Priscilla Fowler

Experience using a benchmarking workshop to explore one route to practical technology introduction

This paper describes the concept of ‘transition packages,’ a proposed approach to practical technology introduction for software organizations, and why we chose to evaluate this concept in the context of the Software Capability Maturity Model. The paper also describes how this concept was considered in a practitioner-oriented workshop based on benchmarking principles, the processes and findings of that workshop, and the outputs of participant exercises. The final section provides analysis of the fmdings and suggests possible next steps in the creation of the first Requirements Management transition package for software engineering community use.

The challenge of information technology transfer and diffusion

An important area within information technology (IT)—technology transfer and diffusion—has emerged. It includes diffusion (Rogers 1983, Redwine 1984, McKenney 1995) and adoption and implementation in organizations (Kwon and Zmud 1987, Leonard-Barton 1987, Fichman 1992) of software and IT innovations. This new area has attracted the interest of both the research and the practice communities. For example, four IEEE Computer Society workshops on software engineering technology transfer have been held (Morton 1983, Przybylinski and Fowler 19872). A growing community of software process improvement network (SPIN) groups has emerged (Peterson 19953). Major consortia and government institutions such as the Software Engineering Institute and the ESPRIT program have been established to address software and IT issues, emphasizing technology transfer and diffusion. And a growing body of research and practice on the introduction of software and IT in organizations is being published (for example, Nord and Tucker 1987, Eason 1988, Pressman 1988, Bouldin 1989, Fowler 1990, Strauss and Ebenau 1994).

Making diffusion and adoption issues part of the design options and solution strategies for the international office of the future

In the process of developing the Global multi-site conference for 1997 and especially in the time after that conference the issues of diffusion and adoption of IT become very important. The aim of this panel is threefold. First it will raise the diffusion and adoption issues. Second, it will overview the most important and salient diffusion and adoption issues from five different but complementary perspectives. Third it will enable discussion of these issues in relation to the International Office of the Future.