Track Chairs

Rikard Lindgren, University of Gothenburg, rikardl@chalmers.se

Mikael Wiberg, Uppsala University & Umeå University

Track Description

Information systems development (ISD) is at the core of the information systems discipline. Despite 50 years or more of ISD experience, however, the perception of the so-called “software crisis” still persists. This is manifested through an unacceptable number of unfinished projects, error-prone systems, and systems poorly aligned with stakeholder requirements. A contributing factor is that research in the field is largely fragmented, and often practice seems to be ahead of research. However, in those situations where research is indeed adequate, industrial uptake of research results is usually fairly limited.

There is therefore a pressing need for knowledge development and theory building based on extensive empirical research. ISD is a truly dynamic practice being performed in increasingly turbulent and complex environments. In addition to activities such as analysis, design, programming, and maintenance, it also deals with methods and tools for the development, implementation, and utilization of information technology. Indeed, emerging phenomena like extreme programming, cloud computing, component-based design, offshoring, open source development, service-oriented architectures, Web services, and Web 2.0 present exciting new challenges for ISD research and practice.

To address these challenges, we invite researchers with a particular interest in ISD to contribute to the current strand of knowledge in this important area. We seek to organize a multi-faceted track in which a number of different approaches, theories, and examples of leading practices are presented and discussed. ISD concerns a wide range of issues, approaches, application areas, and organizational contexts. We therefore aim for a track that also reflects this complexity in the field.

Possible topics include but are not limited to:

• ISD as a social practice
• ISD as a design practice
• ISD as a methodical practice
• ISD as an agile practice
• ISD as a communicative practice
• ISD as an amethodical, emergent, and improvised practice
• ISD as an economic practice
• ISD as a global and distributed practice
• ISD as an outsourced practice
• ISD as an offshored practice
• ISD as a communal and open practice
• ISD as a component-based practice
• ISD for standardized solutions
• ISD for web services