Tuure Tuunanen

A Design Science Research Methodology for Information Systems Research

The paper motivates, presents, demonstrates in use, and evaluates a methodology for conducting design science (DS) research in information systems (IS). DS is of importance in a discipline oriented to the creation of successful artifacts. Several researchers have pioneered DS research in IS, yet over the past 15 years, little DS research has been done within the discipline. The lack of a methodology to serve as a commonly accepted framework for DS research and of a template for its presentation may have contributed to its slow adoption. The design science research methodology (DSRM) presented here incorporates principles, practices, and procedures required to carry out such research and meets three objectives: it is consistent with prior literature, it provides a nominal process model for doing DS research, and it provides a mental model for presenting and evaluating DS research in IS. The DS process includes six steps: problem identification and motivation, definition of the objectives for a solution, design and development, demonstration, evaluation, and communication. We demonstrate and evaluate the methodology by presenting four case studies in terms of the DSRM, including cases that present the design of a database to support health assessment methods, a software reuse measure, an Internet video telephony application, and an IS planning method. The designed methodology effectively satisfies the three objectives and has the potential to help aid the acceptance of DS research in the IS discipline.

Is extreme programming just old wine in new bottles: A comparison of two cases

This article explores extreme programming (XP) as an information systems development approach and argues that it is mainly old wine in new bottles. We take an interpretive and critical view of the phenomenon. We made an empirical study of two companies that apply an XP-style development approach throughout the information systems development life cycle. The results of our research suggest that XP is a combination of best practices of traditional information systems development methods. It is hindered by its reliance on talented individuals, which makes its large-scale deployment as a general-purpose method difficult. We claim that XP can be useful for small teams of domain experts who are physically close together and able to communicate well with the end users, and who are good designers and implementers. However, these skilled and motivated individuals with high working moral can exhibit high productivity regardless of the methods used if they are not overly constrained by bureaucracy.

Service Process Modularization: Reuse Versus Variation in Service Extensions

In this study, the authors integrate software engineering insights with research on service process design and product extensions to propose the concept of service process modularization and examine its influence on customer trial of service innovations. The authors conduct two experimental studies to investigate customer response to modular reuse and modular variation of service encounter processes in new offerings. Results of the studies show that modularization increases both the perceived utility of an enhanced offering and the likelihood of trial for service extensions. The effect of modular reuse versus variation, however, is contingent on the task complexity of the base service. Furthermore, expert customers prefer combined offerings that reuse familiar service processes, suggesting that practical considerations rather than variety are the main drivers of service utility and likelihood of trial. An important implication for managers and designers is the strategic use of service process modularization to initiate new service development and manage customer fit in new service extensions.

Consumers’ adoption of information services

This paper reports on a design science research study that seeks to investigate how information service components affect consumers’ potential adoption of such services. More specifically, the paper develops a conceptual model that uses the theory of organizational information services (TOIS) and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) as a basis. The results indicate that individual constructs can be linked to service components. In turn, this result can potentially be instrumental in progress toward a deeper understanding of consumers’ adoption of information services and how this affects the development of such services and systems that support them.

Typology for Modular Service Design: Review of Literature

This paper presents a typology for modular service design. The authors review engineering, manufacturing, and service research literature and develop three key concepts for service modularization: service module, service architecture, and service experience. Thereafter these key concepts are further decomposed into detailed constructs. Basing on the reviewed literature, they develop a common typology for modular services. The authors argue that their typology provides a foundation for the development of modular service design methods. The authors also expect that it is important to recognize how customers perceive the service. They propose that service experiences can be characterized by value creation, role perception, personalization, and task complexity and by how the customers experience the particular services.

Mobile Service Platforms: Comparing Nokia OVI and Apple App Store with the IISIn Model

In this paper, we describe and analyze two of the most popular mobile services platforms, Nokia Ovi and Apple App Store. Analyses of these platforms are based on the IISIn model, that is, the model for ICT Intensive Service Innovations in many-sided markets. In addition to the actual mobile service platforms, we look at the networked market users of these platforms, focusing on the consumers and the application developers. We identify the key similarities and differences in the technologies used, the platform users, and business models. Based on our analyses, we discuss some possible rationalizations for the success and the challenges of these two competing mobile service platforms.

The Structure and Infrastructure of the Finnish Research Literature

Abstract The structure and infrastructure of the Finnish research literature is determined. A representative database of technical articles was extracted from the Science Citation Index for the years 2003–2004, with each article containing at least one author with a Finnish address. Document clustering was used to identify the main technical themes (core competencies) of Finnish research. Four of the pervasive technical topics identified from the clustering (Wireless Networks and Mobile Communication, Signal Processing, Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry) were analyzed further using bibliometrics, in order to identify the infrastructure of these research areas. Finally, the citation performance of Finnish research in the four pervasive technical topics above, and in other technical topics obtained by analysis of Abstract phrases, was compared to that of two Scandanavian countries with similar population and GDP, Norway and Denmark.

IISIn - A Model for Analyzing ICT Intensive Service Innovations in n-Sided Markets

In this paper, we introduce the ICT Intensive Service Innovations in many-sided, or n-sided, markets (IISIn) model for understanding ICT intensive service innovations. Our model is built on earlier research on services, service innovations and economics of two- sided markets. A significant share of mobile applications and services are those that are offered on platform-mediated networks for users on many-sided markets. In platform-mediated networks the users access a common platform that facilitates their interactions. Platforms are, essentially, subsets of components and rules employed by users in most of their transactions. Hence, in this paper we build a research agenda to guide the future research of mobile services and service innovations.

The Effect of Culture on Requirements: A Value-Based View of Prioritization

This paper examines how culture affects requirements and their prioritization. We analyze the requirements of a mobile service, which were collected from Helsinki, Hong Kong, and Las Vegas. We argue that the current prioritization techniques for requirements do not sufficiently account for the cultural effects, nor does the literature offer information on ways of prioritizing such requirements according to users’ values. We see this as problematic because the literature suggests that culture should be viewed as a set of values. Our findings support the argument that we should use a value-based approach in prioritizing requirements. Furthermore, by focusing on the links between needs and values, we should be able to develop prioritization techniques not only for multicultural settings but also for information systems (IS) development projects that involve subcultures, such as adolescent users or members of specific organizations. Our findings show that this can be a powerful way of understanding the differences between various subcultures of IS users. In addition, we demonstrate how the laddering interviewing technique can be used to support this work. The proposed value-based requirements prioritization approach is also ready for industry applications and it is agnostic to the underlying IS development method used by developers.

A Model for ICT Intensive Service Innovations in Two-Sided Markets Case Study of IPTV in a National TV Broadcasting Company

In this paper, we present a new Model for ICT Intensive Service Innovations in two-sided markets. The usefulness of this conceptual model is then illustrated with a case study of IPTV in a National TV Broadcasting Company in New Zealand. The case clearly demonstrates the importance of viewing an ICT intensive service innovation in a two-sided market – IPTV in our case –separately for the two sides – the consumers and the advertisers in our case. Our study demonstrates, that the same service innovation and its dimension can be quite different from the perspective of the two user groups.