1 Two good reasons why new software processes are not adopted Stan Rifkin Master Systems Inc. 2604B El Camino Real Carlsbad, California USA 

2 Traditional explanation of adoption v Characteristics of u Innovation u Adopters u Organization u Environment

3 Traditional characteristics of the innovation 1. Relative advantage is the degree to which an innovation is perceived to be better than the idea or product or process it supersedes. 2. Compatibility is the degree to which an innovation is perceived to be consistent with the existing culture and needs. 3. Complexity is the degree to which the innovation is difficult, or at least more difficult than its competitors. 4. Trialability and divisibility are measures of the degree to which an innovation may be taken apart and only a part tried. A thick, monolithic innovation has a lower trialability than one that has separable components, each of which adds some value. 5. Observability is the degree to which the results of the implementation will be visible.

4 (Exhaustive) list of factors -- from Lopata

5 Factors might interact in messy ways

6 Usual problems with factors v Linear combination v No interaction or connection v No timing v No dominance … and a practical solution v Embrace the logic of opposition u Force and counterforce u Transformation and persistence u Change and restoration

7 Better answer 1

8 Better answer 2 People- determined System- determined Interaction theory Cause of resistance Factors internal to people & groups System factors, e.g., technical excellence & ergonomics Interaction of system & context Assumptions about resistance Attribute of user; undesirable Attribute of system; undesirable Product of setting, user & designer FactsFactors differentiate resistors from non-resistors System has technical problems Political struggle PredictionIf you change people, resistance will dissolve If you change the system, resistance will dissolve Those changes will have little effect Action suggested Change people internally or externally Change system Address power loss & gain

9 Examples v COTS in the organization u Competency destroying: need new skills of assessment & assimilation, architecture matching, and adaptation (“Just because you know how to create it does not mean you know how to buy it.”) v In-house corporate re-use vs. open source model u Social & economic forces dominate “logic” of control & ownership v Transition of research software to industrial settings u Each is trying to optimize a different thing u Need a transition organization

10 Archetype transition organization Technology receptors: There is a focal point inside organizations to scan the technology landscape and tailor the solutions there to the organization’s particular problems & environment.

11 Path dependence & creation v Things happen for a reason, even a bad one. v In order to get things to happen Your Way you have to change the climate from inside: u Creative destruction; mindful deviation u Values - quality, economics, time to market, security u Tension between patience and impatience v Do not forget: you are both a technology creator and a change agent!

12 Implications v Power & politics dominate technical content v (Linear) checklists (of factors) are limited in predictive ability v Technical content is a hygiene factor, a dissatisfier, something to be overcome