Title: Managing radical software engineering: leverage order and chaos

Authors: Kevin C. Desouza, Yukika Awazu, Jeffrey Kim

Addresses: Institute for Innovation in Information Management, The Information School, University of Washington, Mary Gates Hall, Suite 330D, UW Box 352840, Seattle, WA 98195–2840, USA. ' Department of Information and Process Management, Smith 324, Bentley College, Waltham, MA 02452, USA. ' The Information School, University of Washington, Mary Gates Hall, Suite 330B, UW Box 352840, Seattle, WA 98195–2840, USA

Abstract: Innovations in software engineering organisations frequently emerge from risky behaviour. Most often, these risks are taken by only a small percentage of the software engineers practising radical engineering (REs). They go against the status quo, experiment with new methods or technologies, and have the burden of bringing the innovations into the mainstream of the organisation. Most organisations however, do a poor job of adequately and effectively managing radical engineers. In this paper, we analyse the relationship between innovation regimes and radical engineering practice. We find that REs can be practised at either end of the order-chaos continuum. Successful software organisations are those that are able to balance between the extremes and manage REs effectively, and also those that follow a series of innovation stages in sensible ways. In this paper, we discuss lessons learned in managing REs found in software organisations and propose organisational actions for effective innovation management.

Keywords: software organisations; incentives; innovation management; innovation regimes; knowledge workers; knowledge management; frame of interpretation; articulation; software development; radical software engineering.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTPM.2008.016179

International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management, 2008 Vol.8 No.1, pp.22 - 40

Published online: 08 Dec 2007 *

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