Abstract
The paper proposes a view of Information Systems Development (ISD) processes as discursive practices. A discursive ISD practice determines the production of representations and legitimation of meanings through business process models, information requirements specifications, database/knowledge base designs, procedures, rules, etc. – that reflect particular interests and power relations. The paper proposes a framework that makes particular distinctions among organisational ISD discourses: first, between the ‘consensus’ and ‘dissensus’ organisational discourse (Deetz 1996a); and second, between the ‘system’ and ‘lifeworld’ IS discourse. By combining these two dimensions of contrast (‘consensus—dissensus’ and ‘systems—lifeworld’), four distinct types of organisational ISD discursive practices are identified: Covert-Hegemonic, Hegemonic, Emancipatory and Participatory. The nature of the proposed ISD discursive types, the meaning of distinctions made, and the implications for IS practice and research, are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Cecez-Kecmanovic, Dubravka, "A Discursive Framework for Examining ISD" (2004). ACIS 2004 Proceedings. 3.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/acis2004/3