Exploratory case study research: Outsourced project failure

Information and Software Technology

Volumn 54, Issue 8, 2012, Pages 866-886

  Verner, J M ^a   Abdullah, L M ^b  

^a KEELE UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^b INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA   (Malaysia)

Author keywords

Case study methodology; Outsourced software development; Project failure; Risk framework; Software development risk factors

Indexed keywords

LAWS AND LEGISLATION; SOFTWARE DESIGN;

CASE STUDY METHODOLOGIES; OUTSOURCED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT; PROJECT FAILURES; RISK FRAMEWORKS; SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT RISK FACTORS;

RISKS;

EID: 84861570498     PISSN: 09505849     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.infsof.2011.11.001     Document Type: Article

References (131)

1. L.M. Abdullah, J.M. Verner, Risk framework for outsourced strategic IT system development from the client perspective, in: Software Metrics European Forum, Milan, Italy, May, 2008, pp. 1-12, 9-788870-909999.
2. L.M. Abdullah, J.M. Verner, Outsourced strategic IT systems development risk, in: IEEE Research Challenges in Information Systems, Fes, Morocco, April 2009, pp. 309-320.
3. J. Ahonen, and P. Savolainen Software engineering projects may fail before they are started: post-mortem analysis of five cancelled projects Journal of Systems 83 11 2010 2175 2187
4. S. Alter, and M. Ginzberg Managing uncertainty in MIS applications Sloan Management Review 20:1 Fall 1978 23 31
5. B.A. Aubert, S. Dussault, M. Patry, S. Rivard, Managing the risk of IT outsourcing, in: Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS-32, 1999, pp. 2-11.
6. B.A. Aubert, M. Patry, S. Rivard, Assessing the risk of IT outsourcing, in: Proceedings of the Thirty-First Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 1998, pp. 685-692.
7. B.A. Aubert, M. Patry, S. Rivard, Managing IT Outsourcing Risk: Lessons Learned, 2001, pp. 1-19. < http://gresi.hec.ca/SHAPS/cp/gescah/formajout/ ajout/test/uploaded/cahier0111.pdf >.
8. B.A. Aubert, M. Patry, and S. Rivard A framework for information technology outsourcing risk management The Database for Advances in Information Systems 36 2005 9 28
9. B.A. Aubert, M. Patry, S. Rivard, H. Smith, IT outsourcing risk management at British Petroleum, in: Proceedings of the 34th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2001, pp. 1-13.
10. D. Baccarini, G. Salm, and P.E.D. Love Management of risks in information technology projects Industrial Management & Data Systems 104 4 2004 286 295
11. B. Bahli, and S. Rivard Validating measures of information technology outsourcing risk factors Omega 33 2005 175 187 (Pubitemid 39615362)
12. H. Barki, S. Rivard, and J. Talbot Toward an assessment of software development risk Journal of Management Information Systems 10 Fall 1993 203
13. I. Benbasat, D.K. Goldstein, and M. Mead The case research strategy in studies of information systems MIS Quarterly 11 1987 369 386
14. M. Bensaou Interorganizational cooperation: the role of information technology an empirical comparison of US and Japanese supplier relations Information Systems Research 8 2 1997 107 112
15. S.J. Bleistein, K. Cox, J.M. Verner, and K. Phalp B-SCP: a requirements analysis framework for validating strategic alignment of organizational IT based on strategy, context, and process Information and Software Technology 48 9 2006 846 868 (Pubitemid 44094039)
16. S.I. Bleistein, K. Cox, and J.M. Verner Validating strategic alignment of organizational IT requirements using goal modeling and problem diagrams Journal of Systems and Software 79 3 2006 362 378 ISSN: 0164-1212 (Pubitemid 43332516)
17. S. Bleistein, K. Cox, J. Verner, and K. Phalp Requirements engineering for e-business advantage Requirements Engineering Journal 11 2006 4 16 (Pubitemid 43118932)
18. Steven J. Bleistein, Karl Cox, Verner, Strategic alignment in requirements analysis for organizational IT: an integrated approach, in: 20th Annual ACM Symposium on Applied Computing, Santa Fe, New Mexico, March 13-17, 2005, vol. 2, pp. 1300-1307.
19. B.W. Boehm Tutorial: Software Risk Management Los Alamitos 1989 IEEE Computer Society Press California
20. B.W. Boehm Software risk management: principles and practices IEEE Software 8 1 1991 32 41
21. P. Brereton, B.M. Kitchenham, D. Budgen, Zhi Li, Using a protocol template for case study planning, EASE, 2008. < http://www.bcs.org/upload/ pdf/ewic-ea08-paper5.pdf > (retrieved April 2011).
22. BSkyB Limited, Sky Subscribers Services Limited, HP Enterprise Services UK Limited, Electronic Data Systems LLC, High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, Technology and Construction Court, 2010, pp. 1-468. Retrieved March 31, 2010, from BAILII.
23. BSkyB Selects Chordiant to Enable Multi-Stage, Multi-Channel Customer Communications Strategy. Business Wire, Navember 7, 2008. < http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi-m0EIN/is-2002-Nov-7/ai-94039581 > (retrieved 13.11.08).
24. N. Cerpa, and J. Verner Why did your project fail? Communications of the ACM 52 12 2009 130 134
25. R.N. Charette Software Engineering Risk Analysis and Management 1989 McGraw-Hill New York
26. R.N. Charette, Applications Strategies for Risk Analysis, Intertext, New York, 1990.
27. A.T. Chatfield, P. Wanninayaka, IT offshoring risks and governance capabilities, in: Proceedings of the 41st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2008, pp. 1-9.
28. E.K. Clemons Evaluation of strategic investments in information technology Communications of the ACM 34 1 1991 22 36
29. E.K. Clemons, and B.W. Weber Strategic information technology investments: guidelines for decision making Journal of Management Information Systems 7 1990 9 28 Fall
30. E.K. Clemons Evaluation of strategic investments in information technology Communications of the ACM 34 1991 22 36
31. T. Collins, BSkyB v. EDS judgement could shake IT suppliers. Computer Weekly, September 26, 2008. < http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/public- sector/2008/09/bskyb-v-eds-a-crucial-judgemen.html > (retrieved April 2011).
32. V. Connor, Every Dog Has His Day, Kluwer Law International, 2010. < http://kluwer.practicesource.com/blog/ > (retrieved 07.04.11).
33. J.W. Creswell Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Traditions 1998 Sage Thousand Oaks, CA
34. P. Darke, G. Shanks, and M. Broadbent Successfully completing case study research: combining rigor, relevance and pragmatism Information Systems Journal 8 4 1998 273 289
35. G. DeHondt II, G. Nezlek, The cost of risk in offshore systems development, in: Proceedings of the 15th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), San Francisco, CA, 2009, paper 718.
36. P.C. de Weerd-Nederhof Qualitative case study research: the case of a PhD research project on organizing and managing new product development systems Management Decision 39 7 2001 513 538
37. K. Dey, J. Kinch, and S.O. Ogunlana Managing risk in software development projects: a case study Industrial Management & Data Systems 107 2 2007 284 303 (Pubitemid 46397451)
38. R. Dubin Theory Building 1978 Free Press New York
39. M.J. Earl The risks of outsourcing IT (information technology) Sloan Management Review 37 7 1996 26
40. K.M. Eisenhardt, Building theories from case study research, Academy of Management Review 14 (4) (1989) 532-550 (see also rejoinder by Dyer & Wilkins, 1991, and response by Eisenhardt, 1991).
41. K.M. Eisenhardt Better stories and better constructs: the case for rigor and comparative logic Academy of Management Review 16 3 1991 627 629 (response to Dyer & Wilkins, 1991)
42. A.L. Gilbert, M.F. Vitale, Containing strategic information systems risk: control and intelligence, in: Proceedings of the Twenty-First Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Decision Support and Knowledge Based Systems Track, Hawaii, USA, vol. III, 1988, pp. 52-60. (Pubitemid 18598928)
43. R.L. Glass Pilot studies: what, why, and how Journal of Systems Software 36 1 1997 85 97
44. R.L. Glass, I. Vessey, and V. Ramesh Research in software engineering: an analysis of the literature Information and Software Technology 44 8 2002 491 506 (Pubitemid 34704253)
45. R.L. Glass, I. Vessey, and V. Ramesh An analysis of research in computing disciplines Communications of the ACM 47 6 2004 85 94
46. Reyes Gonzalez, Jose Gasco, and Juan Llopis Information systems outsourcing risks: a study of large firms Industrial Management & Data Systems 105 1 2005 45 62 (Pubitemid 40690939)
47. W. Han, and S. Huang An empirical analysis of risk components and performance on software projects Journal of Systems and Software 80 1 2007 42 50 (Pubitemid 44751158)
48. H. Hosoya, M. Schaefer, Brand zone, in: C.J. Chung, J. Inaba, R. Koolhaas, S.T. Leong (Eds.), The Harvard Design School Guide to Shopping/Harvard Design School Project on the City 2, Taschen, Köln, 2001, pp. 165-173.
49. M. Host, P. Runeson, Case studies on software engineering programmes, 2008. < http://serg.telecom.lth.se/research/publications/docs/420- Technical%20report.pdf (retrieved 27.10.08).
50. S. Huang, I. Chang, S. Li, and M. Lin Assessing risk in ERP projects: identify and prioritize the factors Industrial Management & Data Systems 104 8 2004 681 688
51. C.L. Iacovou, and R. Nakatsu A risk profile of offshore-outsourced development projects Communications of the ACM 51 6 2008 89 94
52. J. Jiang, and G. Klein Software development risks to project effectiveness Journal of Systems and Software 52 1 2000 3 10
53. J. Jurison The role of risk and return in information technology outsourcing decisions Journal of Information Technology (Routledge, Ltd.) 10 1995 239
54. B. Kaplan, and D. Duchon Combining qualitative and quantitative methods in information systems research: a case study MIS Quarterly 12 4 1988 571 586
55. M. Keil, P. Cule, K. Lyytinen, and R. Schmidt A framework for identifying software project risks Communications of the ACM 41 11 1998 76 83 (Pubitemid 128448488)
56. C.F. Kemerer, and G.L. Sosa Systems development risks in strategic information systems Information and Software Technology 33 1991 212 223
57. L. King, Sky EDS dispute 'shows service contract risks', CIO, October 23, 2000. < http://www.cio.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&ArticleID=2123 > (retrieved 06.01.08).
58. L. King, Sky and EDS clash over 'cutting edge' CRM system, Computerworlduk, November 13, 2007. < http://www.computerworlduk.com/ management/it-business/services-sourcing/news/index.cfm?newsid=6155 > (retrieved 06.01.08).
59. L. King Sky and EDS clash over "cutting edge" CRM system Computerworlduk 2007
60. L. King Sky EDS dispute 'shows service contract risks' CIO 2007
61. B.A. Kitchenham, and L.M. Pickard Evaluating software engineering methods and tools - Part 9: Quantitative case study methodology Software Engineering Notes 23 1 1998 24 26
62. B.A. Kitchenham, and L.M. Pickard Evaluating software engineering methods and tools - Part 10. Designing and running a quantitative case study Software Engineering Notes 23 3 1998 20 22
63. B.A. Kitchenham, L.M. Pickard, and S.L. Pfleeger Case studies for method and tool evaluation IEEE Software 12 4 1995 52 62
64. H.K. Klein, and M.D. Myers A set of principles for conducting and evaluating interpretive field studies in information systems MIS Quarterly 23 1 1999 67 93
65. R. Klepper, and W.O. Jones Outsourcing Information Technology Systems & Services 1998 Prentice Hall New Jersey
66. R. Kliem Managing the Risks of Offshore IT Development Projects EDPACS 32 2004 12 20
67. R. Kunitomo Seven-eleven is revolutionising grocery distribution in Japan Long Range Planning 30 1997 887 889
68. A.S. Lee A scientific methodology for MIS case studies MIS Quarterly 13 1 1989 33 50
69. A.S. Lee.Case studies as natural experiments. Human Relations 42 2 1989 117 137
70. P. Leedy, and J. Ormrod A Handbook for Teacher Research from Design to Implementation 2005 Pearson Education New Jersey
71. T.C. Lethbridge, S.E. Sim, and J. Singer Studying software engineers: data collection techniques for software field studies Empirical Software Engineering 10 3 2005 311 341 (Pubitemid 40940550)
72. Y.S. Lincoln, and E.G. Guba Judging the quality of case study reports A.M. Huberman, M.B. Miles, The Qualitative Researcher's Companion 2002 Sage Publications Thousand Oaks, CA 205 215 (reprinted from Qualitative Studies in Education, vol. 3, no. 1, 1990)
73. K. Lyytinen, L. Mathiassen, and J. Ropponen A framework for software risk management Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems 8 1 1996:53 68
74. K. Lyytinen, L. Mathiassen, and J. Ropponen Attention shaping and software risk: a categorical analysis of four classical risk management approaches Information Systems Research 9 3 1998 233 255
75. H. Maimbo, G. Pervan, Designing a case study protocol for application in IS research, in: P. Chau (Ed.), Proceedings of the Ninth Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS'05), Hong Kong, 2005, pp. 1281-1292.
76. N. Makino, and T. Suzuki Convenience stores and the information revolution Japan Echo 44 1997 44 49
77. A. McCue, Global IT Outsourcing Deals Rocket up to $163bn. Silicon, 2005. < http://management.silicon.com/itdirector/0,39024673, 39127146,00.htm >.
78. L. McLeod, S. MacDonell, B. Doolin, IS development practice in New Zealand organisations. Journal of Research and Practice in Information Technology 41 (1) (2009) 3-24; P. Michael, EDS legal team hits at BSkyB claim, Financial Times (2007) 4.
79. M.B. Miles, and A.M. Huberman Qualitative Data Analysis: A Sourcebook of New Methods 1994 Sage Publications Beverley Hills, CA
80. T. Moynihan An inventory of personal constructs for information systems project risk researchers Journal of Information Technology (Routledge, Ltd.) 11 1996 359
81. J. Natovich Vendor related risks in IT development: a chronology of an outsourced project failure Technology Analysis & Strategic Management 15 4 2003 149 409
82. T. Nikki EDS to address charges it deceived BSkyB Financial Times 21 2007 19
83. G. Paré, and J.J. Elam Using case study research to build theories of IT implementation A.S. Lee, J. Liebenau, J.I. DeGross, Information Systems and Qualitative Research: Proceedings of the IFIP TC8 WG 8.2 International Conference on Information Systems and Qualitative Research, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 1997 Chapman & Hall London 542 568
84. G. Paré Investigating information systems with positivist case study research Communications of the AIS 13 2004 233 264
85. M. Peel, EDS legal team hits at BSkyB claim, Financial Times, 23 (October) (2007) 4 (retrieved 21.11.08, from ProQuest).
86. D.E. Perry, S.E. Sim, S.M. Easterbrook, Case studies for software engineering, in: Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE'04), 2004.
87. J. Platt What can case studies do? Studies in Qualitative Methodology 1 1988 1 23
88. C. Potts Software-engineering research revisited IEEE Software. 10 5 1993 19 28
89. W. Rapp Information Technology Strategies: How Leading Firms use IT to Gain an Advantage 2002 Oxford University Press USA
90. P. Runeson, and M. Höst Guidelines for conducting and reporting case study research in software engineering Empirical Software Engineering 14 2 2009 131 164
91. P. Savolainen, J.M. Verner, L.P.W. Land, G. Low, What happens before a project starts? - Project start-up from the supplier perspective. ISD August 2010.
92. P. Savolainen Vague project start makes project success of outsourced software development projects uncertain P. Savolainen, PROFES2010: The 11th International Conference on Product Focused Software Development and Process Improvement LNCS vol. 6156 2010 Springer 351 365
93. R. Scheepers, H. Scheepers, Contexts of relevance in exploratory case studies in information systems: ubiquitous information technology implementation in organizations, in: S.T. March, A.P. Massey, J.I. DeGross (Eds.), Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth International Conference on Information Systems, Seattle, WA, December 14-17, 2003, pp. 25-35.
94. R. Schmidt, K. Lyytinen, M. Keil, and P. Cule Identifying software project risks: an international Delphi study Journal of Management Information Systems 17 Spring 2001 5 36 (Pubitemid 32716732)
95. Seaman Qualitative methods in Software Engineering IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering 25 4 1999 1 16
96. B. Shahzad, I. Ullah, N. Khan, Software risk identification and mitigation in incremental model, in: International Conference on Information and Multimedia Technology, 2009, pp. 366-370.
97. B. Shahzad, and S.A. Safvi Risk mitigation and management scheme based on risk priority Global Journal of Computer Science and Technology 10 4 2010 108 113
98. G. Shanks, A. Parr, Positivist, single case study research in information systems: a critical analysis, in: Proceedings of the European Conference on Information Systems, Naples, June 2003.
99. N.C. Smith The case study: a useful research method for information management Journal of Information Technology 5 3 1990 13 123
100. M. Songini Media giant BSkyB sues EDS over troubled CRM system Computerworld 2008 August 2004 (retrieved April 2011)
101. M.L. Songini Broadcaster sues EDS Over CRMContract Computerworld 38 August 23 2004 8 (retrieved April 2011)
102. Sonne Paul BSkyB wins legal victory against EDS Wall Street Journal 2010 27
103. Sonne Paul BSkyB settles claim against ESD Wall Street Journal 2010
104. R.E. Stake The art of Case Study Research 1995 Sage Thousand Oaks, CA
105. Standards Australia's, AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 Risk management - Principles and Guidelines, 1999. < http://infostore.saiglobal.com/store/Details.aspx? ProductID=1378670 >.
106. M. Sumner Risk factors in enterprise-wide/ERP projects Journal of Information Technology 15 2000 317 327
107. M.H.A. Tafti Risks factors associated with offshore IT outsourcing Industrial Management & Data Systems 105 2005 549 559
108. N. Tait, EDS to address charges it deceived BSkyB, Financial Times 22 (October) (2007) 19 (retrieved 10.11.08, from ProQuest).
109. H. Taylor, The move to outsourced IT projects: key risks from the provider perspective, in: Proceedings of the 2005 ACM SIGMIS CPR Conference on Computer Personnel Research, 2005, pp. 149-154. (Pubitemid 41816901)
110. H. Taylor Critical risks in outsourced it projects: the intractable and the unforseen Communications of the ACM 49 November 1 2006 75 79
111. H. Taylor Outsourced IT projects from the vendor perspective: different goals, different risks Journal of Global Information Management (JGIM) 15 2 2007 1 27
112. H. Taylor, Vendor vs Client risks in outsourced IT projects: an agency theory perspective, in: M.G. Hunter, F.B. Tan, Handbook of Research on Information Management and the Global Landscape, IGU Global, 2009.
113. The Economist Newspaper Limited, E-Strategy Brief: Seven-Eleven Over the Counter e-Commerce: How to Blend e-Commerce with Traditional Retailing, May 24 2001 (retrieved April 2011).
114. J.M. Verner, J. Sampson, V. Tosic, N. Bakar, and B. Kitchenham Guidelines for industrially-based multiple case studies in software engineering IEEE Research Challenges in Information Systems, Fes, Morocco 2009 347 358
115. J. Verner, J. Sampson, N. Cerpa, and S. Bleistein What factors lead to software project failure and whose fault was it? Ingénierie des Systèmes d'Information 14 4 2009 55 75
116. I. Vessey, V. Ramesh, and R.L. Glass Research in information systems: an empirical study of diversity in the discipline and its journals Journal of Management Information Systems 19:2 Fall 2002 129 174 (Pubitemid 35312527)
117. L. Wallace, M. Keil, and A. Rai Understanding software project risk: a cluster analysis Information & Management 42 2004 115 125
118. L. Wallace, and M. Keil Software project risks and their effect on outcomes Communications of the ACM 47 2004 68 73
119. G. Walsham Interpretive case studies in IS research: nature and method European Journal of Information Systems 4 1995 74 81
120. P. Weill, S. Aral, IT Savvy Pays Off: How Top Performers Match IT Portfolio and Organizational Practices. MIT Sloan Research, 2005. < http://web.mit.edu/cisr/working%20papers/cisrwp353.pdf > (retrieved April 2011).
121. P. Weill, and M.R. Vitale A Place to Space 2001 Harvard Business School Press Boston
122. S. Whang, C. Koshijima, H. Saito, T. Ueda, and S.V. Horne Seven Eleven Japan (GS18) 1997 Stanford University Graduate School of Business
123. Wilkipedia. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participant-observation > (retrieved 24.10.08).
124. L.P. Willcocks, and M.C. Lacity IT outsourcing in insurance services: risk, creative contracting and business advantage Information Systems Journal 9 1999 163 180
125. C. Wohlin, M. Höst, K. Henningsson, Empirical research methods in software engineering, in: Reidar Conradi, Alf IngeWang (Eds.), Empirical Methods and Studies in Software Engineering: Experiences from ESERNET, LNCS, Springer, 2003, pp. 7-23.
126. A.G. Woodside, and E.J. Wilson Case study research methods for theory building Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 18 6-7 2003 493 508 (Pubitemid 37416993)
127. S. Wright, and A. Wright Information System Assurance for Enterprise Resource Planning Systems: Implementation and Unique Risk Considerations. Working Paper 2001 Boston University
128. BSkyB versus EDS "Wanna buy a used IT system (1)", The Law Office of Richard Stevens. < www.lorsonline.com/article/bskyb-vs-eds.aspx > (retrieved 23.08.11).
129. R.K. Yin, Applications of Case Study Research, second ed., Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, 2003 (first ed., 1993).
130. R.K. Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Methods, third ed., Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, 2003 (second ed., 1994).
131. Zdnet "BSkyB beats HP in outsourced CRM suit". < http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/it-strategy/2010/01/27/ > (retrieved 23.08.11).