CAREER: Distributed Cooperation in Boundary-Spanning IS Design

Drexel University, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

The IT component of information system development has been radically simplified in recent years. Many corporations are now attempting to jointly design business processes and IT systems, to integrate workflows and information flows across business processes. The majority of these efforts fail, because there is a fundamental contradiction in the way that we design this type of "boundary-spanning" information system (IS). Stakeholders need to establish common visions of design goals and information flows, but can only do this in situations where the context for doing these things is already well defined and stable - so how can they do it in rapidly-changing or evolving development contexts? Understanding why something is done in a specific way is often possible only within the culture and local knowledge of a specific work-group. We lack ways to share this understanding across workgroups, or even to determine what knowledge is significant for an effective IS design. Most boundary-spanning design projects employ the type of design process used for IT system development. Goals for change are defined, requirements for a solution are specified, then the solution is implemented. But this approach is not appropriate for the design of ill-defined, cross-functional information systems, where the boundaries and goals for change evolve as the design proceeds. The PI's prior studies indicate that stakeholders from different areas of the organization perceive organizational processes and goals in very different ways and are often unaware that they understand the same concept differently. Stakeholders' partial and different understandings of organizational processes are a major obstacle to developing a shared vision of design problems and solutions. Establishing a common language for people with different backgrounds and expertise is problematic. Consequently, there is too little input from IS users and organizational stakeholders to define an appropriate system. There are three major challenges in designing that involves stakeholders from multiple disciplines and backgrounds, which are not resolved by current research: The need for a common language, that allows participants from a variety of organizational areas and backgrounds to understand and interpret the processes and concepts of design in the same way; The need for effective "boundary objects", to mediate and integrate knowledge that is distributed among multiple stakeholders; The need to understand the process drivers that permit a design group to rapidly agree and constantly validate a common vision of their design. This project will develop a new theory of knowledge integration for short-term, dynamic cross-disciplinary teams designing information and communication technologies (ICTs). The PI will propagate this knowledge both to typical IS practitioners and to new groups of people who are key stakeholders but not typically first-class participants in critical IS design activities. Broader Impacts: This research will affect the design-related area of distributed problem-solving in new contexts, both organizational and educational. New ways of supporting collaborative, problem-centered learning will be developed, that will alleviate the disadvantages currently faced by women, students with disabilities, and ethnic minority individuals because they do not share the mainstream cultural traditions or genres that drive the negotiation of outcomes in goal-driven processes. By developing collective problem-solving techniques and performance-measures that shift the focus from goal-achievement to inclusive problem-definition, these communities will be provided with the opportunity to participate more fully in group work and to exert increased influence, both in business organizations and in the classroom. Current problem-based learning emphasizes complex, real-world problem investigation; this emphasis feeds back into the practical, strategic applications of the current project. Results will be disseminated broadly, through the Drexel University education initiative, and through the PI's current affiliations with Philadelphia Knowledge Management industry group, through industry seminars and workshops in the two collaborating organizations, and through the AIS Cognitive Research Special Interest Group.