Kristin Braa

Balancing interpretation and intervention in information systems research: the action case approach

Understanding how technical artefacts are created and used within organizations is a central aspect of the IS research discipline. The conduct of research in an organizational setting is thus a major issue for the IS community. A research framework for in-context IS research is presented and used to position purified and hybrid forms of research method. From the framework, theoretical support for an action case research method is presented. The research framework is then used to describe and explain an IS research project from which a practice-based rationale for an action case method is argued. Characteristics of the action case method, a hybrid of interpretation and intervention, are described. Learning at three levels of analysis — concrete, general, and meta — is proposed as a way of reflecting on both the content of an IS research project and the IS research methods employed.

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.

Mobilising Local Networks of Implementers to Address Health Information Systems Sustainability

This paper addresses the problem of health information systems (HIS) sustainability in developing countries. Two interrelated questions are addressed. 1) How do we mobilise the local networks in the present settings of shortage of human and capital resources? 2) In which ways are these networks sustained for the sake of the HIS sustainability? With empirical material from the information systems integration project for the Zanzibar healthcare sector, the analysis is centred on the communities of practice concept in conjunction with the networks of action concept. The study reveals that building communities through organised practical works helps to build such networks at the lowest level of the HIS bureaucracy, enhancing learning at minimal resource usage. To make the networks themselves sustainable, participation in the larger networks of similar activities to enable wider exchange of knowledge and material resources is very important. This direct involvement not only helps in knowledge and resource exchange but also helps to forge political establishment which is highly important in influencing decisions concerning HIS related issues.

Organizing the redesign process in system development

This article discusses the notion of redesign and identifies three dilemmas related to post implementation change of information systems. The dilemmas are 1) system development aims at designing stable computer systems for changing environments; 2) the activities requiring most time and effort are based on the weakest planning and organization; 3) despite the volume of user-initiated system changes, user participation is not on the agenda in redesign activities. These dilemmas are grounded in literature and case studies. One way of organizing redesign called Version Projects, and a participatory technique, called Priority Workshops are proposed as means to address the dilemmas.

Priority workshops: springboard for user participation in redesign activities

This paper presents a technique for system redesign called Priority Workshop. The technique aims at widening the circle of decision makers, avoiding arbitrary decisions, and providing an arena for making priorities transparent to those who are affected. Priority Workshop has been conducted in a software company co-operating with several user organisations. The example presented, indicates that Priority Workshops may be a valuable means for users to influence the redesign process.

Critical view of the application of the ISO standard for quality assurance

Abstract. The aim of this paper is to initiate a debate on quality assurance and the application of the ISO 9001 in the system development field. It is claimed that unquestioning application of ISO 9001 can be a backwards step in the practice and research of system development. Five aspects of quality are identified in order to design and evaluate the quality of information systems: technical quality, use quality, aesthetic quality, symbolic quality and organizational quality. We find that the standard solely emphasizes technical quality. The standard promotes the ideal of linear, phase‐oriented system development, based on a fixed requirement specification and a document‐driven process. This is in contrast to most research findings, which criticize one‐sided adaptation of phase orientation in system development.

Stages and diversity in the implementation of World Wide Web and document technology

Internet, World Wide Web and electronic document technology in general have spread rapidly in the recent years. This is a technology adopted by organisations and societies, rather than by individuals. In adopting this technology there is considerable need and room for local adaptation or re-invention.

Approaches to Standardization of Documents

This paper identifies and compares different approaches to standardization of documents in order to enable electronic document exchange based on SGML Case studies applying the different approaches were conducted. The dilemma between standardization and flexibility is emphasized. An analytical framework has been developed as a means to reveal and categorize limitations, problems and new possibilities associated with the different standardization approaches.