The Backstory of “Digital Agility Theory”

2023 | Journal of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Baiyere, Abayomi; Galliers, Robert; Salmela, Hannu; Tapanainen, Tommi

Abstract: ... Expand

Abstract: Collapse

Topics: IS agility digital transformation electronic mail IS development agility

Methods: theory development literature study theoretical contribution synthesis structured literature research

Theories: information systems theory

Issues, challenges, and a proposed theoretical core of agile software development research

2022 | Information Systems Journal | Citations: 12

Authors: Baham, Corey; Hirschheim, Rudy

Abstract: Over the last two decades, agile software development (ASD) has garnered much at ... Expand

Abstract: Over the last two decades, agile software development (ASD) has garnered much attention in both research and practice. Several ASD methods and techniques have been developed and studied. In particular, researchers have provided several theoretical perspectives on ASD and contributed rich insights to the ASD practice. Still, despite calls for a more unified theoretical understanding of ASD, a theoretical core of ASD has not been identified. This paper offers a theoretical core of ASD research, clarifying what is essential and what is less essential for IS agility, hoping to spark a scholarly discussion, and provides implications of such a core for understanding method tailoring. Collapse

Topics: user requirement systems development IS development agility Scrum IS agility

Methods: design methodology theory development theoretical contribution case study qualitative coding

Achieving Resilience through Agility

2021 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Baskerville, Richard; Pries-Heje, Jan

Abstract: Existing research reveals an overlap between the capabilities of an agile organ ... Expand

Abstract: Existing research reveals an overlap between the capabilities of an agile organization and the capabilities of a resilient organization. Using evidence from longitudinal case studies of three organizations, this paper explains how organizational resilience can be assimilated from organizational agility; and how organizational agility can be assimilated from IT project agility. The cases show how the capability to negotiate known contradictions in both resilience and agility is one facilitating feature in this assimilation. Collapse

Topics: agile software development Scrum covid 19 new product development IS development agility

Methods: qualitative interview design methodology longitudinal research longitudinal case study qualitative content analysis

Theories: boundary objects theory

The Relationship Between Transactive Memory Systems and Software Development Agility

2017 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: McKinley, Bryan

Abstract: Responding to requirement changes while continuing to deliver a change presents ... Expand

Abstract: Responding to requirement changes while continuing to deliver a change presents an agility challenge to many teams in software development. Growing evidence suggests that when teams respond to extensive requirement changes (response extensiveness), they tend to sacrifice efficiency in delivering a change (response efficiency) (Lee and Xia 2010; McKinley 2015). Trading a more extensive response to requirement changes for a less efficient response to deliver a change is defined as software development agility, a common challenge in agile software development (Lee and Xia 2010). The proposed study takes an effective teams perspective of being agile, rather than a doing or following agile methods perspective so common in IT research (McAvoy et al. 2012). A prominent component of effective software development teams is a well-developed transactive memory system (TMS) (Maruping et al. 2009). A TMS is characterized as a team’s expertise network, driven by members’ awareness of “who knows what”. As little is known about the relationship between TMS and software development agility, this study seeks to better understand their suspected intricate relationship. Prior research indicates TMS, a second-order construct, likely has a complicated effect on software development agility (McKinley 2015). A key limitation of McKinley’s study concerned relating a single, second-order measure of TMS to response extensiveness and response efficiency. Based on emerging field research and guidance, this study intends to relate three first-order dimensions of TMS, specialization, coordination, and credibility, directly to response extensiveness and response efficiency. Such study is expected to expose a more intricate relationship between TMS and software development agility. Increasing our understanding of what enables and inhibits agility from the perspective of TMS will be a key contribution to research. Providing practical guidance on how to enhance a team’s TMS such that it maximizes response extensiveness and response efficiency while minimizing their trade-offs will be a key contribution to practice. Collapse

Topics: IS development agility

Methods: field study

Toward Agile: An Integrated Analysis of Quantitative and Qualitative Field Data on Software Development Agility

2010 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 203

Authors: Lee, Gwanhoo; Xia, Weidong

Abstract: As business and technology environments change at an unprecedented rate, softwar ... Expand

Abstract: As business and technology environments change at an unprecedented rate, software development agility to respond to changing user requirements has become increasingly critical for software development performance. Agile software development approaches, which emphasize sense-and-respond, self-organization, cross-functional teams, and continuous adaptation, have been adopted by an increasing number of organizations to improve their software development agility. However, the agile development literature is largely anecdotal and prescriptive, lacking empirical evidence and theoretical foundation to support the principles and practices of agile development. Little research has empirically examined the software development agility construct in terms of its dimensions, determinants, and effects on software development performance. As a result, there is a lack of understanding about how organizations can effectively implement an agile development approach. Using an integrated research approach that combines quantitative and qualitative data analyses, this research opens the black box of agile development by empirically examining the relationships among two dimensions of software development agility (software team response extensiveness and software team response efficiency), two antecedents that can be controlled (team autonomy and team diversity), and three aspects of software development performance (on-time completion, on-budget completion, and software functionality). Our PLS results of survey responses of 399 software project managers suggest that the relationships among these variables are more complex than what has been perceived by the literature. The results suggest a tradeoff relationship between response extensiveness and response efficiency. These two agility dimensions impact software development performance differently: response efficiency positively affects all of on-time completion, on-budget completion, and software functionality, whereas response extensiveness positively affects only software functionality. The results also suggest that team autonomy has a positive effect on response efficiency and a negative effect on response extensiveness, and that team diversity has a positive effect on response extensiveness. We conducted 10 post hoc case studies to qualitatively cross-validate our PLS results and provide rich, additional insights regarding the complex, dynamic interplays between autonomy, diversity, agility, and performance. The qualitative analysis also provides explanations for both supported and unsupported hypotheses. We discuss these qualitative analysis results and conclude with the theoretical and practical implications of our research findings for agile development approaches. Collapse

Topics: IS development agility agile software development systems development user requirement IT development project

Methods: partial least squares regression survey design methodology case study qualitative interview

Continuing the debate: a response to a response – persistent problems and practices in Information Systems Development as enduring contradictions of new software development approaches?

2007 | Information Systems Journal | Citations: 0

Authors: Kautz, Karlheinz; Madsen, Sabine; Nørbjerg, Jacob

Abstract: In 'The enduring contradictions of new software development approaches: A respo ... Expand

Abstract: In 'The enduring contradictions of new software development approaches: A response to "Persistent Problems and Practices in Information Systems Development" ', Baskerville et al. (2007) discuss our work as presented in Kautz et al. (2007). They interpret our research as offering 'controversy over the degree to which the set of software development practices, variously called agile methodology, Internet speed methodology, and short cycle time development, are different from more traditional or plan-based development approaches' and as leading the reader 'to wonder how history might regard software development agility'. This is a noteworthy interpretation of our work. Like Baskerville et al., we welcome the resurrected tradition of a written academic debate, and will use the opportunity thankworthy given to us by the editors of ISJ to clarify the contents and intent of our original publication.The aim of our paper is to analyse the problems facing Information Systems Development (ISD), and the practices applied by developers and managers to cope with these problems as they emerge in different contexts and at different points in time, i.e. 'traditional' ISD as performed in the early 1990s and 'web' ISD as performed in the beginning of the century. Thus, we use contemporary literature on Web development as an example of research that argues a need for new concepts, methodologies and tools as a result of fundamental changes in ISD. Our point is that such changes may be obvious on the surface level, but the problems and conditions facing contemporary practice are not, in their essence (Brooks, 1987), different from the challenges previously experienced. Likewise, the practices -which are not the same as methods or methodologies -that are used to solve the problems are not essentially different from previously observed ISD practices. This can be illustrated with an example: programming in .Net or Visual Basic is of course different from programming in Assembler. It is, however, still programming, i.e. solving information processing problems by means of executable code.In their response, Baskerville et al. put much emphasis on the concept of agility, and contrast the characteristics of Web development with agile development. The comparison is most interesting, but we reiterate that our analysis and interest concerns ISD practices -past and Info Systems J (2007) 17, 247-249 247 Collapse

Topics: systems development agile software development IS development agility internet technology system development method

Methods: design methodology