Failure to Launch
Samiaji Sarosa, Arthur Tatnall · International Journal of Actor-Network Theory and Technological Innovation · 2015
One of the main causes of delayed and failed information systems project development is scope creep. The increasing number of features demanded by stakeholders to be built into the applications within a fixed time limit is a recipe for failure. This article looks into the process of a web application development failure, where scope creep was deemed as the main cause. An in depth look into the time line of the project also reveal another cause, which was the failure of the application itself along with the platform (hardware and software) to actually execute the software. It is believed that an Actor-Network Theory framework is appropriate to analyse this case where a number if both human and non-human actors were involved. Data for this research was collected using participative observation. An analysis was conducted to find patterns of negotiations and communications between all the stakeholders during the design process. Actor-Network Theory was used to explain the power plays between actors. A model was constructed showing all the actors (stakeholders) and how the interplay among them developed.