Abstract
A number of recent surveys of Web development have revealed that typical project timeframes are of the order of 3 months. This chapter reports the findings of a field study conducted in Ireland which set out to contribute towards a better understanding of the nature of high-speed Web development practices. Qualitative interview data was gathered from 14 interviewees, purposefully selected from a variety of different organisations and backgrounds. This data was then analysed using the Grounded Theory method, and ten core dimensions were revealed: (1) the role of collaborative groupware tools; (2) collective code ownership; (3) timeframe driven by business imperatives; (4) enablers of productivity; (5) quality “satisficing”; (6) requirements clarity; (7) process maturity; (8) collectively agreed project schedules; (9) closeness to client; and (10) working software over documentation.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barry, C. and Lang, M. (2003) A Comparison of “Traditional” and Multimedia Information Systems Development Practices. Information and Software Technology. 45(4), 217–227.
Baskerville, R., Levine, L., Pries-Heje, J., Ramesh, B., and Slaughter, S. (2001) How Internet Software Companies Negotiate Quality. IEEE Computer. 34(5), 51–57.
Baskerville, R. and Pries-Heje, J. (2001) Racing the E-Bomb: How the Internet Is Redefining Information Systems Development Methodology. In: Russo, N. L. et al. (eds), Realigning Research and Practice in Information Systems Development: The Social and Organizational Perspective. IFIP WG8.2 Conference, Boise, Idaho, USA, 27–29 July 2001, pp. 49–68. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Baskerville, R. and Pries-Heje, J. (2004) Short Cycle Time Systems Development. Information Systems Journal. 14(3), 237–264.
Brooks, F. P. (1987) No Silver Bullet/Essence and Accidents of Software Engineering. IEEE Computer. 20(4), 10–18.
Glaser, B. G. and Strauss, A. L. (1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Glass, R. L. (2001) Who’s Right in the Web Development Debate? Cutter IT Journal. 14(7), 6–10.
Jayaratna, N., Holt, P. and Wood-Harper, T. (1999) Criteria for Methodology Choice in Information Systems Development. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business and Government. 5(2), 30–34.
Lang, M. and Fitzgerald, B. (2005) Hypermedia Systems Development Practice: A Survey. IEEE Software. 20(2), 68–75.
Linden, T. and Cybulski, J. (2003) Capturing Best Practices in Web Development. In: Isaías, P. and Karmakar, N. (eds), IADIS International WWW/Internet 2003 Conference, Algarve, Portugal, November 5–8, Vol. 1, pp. 427–434. Lisbon, Portugal: IADIS Press. ISBN 972-98947-1-X.
Locke, K. (2001) Grounded Theory in Management Research. London: Sage.
Miles, M. B. and Huberman, A. M. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Rodriguez-Garcia, D. and Harrison, R. (2000) Practitioners Views on Web Development: An Industrial Survey by Semi-Structured Interviews. In: 13th International Conference on Software and Systems Engineering and Their Applications (ICSSEA 2000), Paris, France, December 5–8. CNAM. Paris, France.
Strauss, A. and Corbin, J. (1998) Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. ISBN 0-8039-5939-7.
Suchman, L. A. (1987) Plans and Situated Actions: The Problem of Human-Machine Communication. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Thomas, D. (1998) Web Time Software Development. Software Development Magazine. 6(10), 78–80.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this paper
Cite this paper
Lang, M. (2011). The Influence of Short Project Timeframes on Web Development Practices: A Field Study. In: Song, W., et al. Information Systems Development. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7355-9_39
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7355-9_39
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-7205-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-7355-9
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)