foundational issues of language and design in information system practice. Initially, Sir Geoffrey Vickers (†2004), C. West Churchman (†1999), Hans-Georg Gadamer (†1982) and Jurgen Habermas are portrayed as engaging in a roundtable discussion on the topic: “Are there Limits to Language in Doing System Design?” We employ an updated, AI-enhanced version of Memex, an intelligent agent originally described by Vannevar Bush at the end of WWII, to serve as a plausible digital platform for enabling a discussion among intelligent agents, both living and dead. The Memex system conducts a spirited conversation among the four scholars and later brings Pierre Bourdieu (†2002) and Bruno Latour into the discussion in order to enrich the unfolding conversation. After the roundtable, Jurgen Habermas and Sir Geoffrey Vickers synthesize the learning from their perspectives.

Information technology (IT) is intricately bound up with time in teams. Yet a comprehensive review of what is known about time in IT-mediated teams is lacking. This paper addresses this gap. We classify time into three categories: conceptions of time, mapping activities to time, and actors relating to time. Drawing upon this framework, we review empirical information systems (IS) research on IT-mediated teams over the past three decades. Our review reveals that the research has approached time predominantly using the clock view and has examined exclusively how to map a single activity to the continuum of time. As a result, most studies operate within a simplified temporal context by conceiving time as an objective attribute that ticks away. Meanwhile, a void exists in research that recognizes time as interpretive and experienced. Our analyses also indicate that past research has been primarily interested in the differences between face-to-face and IT-mediated teams and the communication function of IT. Overall, IT remains roughly conceptualized, and research has produced fragmented insights that have small cumulative effects. To advance more substantive theory building, we propose several research directions that invite richer theorizing about how IT is related to time in teams.

Information systems (IS) are strategic in so far as they are used to realize strategic intent. Yet, while much has been said about aligning IS functionality with the strategic intent and how to organizationally implement strategically aligned systems, less is known of how to successfully implement strategic change associated with system use – a truly critical challenge within strategic IS implementation. Drawing on a strategy-as-practice perspective we address this gap by developing a multi-dimensional view of IS strategy, conceptualizing three key challenges in the IS strategy process, to explain how and why a paper mill, despite successfully implementing a strategic production management system, failed to produce intended strategic change. We call this outcome strategy blindness: organizational incapability to realize the strategic intent of implemented, available system capabilities. Using a longitudinal case study we investigate how cognitive rigidity of key actors and fixed, interrelated practices shaped the implementation of the new production system. We also identify core components and dynamics that constitute a richer multi-dimensional view of the IS strategy implementation (alignment) process. In particular, we identify three salient factors that contribute to strategy blindness – mistranslation of intent, flexibility of the IT artifact and cognitive entrenchment – and discuss how they affect strategic implementation processes. We conclude by discussing implications of our findings for IS strategy theory and practice, especially the contribution of strategy-as-practice to this stream of research.

In this introductory piece to the special issue on design science research (DSR) in information systems, the authors probe the past research in DSR, introduce the papers in the special issue, discuss their contributions to the field, and conclude the paper by highlighting some potential directions for future research. To provide a good overview of the research domain, the authors review the key research approaches (or processes) that have been proposed and identify the concrete products of DSR that come in the form of artifacts. As the production of artifact is only part of the DSR process, the authors discuss the role of theorizing about these results and propose avenues for future design-oriented research. It is the authors’ strong belief that DSR should be at the heart of information systems discipline because it invites people to research the issues surrounding the development and organizational implementation of new systems.

In response to Österle et al.'s ‘Memorandum on Design Oriented Information Systems Research’, this commentary disputes, and expands the context of, several premises used to justify the main argument in the memorandum. These include: (1) claims about the evolution and role of design science research in the broader IS community and its position in the so-called ‘Anglo-Saxon community’, (2) the journal reviewing standards applied to design science research and what is perceived to be a sole focus on behavioral ‘descriptive’ research in certain IS journals. This commentary also discusses how such journals operate and set up their missions, review principles, and standards.

This special issue of European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS) is dedicated to the memory of Heinz K. Klein who died in June 2008. We surmise that one of the best ways to remember him as a sc...

In this article we propose a new complementary approach to investigate Inter-Organizational Information Systems (IOIS) adoption called configuration analysis. We motivate the need for a new approach by the common observation that the structure and the strategy of an IOIS are interdependent and that the IOIS adoptions consequently cluster orderly. For example, an IOIS setup with a powerful customer as a hub and many suppliers as spokes frequently surfaces across diffusion studies. Yet, this fact has not been integrated into existing analyses, and its implications have not been fully developed. We propose that IOIS scholars need to look beyond the single adopting organization in IOIS adoption studies and in contrast consider adoption units what we call an adoption configuration. Each such configuration can be further characterized along the following dimensions: (1) vision, (2) key functionality, (3) mode of interaction, (4) structure and (5) mode of appropriation. In addition, these dimensions do not co-vary independently. For example, a particular organizing vision assumes a specific inter-organizational structure. A typology of IOIS configurations for adoption analysis is laid out consisting of dyadic, hub and spoke, industry and community configurations. Specific forms or adoption analysis are suggested for each type of configuration. Overall, configuration analysis redirects IOIS adoption studies both at the theoretical and the methodological level, and a corresponding research agenda is sketched.

In recent years, more companies engage in collaborative cross-organisational practices to achieve their business objectives. To cooperate effectively across boundaries requires organisations to overcome the tension between their distinct backgrounds and the need to create shared understandings with their partners for collaboration. This requires the creation of shared artefacts such as boundary objects. Whereas the past work on boundary objects has highlighted their role as translation devices, we examine them in relation to the information infrastructures within which they are embedded, and the identities of the organisations that use them. We propose a model that outlines the relationships among the three concepts and illustrate its dynamics by presenting two case studies that describe the introduction of three-dimensional modelling technologies into the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. Based on the case studies we suggest that boundary objects, in addition to facilitating cross-organisational communication, also help to form organisational identities. We further suggest the occurrence of a process whereby changes in boundary objects enable changes in information infrastructures and identities in one organisation. These changes, in turn, create the conditions for change in bordering organisations through shared boundary objects and boundary practices.

We outline a Punctuated Socio-Technical Information System Change model. The model recognizes both incremental and punctuated socio-technical change in the context of information systems at multiple levels – the work system level, the building system level, and the organizational environment. It uses socio-technical event sequences and their properties to explain how a change outcome emerged. The critical events in these sequences correspond to gaps in socio-technical systems. By conceiving information system (IS) change as a multi-level and punctuated sequence of socio-technical events, IS researchers can conceive plausible and accurate process explanations of IS change outcomes, including IS failures. Such explanations are located in the middle range and thus avoid the highly abstract and stylized closed-boxed factor models of change, but go beyond the idiographic open box histories of singular change processes.

We review the status of European publishing in high-impact Information System (IS) journals finding that the European publication record is disappointing. We consider popular explanations to this state of affairs and find them neither credible nor useful for improving the European record. We propose several constructive reasons for this including (1) the lack of appreciation of the article genre, (2) weak publishing cultures, (3) inadequate Ph.D. preparation for article publishing, (4) weak reviewing practices, (5) poorer command of research methods, (6) poorer understanding of the reviewing protocols, and (7) institutional shaping of research funding in Europe. We formulate several recommendations to affect these causes at the individual, institutional, journal, and European community level.

Information System Development (ISD) agility is concerned with why and how ISD organizations sense and respond swiftly as they develop and maintain Information System applications. We outline a theory of ISD agility that draws upon a model of IT innovation and organizational learning. The theory adopts March's concepts of exploration and exploitation to investigate agility in the context of ISD organizations. Depending on their learning focus, ISD organizations make choices as to what sensing and responding swiftly means. This is reflected in how they value speed in relation to other ISD process goals, including quality, cost, risk and innovative content. The paper examines two specific Research Propositions: (1) ISD organizations locate themselves into different innovation regimes with respect to their need for exploration and exploitation, and (2) their perceptions of agility differ in those regimes as reflected in their process goal priorities. We validate these propositions through an empirical investigation of changes in ISD organizations' process goals and innovation practices over a period of over 4 years (1999–2003), during which time they shied away from exploration to exploitation while innovating with Internet computing. These ISD organizations viewed agility differently during the studied time periods as reflected in how they traded innovative content or speed vis-à-vis the other process goals of cost, risk, and product quality. In conclusion, this paper discusses implications for future research on agility in ISD organizations.

While there are many claims for the successful use of extreme programming (XP) and agile modeling (AM), and the proponents can often be vocal in the extreme regarding their supposed benefits, research evidence supporting proponents‘ claims is somewhat lacking. Currently, the only research appearing to investigate the phenomena consists of two prominent streams. A small number of case studies and experience reports that generally promote the success of XP in various development environments, and a well-established stream of research into pair programming has generated results that in part support the idea of XP. Research into AM appears to be even more sparse than that for XP. Case studies, comparative analyses, and experience reports comprise the majority of the research in the area, while very few empirical research efforts have been conducted. This article reviews the state of research in XP and AM, and recommends areas that could benefit from further study. Since nearly all empirical XP research relates to pair programming, a closer look into the unstudied XP core practices would be beneficial, although interaction between related core practice areas could confound such efforts. It might also be possible to group related core XP concepts and study the groups individually. Finally, there are those who claim that XP and AM, or even agility in general, are really nothing more than a repackaging of old concepts. This claim needs to be investigated.

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 ISPI 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.

Graphical information system (IS) models are used to specify and design IS from several perspectives. Due to the growing size and complexity of modern information systems, critical design information is often distributed via multiple diagrams. This slows search performance and results in reading errors that later cause omissions and inconsistencies in the final designs. We study the impact of large screens and the two promising visual integration techniques of elision and connecting lines that can decrease the designers' cognitive efforts to read diagrams. We conduct a laboratory experiment using 84 computer science students to investigate the impact of these techniques on the accuracy of the subjects' search and recall with entity-relationship diagrams and data flow diagrams. The search tasks involve both vertical and horizontal searches on a moderately complex IS model that consists of multiple diagrams. We also examine the subjects' spatial visualization abilities as a possible covariant for observed search performance. These visual integration techniques significantly reduced errors in both the search and the recall of diagrams, especially with respect to individuals with low spatial visualization ability.

We report a study where software project risk factors were solicited in Nigeria. The study repeats a research design, which has been used in a Delphi study in the U.S., Finland, and Hong Kong to rank software development risks. The study produces a rank-order list of software risk factors and compares results with the earlier study, showing significant differences. Obtained rankings signal the importance of the infrastructure related and socio-economic software risks in developing countries like Nigeria. This demonstrates the importance of understanding the broader socio-economic context in identifying and managing software risks. The study also shows that some risks in Nigeria are located on a different scale. The choice of contingent mitigation strategies of project managers play a less important role, because the risks are so deeply engrained with the poor quality of basic infrastructure services.

In large, complex knowledge management tasks, representing and integrating knowledge present major challenges. To understand these, we studied two processes: perspective taking across communities of knowing with boundary objects and perspective making within a community by the use of conscription devices. A mutually modifiable object, with sufficient complexity and manageability, appeared to be of crucial importance within a community. Between communities, the role of representations and negotiation over their meaning were emphasised. Implications for computer support point towards combining free form and structure, open and controlled access and modifiability, and parallel synchronised and unregulated communication.

Software risk management can be defined as an attempt to formalize risk oriented correlates of development success into a readily applicable set of principles and practices. By using a survey instrument we investigate this claim further. The investigation addresses the following questions: 1) What are the components of software development risk? 2) how does risk management mitigate risk components, and 3) what environmental factors if any influence them? Using principal component analysis we identify six software risk components: 1) scheduling and timing risks, 2) functionality risks, 3) subcontracting risks, 4) requirements management, 5) resource usage and performance risks, and 6) personnel management risks. By using one-way ANOVA with multiple comparisons we examine how risk management (or the lack of it) and environmental factors (such as development methods, manager's experience) influence each risk component. The analysis shows that awareness of the importance of risk management and systematic practices to manage risks have an effect on scheduling risks, requirements management risks, and personnel management risks. Environmental contingencies were observed to affect all risk components. This suggests that software risks can be best managed by combining specific risk management considerations with a detailed understanding of the environmental context and with sound managerial practices, such as relying on experienced and well-educated project managers and launching correctly sized projects.

Applying the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of persuasion we conducted an experiment to examine the effect of participation of users in the design process on their acceptance of system recommendations and revision of their original decisions. Results of our study indicate that two different types of information processing occur when subjects are reviewing the expert system recommendations. (i) For users who have a high perceived level of participation in updating the knowledge of the ES, ambiguity of the decision setting is the primary determinant affecting acceptance of the recommendation from the ES. (ii) For users who have a low perceived level of participation in updating the knowledge of the ES, acceptance of system recommendation to revise their original judgment is dependent on the perceived credibility of the experts building the system. We discuss the implications of these findings for the design of expert systems.

Software size estimates provide a basis for software cost estimation during software development. Hence, it is important to measure the system size reliably as early as possible. Two of the best known specification level metrics, Albrecht's function points (A.J. Albrecht, 1979) and DeMarco's function bang metrics (T. DeMarco, 1982) are compared by a simulation study in which automatically generated randomized dataflow diagrams (DFDs) were used as a statistical sample to automatically count function points and function bang in a built CASE environment. These value counts were correlated statistically using correlation coefficients and regression analysis. The simulation study permits sufficient variation in the base material to cover most types of system specifications. Moreover, it allows sufficient sampling sizes to make statistical analysis of data. The obtained results show that in certain cases there is a relatively good statistical correlation between these metrics.>

Successful office communications are vital for the effective working of organisations. There is, however, no agreement about how they should be studied or understood in analysing offices information system design. Instead, the majority of proposed methods for office information system design leave these aspects implicit and largely unexplored. In this paper, we propose framing office communications in terms of speech acts and conversations. These two concepts which are pertinent to the analysis of office communications are explored in some detail, resulting in the contention that discourse analysis can be used as an effective means for studying office communications in office system design. A modelling approach based on discourse analysis, termed SAMPO, is presented. Its application is explained through the use of a small case example.

In a previous paper the importance of framing office communications in terms of discourse analysis was explored.2 It also presented an approach based on speech acts and conversations to allow this framing to occur. The approach was termed SAMPO. In this paper, we continue the discussion on discourse analysis by comparing SAMPO with two prominent office modelling approaches, Information Control Nets (ICN) and OSSAD, and discuss its merits in modelling office communications.

In this paper methods and principles that help to analyze offices as systems of communicative action are explored. In communicative action, office agents create commitments through symbolic means. A SAMPO (Speech-Act-based office Modeling aPprOach), which studies office activities as a series of speech acts creating, maintaining, modifying, reporting, and terminating commitments, is presented. The main steps and methods in the office system specification are outlined and their application illustrated through a simple example. In the final section advantages and disadvantages in the SAMPO are noted and some research directions for the future are suggested.