KIKK (completed)

About the project

A Norwegian acronym for Knowledge Management for Internal Communication and Customer Relations. KIKK is a KP-Lab/WP10 case. We explore multiple dimensions of developer-user relations.

Objectives

We address the following research questions:

• Adaptive product development: Customer-initiated development and developer-customer co-configuration mediated by products and services and intelligent support systems;
• Mentoring: How new employees are trained in a customer context, and how this exemplifies boundary-crossing;
• Knowledge advancement: How is knowledge created, and how do users contribute; how is knowledge "transformed" through an organization along its value chain; does it happen incrementally (and can be traced) or will it reveal disrupt snapshots at uneven intervals (something radically new), what methods can capture it, what happens when knowledge crosses organizational boundaries, what tools can support it and to what extent will knowledge be distorted or refined as a result of boundary crossing.

Theory and methods

We use qualitative empirical methods (observation, interview, video analysis) and design methods (participatory design, evolutionary prototyping, extreme programming). Our approach is comprehensive for the life cycle of (ICT-mediated) organizational change and integrates the socio-cultural approach with sociotechnical design. By ICT as complex artifact we mean that mediating artifacts are not static but evolve and have an active role in mediation.

Partners

A Norwegian Software house and InterMedia, UiO

Funding and timeframe

• Funded by: KP-Lab
• Timeframe: 2006-2008

Outcomes

An understanding of software product development in terms of internal information exchange, customer interaction, organizational boundary crossing, and two levels of development; general (software house) and specific (customer site); participating in transforming practice by intervention techniques, including new work support system (web portal prototype); studying user-developer relations, mentoring as a site-specific knowledge practice, enabling knowledge creation in the organization at multiple levels (individual, work teams, company), and developing the first version of participatory change processes (PCP) methodology.

Publications

1. Nygård, K.A. and Mørch, A.I. (2007). The Role of Boundary Crossing for Knowledge Advancement in Product Development. Proceedings Int'l Conf. Computers in Education (ICCE 2007), in T. Hirashima et al. (Eds.) Supporting Learning Flow Through Integrative Technologies, IOS Press, Amsterdam, pp. 183-186. (PDF)
2. Andersen, R., and Mørch, A. I. (2009). Mutual Development: A Case Study in Customer-Initiated Software Product Development. In V. Pipek, M.B. Rosson, B de Ruyter and V. Wulf (Eds.). Proceedings 2nd Int'l Symposium on End User Development (IS-EUD 2009). LNCS 5435. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 31-49. (PDF) (best paper award)
3. Mørch, A.I., Nygård, K.A. and Ludvigsen, S.R. (2009). Adaptation and Generalization in Software Product Development. In H. Daniels, A. Edwards, Y. Engeström, T. Gallagher, S. Ludvigsen (Eds.). Activity Theory in Practice: Promoting Learning across Boundaries, Taylor & Francis Books, UK. (PDF)
4. Mørch, A.I. and Andersen, R. (2010). Mutual Development: The Software Engineering Context of End-User Development. Journal of Organizational and End User Computing, 22(2), pp. 36-57.

Masters theses and reports

1. Nedic, D. and Olsen, E.A. (2007). Customizing an Open Source Web Portal Framework in a Business Context: Integrating Participatory Design with an Agile Approach. Master thesis, Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, 11/07 (PDF)

2. Andersen, R. (2008). Customer-initiated Product Development: A Case Study of Adaptation and Co-configuration, TOOL master thesis, Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, 06/08 (PDF)

3. Mushtaq, S. (2009). Socio-Technical Systems Design as Collaboration with Employees in an IT Company in Norway, Master thesis, Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, 06/09 (PDF)

Posters

1. Mushtaq, S., Mørch, A.I., Nygård, K.A., and Kaasbøll, J. (2008). Multiple Design Techniques for Participatory and Evolutionary Design. Poster presented at InterMedia 10 year jubilee; 2008-09-25 (PDF)
2. Andersen, R., Mørch, A. and Moen, A. (2008). Customer-initiated Product Development: A Case Study of Adaptation and Co-configuration. Poster presented at InterMedia 10 year jubilee; 2008-09-25 (PDF)

Popular press

1. Mørch, A. and Moen, A. Brukere er de beste innovatørene.  Del av UiO presentasjon i Dagens Næringsliv, 25. nov., 2008 (in Norwegian) (PDF)

Presentations

1. Presentation on "Design-based Research in Working Life" at CSCL 2007 on July. 16th, 2007 (PDF)
2. Presentation on "Boundary Crossing" at ICCE 2007 on Nov. 8th, 2007 (PDF)
3. Presentation on "Knowledge Management" at InterMedia 10 year jubilee on Sept. 25th, 2008 (PDF)
4. Presentation on "Mutual Development" at IS-EUD-2009 on March 3rd, 2009 (PDF)
5. Presentation on "Adaptation and Generalization" at FALK Int'l Workshop on July 8th, 2009 (PDF)