The practice of developing information systems with the support of information systems development methods is not new. A vast number of systems development methods have been suggested over the years in an attempt to solve the problems a development organisation might encounter. From early approaches like the Waterfall model to more modern monolithic methods such as the Rational Unified Process and the newest approaches exemplified in the Agile methods, the ambition has often been to find the silver bullet and the most effective ways to produce quality systems. Methods are prescriptive by nature as they suggest action and as such they represent rationale. Thus, one can speak of a method rationale as the dimension within methods that motivate their existence. Method rationale is understood as the goal and value rational relations between a method’s underlying philosophy and its proposed actions. During the methods’ evolution, the practice of systems development and the supporting systems development methods have been subjected to research from many perspectives. One possible way to understand the nature of the existing research is to separate it into two fields. The suggested fields have different strengths and weaknesses. The field of traditional research on information systems development (ISD) emphasise relevance in their studies but often overlook aspects of generalisation. The field of method engineering (ME) is highly formalistic and emphasise rigour but often miss aspects concerning relevance, such as the role methods play in peoples daily systems development efforts. In this dissertation, a polarisation of existing systems development method research is suggested in order to find a synthesis more capable of serving as a common ground for method research and for the understanding of the systems development method phenomenon. This is achieved through a proposed extension of the field of ME into the field of extended method engineering (EME). The foundation of the EME is found in the concept of method rationale and a method component concept design capable of carrying and expressing method rationale. The method component concept design is applied, evaluated, and re-designed in three different empirical settings in order to ascertain its practical potential and the benefits in explicating the dimension of method rationale.

This paper examines developers' experience of participation in decisions through agile system development methods in long-term projects. Participation is meant as an opportunity for developers to influence and realize decisions in their work through independence and freedom. The research question reads as follows: "How are developers' perceived participation in decisions during long-term projects affected?". Through five qualitative interviews with developers from an international military company, institutional logics are used as a complementary theoretical framework and analytical support. Tensions between a professional logic and a management logic are indicated to be the two main logics that pressure developers' perceived participation in decisions over a long-term period. By combining development methods over time within long-term projects, daily follow-up varies and developers' perceived participation in decisions may be affected. Partial deliveries promote developers' perceived participation in decisions because developers can receive ongoing feedback on their decisions. Developers are required to make constant considerations in their decisions in order to achieve flexibility and meet requirements, but are limited by access to information due to defense-secrecy. / Uppsatsen undersöker utvecklares upplevelse av delaktighet i beslut genom agila systemutvecklingsmetoder inom långsiktiga projekt. Delaktighet avses som möjlighet för utvecklare att genom självständighet och frihet påverka samt realisera beslut i sin arbetssituation. Forskningsfrågan som tagits fram lyder enligt följande: “Hur påverkas utvecklares upplevelse av delaktighet i beslut under långsiktiga projekt?”. Genom fem kvalitativa intervjuer med utvecklare från ett militärt internationellt företag används institutionella logiker som ett kompletterande teoretiskt ramverk och analysstöd. Spänningar mellan en professionslogik och en management-logik indikeras vara de två huvudsakliga logiker som sätter press på utvecklares upplevelse av delaktighet i beslut under en lång tidshorisont. Genom att systemutvecklingsmetoder blandas över tid inom långsiktiga projekt varieras daglig uppföljning och utvecklares upplevelse av delaktighet i beslut kan komma att påverkas. Delleveranser främjar utvecklares upplevelse av delaktighet i beslut eftersom utvecklare kan få löpande återkoppling på sina beslut. Utvecklare erfordras göra ständiga avvägningar i sina beslut för att uppnå flexibilitet och möta krav, men begränsas av tillgång till information till följd av försvarssekretess.