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- Boudier, Justine, et al.
(author)
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Idea evaluation as a design process : understanding how experts develop ideas and manage fixations
- 2023
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In: Design Science. - : Cambridge University Press. - 2053-4701. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Idea evaluation is used to identify and select ideas for development as future innovations. However, approaching idea evaluation as a decision gate can limit the role of the person evaluating ideas, create fixation bias, and underutilise the person’s creative potential. Although studies show that during evaluation experts are able to engage in design activities, it is still not clear how they design and develop ideas. The aim of this study was to understand how experts develop ideas during evaluation. Using the think-aloud technique, we identify different ways in which experts develop ideas. Specifically, we show how experts transform initial idea concepts using iterative steps of elaboration and transformation of different idea components. Then, relying on concept-knowledge theory (C-K theory), we identify six types of reasoning that the experts use during idea evaluation. This helps us to distinguish between three different roles that experts can move between during evaluation: gatekeeper, designer managing fixation, and designer managing defixation. These findings suggest that there is value in viewing idea evaluation as a design process because it allows us to identify and leverage the experts’ knowledge and creativity to a fuller extent.
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| 2. |
- Lindskog, Carin, 1965-, et al.
(author)
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Balancing between stability and change in Agile teams
- 2021
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In: International Journal of Managing Projects in Business. - 1753-8378 .- 1753-8386. ; 14:7, s. 1529-1554
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose – This study aims to create a better understanding of how practitioners implement and work Agile while balancing the tensions arising between stability and change.Design/methodology/approach – A grounded theory approach was used to explore what happens in practice when software development teams implement and work Agile. The empirical data consists of twenty semi-structured interviews with practitioners working in fourteen different organizations and in six different Agile roles.Findings – As a result, a substantive theory was presented of continuously balancing between stability and change in Agile teams. In addition, the study also proposes three guidelines that can help organizations about to change their way of working to Agile.Research limitations/implications – The inherent limitation of a grounded theory study is that a substantial theory can only explain the specific contexts explored in that study. Thus, this study’s contribution is a substantial theory that needs to be further developed and improved.Practical implications – The proposed guidelines can help organizations about to change their way of working to Agile. They can also assist organizations in switching from “doing Agile” to “being Agile”, thus becoming more successful.Originality/value – The new perspective that this study contributes is the fact that our discovered categories show that several inherent processes are ongoing at the same time in order to balance the need to have both stability and change.
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| 3. |
- Lindskog, Carin, 1965-
(author)
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Tensions experienced and balancing strategies used in Agile Software Development environments
- 2022
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- To achieve efficiency in rapidly changing environments, working methods that promote change and flexibility are needed. Thus, the Agile ways of working (i.e. Agile values, principles, and frameworks) are today the most common approach to developing software and something that is currently spreading to many other industries and organizations outside of the traditional IT sector. However, it is challenging to combine the business-driven need for predictability and planning with the Agile ways of working, e.g. changeability, self-management and step-by-step development and delivery; therefore, several tensions can arise at the team and organizational levels. Tensions can, for example, be experienced if the team members’ experiences are rooted in traditional project environments with stable processes and predefined requirements based on detailed planning. This dissertation aims to contribute to our knowledge of Agile Software Development (ASD) by examining the contradictions and tensions in ASD environments, as well as how to balance and react to these tensions. The dissertation responds to the great need for conceptual development in the field of Information Systems. The target groups are both researchers and practitioners.The research reported on in this dissertation is based on one conceptual study and two empirical studies. The studies reported on in four appended papers jointly contribute toward answering three research questions (RQs):RQ 1: What is the nature of the tensions experienced in ASD environments?RQ 2: What are the sources of the tensions experienced in ASD environments?RQ 3: What ambidextrous strategies can be used to both balance and react to the tensions found in ASD environments?This dissertation brings together concepts from academic domains of knowledge (organizational theories of [paradoxical] tensions and ambidexterity and Activity Theory derived from socio-psychological theory) in order to provide a new insight into the complexity of ASD.This dissertation contributes by discussing and visualizing how patterns of contradictions, categorized tensions and ambidextrous (i.e. the ability to manage two seemingly contradictory activities) strategies have been compiled and connected. This dissertation also contributes by describing how three models that can be used to develop the concept of “shared mental models”, which is so important to team-based learning.
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| 5. |
- Magnusson, Peter R, et al.
(author)
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Exploring users’ appropriateness as a proxy for experts when screening new product/service ideas
- 2016
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In: The Journal of product innovation management. - : Wiley. - 0737-6782 .- 1540-5885. ; 33:1, s. 4-18
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Despite the popularity and extensive use of engaging users in crowdvoting, very little research has been conducted into the appropriateness of users as substitutes for experts when judging ideas. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the appropriateness of using users as a proxy for professional experts during the initial idea screening of new product/service ideas. In other words, are users' assessments during idea screening conformant with professional experts' assessments and are they reliable as a proxy for experts during idea screening? In a comparative study, two different approaches to outsourcing the screening of wireless ideas to users are examined, including assessment by two different user panels: (1) technically skilled users and (2) technically naïve users. These two approaches were compared with the assessments made by professional experts. The results showed no conformance between users and experts when comparing their absolute scores. However, during a relative comparison (the ranking of ideas), both user panels were conformant with the professional experts. A test of the user panels' ability to select the same top ideas as the professional experts was successful, indicating good conformance between the user panels and the professional experts. This paper's contribution is knowledge of how conformant external users are compared with professional expert judges during idea screening. The results indicate that companies can employ users during the initial screening process using criteria assessment to select the best ideas for further elaboration, something that would significantly reduce the number of ideas. The paper suggests an alternative design to crowdvoting, whereby the users assess the relevant criteria.
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| 10. |
- Netz, Johan, 1984-
(author)
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First things first - think before you decide : The how, what and who of idea screening
- 2017
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis investigates decision-making activities leading to the initial selection of which new ideas should be selected for further development or rejected. This process, often referred to as idea screening, is described as being one of the most important, but also challenging, tasks to master during the entire innovation process. There are two main reasons for this: Firstly, not all ideas are good and secondly no firm has the resources to develop every single idea proposed to it. Thus, it is important to be careful when initially deciding which ideas are to be selected and developed into future possible innovations in order to eliminate weak ideas and retain those that have a substantial chance of becoming successful. Two alternative decision-making approaches are explored in the thesis (the intuitive and rational approaches). In the thesis, the concept of intuition during the screening of product and service ideas is demystified. The empirical findings show that decision-makers utilize five main underlying criteria when intuitively assessing ideas. Of these, the findings indicate user-value to be the most important one, or at least the criterion that most assessors emphasize when making intuitive decisions. The findings presented in the thesis increase our understanding of the use of rational and holistic intuitive decision-making when screening ideas during the Front End Innovation phase, as well as questioning the traditional view of intuition, as a decision-making tool that is only reliable if applied by those with a vast amount of experience and expertise. The reported findings indicate that, for example, users with an understanding of the idea context are able to intuitively identify the ideas that decision-making experts identify as the top (best) ones. Hence, managers faced with a situation where they are being inundated with new ideas can turn to non-experts for help.
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