IS Development and Project Management

Track Description
The advent of technologies such as mobile apps, blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoTs) has dramatically altered the manner in which Information Systems (IS) are being conceived, developed and managed in organizations. Rapid automation of processes through the use of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has impacted virtually every facet of IS development and project management. Furthermore, IS Development (ISD) processes increasingly integrate operations with cross-functional software teams (i.e., DevOps) to manage complexity and to respond with agility to changing market conditions. Finally, the proliferation of open source tools and the increasing number of outsourcing and crowdsourcing options allow organizations to evolve innovative solutions to complex problems. New software development approaches combined with diverse software platforms and application environments provide the opportunity to broaden the array of approaches to design and development available to IS project managers and to offer the prospect of approaches better differentiated to organizational settings, personnel skills, and task demands. Given this complex and dynamic nature of IS projects, many projects continue to run over budget, to extend past schedule and to deliver less than or different products than anticipated, needed, or preferred.

Given that ISD plays a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction of organizations and in enabling them to gain and sustain a competitive advantage, researchers have unique opportunities to investigate not only the social, organizational, and technical challenges and risks associated with ISD project management but also the theoretical underpinnings of the myriad practices that have emerged over time.

This track welcomes papers that improve our understanding of the dynamic and complex nature of IS development and project management in the digital age. We are especially interested in papers that advance theory and practice of emerging technologies in the context of dispersed organizational settings where ISD and project management often occurs. We welcome all types of research, including empirical, conceptual, and simulation-based studies that address social and technical aspects of IS development and project management at the organizational, group and individual levels.

Track Chairs
Geneviève Bassellier, McGill University, genevieve.bassellier@mcgill.ca
Julia Kotlarsky, University of Auckland, j.kotlarsky@auckland.ac.nz
Sridhar Nerur, University of Texas at Arlington, snerur@exchange.uta.edu