Information Systems Development Projects Research Articles

B-1 情報システム開発プロジェクトの品質マネジメント : 不確実な現実に柔軟に対応できるマネジメントの視点の確立(開発トラック,企業改革のためのプロジェクトマネジメント)

B-1 情報システム開発プロジェクトの品質マネジメント : 不確実な現実に柔軟に対応できるマネジメントの視点の確立(開発トラック,企業改革のためのプロジェクトマネジメント)

Factors affecting creativity in information system development

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to elucidate the factors influencing creativity in information system development (ISD). Specifically, this paper compares two groups, students and practitioners, in order to identify salient factors influencing creativity in this field.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical study was conducted through two online surveys in Taiwan. The subjects were university students (n=220) and practitioners (n=187) who had ISD project experiences. Data were collected via an online survey and analyzed using partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modeling. The authors present state-of-the-art PLS path modeling, including heterotrait-monotrait, standardized root mean square residual, second-order identification, and partial least squares multigroup analysis (PLS-MGA).FindingsBoth the student and practitioner results showed that the most salient factor influencing creative behavior was use of creativity technologies. In addition, cognitive style, recognition, and database programming had a significant positive effect on creative behavior for the students but not for the practitioners. The PLS-MGA results indicated that differences in creative behavior between the students and practitioners need to be considered.Research limitations/implicationsThere are two main limitations. The first one is its design. This study was cross-sectional and there is a likelihood of common source bias due to self-reported data. In the future, researchers can use brain-imaging tools (e.g. functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)) or eye tracking measurement to reduce self-reporting bias in creative behavior research. The second limitation is related to the sample. The subjects were university students and practitioners who had ISD project experiences; however, the heterogeneity of the investigated individuals (e.g. background, ability or experience) in university or industry may limit the power and generalizability of this study. Future studies may take same samples into consideration.Originality/valueNo previous study has investigated factors influencing the creativity of information system (IS) students and practitioners by using a decomposed and second-order research model. Thus, this paper, based on Amabile’s creativity theory, attempts to elucidate the factors influencing IS students’ and practitioners’ creativity.

Human-centred design practice and challenges in four Finnish organisational information system development projects

The objective of this study was to recognise challenges that designers face when they are applying a human-centred design approach into organisational information system development projects. Participant-observation during the years 2004&2013 and inductive analysis were used to gain an understanding of designers' everyday work practices and real-life obstacles. Analysis led to the four categories of human-centred design work barriers: contract limitations, contradictory expectations, technological disinterest and isolation of designers. These barriers indicate that the designer's role in development projects is still vague and unclear, which makes it harder to work productively and affect usability related decisions.

Human-centred design practice and challenges in four Finnish organisational information system development projects

The objective of this study was to recognise challenges that designers face when they are applying a human-centred design approach into organisational information system development projects. Participant-observation during the years 2004&2013 and inductive analysis were used to gain an understanding of designers' everyday work practices and real-life obstacles. Analysis led to the four categories of human-centred design work barriers: contract limitations, contradictory expectations, technological disinterest and isolation of designers. These barriers indicate that the designer's role in development projects is still vague and unclear, which makes it harder to work productively and affect usability related decisions.

Intelligent Data Analysis in the EMERCOM Information System

The paper describes an information system development project for the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES, whose international operations body is known as EMERCOM), which was attended by the representatives of both the IT industry and the academia. Besides the general description of the system, we put forward OLAP and Data Mining-based approaches towards the intelligent analysis of the data accumulated in the database. In particular, some operational OLAP reports and an example of multi-dimensional information space based on OLAP Data Warehouse are presented. Finally, we outline Data Mining application to support decision-making regarding security inspections planning and results consideration.

Metaphors in managerial and employee sensemaking in an information systems project

AbstractThis longitudinal study looks at the metaphors used in a public sector information systems development project from the perspective of cognitive metaphor theory (Lakoff & Johnson, ). We examine the use of metaphors by project team members, including representatives of the users, software developers and the managers guiding the project work. The findings indicate that project team members and managers use a rich set of metaphors to make sense of the project and the records management system they are working on. Notably, distinct sets of metaphors are used in different project phases and among the project personnel and management. As the differences in the metaphors also coincide with key events in the trajectory of the project, we contend that metaphors have significant power in sensemaking, influencing action and project outcomes. In particular, we find that in highly ambiguous, knowledge‐intensive situations, metaphor use with unclear intentions and purpose hinders learning and creates more chaos than order. From a practical perspective, our study highlights the relevance of metaphor use for project management. We suggest that intentional selection of metaphors by management could be beneficial for many complex information systems projects. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Closing the Stakeholder Expectation Gap: Managing Customer Expectations toward the Process of Developing Information Systems

Whereas expectations concerning both process and product are essential for information system development (ISD) project success, research has focused on end-user expectations toward the product. Based on semi-structured interviews, we shed light on the relevance of process expectations for customer satisfaction in ISD projects, concrete customer expectations toward the process, and approaches for managing these expectations. Our study provides means to manage customer expectations and thus increase the likelihood of customer satisfaction.

A process explanation of the effects of institutional distance between parties in outsourced information systems development projects

Outsourced information systems development (OISD) projects are challenging endeavors, and the literature suggests differences between the parties involved as critical hinderers of such projects. Using institutional theory as a foundational theory, we propose a process explanation of the effects of differences between parties in OISD projects. Our explanation relies on the interaction of four components: (1) the IS development and project management institutional profiles of the parties involved; (2) the institutional distance between practices within these profiles; (3) instances of conflicting institutional demands when institutional distance becomes salient; and (4) the repertoire of institutional strategic responses available to parties to address those instances. We suggest that the constitutive elements of institutional distance and the degree to which parties envision their collaboration beyond the project at hand contribute to explaining the enactment of strategic responses. Accounting for the fact that practices, as well as the institutional logics that drive their enactment, may differ between parties, we make a theoretical contribution to the literature on OISD by building a fine-grained explanation of the effects of differences between parties in OISD projects.

Expertise Coordination in Information Systems Development Projects: Willingness, Ability, and Behavior

Information systems development (ISD) projects are complex, requiring a variety of expertise. Coordinating such expertise helps manage complexity, increasing the likelihood of a project's success. Findings of past studies have been inconsistent regarding the benefits of expertise coordination—perhaps, in part, because three different forms of coordination have been used: willingness, ability, and behavior. We find that willingness and ability are antecedents of coordination behavior, and that coordination behavior fully mediates different forms of project success. Thus, successful expertise coordination requires team members who are both willing and able. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed.

The Impact of Residual Risk and Resultant Problems on Information Systems Development Project Performance

The research presented in this article considers how residual risk impacts project performance and: (1) evaluates the impact of specific categories of residual risks (actor, technology, task, and structure) on project performance; and (2) demonstrates the mediation role of categorical problems caused by residual risk on project performance. Data from 92 projects analyzed using partial least squares found support for mediation, and not direct effects between: (1) actor project problems and the effects of actor residual risk; (2) task project problems and the effects of task residual risk; and (3) technology project problems and the effects of technology residual risk on information systems development (ISD) project performance.

PENERAPAN PENDEKATAN MODEL WATERFALL DALAM PENGEMBANGAN SISTEM E-RAPOR

Information system development project can be seen as the life cycle (Systems Development Life Cycle / SDLC) which in practice can be done using different approaches. Waterfall is one of method that is often applied in the SDLC. This paper discusses the application of the Waterfall model in the E-Score Card system development project in high school report card as a follow-up to the minister Instruction No. 2 of 2011 on Education Data Management Activities and Permendikbud No. 53 of 2015 on the Assessment of Learning Outcomes. E-Score Card system was developed on the grounds that information management learning and assessment of learning outcomes that involve many data items, has a high complexity, and no fault tolerance for critical data related to many parties, so that the necessary existence of a computer based system. In addition, the E-Score Card system is also necessary to standardize, facilitate the education unit, and facilitate government monitoring information management learning and assessment of learning outcomes. Referring to the approach of the Waterfall model, the E-Score Card system is developed through four stages, namely planning, analysis, design, and implementation. Logical Model of E-Score Card system involving four external entities, namely Admin, Guardian Class, Teachers, and Students. E-Score Card system has four main processes, namely by Admin master data management, data transactions management by the Guardian Class and the Master, as well as display information of value to students. Prototype System E-Report Card was developed using the programming language PHP 5, MySQL DBMS, OS MSWindows, and web server Xampp 1.7.2.

Facilitating the Transformational: An Exploration of Control in Cyberinfrastructure Projects and the Discovery of Field Control

Emerging from rapid advances in digitization and technological capabilities is a new form of information systems development project: cyber projects. Cyber projects are complex, massive, and ambitious, often involving hundreds of academic, government, and industry professionals, requiring years of development, and costing millions of dollars. In our study, we examine how control is exercised in cyber projects. Based on a longitudinal study over eight years, we develop a process theory of the control of cyber projects. Initially we observe that project control is driven by the field, i.e., all of the individual or collective entities that subscribe to the general purpose of the project. This form of control is later replaced by a more bureaucratic form from government-sponsored entities to ensure that traditional project objectives are met. Once construction begins and the field understands the implications and promise of the project, we observe that control is again exerted by the primary project users in the field, complemented by authority-based control exerted by the government-sponsored entisty in the field.

Communication and control in outsourced IS development projects: Mapping to COBIT domains

Internal control over information technology (IT control) in complex outsourced information system development (ISD) projects is an ambiguous and sensitive issue. In this study we bring together Information Systems and Accounting perspectives to investigate how internal controls are incorporated into existing communication practices in outsourced ISD projects. The paper proposes that tools used for client-vendor communication are capable of supporting some of the IT control functions governed by the COBIT framework. In addition, it analyzes the influence of project complexity on the performance of communication tools as informal IT controls. Perceptual field data for the analysis were collected from project managers through an online survey instrument.The findings suggest that control objectives and types of project complexity are each supported by different communication tools. The level of support varies across communication tools categories and control objectives. Early analysis of a project's complexity can help with selection of communication tools which reinforce project support of control objectives while improving communication between client and vendor.

Enhancing development team flexibility in IS projects

Information system development projects face tremendous challenges because of business changes and technology changes. Research has shown that software team flexibility has a positive effect on project outcomes, but specific requirements for enhancing flexibility are lacking. Drawing from the input-mediator-outcome (IMO) team effectiveness framework, this research investigates the contextual inputs and team processes that lead to development team flexibility and how well team flexibility improves project outcomes. A survey was developed to consider a model derived from the IMO framework. One hundred fourteen members of information systems development project teams in China responded to the survey. Partial least squares analysis was used served to analyze the data. Results indicate that a participatory culture and cooperative norms are an effective foundation for improving required processes that include project coordination of the project and knowledge sharing activities. In turn, the improved process performance extends responses to changes in technology and the business climate. The improved flexibility in meeting change is predictive of outcomes related to project performance and quality of the final product.

Multiphase Assessment of Project Risk Interdependencies: Evidence from a University ISD Project in Taiwan

Project risks evolve dynamically, so variations in risk influences during the life cycle of an information system development project require analyses to devise risk management strategies cost effectively and at the appropriate stages. This study extends the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory technique, using network theory, to assess the risk interdependencies for distinct project phases. A multiphase observation of a university information system development project in Taiwan provides a more in-depth understanding of the key risk factors. To enhance risk assessments, this study proposes integrating an interdependency indicator with risk exposure measures.

Relationship between the interactive use of control systems and the project performance: The moderating effect of uncertainty and equivocality

Information system development (ISD) projects are knowledge-intensive settings that involve varying levels of uncertainty and equivocality. The objective of the present paper is to better understand how project managers can enhance ISD project performance by adapting their level of interactive use of a project's control system (PCS) to the project's uncertainty and equivocality. While interactive use of PCS can enable project managers to personally engage themselves in the project team members' work by regularly discussing project feedback information in face-to-face meetings, it can also be costly in terms of the time and attention it requires from project participants. These relationships were examined via PLS and Fisher test analyses of survey data collected on 93 ISD projects. The results indicated that PCS interactive use enhanced performance when project uncertainty and equivocality were high, but deteriorated it when they were low.

A hybrid selection method on information system development projects

As a critical management activity, project selection must be based on critical success factors; however, finding these factors within a project context is a challenge. The present study introduces a framework with five dimensions of financial, organisational, time, product and innovation to classify criteria by promoting the project management triangle. Furthermore, in order to select information system projects, we propose a hybrid method consisting of two components; one utilises the fuzzy concept for dealing with the uncertainty of the selection problem, called the fuzzy evaluation which presents a fuzzy expert system with five fuzzy subsystems. The second component concerns a ranking technique that is an integration of the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution and analytical hierarchical process ranking method. Finally, the proposed method is examined on an information system development company TOSAN Company and its results are compared with the reality.

Understanding champion behaviour in a health-care information system development project – how multiple champions and champion behaviours build a coherent whole

Champions are commonly suggested as a means of promoting the adoption of information systems. Since there are many different definitions of the concepts of champion and champion behaviour in the literature, practitioners and researchers may be confused about how to exactly use these concepts. A qualitative analysis of a single case study in a Swedish health-care organisation enabled us to explain how different champion behaviours relate to each other and how multiple champions interact. Combining our rich case observations with an analysis of champion literature reveals how champion behaviours form a coherent and meaningful whole in which networks of different types of champions at different levels in an organisation utilise their network of relations, their knowledge of the organisation and their insight into strategic decision-making politics to time and orchestrate the framing of innovations and the involvement of the right people. In conclusion, championing is a complex performance of contextually dependent collective social interaction, varying over time, rather than a heroic act of one individual promoting an idea. Future studies need to focus more on how the relations between different champions and their behaviours develop across innovations and over time, in order to develop a richer understanding of championing.

Impact of Requirements Elicitation Processes on Success of Information System Development Projects

Requirements articulating user needs and corresponding to enterprise business processes are a key to successful implementation of information system development projects. However, the parties involved in projects frequently are not able to agree on a common development vision and have difficulties expressing their needs. Several industry experts have acknowledged that requirements elicitation is one of the most difficult tasks in development projects. This study investigates the impact of requirements elicitation processes on project outcomes depending on the applied project development methodology.

Information Systems Project Management Risk

Over the last three decades, much IS research has focused on information systems development (ISD) risk and its impacts on ISD success. While these studies have greatly advanced the understanding of the nomological network of ISD risk and success, the literature is still not sufficiently clear on the firm performance impacts of these concepts. Linking ISD risk and success to firm performance is important so as to better understand whether ISD projects can have broader firm-level implications, for example, in terms of providing firms with a competitive advantage. To address this research need, the present research note advances propositions regarding the linkage between ISD risk, success, and firm-level performance (conceptualized as competitive advantage). This linkage sheds light on the broader effects of ISD risk, and it helps ISD research overcome the isolation in which it is often conducted. Using the concept of residual risk (i.e., the risk present in the later stages of a project that remains after appropriate actions have been taken to mitigate initial risks in the early stages of a project), the authors propose that ISD risk impacts firm performance by reducing ISD success and that the value arising from ISD projects is higher when IT and business plans are synchronized (i.e., when they are in alignment).