Systems development methodologies: unanswered questions

Wynekoop, Judy L.; Russo, Nancy L.

doi:10.1057/jit.1995.9

Cited by 63 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Some of the most popular include 1 The term ISD method is often vaguely defined, and extensive research has attempted to provide some clarity, distinguishing ISD method from methodology (e.g., Avison and Fitzgerald 2003, Checkland 1981, Oliga 1988, Vonk 1990, Welke 1983, Brinkkemper 1996, project management method (e.g., Brinkkemper 1990), process (e.g., Connors 1992, Fitzgerald et al 2002, and practices (e.g., Iivari et al 2000, Wynekoop andRusso 1995). The interpretation of method in this study is an inclusive one, amalgamating the definitions of Hirschheim et al (1995), Brinkkemper (1990), and Wynekoop and Russo (1995):…”

Section: The Emergence Of Agile Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agility from First Principles: Reconstructing the Concept of Agility in Information Systems Development

Conboy

2009

Information Systems Research

561

431

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Awareness and use of agile methods has grown rapidly among the information systems development (ISD) community in recent years. Like most previous methods, the development and promotion of these methods have been almost entirely driven by practitioners and consultants, with little participation from the research community during the early stages of evolution. While these methods are now the focus of more and more research efforts, most studies are still based on XP, Scrum, and other industry-driven foundations, with little or no conceptual studies of ISD agility in existence. As a result, this study proposes that there are a number of significant conceptual shortcomings with agile methods and the associated literature in its current state, including a lack of clarity, theoretical glue, parsimony, limited applicability, and naivety regarding the evolution of the concept of agility in fields outside systems development. Furthermore, this has significant implications for practitioners, rendering agile method comparison and many other activities very difficult, especially in instances such as distributed development and large teams that are not conducive to many of the commercial agile methods. This study develops a definition and formative taxonomy of agility in an ISD context, based on a structured literature review of agility across a number of disciplines, including manufacturing and management where the concept originated, matured, and has been applied and tested thoroughly over time. The application of the texonomy in practice is then demonstrated through a series of thought trials conducted in a large multinational organization. The intention is that the definition and taxonomy can then be used as a starting point to study ISD method agility regardless of whether the method is XP or Scrum, agile or traditional, complete or fragmented, out-of-the-box or in-house, used as is or tailored to suit the project context.

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Section: The Emergence Of Agile Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agility from First Principles: Reconstructing the Concept of Agility in Information Systems Development

Conboy

2009

Information Systems Research

561

431

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“…The framework has been constructed on the basis of detailed investigation of the systems development literature, and empirical research (Fitzgerald, 1997(Fitzgerald, , 1998Russo & Stolterman, 2000;Wynekoop & Russo, 1993, 1995, 1997. Despite the identified divergence between the intent of methodologies and concrete practice, researchers still have very little descriptive understanding of how practitioners use methodologies in their day-to-day work.…”

Section: A Review Of Related Research On Systems Development Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grounded Theorising Applied to IS Research - Developing a Coding Strategy

Rowlands

2005

AJIS

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This paper provides an example of developing a coding strategy to build theory of the roles of methods in IS development. The research seeks to identify and understand how system development methods are used in an IS department within a large Australian bank. The paper details a theoretical framework, particulars of data collection, and documents an early phase of analysis -data reduction and the generation of an initial coding scheme. Guided by a framework to study the use of methods, the analysis demonstrates the framework's plausibility in order to develop theoretical relationships with which to develop a grounded theory.

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“…In addition, we find a more specialised discussion of approaches to systems development research (Basili and Weiss 1984;Basili, Selby, and Hutchens 1986;Cotterman and Senn 1992;Nunamaker, Chen and Purdin 1991;Wynekoop and Russo 1993).…”

Section: Research Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unfortunately, these two fundamental criteria do not always point in the same direction. The dilemmas related to fulfilling the two criteria can be expressed by distinguishing between three basic research approaches as illustrated in Figure 4 (Mathiassen 1998a(Mathiassen , 1998bMunkMadsen 1986;Nunamaker, Chen, and Purdin 1991;Wynekoop and Russo 1993 ). Each of these approaches can be practiced in a variety of ways and they all contribute to the building of knowledge on systems development.…”

Section: Research Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%