Inside a Secret Software Laboratory (eBook)

An Ethnographic Study of a Global Software Package Producer

Christine Grimm (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2012 | 2012
XVIII, 289 Seiten
Betriebswirtschaftlicher Verlag Gabler
9783834971760 (ISBN)

Infos

How does one of the world's biggest Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) suppliers develop software? How do Oracle, SAP, Microsoft and Co really work? Christine Grimm presents a first-hand account of a social researcher who entered the software laboratory of one of the biggest ERP providers. Presenting an in-depth ethnography on how people act within such labs, she reveals the highly unexpected social character of programming and shows how the vendor reorganizes himself to find new ways to respond to the expectations of the market. Furthermore, the author highlights the informal practices when an ERP system, as a defective or incomplete product, re-enters the supplier's labs. The book provides a window into what happens if bugs are dug up and emotions on both the supplier and customer sides are running high.

Dr. Christine Grimm received her PhD in interdisciplinary research from the University of Edinburgh. She  works as a senior researcher in the research laboratory of a software provider.

 

Inhalt

Acknowledgements 6
Abstract 8
Contents 10
List of Figures 13
List of Abbreviations 14
1 Introduction 16
1.1 Towards a Different Understanding of ERP Systems 16
1.2 Aim of This Research 22
1.3 Structure of This Book 25
1.4 A Note on Style 26
2 Discussion of Existing Knowledge 27
2.1 Introduction 27
2.2 ERP Systems in Social Research 29
2.2.1 ERP System Design 29
2.2.2 ERP System Development 32
2.2.3 ERP System Procurement 41
2.2.4 ERP System Implementation 44
2.2.5 ERP System Support 46
2.3 Summary: ERP Systems in Social Research 52
2.4 Science and Technology Studies: Conceptual Perspective 53
2.4.1 Organisational Sociology of Software 55
2.4.2 Social Constructivist Analysis of Software 55
2.4.3 Studies of the Commodification of Software 57
2.5 Summary: Conceptual Perspective 59
2.6 Conclusion 60
3 Settings and Research Methods 61
3.1 Introduction 61
3.2 An Ethnographic Tale 62
3.2.1 Arriving at the Labs 63
3.2.2 A Day in the Labs and the Importance of Food 69
3.2.3 The Atmosphere 74
3.2.4 My Work 78
3.2.5 Developer Training 79
3.3 Introducing People 82
3.4 Participating in Other Peoples’ Lives 84
3.4.1 The Necessity of the ‘Stranger’s Eye’ 85
3.4.2 Changing Roles 89
3.4.3 When the ‘Subjects’ Become Friends 94
3.5 Ethnography 96
3.5.1 Getting Access 97
3.5.2 A Triangular Approach to Data Collection 99
3.5.3 ‘Finding’ Interesting Topics 100
3.5.4 Interviews 101
3.5.5 Participant Observation 103
3.5.6 Secondary Data 104
3.6 Evolving Research Questions 105
3.7 Limitations 106
3.8 Conclusion 109
4 ERP System Support 110
4.1 Introduction 110
4.2 The Birth of a Support Message: The User’s Site 112
4.2.1 Creating a Support Message 112
4.2.2 Setting Message Priorities 114
4.3 Distributing Problems 116
4.4 Avoiding Problems: The Game of Ping Pong 118
4.5 When Experts and Problems Meet 120
4.5.1 Problems Arrive 121
4.5.2 Solving Problems 123
4.6 Whose Fault Is It Anyway (and Who Pays For It)? 129
4.7 Which Problems Should Be Solved First? 133
4.7.1 Message Priorities: When Problems Escalate 133
4.7.2 Negotiating Space 141
4.7.3 Informal Priorities: The Support’s Discretion 143
4.7.4 New Tools to Frame the Relationship 146
4.8 User Discretion: Evaluating the Support 147
4.9 Summary 149
4.10 Analysing the Support 150
4.10.1 Dis-embedding and Distributing Problems 152
4.10.2 Re-embedding Problems: Visiting the User Virtually 156
4.10.3 The Power of Formal and Informal Problem Priorities 158
4.11 Conclusion 161
5 ERP System Development 163
5.1 Introduction 163
5.2 Tom’s Strategy 165
5.3 A New Software Development Approach Is Needed 171
5.4 “What Is It That We Are Doing?” 180
5.4.1 Conforming Interpretations? 180
5.4.2 The Participating Researcher Discovers Inconsistencies 182
5.5 Summary 187
5.6 Enactment of the Managerial Changes 188
5.6.1 Enactment: The Daily Confirmation 191
5.6.2 Enactment: The Daily Scrums 192
5.6.3 Enactment: Development Phases and Unit Tests 205
5.7 The Feeling of Becoming ‘Visible‘ 209
5.8 Conclusion 216
6 Analysing the Labs 219
6.1 Introduction 219
6.2 Introducing Competing Management Practices 220
6.2.1 Managerial Power and Accountability 223
6.2.2 When Control Mechanisms Are Not Welcome 225
6.3 Communication Structure and Working Practices 228
6.4 Conclusion 234
7 Discussion and Conclusion 238
7.1 Introduction 238
7.2 The Challenge of Serving a Diverse User Base 242
7.3 The Challenge of Developing Standard Software 251
7.4 Reflections 265
7.5 Future Research 267
References 273
Appendices 288
Appendix 1: Fieldwork Notes Week Two 288
Appendix 2: Fieldwork Notes Week Fourteen [Comments About the Daily Meetings, Week Fourteen] 292
Appendix 3: Oracle and SAP’s Solution Maps 296
Appendix 4: Published Work 298

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 26.1.2012
• Zusatzinfo: XVIII, 289 p. 19 illus.
• Verlagsort: Wiesbaden
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Unternehmensführung / Management
• ISBN-13: 9783834971760 / 9783834971760