Document Type

Article

Publication Date

December 2011

Publication Title

Journal of Strategic Information Systems

Volume

20

Issue Number

4

First Page

323

Last Page

342

DOI

10.1016/j.jsis.2011.03.001

Keywords

Alignment within the IT unit, IT subunits, Developers and testers, Software development, Survey research, structural and relational dimensions

Disciplines

Management Information Systems

Abstract

Just as business-IT alignment has received significant focus as a strategic concern in the IS literature, it is also important to consider internal alignment between the diverse subunits within the IT organization. This study investigates alignment between developers and testers in software development to understand alignment within the IT unit. Prior evidence of tension between these sub-groups (and others as well) suggests that all is not necessarily well within the IT organization. Misalignment within the IT unit can certainly make it difficult for the IT unit to add strategic value to the organization. This study is an important initial step in investigating IT subunit alignment which can inform future research focusing on the alignment of other IT subunits such as architecture, operations, and customer-support. Using theoretical concepts from strategic business-IT alignment, we test a research model through a survey of professional software developers and testers. Results suggest that relational but not structural dimensions influence IT subunit alignment.

Comments

This is the Pre-print of an article published by Elsevier in the Journal of Strategic Information Systems, volume 20, issue 4, 2011. The Publisher's Version can be found here. SJSU users: Use the following link to login and access the article via SJSU databases.

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