Virtuality's Influence on Performing Information Systems Development

Virtual ways of working such as work-from-home, remote-work and telecommuting have traditionally been implemented by organizations usually to a few employees for specific projects. The transitioning of organizations from a co-located environment to a fully virtual context induced by the COVID-19 pandemic had effects on the process of performing Information Systems Development (ISD). This study employed a single case study of a medium-sized software organization with one hundred and thirty employees that had transitioned to a virtual environment. Data was collected through seventeen interviews and from relevant documents. A literature-derived Systems Development as Performing (sd-as-p) framework was modified and updated with subthemes that emerged from the thematic analysis of case data. The enactment of virtuality was found to influence the following processes of performing ISD, namely (1) leading; (2) communicating; (3) collaborating; (4) knowing; (5) developing with agility; (6) dealing with challenges; (7) trusting; and (8) assessing achievements.