Sabine Madsen

Post-agility

ContextAgile information systems development (ISD) has received much attention from both the practitioner and researcher community over the last 10-15years. However, it is still unclear what precisely constitutes agile ISD. ObjectiveBased on four empirical studies conducted over a 10-year time period from 1999 to 2008 the objective of this paper is to show how the meaning and practice of agile ISD has evolved over time and on this basis to speculate about what comes next. MethodFour phases of research has been conducted, using a grounded theory approach. For each research phase qualitative interviews were held in American and/or Danish companies and a grounded theory was inductively discovered by careful data analysis. Subsequently, the four unique theories have been analyzed for common themes, and a global theory was identified across the empirical data. ResultsIn 1999 companies were developing software at high-speed in a desperate rush to be first-to-market. In 2001 a new high-speed/quick results development process had become established practice. In 2003 changes in the market created the need for a more balanced view on speed and quality, and in 2008 companies were successfully combining agile and plan-driven approaches to achieve the benefits of both. The studies reveal a two-stage pattern in which dramatic changes in the market causes disruption of established practices and process adaptations followed by consolidation of lessons learnt into a once again stable software development process. ConclusionThe cyclical history of punctuated process evolution makes it possible to distinguish pre-agility from current practices (agility), and on this basis, to speculate about post-agility: a possible next cycle of software process evolution concerned with proactively pursuing the dual goal of agility and alignment through a diversity of means.

From Exotic to Mainstream: A 10-year Odyssey from Internet Speed to Boundary Spanning with Scrum

Based on four empirical studies conducted over a 10-year time period from 1999 to 2008 we investigate how local software processes interact with global changes in the software development context. In 1999 companies were developing software at high speed in a desperate rush to be first-to-market. In 2001 a new high speed/quick results development process had become established practice. In 2003 changes in the market created the need for a more balanced view on speed and quality, and in 2008 companies were successfully combining agile and plan driven approaches to achieve the benefits of both. The studies reveal a twostage pattern in which dramatic changes in the market causes disruption of established practices, experimentation, and process adaptations followed by consolidation of lessons learnt into a new (and once again mature) software development process. Limitations, implications, and areas for future research are discussed.

From Research to Practical Application: Knowledge Transfer Planning and Execution in Outsourcing

Despite an abundance of literature about knowledge and outsourcing the theoretical concepts and research findings are not immediately applicable in practice. In this paper we present the insights and the effort used to find a way to support knowledge transfer in outsourcing. More specifically, we aim to support operational managers responsible for outsourced IT activities in carrying out the concrete task of knowledge transfer planning and execution. We report from a longitudinal project conducted in a major financial company headquartered in Denmark and an offshore development center located in India. We identify the three main knowledge transfer challenges experienced by the case company. The identified challenges inform the design of a systematic five-step approach to the company’s knowledge transfer. Our main contribution is to illustrate how extant research can be applied to understand and solve a particular company’s knowledge transfer challenges in a way that fits with the company culture.

Relationship Management at the Operational Level in Outsourcing

Research suggests that achievement of a successful outsourcing relationship requires a tremendous amount of detailed management. In this paper we draw on relationship theory to understand the management practices of a particular outsourcing setup. An empirical study of a Danish company operating an off shore development centre with 400 employees located in India identified a host of practices that form a seemingly complex and ambiguous picture. To make sense of the studied practice we develop a framework that consists of four relationship management strategies coined select-a-friend, develop-a-friend, control-a-person, and control-of-output. We provide illustrative examples of each strategy; reflect upon the alignment between the type of outsourcing setup and the identified portfolio of practices; and outline theoretical and practi cal implications. Key findings are that all four strategies are used, play an important role and that continuous improvement of the portfolio of relationship management practices is paramount to ensure effectiveness.

“Imagine that…”: How to activate and capture users’ ability to think creatively about future use

The topic of this paper is user ideation within front-end innovation. We present and discuss an approach which we refer to as “Imagine that… ”. With “Imagine that… ” users tell stories of how they imagine they will use a future IT system. The oral stories are captured online using a remote, unmoderated software tool. The distinguishing characteristics of the “Imagine that… ” approach are: (1) that the users ideate while on their own and therefore without being influenced by an interviewer/moderator and (2) that they come up with the design ideas and scenarios themselves rather than provide feedback on already developed design sketches, mock-ups, etc. The study contributes to the innovation literature by describing how and why narrative theory can be used to support the user’s ability to think creatively about future use. Our research also contributes to method development by showing that it is possible to obtain user input of relevance for the early stages of innovation in a fast, frugal way and unmoderated way.

Investigating the Influence of Information Management Practices on IS Governance

Information technology especially through Internet applications provides tremendous possibilities to knowledge workers, in any domain, to get access to vast amounts of data. This is a development with great benefits but also some challenging implications. In other words, as the information available increases, the knowledge workers’ needs to make sense of information, i.e. for, prioritizing, organizing, and interpreting information intensify. Yet, the information management practices, which are based on the user’s characteristics, have not been studied extensively. In this paper we suggest the examination and explication of the information management practices used by knowledge workers today in order to provide useful insights to managers involved in IS governance in the organisation. We also introduce specific theories which can be used as a lens to analyse the knowledge workers’ practices and offer useful theoretical insights into the domain. We contend that such research could provide a set of guidelines that can be adopted by organisations in order to offer their employees a structured way to deal with information management which is supported by the information technologies and systems available. We argue that our results could be useful to knowledge workers looking to exploit available information while overcoming information overload.