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Two Perspectives of Low-Code Development Platform Challenges - An Exploratory Study
Abstract
Low-Code Development Platforms (LCDPs) enable non-information technology (IT) personnel to develop applications and workflows independently of the IT department. Consequently, these digital platforms help to overcome the growing need for software development. However, science and practice warn of several barriers that slow down or hinder the usage of LCDPs. This publication scientifically identifies, analyzes, and discusses challenges during implementation and application of LCDPs from both perspectives in a holistic manner. Therefore, we conduct an exploratory study (data from scientific literature, expert interviews, and practical studies) and assign the challenges to the socio-technical system model. The results show that the scientific and practical communities recognize common challenges (especially knowledge transfer) but also perceive differences related to technological (science) and social (practice) aspects. This paper proposes future research directions for academia, such as governance, culture change, and value evaluation of LCDPs. Additionally, practitioners can prepare for possible challenges when using LCPDs.
... Interoperability risks: Prinz et al. [29] reported that scaling is an emerging risk. In particular, the author points out that low-code development platforms have a lack of open standards. ...
... Technical debt and security risks: Moreover, the author points out that regular data retrieval by the low-code platforms from the organization involved in low-code development requires their protection from unauthorized access, eventually leading to compliance and security gaps. In this context, a major risk is if a department implements the introduction of low-code platform without the knowledge from IT [29]. Yan [30] confirms that once dependencies to low-code platforms exist, the data is vulnerable to data breaches. ...
... Lack of acceptence: Another hurdle is that developers do not always accept the use of low-code [29]. One reason for this is that the use of low-code can prevent the use of the full technical potential [7]. ...
Low-code development and deployment have become increasingly popular in recent years and is now used by many organizations. By providing a simple and user-friendly interface for creating source code, these low-code can significantly reduce the time and cost of developing digital applications. With low-code, software applications can be implemented quickly without requiring in-depth programming skills. This democratization of software development presents significant opportunities but also introduces risks, creating a trade-off for IT governance. This paper aims to examine this trade-off by conducting a systematic literature review of the growing body of literature, specifically focusing on the challenges and potentials of low-code adoption. The results include an overview of the reported challenges and potentials. They can be used in practice by organizations weighing the pros and cons of low-code implementation and governance. Furthermore, the results provide a basis for formulating a research agenda at the organizational level.
... 4). Zudem erfordert die erfolgreiche Implementierung von Low-Code-Plattformen ein effektives Change-Management, um sicherzustellen, dass alle Mitarbeitenden die notwendigen Fähigkeiten und das Wissen erwerben, um diese Tools effektiv zu nutzen (Binzer und Winkler 2024;Carroll und Maher 2023;Prinz et al. 2022). ...
... Eine der zentralen Hürden sind technische Einschränkungen: Low-Code-Plattformen bieten oft nicht die gleiche Flexibilität und Anpassungsfähigkeit wie traditionelle Softwareentwicklungs-und Programmiermethoden, was besonders bei der Entwicklung komplexer oder spezialisierter Softwarelösungen problematisch sein kann (Prinz et al. 2022). Ebenfalls dazu gehören die begrenzte Funktionalität und Portabilität von Low-Code-Plattformen sowie die eingeschränkte Integration mit Drittanbieter-Systemen und Daten (Käss et al. 2022). ...
... Unternehmen müssen sicherstellen, dass die neuen Anwendungen nahtlos mit den bestehenden Systemen kommunizieren, um Dateninkonsistenzen und Betriebsunterbrechungen zu vermeiden (Elshan et al. 2023a). Probleme bei der Integrationsfähigkeit können dazu führen, dass Anwendungen nicht optimal funktionieren oder schwer zu erweitern sind (Käss et al. 2022;Prinz et al. 2022). Zudem werden diese Herausforderungen noch verstärkt, wenn Citizen Developer ohne tiefgehende IT-Kenntnisse komplexe Logik implementieren oder Integrationsprobleme lösen, was wiederum zusätzliche Unterstützung durch die IT-Abteilung erfordert (Bernsteiner et al. 2022 (Käss et al. 2022;Prinz et al. 2022). ...
Zusammenfassung
Low-Code-Entwicklungsplattformen gewinnen zunehmend an Bedeutung in der digitalen Transformation von Unternehmen. Diese Plattformen ermöglichen es, Softwareanwendungen mit minimalem Programmieraufwand zu erstellen, wodurch die Komplexität der Softwareentwicklung reduziert und Personal aus IT-fernen Geschäftsbereichen in die Anwendungsentwicklung einbezogen wird. In diesem Grundlagenbeitrag werden die Prinzipien, Vorteile und Herausforderungen der Low-Code-Entwicklung untersucht. Es wird gezeigt, wie Low-Code-Entwicklungsplattformen Geschäftsinnovationen fördern, indem sie die Effizienz und Flexibilität der Softwareentwicklung erhöhen und eine schnellere Anpassung an Marktveränderungen ermöglichen. Unsere Analyse basiert auf umfassender Literaturrecherche und über 30 Interviews mit Vertretern aus über 20 Unternehmen. Die Ergebnisse verdeutlichen, dass Low-Code-Plattformen nicht nur die Entwicklungszeit und -kosten reduzieren, sondern auch eine Kultur der Innovation und Zusammenarbeit innerhalb der Unternehmen fördern. Darüber hinaus werden konkrete Handlungsempfehlungen vorgeschlagen, die für eine erfolgreiche Implementierung von Low-Code-Plattformen erforderlich sind. Abschließend geben wir einen Ausblick auf zukünftige Forschungsthemen, einschließlich der Integration von Künstlicher Intelligenz und Machine Learning in Low-Code-Plattformen, um deren Potenzial weiter zu maximieren.
... Low-Code Development Platforms (LCDPs) stand out as key technology supporting CDE (Sahay et al., 2020). Primarily cloud-based, LCDPs allow business and IT users to develop and operate applications and workflows with little to no traditional coding (Prinz et al., 2022). Research firms predict that by the year 2025, organizations will use LCDPs for around 70% of all application development (Wong et al., 2021). ...
... However, a gap in LCDP expertise and the lack of a clear strategic orientation towards CDE with LCDPs contribute to organizational reluctance towards widespread adoption (Beranic et al., 2020;Creatio, 2021). Unstructured adoption and management pose several risks: Empowering the LCDP approach without a comprehensive understanding and appropriate governance structures leads to uncontrolled application development and operation, which could diminish the transparency across the low-code application (LCA) landscape, increase the risk of data security and compliance breaches, and cause LCDP costs to escalate (e.g., Käss et al., 2023b;Prinz et al., 2022). Conversely, an overly rigid approach may breed resistance to the use of LCDPs throughout the organization, thereby limiting the autonomy, euphoria, and innovation power of the potential citizen developers (e.g., Elshan et al., 2023;Krejci et al., 2021). ...
... To balance opportunities and risk, organizations must gain a comprehensive understanding of how to successfully manage LCDP implementation and application (Prinz et al., 2022). The area of scientific discourse includes several publications that provide insights from a managerial perspective: Hoogsteen and Borgman (2022) identify factors that influence organizational CDE adoption decisions. ...
Low-Code Development Platforms (LCDPs) enable business and information technology (IT) employees to develop and operate IT solutions. However, adopting LCDPs is challenging as organizations lack strategic orientation and experience. To achieve an organizational maturity that realizes LCDP opportunities and mitigates risks, a structured management approach is necessary. This publication aims to provide a starting point of such an approach by developing a maturity model and deriving key consideration for LCDP adoption. We conduct an exploratory study, involving both practitioners and scientists. The findings indicate that LCDP adoption requires the maturation of 23 capabilities. Initial steps in a practical adoption roadmap include establishing an adaptive LCDP governance and organizational structures. Organizations can then select and operate LCDP(s), empower usage, and integrate them into their enterprise architecture management. The study enhances LCDP research by proposing a theory-based framework and future research considerations. Practitioners can apply the findings to start company-specific LCDP management.
... Low-Code Development Platforms (LCDPs) -and No-Code Development Platforms as part of this market segment (Vincent et al., 2019) -present themselves as a suitable technological solution for establishing this concept of citizen development (CDE). They are defined as cloud-based platforms that allow business or IT users to develop applications or workflows with minimal or no programming code (Prinz et al., 2022). Market research institutes predict that by 2025, 70% of application development will be done using LCDPs (Wong et al., 2021). ...
... Early literature focuses primarily on technology-related components of LCDPs (Prinz et al., 2021). Meanwhile, scientific publications also investigate the phenomena of LCDPs on a higher level: Some academics examine general drivers and challenges of implementing and using LCDPs (Elshan et al., 2023;Käss et al., 2022;Prinz et al., 2022). Others explore specific challenges from the perspective of developers (e.g., Al Alamin et al., 2021). ...
... The authors define it as a platform that enables faster deployment of applications and workflows by reducing handcoding. As time passed, further definitions add that LCDPs are mainly cloud-based and offer a Platformas-a-Service (PaaS) model (Tisi et al., 2019) and extend it by explicitly mentioning that LCDPs target business but also professional IT developers (Prinz et al., 2022). With the term LCDPs gaining prominence in academic and organizational conversations, their practical significance has also grown. ...
Given the increasing demand for application development and process automation, Low-Code Development Platforms (LCDPs) have become highly relevant in recent years. However, the lack of familiarity with the implementation and application of LCDPs in organizations poses a challenge. This publication therefore aims to shed light on the essential organizational capabilities that companies must master to overcome this obstacle. Using action design research, this study develops a model-based framework of 21 organizational capabilities for successful LCDP adoption. It underscores the importance of conceptual development as a prerequisite for effective management and long-term application of the technology. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of considering both technical and social aspects of the LCDP information system. The findings contribute to academia by providing a model-based capability framework, which serves as a structure for driving future research. Moreover, practitioners benefit from a practice-oriented and evaluated summary of initialization tasks and capabilities required for successful adoption.
... Das Marktforschungsinstitut Gartner Inc. (Wong et al. 2021) prognostiziert, dass im Jahr 2025 70 % der gesamten Applikationsentwicklung mittels LCDPs durchgeführt wird. Studien beschreiben jedoch auch verschiedene Herausforderungen im Zusammenhang mit LCDPs, die das prognostizierte Wachstum verlangsamen könnten (techconsult und smapOne 2021; Prinz et al. 2022). Zudem gibt es mittlerweile mehrere Dutzend Anbieter, die sich unter dem Label "Low-Code" verstehen, den Begriff aber größtenteils uneinheitlich verwenden (Bock und Frank 2021). ...
... quantitativen Studien vor, zumeist aus EntwicklerInnen-Sicht und in Form von Umfragen (Luo et al. 2021;Al Alamin et al. 2021). Vereinzelt werden auch qualitative wissenschaftliche Methoden wie Interviews oder Fallstudien eingesetzt, um identifizierte Probleme bei der Anwendung von LCDPs zu lösen (Prinz et al. 2022;Overeem und Jansen 2021). Ebenso geben aktuelle Forschungsergebnisse einen Überblick über Treiber und Hemmfaktoren bei der praktischen Umsetzung (Elshan et al. 2023;Käss et al. 2022Käss et al. , 2023. ...
... Eine Publikation entwickelt im Rahmen einer Fallstudie ein Rahmenwerk für eine Impact-Analyse von LCDPs (Overeem und Jansen 2021). Die Ergebnisse mehrerer explorativer Studien präsentieren darüber hinaus sowohl Charakteristika von LCDPs zur Wissensintegration , Akteure, Prozesse und unterstützende Faktoren bei der Ideenentwicklung mit LCDPs (Krejci et al. 2021) als auch wissenschaftliche und praktische Herausforderungen von LCDPs (Prinz et al. 2022;Elshan et al. 2023;Käss et al. 2022). Darauf aufbauend identifizieren Forschende Treiber für die Einführung von LCDPs (Käss et al. 2022;Elshan et al. 2023;Käss et al. 2023) und untersuchen in diesem Zusammenhang, ob LCDPs die strategische digitale Transformation in KMUs fördern (Bies et al. 2022). ...
Zusammenfassung
Low-Code Development Plattformen (LCDPs) fördern die digitale Transformation von Organisationen, indem sie die Applikationsentwicklung durch FachbereichsmitarbeiterInnen ohne tiefgreifende Programmierkenntnisse – sogenannte Citizen Developer – ermöglichen. Marktforschungsinstitute prognostizieren, dass in den nächsten Jahren mehr als die Hälfte aller Applikationen mit LCDPs entwickelt werden. Nichtsdestotrotz stehen Organisationen vor der Herausforderung, sich für die richtigen Implementierungs- und Anwendungsansätze von LCDPs zu entscheiden. Dieser Artikel liefert daher ein umfassendes Bild über das praktische Verständnis und aktuelle Ansätze in verschiedenen Organisationen und leitet daraus Handlungsempfehlungen ab. Dafür wurden 16 Experteninterviews durchgeführt und wissenschaftlich analysiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Praxis grundsätzlich ein ähnliches Verständnis des Begriffs LCDP hat. Die Initiative für die Einführung kommt meist aus den Fachbereichen, die Entscheidung für oder gegen die LCDP-Implementierung wird jedoch meist von der Geschäftsführung in Kooperation mit der IT-Abteilung getroffen. Dabei unterscheiden sich die aktuellen Anwendungsansätze: Unternehmen nutzen entweder einen Self-Service-Ansatz durch die Fachbereiche oder integrieren die Entscheidung über eine potenzielle LCDP-Entwicklung durch die Citizen Developer in das bestehende Demand-Management der IT-Abteilung. Eine etablierte und adaptive Governance ist für beide Ansätze eine wichtige Voraussetzung. Die Erkenntnisse des Beitrags tragen zur wissenschaftlichen Diskussion bei, da dieser Artikel eine der ersten umfassenden und wissenschaftlich fundierten qualitativen Analysen über aktuelle praktische Adoptionsansätze der Praxis liefert. PraktikerInnen erfahren zudem, wie andere Unternehmen mit aktuellen Herausforderungen umgehen und welche Ansätze erfolgversprechend sind.
... Technology adoption can occur on multiple levels, with the individual and organizational levels being the two extreme points [32]. For this study, we take a work system view, which helps us to explain the adoption happening between the individual and organizational levels [33]. Drivers are factors that facilitate the adoption, and inhibitors are factors that hinder the adoption [34] of LCDPs. ...
... We also categorized the drivers into four categories: people, structure, task, and technology. The categorization is based on the expert interviews and the work of [33]. In the context of LCDPs, these four categories have been defined by [33] as follows. ...
... The categorization is based on the expert interviews and the work of [33]. In the context of LCDPs, these four categories have been defined by [33] as follows. The structure is the nature of an organization's communication, authority, and setup [33]. ...
Organizations are under increasing pressure to develop applications within budget and time at high quality. Therefore, multiple organizations adopt Low Code Development Platforms (LCDP) to develop applications faster and cheaper compared to traditional application development. However, current research on LCDP adoption lacks empirical grounding as well as a deeper understanding of the importance of adoption drivers and inhibitors. We conducted semi-structured interviews and a Delphi study with seventeen experts to address these gaps. As a result, we identified twelve drivers and nineteen inhibitors for adopting LCDPs. We show that the experts have a consensus on the most and the least important drivers and inhibitors for LCDP adoption. Yet, the ranking of the drivers and inhibitors between the most and least important is highly context dependent. For some drivers and inhibitors, the experts’ ranking is similar to academic literature, whereas, for others, it differs. In conclusion, the study at hand empirically validates drivers and inhibitors for LCDP adoption, adds six new drivers and six new inhibitors to the body of knowledge, and analyses the importance of these factors.
... Conversely, previous work has rarely examined the actual state of lowcode applications in the corporate reality. In-depth overarching issues related to the low-code governance framework in SMEs are almost completely underrepresented [28]. Therefore, the following research question arose: Can low-code development be a driver of digital innovation in the context of strategic digital transformation in SMEs? ...
... However, detailed knowledge for one platform is difficult to transfer to other platforms [34]. A training of several weeks is necessary to be able to develop solid, more complex low-code applications [28]. ...
... Recently, considerable scientific literature has started emerging(e.g. [4,[11][12][13][14]), intending to understand LCAD/NCAD, their challenges, characteristics, taxonomy and relevancy with model-driven engineering. However, as we could tell, no empirical studies have been reported on a comparative understanding of adoption for startup and established companies. ...
... While on the other hand, in low-code, a developer might need to write code or scripts. For some authors, like [9] and [14], no-code is a subset of low-code and it is not thought of as a separate market segment. ...
Usman Rafiq [0000−0003−3198−851X] , Cenacchi Filippo [0000−0003−2732−186X] , and Xiaofeng Wang [0000−0001−8424−419X] Abstract. Low-code or no-code application development is a new jargon in the software development community. In response, large and medium-sized companies, are seen triggered to join the bandwagon. Existing research on why small and innovative companies, like software startups, apply this paradigm is limited. The current literature shows that software startups are different from established software companies in terms of their focus on innovation, market-driven context, limited resources, and uncertainty. Therefore, in this paper, we study and report our initial understanding of why software startups apply low-code or no-code. We studied two cases, in the first phase, to address the research question. Our preliminary results show that software startups apply this paradigm in an ad-hoc manner and use it for experimentation, prototyping, and idea validation. On the flip side, large companies enjoy a stable workflow of low-code or no-code development. The motivations include achieving rapid product development, fast feedback, and empowering business users. These results provide a good starting point for discussion and demand for further research. Including additional data, particularly, more cases, therefore, is our essential next step to get a deeper understanding and report final results.
... Recently, considerable scientific literature has started emerging(e.g. [4,[11][12][13][14]), intending to understand LCAD/NCAD, their challenges, characteristics, taxonomy and relevancy with model-driven engineering. However, as we could tell, no empirical studies have been reported on a comparative understanding of adoption for startup and established companies. ...
... While on the other hand, in low-code, a developer might need to write code or scripts. For some authors, like [9] and [14], no-code is a subset of low-code and it is not thought of as a separate market segment. ...
Low-code or no-code application development is a new jargon in the software development community. In response, large and medium-sized companies, are seen triggered to join the bandwagon. Existing research on why small and innovative companies, like software startups, apply this paradigm is limited. The current literature shows that software startups are different from established software companies in terms of their focus on innovation, market-driven context, limited resources, and uncertainty. Therefore, in this paper, we study and report our initial understanding of why software startups apply low-code or no-code. We studied two cases, in the first phase, to address the research question. Our preliminary results show that software startups apply this paradigm in an ad-hoc manner and use it for experimentation, prototyping, and idea validation. On the flip side, large companies enjoy a stable workflow of low-code or no-code development. The motivations include achieving rapid product development, fast feedback, and empowering business users. These results provide a good starting point for discussion and demand for further research. Including additional data, particularly, more cases, therefore, is our essential next step to get a deeper understanding and report final results.KeywordsLow codeNo codeLCNCLCAPStartupDigital transformation
... To understand LCDP adoption, a focus on technical factors only, such as LCDP security (Heuer et al. 2022;Prinz et al. 2021Prinz et al. , 2022, is too narrow. LCDP adoption also affects social factors of the application development, as it significantly transforms how and by whom applications are developed (Bock and Frank 2021;Heuer et al. 2022;Käss et al. 2022). ...
... In this research, the units of analysis are work systems, i.e., "systems in which human participants and/or machines perform work [...] using information, technology and other resources" (Alter 2013, p. 75). For LCDP adoption, I focus on work systems where groups of non-professional developers use LCDPs as information systems to carry out low code development (LCD) (Alter 2013;Prinz et al. 2022). The work systems perspective helps to explain the adoption at a level between an individual developer and an organisational level. ...
Although Low Code Development Platforms (LCDP) promise efficiency and effectiveness improvements for organisations when adopted, research on LCDP adoption lacks a theoretical foundation. This research-in-progress paper proposes a research model to explain LCDP adoption. The research model combines two theoretical lenses, including social and technical factors referring to the socio-technical systems theory, complementing the environmental factors captured in the Technology-Environment-Organisation model. As single factors may not be sufficient to explain LCDP adoption, this paper introduces combinations of factors that balance social, technical, and environmental factors. In this stage, the paper's contribution to research is the first theoretically grounded but tentative model to explain LCDP adoption. The expected results of this study provide combinations of factors to indicate one or more paths for LCDP adoption.
... Binzer & Winkler (2022) conducted a multivocal literature review to identify dominant themes and propose an agenda for future citizen development research. Other studies investigated organizational factors that influence citizen development adoption decisions (Hoogsteen & Borgman, 2022), explored potential challenges that may occur during the implementation and ongoing use of LCNC (Prinz et al., 2022), and identified the key building blocks for establishing a citizen development program as part of a digital transformation initiative (Carroll & Maher, 2023). ...
The emergence of low-code/no-code (LCNC) platform technologies and the resulting increase in citizen development programs are facilitating the democratization of the design, development, and deployment of digital solutions. Citizen developers, non-technical employees who leverage LCNC platforms, are at the heart of this trend. While many firms perceive LCNC and citizen development as a crucial component of their digital transformation strategy, little is known about the evolving roles in this field or the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA). To address this knowledge gap, we processed 113,106 job postings published on Indeed.com. Our topic modeling methodology identified 34 KSA topics and classified them into the three domains platform, business, and technology. We contribute to research by empirically demonstrating which competencies are required to successfully work in the LCNC field. Our findings can guide individual professionals and organizations alike.
... When it comes to investigating LCPDs and organization, there are first studies that deal with LCDPs and their implementation and use in organizations. For example, Prinz et al. (2022) investigate two perspectives on LCDPs challenges, while Elshan et al. (2023) recently conducted an interview study on the opportunities and risks of LCDPs for organizations. Other studies, for example, Li et al. (2022) have looked at LCDP users, or employees who work with LCDPs and the need to re-/ or upskill them. ...
Recent years have seen a growing adoption of Low Code Development Platforms (LCDPs) in organizations. The increasing affinity for technology development across all user groups, consumerization of development, and advancing digitalization are opening up a new target group for the low code movement. This change in software development allows bottom-up user innovators within a company to leverage their domain knowledge and quickly deploy much-needed digital services. However, a clear understanding of this paradigm of software development in organizations and the influence on end-user acceptance is still missing. In this paper, we present the results of an interview study conducted with 18 LCDP experts and discuss the implications of our findings, highlighting the role of LCDPs and context in bottom-up innovation as well as user-centricity. Our research contributes to the literature on LCDPs and offers valuable insights for organizations looking to leverage their workforce's innovative potential.
Context: Low-code/no-code (LCNC) is an emerging technology trend which expose software development beyond just the software engineers making it available to everyone in organizations and across society.
Objective: We aim to provide a holistic review of the current state-of-research on the adoption of LCNC technologies in citizen development (CD) practices for digital transformation (DT), as well as a research agenda in this area.
Method: This review is primarily conducted using a multi-phase systematic literature review on publications over the past five years, i.e., between 2017 and 2023.
Results: We identified 40 primary studies that describes the application of LCNC development and CD practices, applied theoretical lens/frameworks, and its associated benefits and challenges.
Conclusion: In this study, we present three key contributions. First, a comprehensive review of the benefits, challenges, theoretical perspectives, and methods in investigating LCNC and CD adoptions. Second, we provide an informative framework that can help managers to approach LCNC and CD practices. Third, our systematic review highlights gaps and opportunities in the extant studies to develop a research agenda.
Digitalization requires organizations to strategically invest in information technology (IT). As a result, the costs associated with IT in companies are rising and technological progress changes the setting for IT management. This poses challenges for IT managers to ensure spend-efficiency and manage IT costs transparently. However, no current literature review gives an overview of how IT cost management (ITCM) research dealt with past transformations. This paper aims to investigate ITCM concepts considering their historical context. It then derives implications for the digital age and identifies future research fields. The historical literature review reveals that ITCM research evolved with technological advances and the target to manage all IT-related costs and evaluate the impact of IT spend. However, the presented concepts lack consideration of current changes that hamper spend-efficiency and strategic decisions. Hence, this paper enables future research to address the identified research gaps. Additionally, practitioners gain awareness of how they can benefit from developed ITCM concepts.
Within social networks, audio is a vehicle for violent, bullying or generally unwanted content. This research intends to propose an automatic tool for extracting text from an audio stream. Microsoft azure cognitive cloud services, and in particular, Speech SDK and bot SDK are used for extraction and recognition tasks. The extracted text can then be analyzed using techniques and algorithm known for analyzing critical situations such as violence or bullying but is applicable in any context.KeywordsAdagioAudio extractionSpeech recognitionMicrosoft AzureSpeech SDKBot SDK
This research proposal targets public sector ICT practices. The goal is to explore in-depth the causes of issues in public ICT. Furthermore, the goal is to fill research gaps in public agency and supplier interrelationships, EA practices, and intended public sector technological solutions. The proposed research binds these areas to establish a coherent framework for how ICT should be built and led in public agencies.KeywordsPublic procurementEnterprise architectureSustainable softwareInteroperability
Background: In recent years, Low-code development (LCD) is growing rapidly, and Gartner and Forrester have predicted that the use of LCD is very promising. Giant companies, such as Microsoft, Mendix, and Outsystems have also launched their LCD platforms. Aim: In this work, we explored two popular online developer communities, Stack Overflow (SO) and Reddit, to provide insights on the characteristics and challenges of LCD from a practitioners' perspective. Method: We used two LCD related terms to search the relevant posts in SO and extracted 73 posts. Meanwhile, we explored three LCD related subreddits from Reddit and collected 228 posts. We extracted data from these posts and applied the Constant Comparison method to analyze the descriptions, benefits, and limitations and challenges of LCD. For platforms and programming languages used in LCD, implementation units in LCD, supporting technologies of LCD, types of applications developed by LCD, and domains that use LCD, we used descriptive statistics to analyze and present the results. Results: Our findings show that: (1) LCD may provide a graphical user interface for users to drag and drop with little or even no code; (2) the equipment of out-of-the-box units (e.g., APIs and components) in LCD platforms makes them easy to learn and use as well as speeds up the development; (3) LCD is particularly favored in the domains that have the need for automated processes and workflows; and (4) practitioners have conflicting views on the advantages and disadvantages of LCD. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that researchers should clearly define the terms when they refer to LCD, and developers should consider whether the characteristics of LCD are appropriate for their projects. CCS CONCEPTS • Software and its engineering → Software development techniques.
Digital transformation has become a core priority for CEOs in recent years. But just as the pandemic accelerated the need for change though digital trans-formation, it laid bare the massive global shortage of skilled software developers needed to deliver and operationalize this transformation.
Against this backdrop, we are witnessing a new method of delivering low-code development to accelerate and expand digital transformation called “citizen development” (CD). This method hides the sophistication and complexity of coding but empowers subject matter experts to design, develop, and deploy applications into production as though they were full-on, experienced coders.
Also known as low-code/no-code (LC/NC), this approach leverages recent advances in technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to hide code complexity while delivering on code functionality. It empowers individuals within organizations to create and deliver on opportunities for change and eliminate inefficient processes. This article presents key recommendations for organizations on ways to take action to educate their staff to become citizen developers.
This chapter illustrates a qualitative project aimed at understanding the similarities and disparities that occur when students’ and teachers’ conceptions of assessment are compared. We used a multiple-case study design, with five third grade teachers and their students. The data were gathered through both single-person (with teachers) and focus group (with students) interviews. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a detailed description of how the visual tools of MAXQDA were used to compare how elementary Portuguese teachers and students conceive mathematics assessment. We present this case illustration in four sections. The first section contains the background, objectives, and guiding methodology of the project. The second section describes the preparation of the data and the development of the coding system by using both concept-driven and data-driven categories. In the third section, we explain how we compared and contrasted all summarized data in terms of categories by using the MAXQDA visual tools: Document Portrait, Code Matrix Browser, and Code Relations Browser. The final section describes how we used the Summary Grid and the Summary Tables to organize our findings and draw our conclusions. We conclude with a review of the pros and cons of alternative ways of comparing single-person and focus group interviews using MAXQDA.
Low-code development platforms (LCDPs) permit developers that do not have strong programming experience to produce complex software systems. Visual environments permit to specify workflows consisting of sequential or parallel executions of services that are directly available in the considered LCDP or are provided by external entities. Specifying workflows involving different LCDPs and services can be a difficult task. In this paper, we propose the adoption of concepts and tools related to the composition of model transformations to support the specification of complex workflows in LCDPs. We elaborate on how LCDPs services can be considered as model transformations and thus, workflows of services can be considered as model transformation compositions. The architecture of the environment supporting the proposed solution is presented.
Low-code development platforms (LCDPs) are easy to use visual environments that are being increasingly introduced and promoted by major IT players to permit citizen developers to build their software systems even if they lack a programming background. Understanding and evaluating the LCDP to be employed for the particular problem at hand are difficult tasks mainly because decision-makers have to choose among hundreds of heterogeneous platforms, which are difficult to evaluate without dedicated support. Thus, a detailed classification is needed to elaborate on the existing low-code platforms and to help users find out the most appropriate platforms based on their requirements.In this paper, a technical survey of different LCDPs is presented by relying on a proposed conceptual comparative framework. In particular, by analyzing eight representative LCDPs, a corresponding set of features have been identified to distil the functionalities and the services that each considered platform can support. The final aim is facilitating the understanding and the comparison of the low-code platforms that can best accommodate given user requirements.
Big data analytics is accepted to be an important driver of business value. However, this value does not come without a cost. Becoming a data-driven organization (DDO) necessitates a substantial transformation along the components structure, actors, task, and technology. Moreover, as successfully generating value from big data requires the utilization of data insights in business, attention needs to be assigned to the different actors from the data and business side, and their interrelation and collaboration. By taking a socio-technical systems perspective and utilizing a multi-case research approach, we developed a taxonomy to structure insights about different design parameters of a DDO. Thus, we contribute to the information systems literature by proposing a holistic design framework for DDOs paying tribute to its high collaboration requirements, and offer a compendium for managers with pathways how to design a DDO.
Chatbot (and voicebot) applications are increasingly adopted in various domains such as e-commerce or customer services as a direct communication channel between companies and end-users. Multiple frameworks have been developed to ease their definition and deployment. While these frameworks are efficient to design simple chatbot applications, they still require advanced technical knowledge to define complex interactions and are difficult to evolve along with the company needs (e.g. it is typically impossible to change the NL engine provider). In addition, the deployment of a chatbot application usually requires a deep understanding of the targeted platforms, especially back-end connections, increasing the development and maintenance costs. In this paper, we introduce the Xatkit framework. Xatkit tackles these issues by providing a set of Domain Specific Languages to define chatbots (and voicebots and bots in general) in a platform-independent way. Xatkit also comes with a runtime engine that automatically deploys the chatbot application and manages the defined conversation logic over the platforms of choice. Xatkit’s modular architecture facilitates the separate evolution of any of its components. Xatkit is open source and fully available online.
Digital disruption is a key driver of business development. Only those companies who embrace the new digital options and find their appropriate speed for change will survive. As speed is often matched with agility it is important to look deeper into the concept of agility. Furthermore, this document addresses questions of measurability while relating it to experiences in Germany. IT is a driver of agility, but is also driven by agility. It is necessary to discuss the role agile IT plays in a company’s success on the market. A reorientation of the IT towards agility is one of the keys to leveraging commercial success. Low-code platforms and agile methods like scrum play a crucial role. IT strategists have to decide upon how and how fast agile approaches can replace traditional project management approaches and tools. Finally, the C-Level has to lead the company from a hard-coded silos approach to an interlinked, team and task-based organization.
Currently, enterprises have to make quick and resilient responses to changing market requirements. In light of this, low-code development platforms provide the technology mechanisms to facilitate and automate the development of software applications to support current enterprise needs and promote digital transformation. Based on a theory-building research methodology through the literature and other information sources review, the main contribution of this paper is the current characterisation of the emerging low-code domain following the foundations of the computer-aided software engineering field. A context analysis, focused on the current status of research related to the low-code development platforms, is performed. Moreover, benchmarking among the existing low-code development platforms addressed to manufacturing industry is analysed to identify the current lacking features. As an illustrative example of the emerging low-code paradigm and respond to the identified uncovered features, the virtual factory open operating system (vf-OS) platform is described as an open multi-sided low-code framework able to manage the overall network of a collaborative manufacturing and logistics environment that enables humans, applications, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices to seamlessly communicate and interoperate in the interconnected environment, promoting resilient digital transformation.
Advancement in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has become the communication medium for virtually every small or large industry around the world. This technology changed the ways of doing business and has led to the invention of a new concept called Electronic Business (E-Business). E-Business involves various activities for any business such as ordering, transacting, customer servicing, delivering and paying. This new type of business consists of many advantages comparing with the traditional form of business, but on the other hand, it faces real challenges related to the approaches used to keep the data secure. The sharing of sensitive data for any enterprise system requires designing a security management framework in order to enable controlling access to sensitive information. In this paper, the last efforts of researchers proposed in the security field of the E-Business systematically reviewed. Furthermore, security approaches, techniques, and security frameworks have been discussed.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution poses significant challenges to manufacturing companies from the technological, organizational and management points of view. This paper aims to explore how top executives interpret the concept of Industry 4.0, the driving forces for introducing new technologies and the main barriers to Industry 4.0. The authors applied a qualitative case study design involving 26 semi-structured interviews with leading members of firms, including chief digital officers and chief executive officers. Company websites and annual reports were also examined to increase the reliability and validity of the results. The authors found that management desire to increase control and enable real-time performance measurement is a significant driving force behind Industry 4.0, alongside production factors. Organizational resistance at both employee and middle management levels can significantly hinder the introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies, though these technologies can also transform management functions. Multinational enterprises have higher driving forces and lower barriers to industry 4.0 than small and medium-sized companies, but these smaller companies have good opportunities, too.
In this age of digital disruption, every industry is undergoing digital transformation and manufacturing is no exception. Since Internet-of-Things and Big-Data have immense transformational potential, manufacturing companies are in a race to implement IoT based solutions to innovate, improve productivity, reduce costs and improve their market share. As companies try to embrace IoT, one of the key challenges that they face is to come up with an “Integrated Approach”. “Integrated Approach” includes fitting IoT in the overall system landscape, selecting the right use case, evaluating and deciding on implementation approach. This paper provides guidance to transform legacy manufacturing unit to a smart factory conforming to Industry 4.0 principles. It presents a reference architecture and offers various practical approaches for consideration to embark on digital journey. It details each approach along with its own benefits and challenges, and helps organizations to realistically determine faster time-to-market vs its long-term goals. This paper attempts to perform a deep dive on various aspects of integrated approach which will be immensely helpful for organizations and researchers alike.
As digital platforms are transforming almost every industry today, they are slowly finding their way into the mainstream information systems (ISs) literature. Digital platforms are a challenging research object because of their distributed nature and intertwinement with institutions, markets and technologies. New research challenges arise as a result of the exponentially growing scale of platform innovation, the increasing complexity of platform architectures and the spread of digital platforms to many different industries. This paper develops a research agenda for digital platforms research in IS. We recommend researchers seek to (1) advance conceptual clarity by providing clear definitions that specify the unit of analysis, degree of digitality and the sociotechnical nature of digital platforms; (2) define the proper scoping of digital platform concepts by studying platforms on different architectural levels and in different industry settings; and (3) advance methodological rigour by employing embedded case studies, longitudinal studies, design research, data-driven modelling and visualisation techniques. Considering current developments in the business domain, we suggest six questions for further research: (1) Are platforms here to stay? (2) How should platforms be designed? (3) How do digital platforms transform industries? (4) How can data-driven approaches inform digital platforms research? (5) How should researchers develop theory for digital platforms? and (6) How do digital platforms affect everyday life?
The widespread introduction of lightweight IT—smartphones, tablets, the Internet of Things, and the growth of third-party app developers—has become a challenge for many organizations. Local units and end-users increasingly are acquiring and implementing lightweight IT outside the realm of the IT function. The trend is driven by competent users’ need for innovative IT services, enabled by the consumerization of digital technologies. Lightweight IT entails exciting business opportunities; however, guidance for managers on how to deal with this development has been very limited. In this paper, we investigate which IT governance models organizations can apply to manage lightweight IT. The managerial challenge is to balance the innovative potential of lightweight IT with the requirements of good governance. Building on the particular challenges of lightweight IT and the extant literature on end-user computing, we present a framework with four alternative governance models. We evaluate the framework through four e-health case studies.
The IT unit is not the only provider of information technology (IT) used in business processes. Aiming for increased performance, many business workgroups autonomously implement IT resources not covered by their organizational IT service management. This is called shadow IT. Risks and inefficiencies associated with this phenomenon challenge organizations. Organizations need to decide how to deal with identified shadow IT and if the business or the IT unit should be responsible for corresponding tasks and components. This study proposes design principles for a method to control identified shadow IT following action design research in four organizational settings. The procedure results in an allocation of IT task responsibilities between the business workgroups and the IT unit following risk considerations and transaction cost economics, leading to an IT service governance. This contributes to governance research regarding adaptive and efficient arrangements with reduced risks for business-located IT activities.
Cloud computing is a promising approach for the efficient use of computational resources. It delivers computing as a service rather than a product for a fraction of the cost. However, security concerns prevent many individuals and organizations from using clouds despite its cost effectiveness. Resolving security problems of clouds may alleviate concerns and increase cloud usage; in consequence, it may decrease overall costs spent for the computational devices and infrastructures. This paper particularly focuses on the Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) clouds. Security of PaaS clouds is considered from multiple perspectives including access control, privacy and service continuity while protecting both the service provider and the user. Security problems of PaaS clouds are explored and classified. Countermeasures are proposed and discussed. The achieved solutions are intended to be the rationales for future PaaS designs and implementations.
Change may be introduced into an organization a variety of ways – implementing new technology, employing new people, or in establishing new organizational structures, new policies, or new procedures. Just as change is made up of different components, it comes in varying degrees. A three-level classification of change can help IS managers gain control over the variable components and nature of change.
The lack of an agreed upon definition of information system is one of many obstacles troubling the academic information systems discipline. After listing a number of definitions of IS, this paper defines information system as a special case of work system as defined in Alter (1999a). This definition has many desirable characteristics: It is easy to understand; differentiates IS from IT; covers totally manual, partially automated, and totally automated information systems; links to a life cycle model that generates many insights about development and implementation problems; provides a simple guideline that helps in interpreting common IS/IT jargon; and has other useful implications related to IS concepts, IS terminology, and the analysis and design of information systems. The paper presents the proposed IS definition and evaluates the definition in terms of simplicity, clarity, scope, systematic power, explanatory power, validity, reliability, and fruitfulness. An Appendix summarizes previously published concepts and two frameworks that flow from the proposed definition and are useful for appreciating many points in the evaluation section.
We outline a Punctuated Socio-Technical Information System Change model. The model recognizes both incremental and punctuated socio-technical change in the context of information systems at multiple levels – the work system level, the building system level, and the organizational environment. It uses socio-technical event sequences and their properties to explain how a change outcome emerged. The critical events in these sequences correspond to gaps in socio-technical systems. By conceiving information system (IS) change as a multi-level and punctuated sequence of socio-technical events, IS researchers can conceive plausible and accurate process explanations of IS change outcomes, including IS failures. Such explanations are located in the middle range and thus avoid the highly abstract and stylized closed-boxed factor models of change, but go beyond the idiographic open box histories of singular change processes.
Inspired by burgeoning scholarly interest in the role of digitalization in the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper examines how the COVID-19 pandemic is driving or constraining the digitalization of businesses around the globe. We contend that COVID‐19 is “the great accelerator” in fast-tracking the existing global trend towards embracing modern emerging technologies ushering in transformations in lifestyle, work patterns, and business strategies. Thus, COVID-19 has evolved to be a kind of “catalyst” for the adoption and increasing use of digitalization in work organization and the office, alongside presenting foreseen and unforeseen opportunities, challenges, and costs—leading to negative and positive feedback loops. In this article, we develop and advance a conceptual model by linking the different forces for and against digitalization in response to the pandemic. Our analysis indicates that adoption of emerging technologies may be hindered by vested external interests, nostalgia, and employer opportunism, as well as negative effects on employee well-being that undermine productivity, work–life balance, and future of work. Whilst digitalization may bring new opportunities, the process imparts risks that may be hard to mitigate or prepare for. Finally, we draw out the wider theoretical and practical implications of our analysis.
Purpose
The mobile shadow information technology (IT) phenomenon is both completely misunderstood and negatively explored by those participating inside the organizational ecosystem. It represents all internet-based software, any other solutions for communications or employees’ sharing without any formal authorization or approval from the IT department. Such behavior can lead to a security breach of the organization’s data privacy, as these risks could disseminate it without the organization fully knowing. Recent research identifies that shadow IT is rarely covered from the knowledge sharing and knowledge protection (KP) perspective. This paper aims to provide an insight on how mobile shadow IT as a phenomenon could impact KP of an organization as a whole.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an exploratory study based on a qualitative approach. The authors conducted interviews with 11 IT users to answer the main research question. The interview guidelines were divided into three parts: types of mobile shadow IT and occurrence; KP nature in the workplace; and mobile shadow IT impact on KP.
Findings
The research findings identified that most interviewees use mobile shadow IT without any notice or permission from their IT departments. This sharing also negatively impacts the KP in the organization. The most common mobile shadow IT applications are the clouded type like Dropbox, Google Drive and WhatsApp. Interviewees are using mobile shadow IT mainly because organizations do not provide suitable tools to communicate efficiently. The authors concluded that mobile shadow IT harms KP with no security and privacy on what is being shared because this process is unmonitored by the organization.
Practical implications
For adequate knowledge and data protection, IT departments need to take more actions and efforts. This study can help IT decision-makers cope with the technology changes while understanding mobile shadow IT impacts. This study also offers insight regarding types of applications that can be used as an alternative tool for employees rather than using unauthorized applications. This research shows that medium-sized organizations are free to use these applications, which can cause damage to organizations.
Originality/value
This research is arguably among the first to explore the interviewees’ perspectives on how mobile shadow IT impacts KP. This paper also provides theoretical and practical insights by identifying the three primary constructs and how mobile shadow IT usage can affect KP.
Market research institutes forecast a growing relevance of Low-Code Development Platforms (LCDPs) for organizations. Moreover, the rising number of scientific publications in recent years shows the increasing interest of the academic community. However, an overview of current research focuses and fruitful future research topics is missing. This paper conducts a first scientific literature review on LCDPs to close this gap. The socio-technical system (STS) model, which categorizes information systems into a social and a technical system, serves to analyze the identified 32 publications. Most of current research focuses on the technical system (technology or task). In contrast, only three publications explicitly target the social system (structure or people). Hence, this paper enables future research to address the identified research gaps. Additionally, practitioners gain awareness of technical and social aspects involved in the development, implementation, and application of LCDPs.
With the increase in the complexity of software systems, the size and the complexity of underlying models also increases proportionally. In a low-code system, models can be stored in different backend technologies and can be represented in various formats. Tailored high-level query languages are used to query such heterogeneous models, but typically this has a significant impact on performance. Our main aim is to propose optimization strategies that can help to query large models in various formats efficiently. In this paper, we present an approach based on compile-time static analysis and specific query optimizers/translators to improve the performance of complex queries over large-scale heterogeneous models. The proposed approach aims to bring efficiency in terms of query execution time and memory footprint, when compared to the naive query execution for low-code platforms.
Purpose
As various scholars have pointed out, the exponential growth in digital technologies has resulted in significant improvements to many business processes, and has also played a significant role in the field of innovation. The purpose of this paper is to organise the contributions of this special issue according to a framework that considers three topics currently being debated extensively in literature: innovation inputs, innovation processes and innovation outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Papers in this special issue adopt both qualitative and quantitative approaches based on the purpose of the study, which gives also a methodological variety to the special issue.
Findings
Papers in this special issue show that because of digital technologies: first, inputs are progressively becoming interrelated, making most of innovation endeavours happening in inter-organizational ecosystems of actors; second, innovation processes are gradually being compressed, anticipating and enhancing the phases in which customer feedback is gathered and employed; and finally, innovation outputs are increasingly taking the form of platforms used to create value by matching the supply of an asset with demand.
Originality/value
The value of this and other papers included in the special issue consists of embracing the topic of digital innovation from a managerial standpoint, contributing to the understanding of how the innovation process and other business processes may be affected by the use of digital technologies.
Shadow IT and Business-managed IT describe the autonomous deployment/procurement or management of Information Technology (IT) instances, i.e., software, hardware, or IT services, by business entities. For Shadow IT, this happens covertly, i.e., without alignment with the IT organization; for Business-managed IT this happens overtly, i.e., in alignment with the IT organization or in a split responsibility model. We conduct a systematic literature review and structure the identified research themes in a framework of causing factors, outcomes, and governance. As causing factors, we identify enablers, motivators, and missing barriers. Outcomes can be benefits as well as risks/shortcomings of Shadow IT and Business-managed IT. Concerning governance, we distinguish two subcategories: general governance for Shadow IT and Business-managed IT and instance governance for overt Business-managed IT. Thus, a specific set of governance approaches exists for Business-managed IT that cannot be applied to Shadow IT due to its covert nature. Hence, we extend the existing conceptual understanding and allocate research themes to Shadow IT, Business-managed IT, or both concepts and particularly distinguish the governance of the two concepts. Besides, we find that governance themes have been the primary research focus since 2016, whereas older publications (until 2015) focused on causing factors.
This book examines the massive changes currently taking place in the business world and commonly known under the label “digitalization.” In addition, it describes the significant impacts of technological innovations on processes, products, services and business models.
The digital transformation resulting from these developments leads to disruption for many enterprises and industries. While for many years, IT departments mainly concentrated on fulfilling the requirements of business departments effectively and efficiently by means of high-quality IT services and operations, today’s IT departments are increasingly expected to actively co-design and co-create the enterprise.
This book describes how information technology enables innovation for businesses, and how IT departments can proactively and in a timely manner collaborate with the business departments of their corporation to leverage these innovations. It also delineates the implications of digitalization for the structures, processes and people in today’s IT departments. IT leaders and managers who are responsible for corporate IT, as well as practice-oriented researchers, will find valuable inspirations and guidance in this book, the central mission of which is to encourage and enable a more proactive role for IT in the digital transformation processes.
"This book demonstrates the impact of digital transformation on IT organizations and their management. It also presents potential risks for technology availability, security and data protection. The authors develop a vision of what IT management should look like in ten years if it is to continue playing an important role in the company. The book seeks to motivate IT executives and managers with IT responsibility to actively adapt their thinking and their IT organizations before they are forced to react to external pressure. Definitely worth reading!"
Sven Kreimendahl, Director Business Technology Services, Campana & Schott
Context: The OutSystems Platform is a development environment composed of several DSLs, used to specify, quickly build and validate web and mobile applications. The DSLs allow users to model different perspectives such as interfaces and data models, define custom business logic and construct process models. Problem: The DSL for process modelling (Business Process Technology (BPT)), has a low adoption rate and is perceived as having usability problems hampering its adoption. This is problematic given the language maintenance costs. Method: We used a combination of interviews, a critical review of BPT using the "Physics of Notation" and empirical evaluations of BPT using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and the NASA Task Load indeX (TLX), to develop a new version of BPT, taking these inputs and Outsystems' engineers culture into account. Results: Evaluations conducted with 25 professional software engineers showed an increase of the semantic transparency on the new version, from 31% to 69%, an increase in the correctness of responses, from 51% to 89%, an increase in the SUS score, from 42.25 to 64.78, and a decrease of the TLX score, from 36.50 to 20.78. These differences were statistically significant. Conclusions: These results suggest the new version of BPT significantly improved the developer experience of the previous version. The end users background with OutSystems had a relevant impact on the final concrete syntax choices and achieved usability indicators.
The inferences made in integrative research reviews are as central to the validity of behavioral science knowledge as those made in primary research. Therefore, research reviewers must pay the same attention to rigorous methodology that is required of primary researchers. This article conceptualizes the research review as a scientific inquiry involving five stages that parallel those of primary research. The functions, sources of variance, and potential threats to validity associated with each stage are described.
A taxonomy of literature reviews in education and psychology is presented. The taxonomy categorizes reviews according to:
(a) focus; (b) goal; (c) perspective; (d) coverage; (e) organization; and (f) audience. The seven winners of the American
Educational Research Association’s Research Review Award are used to illustrate the taxonomy’s categories. Data on the reliability
of taxonomy codings when applied by readers is presented. Results of a survey of review authors provides baseline data on
how frequently different types of reviews appear in the education and psychology literature. How the taxonomy might help in
judging the quality of literature reviews is discussed, along with more general standards for evaluating reviews.
Das Experteninterview ist eines der am häufigsten eingesetzten Verfahren in der empirischen Sozialforschung. Es kommt sowohl
als eigenständiges Verfahren als auch im Rahmen einer Methodentriangulation zur Anwendung. Bereiche, in denen besonders häufig
von Experteninterviews Gebrauch gemacht wird, sind die industriesoziologische Forschung, die Organisationsforschung, die Bildungsforschung
und die Politikforschung. Lange Zeit erfolgten die Durchführung und die Auswertung von Experteninterviews in Gestalt eines
methodologischen Pragmatismus. Die Forschungspraxis war von einer gewissen “Hemdsärmeligkeit“ geprägt. Der Häufigkeit der
Anwendung des Verfahrens korrespondierte keine methodologische Reflexion, die sich um eine Bestimmung der Besonderheiten des
Experteninterviews gegenüber anderen Interviewverfahren bemühte. Die Folge ist eine gewisse “Unübersichtlichkeit und Uneinheitlichkeit
in der Auffassung und Darstellung von Experteninterviews“ (Mieg/Brunner 2004: 199; ähnlich Bogner/Menz 2002a: 20). Dies gilt gleichermaßen für die deutsche wie die internationale Forschungslandschaft.
Building on neo-institutional theory and theories of innovation and diffusion, recent work in the field of management has suggested that management research and practice is characterized by fashions. A management fashion is a relatively transitory belief that a certain management technique leads rational management progress. Using bibliographic research, we apply Abrahamson's management fashion theory to information systems research and practice. Our findings reveal that information systems research and practice, like management research and practice, is indeed characterized by fashions. These "IS fashion waves" are relatively transitory and represent a burst of interest in particular topics by IS researchers and practitioners. However, while our findings show that IS research closely parallels practice, we suggest that a more proactive engagement of IS academics is needed in the IS fashion-setting process.
A review of prior, relevant literature is an essential feature of any academic project. An effective review creates a firm foundation for advancing knowledge. It facilitates theory development, closes areas where a plethora of research exists, and uncovers areas where research is needed.
Many of the problems and failures of Management Information Systems (MIS) and Management Science/Operations Research (MS/OR) projects have been attributed to organizational behavioral problems. The millions of dollars organizations spend on MIS and MS/OR development are of little benefit because systems continue to fail. Steps can be taken to understand and solve these behavioral problems. This article argues that in most cases these behavioral problems are the result of inadequate designs. These bad designs are attributed to the way MIS systems designers view organizations, their members, and the function of an MIS within them, i.e., systems designers' frames of reference. These frames of reference cause faulty design choices and failures to perceive better design alternatives. Seven conditions are discussed which reflect current systems designers' points of view. The discussion of these conditions demonstrates the need to reframe MIS design methodology within the Socio-Technical Systems (STS) design approach and change systems designers' perspectives. The STS approach is introduced as a realistic view of organizations and a way to change them. This article is the first of two to appear in consecutive issues of the MIS Quarterly. The purpose of this first article is to demonstrate the need for the STS approach. The second will present the basic concepts and principles of the STS methodology and how it can be utilized in the design of an MIS.
VTT Publications 759 Lifecycle Management approaches promise more systematic and efficient ways to support the development and management of complex products. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) means the activity of managing a company's products across their lifecycles in the most effective way. The concept of Application Lifecycle Management (ALM), on the other hand, indicates the coordination of activities and the management of artefacts (e.g., requirements, source code, test cases) during the software (SW) product's lifecycle. There are surprisingly few scientific efforts to define what ALM constitutes and scientifically reported experiences of the practical development and deployment of ALM solutions in an industrial context. ALM solutions tend to be complex, integrating different tools and practices that are used to produce and manage artefacts during the SW development lifecycle, and there is therefore an apparent need to support the development of such complex solutions for industrial contexts. This thesis presents an effort towards an ALM framework that can be used to document and analyse an organisation's ALM solution and find improvement ideas for it. The evolving framework has been demonstrated in four industrial case studies and gradually refined based on the experiences gained from the studies. This thesis presents the four case studies to the reader and explains the whole research process from the initial literature study, via four phases of constructing and demonstrating the evolving ALM framework, to a proposal for an ALM framework. Furthermore, the series of case studies revealed several experiences related to the application and improvement of an ALM solution in an industrial context. These experiences are also presented and discussed in this thesis. Lifecycle Management approaches promise more systematic and efficient ways to support the development and management of complex products. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) means the activity of managing a company's products across their lifecycles in the most effective way. The concept of Application Lifecycle Management (ALM), on the other hand, indicates the coordination of activities and the management of artefacts (e.g., requirements, source code, test cases) during the software (SW) product's lifecycle. There are surprisingly few scientific efforts to define what ALM constitutes and scientifically reported experiences of the practical development and deployment of ALM solutions in an industrial context. ALM solutions tend to be complex, integrating different tools and practices that are used to produce and manage artefacts during the SW development lifecycle, and there is therefore an apparent need to support the development of such complex solutions for industrial contexts. This thesis presents an effort towards an ALM framework that can be used to document and analyse an organisation's ALM solution and find improvement ideas for it. The evolving framework has been demonstrated in four industrial case studies and gradually refined based on the experiences gained from the studies. This thesis presents the four case studies to the reader and explains the whole research process from the initial literature study, via four phases of constructing and demonstrating the evolving ALM framework, to a proposal for an ALM framework. Furthermore, the series of case studies revealed several experiences related to the application and improvement of an ALM solution in an industrial context. These experiences are also presented and discussed in this thesis.
The Forrester Wave™: Low-Code Development Platforms For Professional Developers, Q2 2021: The 14 Providers That Matter Most And How They Stack Up
- J Bratincevic
- R Koplowitz
Bratincevic, J., and Koplowitz, R. 2021. "The Forrester Wave™: Low-Code Development Platforms For
Professional Developers, Q2 2021: The 14 Providers That Matter Most And How They Stack Up,"
available at www.forrester.com, accessed on Feb 15 2022.
Towards access control for collaborative modelling apps
- L Brunschwig
- E Guerra
- J Lara
Brunschwig, L., Guerra, E., and de Lara, J. 2020. "Towards access control for collaborative modelling apps,"
in MODELS '20: Proceedings of the 23rd ACM/IEEE International Conference on Model Driven
Engineering Languages and Systems, Virtual Event, Canada, pp. 1-10.
A Study on the Design of Low-Code and No Code Platform for Mobile Application Development
- Y.-H Chang
- C.-B Ko
Chang, Y.-H., and Ko, C.-B. 2017. "A Study on the Design of Low-Code and No Code Platform for Mobile
Application Development," International Journal of Advanced Smart Convergence (6:4), pp. 50-55.
Synthesizing Research: A Guide for Literature Reviews
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