TY - JOUR
T1 - Making Sense of Failure to Support Experimental Innovation
T2 - A Case Study of a Financial Services Information System
AU - Gasparin, Marta
AU - Green, William
AU - Schinckus, Christophe
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Organisational experiments have been neglected in the innovation literature. In this paper, we analyse an Information Systems development project, which was constructed as an experiment as a reaction to the failure of an earlier attempt. The failed project was the same information system but based on conventional innovation or organisational approaches. We use fluid projects theory, through sensemaking and sensegiving, in analysing historical documents to demonstrate that making sense of failure can lead to subsequent success, and in this case experimenting was integral. We conclude that failure can be re-imagined as a catalyst for learning, which leads to success. The approach illustrated for this is experimental, and understood through a sensemaking process.
AB - Organisational experiments have been neglected in the innovation literature. In this paper, we analyse an Information Systems development project, which was constructed as an experiment as a reaction to the failure of an earlier attempt. The failed project was the same information system but based on conventional innovation or organisational approaches. We use fluid projects theory, through sensemaking and sensegiving, in analysing historical documents to demonstrate that making sense of failure can lead to subsequent success, and in this case experimenting was integral. We conclude that failure can be re-imagined as a catalyst for learning, which leads to success. The approach illustrated for this is experimental, and understood through a sensemaking process.
KW - Experimental project
KW - IT system
KW - Sensemaking
KW - Experimental project
KW - IT System
KW - Sensemaking
U2 - 10.23726/cij.2017.541
DO - 10.23726/cij.2017.541
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85104390727
SN - 2413-9505
VL - 1
SP - 47
EP - 53
JO - CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation
JF - CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation
IS - 2
ER -