ola

.he

nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

IS action research: State of the art and future

directions

Ola Henfridsson

Viktoria Institute & Halmstad University

ola

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nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

Action ResearchDual goal: “The action researcher is concerned to create organizational change and simultaneously study the process” (Baskerville and Myers 2004, p. 329-330)Common motivations: Epistemology: pragmatism Relevance to practice

Promising methodology, but many different models of action researchAction research characteristics (Baskerville and Wood-Harper 1998): Process model (Iterative, reflective, linear) Structure (rigid, fluid) Researcher involvement (collaborative, facilitative, experiment) Primary goals (organizational development, systems design, scientific

knowledge, training)

ola

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nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

Types of IS action research (Baskerville & Wood-Harper 1998)

ola

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nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

IS action research

Two observations:

1. Few examples of empirical AR studies (with the objective of making a domain-specific (substantive) contribution to, e.g., KM or ERP) Relatively many examples of AR theorizing (new models of, or

perspectives on, AR)

2. The IT-artifact has a marginal role in IS action research IT-artifact = “bundles of material and cultural properties

packaged in some socially recognized form such as hardware and/or software” (Orlikowski and Iacono 2001)

ola

.he

nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

Observation #1: Few examples of empirical AR studies (with the

objective of making a domain-specific (substantive) contribution)

ola

.he

nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

Dominance of AR methodology contributions

Two lately published special issues: IT & People (2001: Editors: Kock and Lau): 6 articles MIS Quarterly (2004: Editors: Baskerville and Myers): 6 articles

Domain-specific (substantive) contributions Davison (2001) Iverson et al. (2004) Kohli and Kettinger (2004) Lindgren, Henfridsson, and Schultze (2004) Street and Meister (2004) Yoong and Gallupe (2001)

AR methodology contributions Avison, Baskerville, and Myers (2001) Braa, Monteiro, and Sahay (2004) Chiasson and Dexter (2001) Mårtensson and Lee (2004) McKay & Marshall (2001) Mumford (2001)

Dominance of AR methodology contributions

ola

.he

nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

Reflections on the current state

Methodological development important

However, the value of AR must be evaluated in light of alternative methodologies in terms of its capacity to facilitate substantive research

contributions in terms of its promised relevance to practice

MISQ special issue important to legitimize AR

However, action researchers have still things to prove

ola

.he

nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

Observation #2: The IT-artifact has a marginal role in IS action research

ola

.he

nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

Background: the role of the IT-artifact in AR

IT-artifact: “bundles of material and

cultural properties packaged in some socially recognized form such as hardware and/or software” (Orlikowski and Iacono 2001)

Less inclusive than Hevner et al (2004): (constructs, instantiations, methods, and models)

Role: Part in the researchers’ action Part in developing the

research contribution

ola

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nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

ola

.he

nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

Reflections on the current state

The IT-artifact is part of the researchers’ action in some IS action research (3 out of the 6/12)

The IT-artifact is basically never a significant part of the contribution (developing the contribution)

This is a problem in IS action research

ola

.he

nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

Two recent AR projects

Design principles for Competence Management Systems [1999-2001] Lindgren, R., Henfridsson, O., and Schultze, U. "Design Principles for

Competence Management Systems: A Synthesis of an Action Research Study," MIS Quarterly (28:3) 2004, pp 435-472.

Multi-Contextuality in Ubiquitous Computing [2002-2004] Henfridsson, O., and Lindgren, R. "Multi-Contextuality in Ubiquitous Computing:

Investigating the Car Case through Action Research," Information and Organization (15:2) 2005, pp 95-124.

ola

.he

nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

AR Methodology in Use at Viktoria

Canonical action research (Davison et al. 2004; Susman & Evered 1978)

Prototype-based action

Delivering “design principles” for a specific system type grounded in socio-technical theory

IT-artifact in focus: without leaving social issues behind?

ola

.he

nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

BackgroundModern automobile – success for ubiquitous computing technologies Whole set of computer

systems Weaved into the fabric of our

everyday life

However, the vehicle has been traditionally a closed systemTelematics is slowly changing thisThe connected carImplications for product development, insurance, car maintenance, transportation,

ola

.he

nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

What is telematics?The integrated use of telecommunications, positioning technologies, and ITSpecifically, the use of such systems within road vehiclesGM’s OnStar All GM brands (and a few other) sold in the US Subscription model: different service packages

Fleet management, infotainment, remote diagnostics, vehicle management, and many more

ola

.he

nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

Personal telematicsIntegrated use of mobile devices and embedded computing platforms for providing in-car user services

Provides temporary and synchronized networks between vehicles and mobile devices for leveraging the convenience and safety such services

Lifecycle differences

Competition from aftermarket solution providers

ola

.he

nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

Multi-contextuality in ubiquitous computing

Mobile services are multi-contextualUsed over different spatio-temporal contexts by people on the moveCombining mass-scale with situated support: design challengeDifferent use requirements in boundary-spanning mobilityMinimal assumptions about use contexts for maximizing mobility and personalization (Lyytinen and Yoo 2002)Multi-contextuality: the co-existence of different use contexts

ola

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nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

Multi-Contextuality in the Car Setting

The Car Setting Supports spatial/physical mobility Mobile devices used for handling the temporality of social activity

(cf. Kakihara and Sørensen 2002) Provides advanced computing and connectivity capabilities

What are the socio-technical design implications related to the co-existence of different use contexts in the car?Grounded action research study (Baskerville & Pries-Heje 1999) Saab Automobile, Mecel, and Vodafone

Objectives Develop and evaluate design principles for handling multi-

contextuality surrounding mobile device use in cars Explore socio-technical implications in an authentic setting

ola

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nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

ola

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nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

Mobile phone use in cars: categories, concepts, and data

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nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action ResearchMOBILE DEVICE MANIPULATION

(PHYSICAL) CONTEXT CHANGE

ATTENTION-SHIFTING

(WIRED) WORK-AROUNDS

PRE-PARING

ola

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nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

Design principlesThe principle of context switching support:

Support switches between different physical and social contexts.

The principle of contextually adapted manipulation: Provide the user with device or service controls adapted to the spatio-temporal

conditions in question.

The principle of context-sensitive service synchronization:

Make selective services associated with the mobile device available (deemed plausible for the car setting) to users.

ola

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nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

The SeamlessTalk prototypeFacilitates driver (or passenger) control of Bluetooth-equipped mobile phones brought into the car

Embeds the design principles developed

ola

.he

nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

ola

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nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

Evaluation overview

ola

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nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

UbiComp challengesSynchronizing fluid use patterns Differences in individual use patterns make it hard to deliver

mass-scale services The openness of mobile devices triggers an abundance of such

use patterns Increased number of services provided by multi-purpose devices

Scaling service manipulation A UbiComp environment cannot always be assumed to meet the

specific requirements of the services hosted Different interaction models, e.g., differences in temporal

assumptions

Signaling context-switches through awareness support Context-switching can be a source of uncertainty Signaling context-switches can be an appropriate way to place

computing in the background, e.g., audio, motion, and visual feedback

ola

.he

nfrid

sson

@vikto

ria.se

TELEMATICS GROUP

IS Action Research

Many thanks for your attention!