scholarly journals Principals Agents and Prisoners: An Economical Perspective on Information Systems Development Practice

10.28945/3041 ◽  
2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karlheinz Kautz ◽  
Bjarke Nielsen

Information systems development takes place within an economical context. However, the economical conditions, which shape systems development in practice, are hardly researched. In this paper we are investigating the question how a given price structure influences systems development projects. Our analysis is based on a multi case study and a Grounded Theory inspired research approach. Our work is informed by economic theories, which deal with the relationship of suppliers and customers and their mutual dependency. We thus apply principal-agent theory and economic game theory in form of the prisoner’s dilemma. As a result we provide three interlinked models for understanding the impact of pricing structure on systems development practice. The main elements of these models are pricing structure, risk distribution and price level, and opportunistic behavior. We discuss how these elements are interrelated and examine their impact on information systems development in practice.

Author(s):  
Leoni Warne

Managing the power, politics and organizational conflict inherent in information systems is increasingly recognized as being of critical importance to successful information systems development. The focus of this chapter is the extent to which conflict among participants in an information systems development may be said to contribute to project failure. The chapter describes a research study that explores the nature of conflict in an information systems development and the extent to which conflict may be perceived to impact on the successful progress of a project. In particular, the study was designed to determine which type of conflict (i.e., conflict between which type of stakeholders) may pose the most risk to an information systems development and to determine to what extent conflict can be said to be a contributing factor to information systems failure. The study was structured into three distinct stages. The first stage was a major case study conducted to explore the nature of conflict in a prematurely terminated information systems development and to probe the extent to which conflict was perceived to pose a risk to information systems projects. The second stage involved surveying IT Managers to test the wider applicability of the case study findings. The third and final stage involved developing a predictive model of conflict showing the relative weighting of each of the variables investigated, using logistic regression. The most significant outcome of the study was that information systems developments can be detrimentally affected by the impact of conflict among users who have commissioned or will use the system. Managing and resolving conflict in an information systems environment is clearly a difficult, challenging and time-consuming exercise, but the findings of this research study suggest that the rewards, in terms of higher success rates, should be worth the commitment.


Author(s):  
Valerii V. Stupkin

The article is devoted to the urgency and necessity of developing the theoretical base and practical recommendations for construction of the integrated library and information systems in science towns (ILIS “Science Town”). It describes the general framework of the information design model. The new approach to research of transition process from traditional libraries cooperation and information services to their alliance, based on the analysis of the impact the interacting elements have on changing the set of their properties and information characteristics.


Author(s):  
Angus G. Yu

The iterative and incremental development (IID) approach is widely adopted in information systems development (ISD) projects. While the IID approach has played an important role the management of many ISD projects, some of the key techniques have not received critical appraisal from the academic community. This paper aims to fill the gap and examines three such techniques through a case study. First of all, the gap between the theory of user participation and the reality of user’s lack of real influence on design and development is explored. The author proposes the concept of “participatory capture” to explain the side effect of user participation. Secondly, the assumption that evolutionary prototyping converges to a successful design is questioned. Thirdly, the side effect of the timeboxing technique is considered. The paper suggests that the IID approach represents the learning approach as categorized in Pich et al. (2002) and it might be ineffective in dealing with the significant uncertainties in ISD projects.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Abbos Utkirov ◽  
Rauf Salahodjayev

This paper investigates the impact of the Learning Resource Centre activities of Westminster International University Tashkent (WIUT) graduated students on the labour market outcome. WIUT library provides a learning environment that helps students to create practical teams and individual projects to support the agenda of employability. The study aims to clarify the relationship between library activities and labour market outcomes. This proposes the improvement of a commercial responsiveness workshop, in collaboration with other services, and alumni voices in an employability guide. A quantitative research approach was employed; an online survey questionnaire was distributed to alumni students to obtain the data. It was a semi-structured questionnaire designed using a Likert Scale to collect data from 607 graduates. The study revealed that LRC activities have a significant impact on labour market outcomes for students. LRC activities such as presentation skills, information technology skills, problem-solving skills, research skills were mostly expected in the labour market. Research limitations– The study was focused only on graduates of WIUT, which may limit the generalizability. Therefore, the researcher proposed to study and compare other graduates of universities in Uzbekistan. The insights are valuable for planning the curriculum of LRC activities and developing teaching practices at WIUT. Moreover, current and graduate students can learn market-oriented skills and labour market demands. This is the first-ever study in Uzbekistan that explores the relationship of university library activities on employability skills of alumni.


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