International Journal of Information Systems and Project Management
Abstract
The customer role is crucial in agile information systems development (ISD). There is, however, a scarceness in research on how this role is enacted, and how its practice influences project outcome. In this longitudinal case study, an agile ISD project is followed with a particular focus on the customer organization’s participation, aiming to contribute to the understanding of how customers influence agile ISD projects. The data analysis follows a process tracing approach, a case study method where one aims to identify the causes and outcomes of any kind of process through the rigorous analysis of qualitative data. The analysis of the case shows that the low completion of the initial project requirements was caused by over-scoping and by an immature customer. Further, the customer’s acceptance of the outcome was caused by the agile practices introduced in the project. These helped to create a high customer’s sense of responsibility for the outcome, which worked as a mediator towards a positive acceptance of the delivery. The study contributes a mechanism for why agile projects may still be successful in light of low delivery. It is also a first case study in the information systems field explicitly using a process tracing approach.
Recommended Citation
Tessem, Bjørnar
(2018)
"What causes positive customer satisfaction in an ineffectual software development project? A mechanism from a process tracing case study,"
International Journal of Information Systems and Project Management: Vol. 6:
No.
4, Article 6.
Available at:
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ijispm/vol6/iss4/6