ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how unique and locally situated information systems development (ISD) methods unfold over time and why they emerge differently. The purpose is to identify the underlying process form and drivers of ISD method emergence. Based on a synthesis of literature about contextualism, structuration theory, and change processes, a theoretical framework is developed and used to perform a comparative analysis of two longitudinal case studies of method emergence in a Multimedia project and a Web project. The framework facilitates progression from narrative accounts, over systematic comparison, to generalization of findings to theory, thereby allowing for a movement from surface description to deep explanation. The analysis shows that while the two cases are very similar in some regards they can in fact be seen as two different sequences of change (dialectical versus teleological) driven by two different generative motors (conflict resolution versus social construction). We suggest that the demonstrated framework is relevant to both researchers and practitioners in reading a situation before project initiation, during development, and after project completion and in identifying and leveraging the dynamics inherent in or relevant to a particular situation and change process.
