The enabling role of Web services in Information System Development practices: a Grounded Theory Study

This study presents a grounded theory analysis of a case study in the banking industry with a view to showing the enabling role of ‘‘Web services’’ technology in information system development practices. The grounded theory analysis of the Cashier Management System development project at the Central Europe Bank (a pseudonym) shows that Web services technology is a key technological enabler for more agile forms of IS development, characterized by incremental analysis, requirements revision, requirements emerging in use and incremental implementation. In particular, an initial in-depth analysis phase, conducted in a traditional way, is then followed, during system development, by several iterative phases of requirements revision/addition, in fulfilment of emerging or previously unplanned user needs discovered along the way. Such system development practices, enabled by the Web services technology and influenced by a variety of contextual factors, cover a middle ground between methodical and amethodical development processes.