Vision

Methodology support is essential for design and implementation of large scale information systems.

Several recent trends have brought new challenges to designing and deploying optimal methodologies, these include:

Our group has a long tradition in research into method engineering and adaptation. The key premise is that each organizational and technological context requires a tailored approach towards implementing a new system. Also, system implementation is usually a change process. Both technological and organizational change needs to be supported by an implementation process.

We believe that the trends listed above has changed requirements for methodologies:

- For example, in globally distributed projects, team members become less aware of activities of their peers. As a result, a project manager needs support to stay “aware” of what’s happening within the project.

- Another example: Outsourcing of business process components is a promising way to enable competitive dynamic business networks. However, how should business process components within a business process be identified? How should process interfaces be designed and their services and service quality be specified?

Our approach is not to devise entirely new methodologies. Rather, we follow the alternative to tailor and adapt methodologies using a repository of method components, consisting of tools, techniques and process patterns.

We are developing and testing several methods, tools and techniques to improve systems development, jointly with industry and partner university research groups.