Title: Evaluating methodologies-in-action: a cognitive approach

Authors: John R. Drake; Ravi Paul

Addresses: Department of Management Information Systems, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA ' Department of Management Information Systems, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA

Abstract: Organisations' information systems development methodologies (ISDM) vary in how they implement best practices, often creating their own methodology-in-action. These variations in ISDM practices sometimes improve the decision making throughout the process and sometimes hinder the decision making. However, we lack clarity on how to evaluate methodologies-in-action based on the cognitive bias or lack thereof, in the embedded practices. Building off of theory in ISDM debiasing and pedagogical debiasing, we propose an evaluative technique that analyses the practices of a methodologies-in-action at the project level. Proof of concept that the technique works is provided in a case study within a methodology-in-action at a Fortune 500 firm.

Keywords: information systems development; methodology-in-action; evaluation; bias; debias; case study; scrum.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPOM.2024.143178

International Journal of Project Organisation and Management, 2024 Vol.16 No.4, pp.424 - 447

Received: 26 Jan 2023
Accepted: 24 Oct 2023
Published online: 05 Dec 2024 *

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