Abstract
Focusing on information systems development (ISD) as a language development and formalization process, many researchers have conceptualized language as the venue for the establishment of research concepts in ISD. Moreover, natural language plays a crucial role in ISD because it is probably the most commonly used mode for communication between stakeholders and - at the same time - the most volatile because of its inherent ambiguity. Taking this into consideration, we claim that the effectiveness of ISD depends on the ability to manage how people deal with language in practice and reach language alignment in a concrete ISD process. At the core of our research lies the analysis of the underlying structure of interaction through which stakeholders achieve language alignment in the requirements specification process. Therefore, by adapting the theory of Functional Pragmatics and by conducting a hermeneutical analysis of how linguistic communication in an actual ISD project is shaped and regulated, we develop a pattern for semantic alignment that enables the reconstruction of critical, linguistic sense-making processes. In doing so, we contribute to the growing field of research on the role of natural language in ISD by examining the processes and factors contributing to language effectiveness.
Recommended Citation
Corvera, Marianne and Rosenkranz, Christoph, "Natural Language Alignment as a Process: Applying Functional Pragmatics in Information Systems Development" (2010). ECIS 2010 Proceedings. 5.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2010/5