From contexts to constructs: the use of grounded theory in operationalising contingent process models
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From contexts to constructs: the use of grounded theory in operationalising contingent process models GH Galal School of Informatics and Multimedia Technology, University of North London, 166–220 Holloway Rd, London N7 8DB, UK In software and systems engineering, process models have been suggested that partly develop artifacts and then deploy them to evaluate the degree of their success in satisfying requirements, using the results of the evaluation to inform further engineering efforts. This paper discusses the important role of evaluation in non-sequential process models, and suggests an interpretive framework for effecting such evaluation, as well as the determination of risks and constraints to operationalise such models. We outline a particular mode of the Grounded Systems Engineering Methodology (GSEM) which aims at supporting the application of non-sequential process models, thus enabling them to be more responsive to the development context. GSEM utilises the philosophy and procedures of the Grounded Theory method, an interpretive research strategy which is being widely used for the inductive analysis of qualitative data in theory building. An illustrative case study is used to show how the framework can be applied in practice. European Journal of Information Systems (2001) 10, 2–14.
Introduction Increasingly, IS engineering professionals are aware that the most widely used systems development methodologies fail to guide the practitioner towards a fuller appreciation and incorporation of contextual factors into their artifacts. Systems development methodologies that give priority to contextual factors, such as political and psychological consideration, fail to carry the results of their investigations through to hard technical systems engineering decisions (Mingers, 1992). This chasm has been wide open for far too long. Now is perhaps the time to explore methodologies that start from a contextual viewpoint, and end in concrete constructs that are directly relevant to the engineering of informational artifacts, including the engineering process itself. One particularly relevant aspect of contextual complexity is in establishing the functional and non-functional requirements of information systems, due to their highly ambiguous and dynamic contexts. Software engineering professionals have also recognised for some time that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get software systems ‘right first time’. In the words of Brooks (1995), the question becomes whether to recognise that the first version of the system is an imperfect prototype and start again, or to deliver such a system to the client anyway. This view has led to a number of proposals for resolving this question of lack of clarity at the start of an IS project. Some such proposals focused on approaches to software and IS engineering processes
that are essentially non-sequential such as Prototyping (Boar, 1984), Evolutionary Delivery (Gilb,
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