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John Persson

Aalborg University, Computer Science, Faculty Member

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My research interests are in the areas of information systems and software engineering with a particular emphasis on management of software development projects and IT benefits realization in organizations. I mostly do qualitative research and consider myself an engaged scholar.
Supervisors: Lars Mathiassen and Ivan Aaen
Phone: +45 9940 8916
Address: Aalborg University
Department of Computer Science
Selma Lagerlöfs Vej 300
9220 Aalborg East, Denmark

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Papers by John Persson

IT Management in Local Government

Business-case metode for kommunale IT-investeringer, version 2.0

E-government value priorities of Danish local authority managers

The management of e-government is a central topic in the improvement of public administration, wh... more The management of e-government is a central topic in the improvement of public administration, where the underlying values of e-government practitioners are an important (but often taken for granted) motivation for strategy and implementation of e-government projects. This chapter offers a value analysis of central trends in the public administration literature: New Public Management, the post-Weberian Bureaucracy and the New Public Service (NPS). Using the assumption that e-government is driven largely by public administrations and therefore shares public management values, we develop a value model for e-government. Administrative Efficiency focuses on value for money logics highlighted by New Public Management thinking. Service Improvement, derived from the tradition of public service, emphasises the value of providing better services to citizens. Citizen Engagement, with its roots in liberal democratic arguments, promotes democracy, deliberation and dialogue. A set of Foundational Values grounded in the deeplyrooted bureaucratic tradition is also identified. A preliminary study of local authority managers' values shows a heavy bias towards administrative efficiency and an absence of concern for citizen engagement; the implications of these results are briefly discussed.

The Cross-Cultural Knowledge Sharing Challenge: An Investigation of the Co-location Strategy in Software Development Offshoring

Cross-cultural offshoring in software development challenges effective knowledge sharing. While r... more Cross-cultural offshoring in software development challenges effective knowledge sharing. While research has suggested temporarily co-locating participants to address this challenge, few studies are available on what knowledge sharing practices emerge over time when co-locating cross-cultural software developers. This paper presents a longitudinal case study of an offshoring project with co-location of Indian and Danish software developers for 10½ months. A community-of-practice (CoP) analysis is offered of what knowledge sharing practices emerge over time and how these where facilitated. The study supports previous studies' suggestion of co-location in offshoring for helping cross-cultural knowledge sharing. However, the short initial period of co-location suggested in these studies, was insufficient for achieving knowledge sharing practices indicating a CoP. In conjunction with a longer period of colocation four facilitators of cross-cultural knowledge sharing were shared office, shared responsibility for tasks and problems, shared prioritization of team spirit, and a champion of social integration.

A Business Case Method for IT Investments in Danish Municipalities

Effective management of information technology (IT) investments is increasingly important for Dan... more Effective management of information technology (IT) investments is increasingly important for Danish municipalities. This is why they along with other both public and private sector organizations increasingly are using IT business cases. The business case is a document specifying the main rationale behind the expected value and cost of an IT investment for the adopting organization. However, experiences from Danish municipalities reveal difficulties in developing effective IT business cases for purposes beyond simple cost savings. Based on collaborative action research with Danish municipalities, we present insights on the challenges in contemporary IT business case practices. We applied these insights in conjunction with contemporary literature on business cases to develop a business case method for Danish municipalities. Based on the municipalities' evaluation of the method we summarize its key contributions to IT business case practice in local government organizations.

It-ledelsesmæssige udfordringer i 12 kommuner

Knowledge Coordination in Distributed Software Management: An Analysis of Breakdowns in Multimodal Virtual Meetings

Software organizations are increasingly relying on cross-organizational and cross-border collabor... more Software organizations are increasingly relying on cross-organizational and cross-border collaboration, requiring effective coordination of distributed knowledge. However, such coordination is challenging due to spatial separation, diverging communities-of-practice, and unevenly distributed resources. We have therefore studied virtual meetings among the managers of a cross-organizational and cross-border joint venture who was highly dedicated to multimodal communication. Since coordination is most clearly noticeable when it is lacking, we investigated knowledge coordination by analyzing communication breakdowns on recordings of their combined teleconferencing and real-time collaborative modeling. As a result, we offer theoretical propositions that explain how distributed software managers can deal with communication breakdowns and effectively coordinate knowledge through multimodal virtual meetings.

It Benefits Mangement in Local Government: A Comparative Case Study

IT Management in Local Government: Engaged Problem Formulation

The use of information technology (IT) is increasingly important for local governments (municipal... more The use of information technology (IT) is increasingly important for local governments (municipalities) in adhering to their responsibilities for providing services to citizens and this requires effective IT management. We present an engaged scholarship approach to formulating the IT management problems with local government-not for local government. We define such engaged problem formulation as joint learning and definition of a contemporary and complex problem by researchers and those who experience and know the problem. This engaged problem formulation process was carried out as an initiation of action research and design science research activities at multiple levels in Danish municipalities. In this paper we present the IT management problems identified in our study and discuss the engaged problem formulation process in relation to engaged scholarship and implications for action research and design science research activities.

Persson & Mathiassen 2010 - A Process for Managing Risks in Distributed Teams

The current literature offers rich insights into these challenges, 2-5 but it offers no process f... more The current literature offers rich insights into these challenges, 2-5 but it offers no process for managing risks that apply to distributed team structures. We've developed a comprehensive process that's compliant with CMMI, the Software Engineering Institute's maturity model for assessing and improving organizational processes. CMMI offers a comprehensive set of generic processes to support development of products and services. 6 One of its processes focuses on risk management to help identify and analyze potential problems before they occur so that managers can plan risk-handling activities and invoke them across the project life cycle. We adapt this approach to avoid redundancies and focus on managing risk in distributed teams. We describe a series of steps that are easy to understand and follow. However, practicing risk management requires nontrivial skills and insights, 7 so it's important to remember that a rigorous recipe for action must always be adapted to become useful in practice: A recipe tells you the ingredients, how to mix the ingredients, what temperature to use, and how long to cook those ingredients. However, it does not teach you the techniques of slicing and dicing, mixing, beating, whipping, blanching, grilling, poaching, etc. And recipes also leave room for some experimentation and modification. 8 A process for managing risks associated with distributed software projects offers a series of rigorous but easy-to-follow steps.

VALUE POSITIONS IN E-GOVERNMENT STRATEGIES: SOMETHING IS (NOT) CHANGING IN THE STATE OF DENMARK

by John Persson and Espen Skorve

Clarifying what value new information systems (IS) may help to create for government organization... more Clarifying what value new information systems (IS) may help to create for government organizations and society is a central concern in the public sector. National e-government strategies present such efforts to clarify the value entailed by IS, however, what is considered valuable is influenced by value positions deeply enshrined in the traditions of public administration. We present a theory directed content analysis of value positions in the national e-government strategy for Denmark published for the first time in 1994 and latest in 2016. Our comparison of the value positions in the two e-government strategies show consistency over time when looking at the ideals of professionalism, service , and efficiency. While the least dominant ideal of engagement, has declined. The 22-year timespan separating the development of these two strategies had major technological advances, but little transformational impact on Danish e-government strategies in their general value positions. We discuss how our findings contribute to previous research on values in e-government and have practical implications for working with e-government strategies.

Useful business cases: value creation in IS projects

Business cases have become popular as part of managing value creation in IS projects. Nevertheles... more Business cases have become popular as part of managing value creation in IS projects. Nevertheless, business cases are often poorly linked to value creation activities and organizations struggle to develop business cases that are useful and express more than simple cost savings. This action research study seeks to improve the usefulness of business cases in IS projects. We used collaborative action research with Danish municipalities to improve their practices when developing and using business cases and to change their perceptions of what constitutes a good business case that is useful during implementation and value creation. This article presents lessons learned from our action research, lessons that we incorporated into a business case method and subsequently evaluated with IS managers. There are three lessons on (1) improving the content of business cases, (2) how to develop business cases, and (3) the use of business cases in subsequent value creation. These lessons summarize our findings and the contributions are that we in the business case method propose to (1) include minimal contents, (2) develop social commitment, and (3) structure for dynamic use during value creation. We discuss the lessons and contributions related to research on IS business cases and value creation.

Dynamic Capabilities and Project Management in Small Software Companies

A small software company depends on its capability to adapt to rapid technological and other chan... more A small software company depends on its capability to adapt to rapid technological and other changes in its environment—its dynamic capabilities. In this paper, we argue that to evolve and maintain its dynamic capabilities a small software company must pay attention to the interaction between dynamic capabilities at different levels of the company— particularly between the project management and the company levels. We present a case study of a small software company and show how successful dynamic capabilities at the company level can affect project management in small software companies in ways which may have an adverse impact on the company's overall dynamic capabilities. This study contributes to our understanding of the managerial challenges of small software companies by demonstrating the need to manage the interaction between adaptability and flexibility at different levels of the company.

The Roles of Conference Papers in IS: An Analysis of the Scandinavian Conference on Information Systems

by Arto Lanamäki and John Persson

Information Systems (IS) research has both a journal-oriented publication culture and a rich plet... more Information Systems (IS) research has both a journal-oriented publication culture and a rich plethora of conferences. It is unclear why IS researchers even bother with conference publishing given the high focus on journals. Against this backdrop, the purpose of this paper is to increase our understanding of conference papers in IS and the role they play for the authoring researchers. We present the first analysis of the papers published during the first six years (2010–2015) in the Scandinavian Conference on Information Systems (SCIS). We conducted interviews with ten SCIS authors. Following a framework adopted from Åkerlind [1], we identified how SCIS papers have the roles of fulfilling requirements, establishing oneself, developing personally, enabling change, and other roles. This article contributes to the reflection literature on the IS field by applying a practice lens to understand the role of conference papers in research.

Engaged Problem Formulation in IS Research

" Is this the problem? " : the question that haunts many information systems (IS) researchers whe... more " Is this the problem? " : the question that haunts many information systems (IS) researchers when they pursue work relevant to both practice and research. Nevertheless, a deliberate answer to this question requires more than simply asking the involved IS practitioners. Deliberately formulating problems requires a more substantial engagement with the different stakeholders, especially when their problems are ill structured and situated in complex organizational settings. On this basis, we present an engaged approach to formulating IS problems with, not for, IS practitioners. We have come to understand engaged problem formulation as joint researching and as the defining of contemporary and complex problems by researchers and those practitioners who experience and know these problems. We used this approach in investigating IS management in Danish municipalities. In this paper, we present the approach to formulating problems in an engaged way. We discuss it in relation to ideas and assumptions that underpin engaged scholarship, and we discuss the implications for IS action research, design science research, and mixed approaches.

IMPROVING ISD AGILITY IN FAST-MOVING SOFTWARE ORGANIZATIONS

Fast-moving software organizations must respond quickly to changing technological options and mar... more Fast-moving software organizations must respond quickly to changing technological options and market trends while delivering high-quality services at competitive prices. Improving agility of information systems development (ISD) may reconcile these inherent tensions, but previous research of agility predominantly focused separately on managing either the individual project or the organization. Limited research has investigated the management that ties the agility of individual projects with the company agility characterizing fast-moving organizations. This paper reports an action research study on how to improve ISD agility in a fast-moving software organization. The study maps central problems in the ISD management to direct improvements of agility. Our following intervention addressed method improvements in defining types of ISD by customer relations and integrating the method with the task management tool used by the organization. The paper discusses how the action research contributes to our understanding of ISD agility in fast-moving software organizations with a framework for mapping and evaluating improvements of agility. The action research specifically points out that project managers need to attend to the company's agility in relating to customers, that company agility links to project agility, and that this requires light method and tool support.

Digital Service Integration through effective IT management

Home Home. ...

E-government value priorities of Danish local authority managers

The management of e-government is a central topic in the improvement of public administration, wh... more The management of e-government is a central topic in the improvement of public administration, where the underlying values of e-government practitioners are an important (but often taken for granted) motivation for strategy and implementation of e-government projects. This chapter offers a value analysis of central trends in the public administration literature: New Public Management, the post-Weberian Bureaucracy and the New Public Service (NPS). Using the assumption that e-government is driven largely by public administrations and therefore shares public management values, we develop a value model for e-government. Administrative Efficiency focuses on value for money logics highlighted by New Public Management thinking. Service Improvement, derived from the tradition of public service, emphasises the value of providing better services to citizens. Citizen Engagement, with its roots in liberal democratic arguments, promotes democracy, deliberation and dialogue. A set of Foundational Values grounded in the deeplyrooted bureaucratic tradition is also identified. A preliminary study of local authority managers' values shows a heavy bias towards administrative efficiency and an absence of concern for citizen engagement; the implications of these results are briefly discussed.

Engaged Problem Formulation of IT Management in Danish Municipalities

Municipalities' effectiveness in managing information technology (IT) is increasingly importa... more Municipalities' effectiveness in managing information technology (IT) is increasingly important in adhering to their responsibilities for providing services to citizens. While the municipalities' difficulty in managing IT has been well docu-mented, it is more elusive what specific problems are most relevant in contempo-rary municipal IT management practice. On this basis, we present an engaged scholarship approach to formulate IT management problems together with munici-palities – not for municipalities. We have come to understand such engaged prob-lem formulation as joint researching and defining of a contemporary and complex problem by researchers and those who experience and know the problem. We pre-sent the formulated IT management problems and discuss the engaged problem formulation process in relation to engaged scholarship. Furthermore, we discuss how engaged problem formulation may contribute to action research when making sense of ill-structured problems by involvin...

Managing Risk Areas in Software Development Offshoring: A CMMI Level 5 Case

Software companies are increasingly offshoring development to countries with high expertise at lo... more Software companies are increasingly offshoring development to countries with high expertise at lower cost. Offshoring involves particular risk areas that, if ignored level may influence the management of these risk areas. Against this backdrop, we present an interpretive case study on how managers perceive and mitigate the risk areas in soft maturity model integration (CMMI) level 5 software company as the client. We f mitigated most of the offshoring risk areas in accordance with the findings of previous rese area of task distribution was a notable exception. In this case, managers perceive and coupling across sites as risk mitigation rather than risk taking. The paper discusses how and why managers perceived and mitigated the risk areas in this way and the implications for theory and practice in software development offshoring. Abstract: Software companies are increasingly offshoring development to countries with high expertise at lower cost. Offshoring if ignored, increase the likelihood of failure. However, the offshoring client's maturity level may influence the management of these risk areas. Against this backdrop, we present an interpretive case study how managers perceive and mitigate the risk areas in software development offshoring with a level 5 software company as the client. We found that managers perceive most of the offshoring risk areas in accordance with the findings of previous research. However, the risk s a notable exception. In this case, managers perceived high task uncertainty, equivocality, and coupling across sites as risk mitigation rather than risk taking. The paper discusses how and why managers the risk areas in this way and the implications for theory and practice in software Software companies are increasingly offshoring development to countries with high expertise at lower cost. Offshoring increase the likelihood of failure. However, the offshoring client's maturity level may influence the management of these risk areas. Against this backdrop, we present an interpretive case study ware development offshoring with a mature capability nd that managers perceived and arch. However, the risk high task uncertainty, equivocality, and coupling across sites as risk mitigation rather than risk taking. The paper discusses how and why managers the risk areas in this way and the implications for theory and practice in software

IT Management in Local Government

Business-case metode for kommunale IT-investeringer, version 2.0

E-government value priorities of Danish local authority managers

The management of e-government is a central topic in the improvement of public administration, wh... more The management of e-government is a central topic in the improvement of public administration, where the underlying values of e-government practitioners are an important (but often taken for granted) motivation for strategy and implementation of e-government projects. This chapter offers a value analysis of central trends in the public administration literature: New Public Management, the post-Weberian Bureaucracy and the New Public Service (NPS). Using the assumption that e-government is driven largely by public administrations and therefore shares public management values, we develop a value model for e-government. Administrative Efficiency focuses on value for money logics highlighted by New Public Management thinking. Service Improvement, derived from the tradition of public service, emphasises the value of providing better services to citizens. Citizen Engagement, with its roots in liberal democratic arguments, promotes democracy, deliberation and dialogue. A set of Foundational Values grounded in the deeplyrooted bureaucratic tradition is also identified. A preliminary study of local authority managers' values shows a heavy bias towards administrative efficiency and an absence of concern for citizen engagement; the implications of these results are briefly discussed.

The Cross-Cultural Knowledge Sharing Challenge: An Investigation of the Co-location Strategy in Software Development Offshoring

Cross-cultural offshoring in software development challenges effective knowledge sharing. While r... more Cross-cultural offshoring in software development challenges effective knowledge sharing. While research has suggested temporarily co-locating participants to address this challenge, few studies are available on what knowledge sharing practices emerge over time when co-locating cross-cultural software developers. This paper presents a longitudinal case study of an offshoring project with co-location of Indian and Danish software developers for 10½ months. A community-of-practice (CoP) analysis is offered of what knowledge sharing practices emerge over time and how these where facilitated. The study supports previous studies' suggestion of co-location in offshoring for helping cross-cultural knowledge sharing. However, the short initial period of co-location suggested in these studies, was insufficient for achieving knowledge sharing practices indicating a CoP. In conjunction with a longer period of colocation four facilitators of cross-cultural knowledge sharing were shared office, shared responsibility for tasks and problems, shared prioritization of team spirit, and a champion of social integration.

A Business Case Method for IT Investments in Danish Municipalities

Effective management of information technology (IT) investments is increasingly important for Dan... more Effective management of information technology (IT) investments is increasingly important for Danish municipalities. This is why they along with other both public and private sector organizations increasingly are using IT business cases. The business case is a document specifying the main rationale behind the expected value and cost of an IT investment for the adopting organization. However, experiences from Danish municipalities reveal difficulties in developing effective IT business cases for purposes beyond simple cost savings. Based on collaborative action research with Danish municipalities, we present insights on the challenges in contemporary IT business case practices. We applied these insights in conjunction with contemporary literature on business cases to develop a business case method for Danish municipalities. Based on the municipalities' evaluation of the method we summarize its key contributions to IT business case practice in local government organizations.

It-ledelsesmæssige udfordringer i 12 kommuner

Knowledge Coordination in Distributed Software Management: An Analysis of Breakdowns in Multimodal Virtual Meetings

Software organizations are increasingly relying on cross-organizational and cross-border collabor... more Software organizations are increasingly relying on cross-organizational and cross-border collaboration, requiring effective coordination of distributed knowledge. However, such coordination is challenging due to spatial separation, diverging communities-of-practice, and unevenly distributed resources. We have therefore studied virtual meetings among the managers of a cross-organizational and cross-border joint venture who was highly dedicated to multimodal communication. Since coordination is most clearly noticeable when it is lacking, we investigated knowledge coordination by analyzing communication breakdowns on recordings of their combined teleconferencing and real-time collaborative modeling. As a result, we offer theoretical propositions that explain how distributed software managers can deal with communication breakdowns and effectively coordinate knowledge through multimodal virtual meetings.

It Benefits Mangement in Local Government: A Comparative Case Study

IT Management in Local Government: Engaged Problem Formulation

The use of information technology (IT) is increasingly important for local governments (municipal... more The use of information technology (IT) is increasingly important for local governments (municipalities) in adhering to their responsibilities for providing services to citizens and this requires effective IT management. We present an engaged scholarship approach to formulating the IT management problems with local government-not for local government. We define such engaged problem formulation as joint learning and definition of a contemporary and complex problem by researchers and those who experience and know the problem. This engaged problem formulation process was carried out as an initiation of action research and design science research activities at multiple levels in Danish municipalities. In this paper we present the IT management problems identified in our study and discuss the engaged problem formulation process in relation to engaged scholarship and implications for action research and design science research activities.

Persson & Mathiassen 2010 - A Process for Managing Risks in Distributed Teams

The current literature offers rich insights into these challenges, 2-5 but it offers no process f... more The current literature offers rich insights into these challenges, 2-5 but it offers no process for managing risks that apply to distributed team structures. We've developed a comprehensive process that's compliant with CMMI, the Software Engineering Institute's maturity model for assessing and improving organizational processes. CMMI offers a comprehensive set of generic processes to support development of products and services. 6 One of its processes focuses on risk management to help identify and analyze potential problems before they occur so that managers can plan risk-handling activities and invoke them across the project life cycle. We adapt this approach to avoid redundancies and focus on managing risk in distributed teams. We describe a series of steps that are easy to understand and follow. However, practicing risk management requires nontrivial skills and insights, 7 so it's important to remember that a rigorous recipe for action must always be adapted to become useful in practice: A recipe tells you the ingredients, how to mix the ingredients, what temperature to use, and how long to cook those ingredients. However, it does not teach you the techniques of slicing and dicing, mixing, beating, whipping, blanching, grilling, poaching, etc. And recipes also leave room for some experimentation and modification. 8 A process for managing risks associated with distributed software projects offers a series of rigorous but easy-to-follow steps.

VALUE POSITIONS IN E-GOVERNMENT STRATEGIES: SOMETHING IS (NOT) CHANGING IN THE STATE OF DENMARK

by John Persson and Espen Skorve

Clarifying what value new information systems (IS) may help to create for government organization... more Clarifying what value new information systems (IS) may help to create for government organizations and society is a central concern in the public sector. National e-government strategies present such efforts to clarify the value entailed by IS, however, what is considered valuable is influenced by value positions deeply enshrined in the traditions of public administration. We present a theory directed content analysis of value positions in the national e-government strategy for Denmark published for the first time in 1994 and latest in 2016. Our comparison of the value positions in the two e-government strategies show consistency over time when looking at the ideals of professionalism, service , and efficiency. While the least dominant ideal of engagement, has declined. The 22-year timespan separating the development of these two strategies had major technological advances, but little transformational impact on Danish e-government strategies in their general value positions. We discuss how our findings contribute to previous research on values in e-government and have practical implications for working with e-government strategies.

Useful business cases: value creation in IS projects

Business cases have become popular as part of managing value creation in IS projects. Nevertheles... more Business cases have become popular as part of managing value creation in IS projects. Nevertheless, business cases are often poorly linked to value creation activities and organizations struggle to develop business cases that are useful and express more than simple cost savings. This action research study seeks to improve the usefulness of business cases in IS projects. We used collaborative action research with Danish municipalities to improve their practices when developing and using business cases and to change their perceptions of what constitutes a good business case that is useful during implementation and value creation. This article presents lessons learned from our action research, lessons that we incorporated into a business case method and subsequently evaluated with IS managers. There are three lessons on (1) improving the content of business cases, (2) how to develop business cases, and (3) the use of business cases in subsequent value creation. These lessons summarize our findings and the contributions are that we in the business case method propose to (1) include minimal contents, (2) develop social commitment, and (3) structure for dynamic use during value creation. We discuss the lessons and contributions related to research on IS business cases and value creation.

Dynamic Capabilities and Project Management in Small Software Companies

A small software company depends on its capability to adapt to rapid technological and other chan... more A small software company depends on its capability to adapt to rapid technological and other changes in its environment—its dynamic capabilities. In this paper, we argue that to evolve and maintain its dynamic capabilities a small software company must pay attention to the interaction between dynamic capabilities at different levels of the company— particularly between the project management and the company levels. We present a case study of a small software company and show how successful dynamic capabilities at the company level can affect project management in small software companies in ways which may have an adverse impact on the company's overall dynamic capabilities. This study contributes to our understanding of the managerial challenges of small software companies by demonstrating the need to manage the interaction between adaptability and flexibility at different levels of the company.

The Roles of Conference Papers in IS: An Analysis of the Scandinavian Conference on Information Systems

by Arto Lanamäki and John Persson

Information Systems (IS) research has both a journal-oriented publication culture and a rich plet... more Information Systems (IS) research has both a journal-oriented publication culture and a rich plethora of conferences. It is unclear why IS researchers even bother with conference publishing given the high focus on journals. Against this backdrop, the purpose of this paper is to increase our understanding of conference papers in IS and the role they play for the authoring researchers. We present the first analysis of the papers published during the first six years (2010–2015) in the Scandinavian Conference on Information Systems (SCIS). We conducted interviews with ten SCIS authors. Following a framework adopted from Åkerlind [1], we identified how SCIS papers have the roles of fulfilling requirements, establishing oneself, developing personally, enabling change, and other roles. This article contributes to the reflection literature on the IS field by applying a practice lens to understand the role of conference papers in research.

Engaged Problem Formulation in IS Research

" Is this the problem? " : the question that haunts many information systems (IS) researchers whe... more " Is this the problem? " : the question that haunts many information systems (IS) researchers when they pursue work relevant to both practice and research. Nevertheless, a deliberate answer to this question requires more than simply asking the involved IS practitioners. Deliberately formulating problems requires a more substantial engagement with the different stakeholders, especially when their problems are ill structured and situated in complex organizational settings. On this basis, we present an engaged approach to formulating IS problems with, not for, IS practitioners. We have come to understand engaged problem formulation as joint researching and as the defining of contemporary and complex problems by researchers and those practitioners who experience and know these problems. We used this approach in investigating IS management in Danish municipalities. In this paper, we present the approach to formulating problems in an engaged way. We discuss it in relation to ideas and assumptions that underpin engaged scholarship, and we discuss the implications for IS action research, design science research, and mixed approaches.

IMPROVING ISD AGILITY IN FAST-MOVING SOFTWARE ORGANIZATIONS

Fast-moving software organizations must respond quickly to changing technological options and mar... more Fast-moving software organizations must respond quickly to changing technological options and market trends while delivering high-quality services at competitive prices. Improving agility of information systems development (ISD) may reconcile these inherent tensions, but previous research of agility predominantly focused separately on managing either the individual project or the organization. Limited research has investigated the management that ties the agility of individual projects with the company agility characterizing fast-moving organizations. This paper reports an action research study on how to improve ISD agility in a fast-moving software organization. The study maps central problems in the ISD management to direct improvements of agility. Our following intervention addressed method improvements in defining types of ISD by customer relations and integrating the method with the task management tool used by the organization. The paper discusses how the action research contributes to our understanding of ISD agility in fast-moving software organizations with a framework for mapping and evaluating improvements of agility. The action research specifically points out that project managers need to attend to the company's agility in relating to customers, that company agility links to project agility, and that this requires light method and tool support.

Digital Service Integration through effective IT management

Home Home. ...

E-government value priorities of Danish local authority managers

The management of e-government is a central topic in the improvement of public administration, wh... more The management of e-government is a central topic in the improvement of public administration, where the underlying values of e-government practitioners are an important (but often taken for granted) motivation for strategy and implementation of e-government projects. This chapter offers a value analysis of central trends in the public administration literature: New Public Management, the post-Weberian Bureaucracy and the New Public Service (NPS). Using the assumption that e-government is driven largely by public administrations and therefore shares public management values, we develop a value model for e-government. Administrative Efficiency focuses on value for money logics highlighted by New Public Management thinking. Service Improvement, derived from the tradition of public service, emphasises the value of providing better services to citizens. Citizen Engagement, with its roots in liberal democratic arguments, promotes democracy, deliberation and dialogue. A set of Foundational Values grounded in the deeplyrooted bureaucratic tradition is also identified. A preliminary study of local authority managers' values shows a heavy bias towards administrative efficiency and an absence of concern for citizen engagement; the implications of these results are briefly discussed.

Engaged Problem Formulation of IT Management in Danish Municipalities

Municipalities' effectiveness in managing information technology (IT) is increasingly importa... more Municipalities' effectiveness in managing information technology (IT) is increasingly important in adhering to their responsibilities for providing services to citizens. While the municipalities' difficulty in managing IT has been well docu-mented, it is more elusive what specific problems are most relevant in contempo-rary municipal IT management practice. On this basis, we present an engaged scholarship approach to formulate IT management problems together with munici-palities – not for municipalities. We have come to understand such engaged prob-lem formulation as joint researching and defining of a contemporary and complex problem by researchers and those who experience and know the problem. We pre-sent the formulated IT management problems and discuss the engaged problem formulation process in relation to engaged scholarship. Furthermore, we discuss how engaged problem formulation may contribute to action research when making sense of ill-structured problems by involvin...

Managing Risk Areas in Software Development Offshoring: A CMMI Level 5 Case

Software companies are increasingly offshoring development to countries with high expertise at lo... more Software companies are increasingly offshoring development to countries with high expertise at lower cost. Offshoring involves particular risk areas that, if ignored level may influence the management of these risk areas. Against this backdrop, we present an interpretive case study on how managers perceive and mitigate the risk areas in soft maturity model integration (CMMI) level 5 software company as the client. We f mitigated most of the offshoring risk areas in accordance with the findings of previous rese area of task distribution was a notable exception. In this case, managers perceive and coupling across sites as risk mitigation rather than risk taking. The paper discusses how and why managers perceived and mitigated the risk areas in this way and the implications for theory and practice in software development offshoring. Abstract: Software companies are increasingly offshoring development to countries with high expertise at lower cost. Offshoring if ignored, increase the likelihood of failure. However, the offshoring client's maturity level may influence the management of these risk areas. Against this backdrop, we present an interpretive case study how managers perceive and mitigate the risk areas in software development offshoring with a level 5 software company as the client. We found that managers perceive most of the offshoring risk areas in accordance with the findings of previous research. However, the risk s a notable exception. In this case, managers perceived high task uncertainty, equivocality, and coupling across sites as risk mitigation rather than risk taking. The paper discusses how and why managers the risk areas in this way and the implications for theory and practice in software Software companies are increasingly offshoring development to countries with high expertise at lower cost. Offshoring increase the likelihood of failure. However, the offshoring client's maturity level may influence the management of these risk areas. Against this backdrop, we present an interpretive case study ware development offshoring with a mature capability nd that managers perceived and arch. However, the risk high task uncertainty, equivocality, and coupling across sites as risk mitigation rather than risk taking. The paper discusses how and why managers the risk areas in this way and the implications for theory and practice in software