Inside a Secret Software Laboratory

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XVIII

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Christine Grimm

   Pages 1-11

3. Discussion of Existing Knowledge

   • Christine Grimm

   Pages 13-46

4. Settings and Research Methods

   • Christine Grimm

   Pages 47-95

5. ERP System Support

   • Christine Grimm

   Pages 97-149

6. ERP System Development

   • Christine Grimm

   Pages 151-206

7. Analysing the Labs

   • Christine Grimm

   Pages 207-225

8. Discussion and Conclusion

   • Christine Grimm

   Pages 227-261

9. Back Matter

   Pages 263-289

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How does one of the world’s biggest Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) suppliers develop software? How do Oracle, SAP, Microsoft and Co really work? Christine Grimm presents a first-hand account of a social researcher who entered the software laboratory of one of the biggest ERP providers. Presenting an in-depth ethnography on how people act within such labs, she reveals the highly unexpected social character of programming and shows how the vendor reorganizes himself to find new ways to respond to the expectations of the market. Furthermore, the author highlights the informal practices when an ERP system, as a defective or incomplete product, re-enters the supplier’s labs. The book provides a window into what happens if bugs are dug up and emotions on both the supplier and customer sides are running high.

• Zurich, Switzerland

  Christine Grimm

Dr. Christine Grimm received her PhD in interdisciplinary research from the University of Edinburgh. She  works as a senior researcher in the research laboratory of a software provider.