1.
Taxén, Lars
(författare)
Adaptive Case Management from the Activity Modality Perspective
2012
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Adaptive Case Management (ACM) implies a shift from the process centric view in Business Process Management (BPM) to an information centric view. The shift is motivated by the need for organizations to become more responsive to changes. Such a shift should be guided by some kind of framework in order to be manageable. To this end, the construct of the activity modalities is proposed. These modalities – objectivation, contextualization, spatialization, temporalization, stabilization, and transition – stand for innate predispositions that humans employ to coordinate and carry out actions. A central tenet of this position is that all modalities need to be employed in activity. This is used to analyse the Business Process Modeling Notation, the shift from BPM to ACM, and to propose a research road map. Some alternative modelling approaches from the Ericsson telecom company are suggested as forerunners to an integrated modelling suite that supports all activity modalities.
2.
Taxén, Lars, et al.
(författare)
Agile and Incremental Development of Large Systems
2010
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat) abstract
Agile methods have been suggested as a means to meet the challenges in large systems’ development, in particular large-scale development of software. However, with increasing scale, limitations of agile methods begin to materialize. To this end, we outline an integration driven development (IDD) approach that combines plan-driven, incremental development with agile methods. The planning is based on a visualization of dependencies between needed system changes – deltas – called the anatomy. The IDD approach originated in the Ericsson telecom practice more than a decade ago, and is now used regularly in large system development projects.
3.
Taxén, Lars
(författare)
An inquiry into Knowledge Integration and Innovation Management from an “Activity Domain” perspective
2010
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat) abstract
In spite of many years of research, it appears that there is no commonly accepted understanding of central concepts in organizational discourse such as “knowledge”, “integration”, “coordination”, or for that matter, “organization” itself. The purpose of this contribution is to elucidate these issues with the help of the Activity Domain Theory (ADT). This theory is based on a simple idea: human action is made possible by innate human dispositions that are sculptured in social contexts. Coordination is enabled by certain inherent faculties called the activity modalities: contextualization, spatialization, temporalization, stabilization, and transition. I describe these and other features of the ADT, and provide some examples from the Ericsson development practice, which is where the ADT originated. In addition, I discuss knowledge integration and innovation management from the perspective of the ADT. I conclude that the line of inquiry suggested by the ADT may be well worth to pursue in future research.
4.
Taxén, Lars
(författare)
An Investigation of Model Quality from the Activity Modality Perspective
2012
Ingår i: Gmunden Retreat on NeuroIS 2012. ; , s. 8-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
If we wish to advance modelling practices beyond its current state of play, we need to reconsider the very foundation models are based on. Models should be useful and easy to grasp for the human mind. This instrumental character of models implies that model quality must be ultimately grounded in our innate predispositions for acting. I have proposed that such faculties can be comprehended as activity modalities: objectivation, contextualization, spatialization, temporalization, stabilization, and transition (Taxén, 2009). The activity modalities can be seen as the brain’s way of integrating sensations arriving in various sensory modalities into a coordinated and purposeful action percept.
5.
Taxén, Lars
(författare)
Conceptualizing Enterprise Systems from an Integrationist Perspective
2012
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat) abstract
A purported feature of Enterprise Systems (ES) is that they are “integrated”; meaning that they in some sense bring parts into a unified whole. However, it is far from clear what is integrated into what, or how integration is achieved in practice. Moreover, the very concepts of integration and other related, fundamental concepts such as ‘organization’, ‘coordination’ and ‘knowledge’ are abstruse. To this end, the purpose of this contribution is to make an inquiry into integration by departing from the perspective of integrationism; a new development in the theory of communication. This view is further elaborated using Vygotsky’s distinction between lower and higher mental functions, and the notion of activity modalities suggested by Taxén. Integration thus conceived provides a foundation from which inquiries into ESs, both from a theoretical and practical point of view can be carried out. The ideas in the foundation are illustrated by some examples from the Ericsson telecommunication company. A sketch of an ES implementation method is outlined. The main conclusion is that a thorough ground for advancing the knowledge about Enterprise Systems can be established only if our unique human predispositions for coordinating and integrating actions are considered; something which may have far-reaching consequences for advancing our knowledge about Enterprise Systems
6.
Taxén, Lars
(författare)
Information Systems and Activity Modalities : A Coordination Perspective on the Interaction between the Neural and the Social
2011
Ingår i: Gmunden Retreat on NeuroIS 2011. ; , s. 6-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Information systems (IS) are clearly something we find in the social realm. ISs are used by socially organized actors to achieve something. On the other hand, actions related to ISs are carried out by individuals that each has developed certain cognitive and physical capabilities to perform such actions. Thus, any model that aspires to cover both ISs and individuals must necessarily say something about the interaction between the social and neural realms.
7.
Taxén, Lars
(författare)
Integration eller konvergens – spelar det någon roll?
2013
Ingår i: VerkstadsForum. ; :6, s. 29-
Tidskriftsartikel (populärvet., debatt m.m.) abstract
Man kan tycka att det spelar mindre roll vad saker och ting kallas om man ändå får en känsla för vad det handlar om. Men så är det inte. Om vi väljer ”integration” som styrande princip kommer vi att försöka bygga integrerande bryggor mellan PLM, SE och CM. Om vi i stället väljer ”konvergens” kommer vi att sträva efter att PLM, SE och CM ska försvinna som egna discipliner och med tiden uppgå i något nytt. Skillnaden är helt avgörande. Den här tendensen, att oreflekterat använda i grunden ytterst problematiska begrepp i sina budskap, tycker jag man kan skönja överallt.
8.
Taxén, Lars
(författare)
Knowledge Integration Reconceptualized from an Integrationist Perspective
2012
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat) abstract
The concept of knowledge integration remains on precarious ontological and epistemological grounds. Hence, the purpose of this contribution is to suggest a reconceptualization of knowledge integration from the integrationist perspective proposed by the English linguist Roy Harris. In this view, all knowledge is internally generated by the human capacity for sign-making and hence, knowledge arises from creative attempts to integrate the various activities of which human are capable of. Integrationism provides a general basis for knowledge integration, which is further elaborated using ideas from Vygotsky and the notion of activity modalities suggested by Taxén. The result is the activity domain, which can be seen as a core integrating construct for various organizational units like dyads, groups, teams, projects, organizational units, organizations, and entire network of organizations. The activity domain is illustrated by examples from the telecom industry. Implications for a number of organizational issues are discussed, including the Unit of Analysis in organizational discourse, a reconceptualization of the organization, sense-making, communities of practice, and models. In addition, a procedure for analytical and interventional inquiries is suggested. In conclusion it is proposed that a thorough ground for knowledge integration can be established only if human innate predispositions for coordinating and integrating actions are considered. As a consequence, “Knowledge Integration” should be reconceptualized as “Knowledge In Integration” to move the focus from controversies over the nature of “knowledge” to the more prolific concept of “integration”
9.
Taxén, Lars
(författare)
Modeling the Intellect from a Coordination Perspective
2011
Ingår i: Computational Modeling and Simulation of Intellect: Current State and Future Perspectives. - Hershey PA : IGI Global. ; , s. 413-454
Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Usually, models of the intellect take the individual mind and body as the point of departure and proceed outward towards the social and natural environment in which the individual is immersed. As a consequence, important social dimensions contributing to the epigenetic development of the individual is less articulated. In this contribution, I suggest to model the intellect from a more balanced perspective that recognizes both social and individual aspects – the coordination of actions. I argue that coordination is made possible by certain innate dispositions that I call activity modalities: contextualization, spatialization, temporalization, stabilization, and transition. Consequently, a central task for modeling the intellect is to understand how perceptions received through sensory modalities are related to the activity modalities. To this end, I propose a research program for modeling the intellect, based on the concept of “activity” in the Russian Activity Theory and the activity models. Provisional arguments for the relevance of the activity modalities are discussed in three different realms associated with the intellect: the social, conceptual, and neural ones. The chapter is concluded with some preliminary research questions, pertinent for the research program
10.
Taxén, Lars
(författare)
Molnet som metafor – lätt att gå bort sig i dimman
2012
Ingår i: VerkstadsForum. ; :2, s. 8-
Tidskriftsartikel (populärvet., debatt m.m.) abstract
I min förra krönika hävdade jag att de förhärskande metaforerna får oss att handla ”endimensionellt” när vi driver ett IT-projekt; vi koncentrerar oss på enskilda delar och tappar därför helhetsperspektivet. Idag är den drivande metaforen utan tvekan ”molnet”, men om man bara har det i huvudet är det lätt att gå bort sig i dimman.Kan man hitta metaforer som får oss att tänka mer fler-dimensionellt; d.v.s. hålla flera aspekter i luften samtidigt, utan att därför försumma kopplingarna mellan dessa? Om detta finns olika meningar, men en alltmer dominerande gren inom forskningen (till vilken jag själv räknar mig) är praktik-perspektivet (praktik i samma betydelse som ”läkarpraktik”).
