A Participatory Design Program for Making Ethical Choices in Client Vendor Relations in ISD
We propose a program for developing ethically sustainable cultures in client–vendor relations in information systems development (ISD). The program is based on the participatory design approach and is motivated by the findings of our survey (n = 20) that
- PDF / 887,361 Bytes
- 14 Pages / 439.37 x 666.14 pts Page_size
- 115 Downloads / 169 Views
)
1
2 3
Faculty of Technology, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland [email protected] Technology Research Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland [email protected] Information Systems Science, University of Turku, Turku, Finland [email protected]
Abstract. We propose a program for developing ethically sustainable cultures in client–vendor relations in information systems development (ISD). The program is based on the participatory design approach and is motivated by the findings of our survey (n = 20) that explored ethical challenges and good ethical practices in the IT field. The data showed that client–vendor relations are ethically conflicting as profitability pressures, for example, induce IS managers to under‐ take unethical practices. Based on the results of our survey, we identified a dialec‐ tical process in client–vendor relations in the form of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. In the process, impulses inducing questionable or unethical practices (thesis) confront the guidelines for good ethical practices (antithesis). This confrontation between a thesis and an antithesis is implemented through the program we propose, and as a result, morally better practices are expected to emerge (synthesis). Keywords: Client–vendor relations · Participatory design · Dialectics · Ethics
1
Introduction
Client–vendor relationships in IS/IT projects are common, as in business and the public sector, the actors aim for efficiency by concentrating on core processes and outsourcing development projects or functions that are better implemented [1]. However, by aiming for efficiency via outsourcing IS/IT development work, the client engages in vendor risks when contracting a project to outside vendors [2]. Client–vendor relationships in IS/IT projects have been recognized as having inherent problems, some of which are ethical in nature, such as problems relating to honesty [3, 4]. Client–vendor relations have been studied from a variety of viewpoints, including outsourcing [5, 6], risks [7], and fault responsibility [1]. Although in these studies there are discussions that touch on the morals and ethics of client–vendor relations, we did not find studies directly focusing on ethical or moral issues in these relations. Therefore, we gathered data on IT professionals’ perceptions on client–vendor relations, analysed them, and found that
© IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2016 Published by Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016. All Rights Reserved D. Kreps et al. (Eds.): HCC12 2016, IFIP AICT 474, pp. 116–129, 2016. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-44805-3_10
A Participatory Design Program for Making Ethical Choices
117
there are major moral issues to consider in these relations. As an implication, we will propose a participatory design (PD)-based program that uses a dialectical approach to develop practices. The PD approach takes the viewpoint that stakeholders are involved in the development process, and that they themselves determine the outcome instead of an external actor imposing a pre-es
Data Loading...
