Knut H. Rolland

Conceptualizing common information spaces across heterogeneous contexts: mutable mobiles and side-effects of integration

The design and conceptualization of Common Information Spaces (CIS) has long been recognized as an important research topic within CSCW. Informed by recent developments in Actor-Network Theory (ANT), this paper contributes to the conceptualization of CIS across heterogeneous contexts. In particular, the paper develops a dynamic perspective on CIS emphasizing how CIS is malleable, open and achieved in practice. Furthermore, we argue that large-scale CIS efforts inherently tend to re-produce fragmentation as an unintended consequence of integrating heterogeneous sources of information. Empirically, the research is grounded in extensive field work in a major international oil and gas company.

Horizontal Information Systems: Emergent Trends and Perspectives

The purpose of this paper is to point at some of the aspects that make today’s large-scale information systems and infrastructures in globally dispersed corporations exceedingly challenging to implement. At the brink of the new millennium, emerging trends like globalisation and the Internet ‐ as well as the buzzword ‘knowledge management’, have profound impacts on how business organisations design and deploy its IT solutions. Standardisation and integration seem to be the common strategy ‐ whether it is ERP systems, middleware based IS, Intranets, or IT infrastructures. However, in practice these systems are often heterogeneous and fragmented, and constrained by various socio-technical aspects. In focusing on this phenomenon, we suggest the concept of a ‘horizontal information system’. Drawing from examples from a maritime classification company we take a closer look at the phenomenon, and some implications for design and deployment of such systems are briefly described.

Trans-Situated Use of Integrated Information Systems

Practice-based perspectives have established the situated nature of how technology is appropriated, enacted, and improvised in organisations. Empirical studies demonstrate how the same technology produces different results in different contexts of use. However, practice-based research has, to date, less to offer in terms of accounting for the relationship between instances of situated use (i.e., work practices) that are separated in space and/or time. The term trans-situated use is intended to highlight this blind spot. We focus on one type of relationship, viz., significant degrees of similarities between technologically mediated, geographically dispersed work practices. This degree of similarity is achieved through a process of commensurability consisting of (i) standardisation (addressing interdependencies between multiple instances of the ‘same’ work practice at geographically dispersed sites); and (ii) heterogeneity (addressing the entanglement of one work practice with apparently unrelated work practices and modules). Empirically, we report on a longitudinal, interpretative case study (1998–2004) of a company strategically targeting an integrated information system as a principal vehicle to establish similar services globally.

Achieving knowledge across borders: facilitating practices of triangulation, obliterating digital junkyards

International companies expanding and competing in an increasingly global context are currently discovering the necessity of sharing knowledge across geographical and disciplinary borders. Yet, especially in such contexts, sharing knowledge is inherently complex and problematic in practice. Inspired by recent contributions in science studies, this paper argues that knowledge sharing in a global context must take into account the heterogeneous and locally embedded nature of knowledge. In this perspective, knowledge cannot easily be received through advanced information technologies, but must always be achieved in practice. Empirically, this paper draws from two contrasting initiatives in a major international oil and gas company for improving its current ways of sharing knowledge between geographically distributed sites and disciplines involved in well planning and drilling. The contrasting cases reveal that while a shared database system failed to improve knowledge sharing across contexts, a flexible arrangement supporting collaboration and use of different representation of knowledge was surprisingly successful. Based on these findings the paper underscores and conceptualizes various triangulating practices conducted in order to achieve knowledge across borders. More accurately these practices are central for individuals’ and communities’ abilities to: (i) negotiate ambiguous information, (ii) filter, combine, and integrate various heterogeneous sources of information, and (iii) judge the trustworthiness of information. Concerning the design and use of information technologies this implies that new designs need to facilitate triangulating practices of users rather than just providing advanced platforms (“digital junkyards”) for sharing information.

Coordination in the large: a research design

The public sector is facing a massive digitalization process in order to provide faster and more automated services to the public. Several new projects in this sector are developing software using agile methodologies. There is, however, a lack of empirical research on how these methods are used in practice, how they are adapted to these complex and large settings, and how the projects achieves good coordination. In this paper we outline our initial research proposal to study a large-scale agile development program in the public sector. Our primary focus is to make sure the research is grounded in the reality of the practitioners and so we seek to follow an engaged scholarship model in order to make our research relevant as well as rigorous.

Ambidextrous Enterprise Architecting: Betting on the Future and Hacking Path-dependencies

Much existing research on IS and enterprise architecture focuses on suggesting different representations describing a ‘target architecture’ for processes, information and information systems at different levels across the organization. Less emphasis has been put on the actual evolution of the current enterprise architecture towards this envisioned ‘target architecture’. In this paper we look at enterprise architecture from a process perspective and explore how actual practices of architecting enfold and how they are mutually shaped by context. In doing so, we offer two contributions. First, we contribute empirically showing how enterprise architecting in practice is an ambidextrous activity focusing on both fixing the limitations of historically entrenched architectures and establishing new architecture by betting on what needs are going to give the most flexibility and value in the future. Secondly, we contribute by conceptualizing how enterprise architecture evolves over time, and propose the concepts of ‘architectural path-dependency’ and ‘enterprise architecting’. Architectural path-dependencies is the effect of existing architectures that become economically, technically and organizationally hard to change ‐ at least in a radical manner. Enterprise architecting, on the other hand, is the intentional acts to circumvent path-dependencies and evolve towards an envisioned architecture. Henceforth, we argue that enterprise architecture transition is shaped by multiple architectural path-dependencies as well as various acts of enterprise architecting to establish new paths. The paper discusses theses concepts in relation to existing literature on software and enterprise architecture.

'Desperately' seeking research on agile requirements in the context of large-scale agile projects

In this paper, I propose an agenda for undertaking research on requirements engineering in the context of large-scale agile software development projects. In so doing, I draw from my own experience as a practitioner in large-scale agile software development projects, as well as a review of relevant literature. Based on this, the paper reflects on two central questions: what are the main challenges related to requirements in large-scale agile software development? And, what are the relevant themes for researching requirements in large-scale agile projects? The paper concludes by proposing some overall research questions for future research.

Managing Digital Platforms in User Organizations: The Interactions Between Digital Options and Digital Debt

As organizations increasingly use digital platforms to facilitate innovation, researchers are seeking to understand how platforms shape business practices. Although extant literature offers important insights into platform management from a platform-owner perspective, we know little about how organizations manage industry platforms provided by external parties to generate opportunities and overcome challenges in relation to their infrastructure and work processes. As part of larger ecosystems, these digital platforms offer organizations bundles of digital options that they can selectively invest in over time. At the same time, organizations’ previous investments in digital infrastructure and work processes produce a legacy of digital debt that conditions how they manage their digital platforms over time. Against this backdrop, we investigate how digital options and digital debt were implicated in a large Scandinavian media organization’s management of a news production platform over nearly 17 years. Drawi...

Tailoring Agile in the Large: Experience and Reflections from a Large-Scale Agile Software Development Project

It is not surprising that agile methods are tailored or customized in various contexts and projects. However, there is little advice for practitioners for how to go about tailoring agile methods in large-scale projects. Henceforth, the aim of this experience report is to highlight some of the challenges with large-scale agile software development and especially how to deal with these challenges involves continuous tailoring of the agile method in use. In so doing, we report from a large-scale agile software development effort involving more than 120 participants in a Governmental organization and running for 3,5 years. The project consisted of three deliverables, partly developed in parallel after a delivery model based on Scrum. After a much troubled start related to scaling challenges and architecture complexity during the first deliverable, the project was turnaround and the second and third deliverables were portrayed fairly successful by both supplier and customer. From a practitioner’s perspective, we found that novel practices emerged through out the project that improved the way of working – especially across teams and stakeholders. Based on this, we describe some guidelines for tailoring agile in the large.