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Changes in organizational structures, competitive environments, technologies and economies are altering the types and complexity of computer‐based information systems. For methodologies, tools and techniques to evolve to meet these changing needs, research to assess current system development practices would be expected. However, there is little evidence that the evaluation of methodologies and improvement of the systems development process are keeping pace with technological and organizational changes. This paper analyses existing research on system development methodologies and discusses the research needed to provide the information scholars and practitioners will need for the evaluation, selection and development of methodologies in a changing environment.

The recruitment, development, and retention of top performing information technology (IT) professionals is a key concern within IT organizations today. It is therefore important for IT management to understand the characteristics and behaviors of high performing IT personnel in order to identify them and to create an environment conducive to their development and retention. However, the personality traits and behaviors of top‐performing developers have not received a lot of attention in the literature on IT personnel. Describes a research method for identifying and measuring the characteristics of exceptional software developers and presents the results of a pilot study using MBA students. The results of the pilot are intended to be used to refine the methodology and serve as input to future research involving IT managers. These results indicate that the research design holds the promise of providing a profile of top performing IT personnel.

Exceptional application software developers are a scarce resource. It is therefore important for employers to identify, retain, and cultivate individuals who exhibit this capacity. This study compared the personality characteristics of exceptional, experienced application software developers with the personality characteristics of junior and senior level IS and CS students (who can be seen as entry-level, or pre-entry level, IT developers). We used the Adjective Checklist to measure personality characteristics for all subjects, then mapped the resultant scales to the Five Factor Model of Personality. The results of this study suggest that exceptional application software developers exhibit significantly higher levels of Extraversion and Conscientiousness. Exceptional students (as determined by GPA), however, were actually found to be introverted. Thus, when GPA is used to pre-screen or filter for entry-level positions, recruiters may actually be excluding some of those candidates who are most likely to become exceptional application software developers. These results have implications for understanding and managing the recruiting of IT personnel and their progression from entry level (novice) to more experienced positions.

Three types of information systems personnel (programmers, systems analysts, and project managers) were compared to the general population based on responses to a standardized personality test. The IS professionals, in aggregate, exceeded population norms for nearly all of the relevant scales, confirming much prior research.However, the personality profiles of analysts and managers differed widely from that of programmers, but not from one another. Managers and analysts were found to be conservative, logical, analytical, diligent, and ambitious, with strong leadership tendencies and high self-confidence and self-esteem. They were also found to be more sociable and creative than in past research.The differences identified between traditional programmers and systems analysts and managers indicate the importance of studying, managing, and recruiting these groups differently. The findings offer insight into how to retain, promote, and manage IS personnel effectively.

Despite over a decade of study, little is really known about information systems development and the use of systems development methodologies. There has been little evaluation of methodologies in use or examination of the selection, development, adaptation or use of methodologies in practice. This paper discusses this lack of knowledge and its ramifications for research and practice.

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placed significant emphasis on characteristics related to working with others, while the accountants viewed top IT personnel as loners.With the increasing decentralization of IT responsibilities and personnel to functional areas, the management of IT project teams changes, with more responsibilities for end-user managers in systems development and technology integration tasks. Results of a pilot study to identify differences in the perceptions of IT professionals versus the end-users with respect to the characteristics of top performing IT personnel are presented here.This study is intended to extend previous research, which considered only skills and knowledge areas to include personality characteristics. Thus, this research has significance for IS training, IS staffing, and human resource management, and may also serve as impetus for future projects to determine superior versus inferior methods for the management of IT projects.A three-round Delphi study was conducted, using MBA students from the IS and accounting disciplines. Both groups agreed that outstanding IT people are characterized by their creative problemsolving skills and their ability to abstract business problems. The IT ranked business functional knowledge, interpersonal skills, and a team-orientation very highly.The accountants, however, placed more emphasis on technical skills. The IT personnel Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for prolit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. 'fo copy otherwise. to republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee.