Control of Flexible Software Development Under Uncertainty
Michael L. Harris, Rosann Webb Collins, Alan R. Hevner
Information Systems Research · 2009 · Volume 20 · Issue 3
Abstract
When should software development teams have the flexibility to modify their directions and how do we balance that flexibility with controls essential to produce acceptable outcomes? We use dynamic capabilities theory and an extension of control theory to understand these questions. This work is examined in a case study. Our results demonstrate that flexibility may be needed when the starting conditions are uncertain and that effective control in these situations requires use of traditional controls plus a new type of control we term emergent outcome control.
Keywords
control theory, uncertainty, flexible development, agile development, emergent outcome control
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