Ari Heiskanen

Original papers: Control, trust, power, and the dynamics of information system outsourcing relationships: A process study of contractual software development

This paper provides a longitudinal description and analysis of the evolving relationships between a university and vendors contracted to develop software systems. A contextualised social process model is developed and employed using data gathered over the decade-long process, focussing on the early years. The right levels of control and trust are conceptualised to lead to confidence that the development process is set on the right course. The study gives unique insights into the contractual software development process from a clients perspective together with pointers for more general applications of the findings related to control, trust, and bargaining power in customised information system development. The analysis of the data reveals how the clients actions oscillated between trust and control in three areas: performance, price level, and observed behaviour.

The social dynamics of software development

Abstract A variety of experiences in software development processes between a public sector organisation and several software vendors over a decade-long period are described and interpreted. Three information systems histories are presented as case examples and their analysis is based on detailed insider observations. A social process model is used to describe the relationships between key actors within the client organisation while a transaction cost framework is used to explain the joint forms of the relationships between the client and the vendors. The resulting model depicts in a concise way how the relationships have evolved and stabilised over time. In this model, major encounters between the actors are those which have at least the potential to change the relationship state between the parties. The relatively stable passages between consecutive encounters are labelled episodes. By perceiving systems development as a series of encounters and episodes, it is possible to identify the critical turning points of development work and to display the dynamics of a software development trajectory. While our findings support the well-known basic software procurement principle, this is only after the trajectories have stabilised. Two of the three trajectories exhibit major changes in software procurement strategies before reaching a steady state. The paper ends with a discussion of the findings and some implications for researchers and practitioners.

Reflecting over a practice: Framing issues for scholar understanding

Explores the possibilities of basing scientific investigation on the practical experiences gained by the author when he participated in the development of the Student Information System of a Finnish university. The practical process which lasted over a decade contained several theoretically interesting issues which could be formulated as meaningful research problems. They concerned the design of acts, the evaluation of the outcomes of the various phases of the process, and the formulation of the experience to models which could be transferred to other contexts. The overall analysis method is reflection‐in‐action in the form suggested by Donald Schon. Each practical problem is paraphrased through reflection‐in‐action which yields a theoretical understanding of the phenomenon at hand. This frames the situation; the framing is necessary for the solution that is to be designed. Indicates that reflection‐in‐action can yield research results just as valid as other types of organizational studies. It is not supe...

Gatekeepers in the action structure of software contracting: a case study of the evolution of user-developer relationships

The case study history of the cooperation between a software house and its client over a time span of 6 years is analyzed through the metaphor of the gatekeeper role. The analysis shows that, contrary to earlier research employing the gatekeeper metaphor, the gatekeeper role in software development work is not stable but changes considerably over time both from the point of view of the software house and the client. Moreover, there seem to be typical recurrent patterns of change for the gatekeeper role for both of the cooperating partners. The analysis indicates also that some of the main problems in contractual software development work may be alleviated through careful consideration of the content of the gatekeeper role in the cooperation phases between the software house and the client. A major question seems to be the decision when the managerial gatekeeper on each side must step aside and let the software developers and user representatives exchange information without managerial gatekeeping.

On the distribution of wasted space at the end of file blocks

The distribution of wasted space at the end of fixed size file blocks is studied when the blocks are filled with variable length records in some predescribed sequence, e. g. in key order, without splitting the records into consecutive blocks. The distribution of the length of wasted space is shown to be the same as the distribution of the residual life of components in the renewal theory. Previous estimates of the size of this kind of wasted space are shown to be erroneous. The validity of the assumptions is verified by simulation and the range of the applicability of the methods presented is explored.

Emotions in Leadership in an IOIS Project

This interpretive grounded theory (GT) study describes and analyzes emotions in leadership in a Nordic inter-organizational information system (IOIS) project which spanned four user organizations, two suppliers, one national organization, a research organization and a Ministry. This study shows how GT can be used to gain significant insights into a case study, and generate new concepts. We identified Certainty, Significance, Connection and Contribution as important selective codes that make up the Emotions category. The paper focuses on leadership issues in the emotion category. The paper concludes by discussing how some of leadership issues could be attributed to emotions issues and considers some theoretical and practical implications.

Configuring cooperation: a reflective learning history

This paper analyses the meaning of experience and learning in a multi‐client, multi‐vendor information system procurement that lasted over one year. We show how the phases in the acquisition process were developing and how our experiences affected on them during the changing process. We also describe the learning process using the means of reflective practice. The information system was to be piloted in three Finnish universities before it was introduced into the public domain. The pilot project was based on previous projects, forming an interesting case and offering several possibilities in learning. Choosing the right acquisition method, understanding the importance of experience and trust and taking power when needed were among the lessons that were learnt during the process. This study also shows how the experience—even if not pervasive—can lead on to fruitful outcomes.

The Role of Social Capital as Antecedent in Clan Formation in Information Systems Outsourcing Project

This paper focuses on how different aspects of social capital facilitate or prevent clan control in two related inter-organizational system (IOS) projects during the projects’ four years life span. We observed the building of social ties in the projects and tried to understand how trust is build or destroyed in large teams, which are organizationally and physically separated, but need to work together for an extended period of time. The data for this qualitative study was collected from two large IOS projects. We analyzed how the social capital helps us to interpret the process of building clan control in an IOS project. We found out that clan control is difficult to achieve and the organizations need to be aware of ways of building social capital and be able to build and maintain social capital across organizational borders to succeed in such projects.

Information System Outsourcing Dynamics: A Case Study as Seen by a Client Boundary Role Person

The paper presents an analysis of the evolution of the relationship between a large university and its software vendor. The parties were engaged in several projects that developed tailored information systems (IS) for the administration of the university. Three systems are the focus in this case study: student records, student admissions and student mobility. Our point of view is that of the first author who was an insider in this process as he acted as a boundary role person between the client and the vendor, first as the chief information systems officer of the university during the formative years of student records and student admissions, and later as a contracted leader for student records and student mobility after he joined another university. In the case of student mobility we also describe and analyse the dissolution of the client-vendor relationship. We also investigate the process through which the boundary role was terminated in the case of student records. Using the history data as the basis, the authors picture the dynamics of the action strategies of the client side. The conclusion is that in this case when developing the student records system, the bond between the client and the IS vendor intensified more rapidly than the literature based on relationship marketing would suggest. Moreover, the relationship problems in IS development typically became apparent after a long period of cooperation, e.g., when the IS was taken into use and the parties realised that the functionality of the new system was inadequate.