As the focus of this study is not on theory generation or testing, we used a “looser
approach” (Walsham, 2006, p.325) for interpretive research. Though the variables were
not predefined, our analysis was guided by the themes derived from our literature
review of IT project management literature with the allowance for identifying additional
themes and concepts. Impressions and notes were written down after each interview to
generate a more organized set of themes. We chose to focus on issues and challenges
encountered by the S2006 team and how these challenges were overcome. In addition to
organizing data based on issues, data was also coded based on the phases of project
management, i.e., planning, preparation, and execution (Project Management Institute,
2008).
The rest of this paper describes the IS requirements and challenges for S2006, the IT
activities and support, and how the requirements are matched with the activities. We
begin by describing the IS requirements, followed by the three main phases of the
project, i.e., planning, preparation and execution. The planning phase describes the
gathering of IS requirements, whereas the preparation and execution phase describe