Power and Politics of User Involvement in Software Development

Abstract

Involving users in software development is a complex and multi-faceted concept. Empirical research that studies power and politics of user involvement in software development is scarce. [OBJECTIVE] In this paper, we present the results from a case study of a software development project, where organizational politics was explored in context of user involvement in software development. [METHOD] We collected data through 30 interviews with 20 participants, attending workshops, observing project meetings, and analysing projects documents. The qualitative data was rigorously and iteratively analyzed. [RESULTS] The results indicate that the politics was a significant factor used to exert power and influence in decision-making processes. Communication channels were exploited for political purposes. These contributed to the users' dissatisfaction with their involvement thus impacting on the project outcome. [CONCLUSION] Having multiple teams of stakeholders with different levels of power in decision-making, the politics is inevitable and inescapable. Without careful attention, the political aspect of user involvement in software development can contribute to unsuccessful project.

Causes and Mitigation Practices of Requirement Volatility in Agile Software Development

“…By understanding the intricate relationships between these factors, software teams can develop more effective strategies for mitigating RV and improving overall project success. Similar to the findings reported by [37][38][39][40][41][42][43], the participants in the current study considered regulatory compliance to be one of the most challenging issues. This difficulty in reducing RV caused by this factor, as reported by the participants, might be due to complex interactions between regulatory compliance issues and other issues such as the interplay of expertise and domain knowledge.…”

“…Therefore, further research is recommended on this factor. Furthermore, stakeholder engagement was reported as an important factor that causes RV due to the fact that inadequate stakeholder involvement often leads to incomplete or missing requirements, resulting in suboptimal communication [40]. Therefore, the study underscores the importance of effective communication with all types of stakeholders, such as internal team members, suppliers, logistics personnel, and other departments involved in a project.…”

“…In this regard, the most challenging issue reported by the participants in reducing RV was regulatory compliance. However, few studies have handled the impacts of this factor and its effects on a project's success [40,42]. Therefore, further research is recommended on this factor.…”

Power relations inscribed in the enactment of systems development methods

“…Issues of power are often neglected in information systems (IS) studies and under-theorised in IS research (Simeonova, Karanasios, Galliers, Kelly, & Mishra, 2018). In this context, the role of power in the relationship between clients and systems developers remains an important topic in information systems development (ISD) research (Bano, Zowghi, & Ramini, 2018;Dhillon, Caldeira, & Wenger, 2011;Hekkala & Urquhart, 2013;Milne & Maiden, 2012;Pozzebon & Pinsonneault, 2012;Siadati, Wernick, & Veneziano, 2019). This paper reports on interpretive research into how obtrusive and unobtrusive power is inscribed within a systems development method (SDM) and what the effect of this power has on the developer-client relationship during the enactment of an SDM.…”

نموذج جودة مشارکة المستخدم فى إدارة تطویر البرمجیات

“…D. Zowghi et al [8] introduced Empirical research that studies power and politics of user involvement in software development, collected data through 30 interviews with 20 participants, attending workshops, observing project meetings, and analyzing projects documents. The qualitative data were rigorously and iteratively evaluated and the findings suggest that politics was an important factor used in decision-making processes to exercise power and control.…”