Sequential patterns in information systems development: an application of a social process model

We trace the process of developing and implementing a materials management system in one company over a 15-year period. Using a process research model developed by Newman and Robey, we identify 44 events in the process and define them as either encounters or episodes. Encounters are concentrated events, such as meetings and announcements, that separate episodes, which are events of longer duration. By examining the sequence of events over the 15 years of the case, we identify a pattern of repeated failure, followed by success. Our discussion centers on the value of detecting and displaying such patterns and the need for theoretical interpretation of recurring sequences of events. Five alternative theoretical perspectives, originally proposed by Kling, are used to interpret the sequential patterns identified by the model. We conclude that the form of the process model allows researchers who operate from different perspectives to enrich their understanding of the process of system development.

[1]  D. Campbell,et al.  EXPERIMENTAL AND QUASI-EXPERIMENT Al DESIGNS FOR RESEARCH , 2012 .

[2]  A. H. Schainblatt,et al.  The Researcher and The Manager: A Dialectic of Implementation , 1965 .

[3]  Henry C. Lucas,et al.  Toward creative systems design , 1974 .

[4]  E. B. Swanson,et al.  Management Information Systems: Appreciation and Involvement , 1974 .

[5]  Rob Kling,et al.  Social Analyses of Computing: Theoretical Perspectives in Recent Empirical Research , 1980, CSUR.

[6]  Lawrence B. Mohr,et al.  Explaining organizational behavior , 1982 .

[7]  M. Lynne Markus,et al.  Power, politics, and MIS implementation , 1987, CACM.

[8]  G. Huber.  The Nature and Design of Post-Industrial Organizations , 1984 .

[9]  Randall L. Schultz,et al.  Management science implementation , 1984 .

[10]  C. R. Franz,et al.  Strategies for research on information systems in organizations. A critical analysis of research purpose and time frame , 1987 .

[11]  M. Markus,et al.  Information technology and organizational change: causal structure in theory and research , 1988 .

[12]  Bill Curtis,et al.  A field study of the software design process for large systems , 1988, CACM.

[13]  Leslie P. Willcocks,et al.  XSEL's Progress: The Continuing Journey of an Expert System , 1989, J. Inf. Technol..

[14]  Allen S. Lee.  A Scientific Methodology for MIS Case Studies , 1989, MIS Q..

[15]  K. Eisenhardt.  Building theories from case study research , 1989, STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI.

[16]  William H. Glick,et al.  Studying Changes in Organizational Design and Effectiveness: Retrospective Event Histories and Periodic Assessments , 1990 .

[17]  A. Abbott,et al.  Measuring Resemblance in Sequence Data: An Optimal Matching Analysis of Musicians' Careers , 1990, American Journal of Sociology.

[18]  Marshall Scott Poole,et al.  Methods for Studying Innovation Development in the Minnesota Innovation Research Program , 1990 .

[19]  Wanda J. Orlikowski,et al.  Studying Information Technology in Organizations: Research Approaches and Assumptions , 1991, Inf. Syst. Res..

[20]  C. Gersick.  REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE THEORIES: A MULTILEVEL EXPLORATION OF THE PUNCTUATED EQUILIBRIUM PARADIGM , 1991 .

[21]  H. Klein,et al.  Information systems development as social action: Theoretical perspective and practice , 1991 .

[22]  Daniel Robey,et al.  A Social Process Model of User-Analyst Relationships , 1992, MIS Q..

[23]  Rajiv Sabherwal,et al.  An Empirical Taxonomy of Implementation Processes Based on Sequences of Events in Information System Development , 1993 .