At the individual level we are looking at how jobs are being changed, and how this affects the way workers interact with their group. At the group and organizational levels we are looking at how structures are being adapted and appropriated through organizational and technological changes. This period also provided back-drop, history, and context to the effort. All key decision-makers from the organization were involved in establishing the research and agreed to participate in interviews and make data open and accessible. Field workers were introduced to the departments selected for the research study.
Solid lines indicate constant contact while dotted lines indicate intermittent contact.
Phases Two and Three began in Summer, 1995. Phase Two is a study of the IS management team over the implementation period. All phases employ participant observation, interviews, and archival data collection of records and products. Phase Four will also use structured surveys. The MSU began the change to a CS infrastructure knowing it would be a multi-year program crossing every department and operating unit of the organization.