The Work of IT System Developers in Context: An Organizational Case Study

The HCI community has become increasingly interested in analyzing the organizational context of systems design (e.g., Curtis, Krasner, & Iscoe, 1988). Previous work has focused on product development organizations in identifying organizational constraints on the work of system designers (Grudin, 1991b). This case study focuses on the working practices of internal system developers as they both developed a new IT system for the organization and managed the concomitant process of change. Here the organizational context (in terms of shared beliefs, politics and inter- and intragroup relations) is seen as informing both the manner in which the project was conducted and, to some extent, the customization of the product. The role of internal system developers as organizational change agents is highlighted, with emphasis on their image management and political strategies in effecting change.