A Practitioner Centred Maturity Model of Information Systems

A Practitioner Centred Maturity Model of Information Systems Development David W. Wilson, School of Computer Science & Information Systems dave@dcs. bbk. ac. uk 12 th December 2004 IFIP WG 8. 2 OASIS Washington D. C.

Greiner’s notion of a Maturity Model • Stages of Growth for Organisations • Organisations are locked into their history • Stable Stages punctuated by crises • Crises are the inevitable Consequences of the solutions selected to solve the previous crisis (Greiner LE, 1972 Evolution and Revolution as Organisations Grow, Harvard Business Review, July-August pp 37 -46) 11 th December 2004 IFIP WG 8. 2 OASIS Washington D. C. 2

Nolan’s Maturity Models • A bold simplification of complex processes • Recognised various technologies had own growth processes • Invaluable for decades in justifying IS investment (Nolan RL 1984, Managing the Advanced Stages of Computer Technology: Key Research Issues in The Information Systems Research Challenge Proceedings of the Harvard Business School Research Colloquium ed Mc. Farlan FW Harvard Business School Press, Boston. Massachusetts. pp 195 -214) 11 th December 2004 IFIP WG 8. 2 OASIS Washington D. C. 3

Humphrey’s Capability Model • Software Engineering function Specific • Bottom up – quality process oriented • Incremental management development process • One of the more successful attempts to bring order to software developers (Humphrey WS, 1989, Managing the Software Process, Addison-Wesley) 11 th December 2004 IFIP WG 8. 2 OASIS Washington D. C. 4

A Strict Maturity Model • An abstraction of the changes of form which a class of phenomena typically exhibit in a single pass of a life-cycle • Composed of a number of stages through which an instance of the class will pass in a particular sequence • Allows prediction of what is likely to happen to an instance 11 th December 2004 IFIP WG 8. 2 OASIS Washington D. C. 5

Determinants of a Strict Maturity Model 1. A set of stages in a given sequence 2. A number of conditions causing a transition from one stage to the next 3. A set of facets, the change in state of which may be used to determine whether a transition has occurred 11 th December 2004 IFIP WG 8. 2 OASIS Washington D. C. 6

Prediction allows • Possibility of managing transition to later stages possibly limiting ill-effects • Possibility of triggering or retarding entry to the next stage 11 th December 2004 IFIP WG 8. 2 OASIS Washington D. C. 7

Objectives & Value • To contribute to a body of knowledge – valuable to practitioners in making career decisions – valuable to curriculum designers 11 th December 2004 IFIP WG 8. 2 OASIS Washington D. C. 8

Value of Maturity Models • May facilitate prediction • May identify circumstances where a Stage may be skipped • Explicates pre-conditions for stage transition 11 th December 2004 IFIP WG 8. 2 OASIS Washington D. C. 9

Interesting models wrt to roles & careers in IS • Avison & Fitzgerald – Single scientific user, Depts, Organisations, Market Supply Chains • Markus & Benjamin – Technician / Facilitator / Champion 11 th December 2004 IFIP WG 8. 2 OASIS Washington D. C. 10

Dimensions Pertinent to IS Developers • Role • Technical Platforms (both hard & soft) • Evolving theory of systems, objects, and society • Forms of employment NB Risks are inherent in situations of very high levels of environmental change in several dimensions 11 th December 2004 IFIP WG 8. 2 OASIS Washington D. C. 11

Candidate Research Methods • Survey • Hermeneutics – CV – Curricula proffered by professional bodies • Case Study – Sense making models – Actor Network Analysis? – Grounded Analysis? 11 th December 2004 IFIP WG 8. 2 OASIS Washington D. C. 12