We talked to her about her studies, her time as a research associate and her doctoral studies – and learned why cooperation is the keyword that runs like a red thread through her extramural as well as her scientific career.
Only recently Anna Wiedemann published in the renowned European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS), leading European journal in the field of information systems, on process optimization between software development and software operations (DevOps) (opens in a new window).
Wiedemann, Anna and Wiesche, Manuel and Gewald, Heiko and Krcmar, Helmut (2020): Understanding How DevOps Aligns Development and Operations: A Tripartite Model of Intra-IT Alignment. European Journal of Information Systems: EJIS. ISSN 1476-9344.
When I'm not researching/working, I …
... do sports (preferably endurance sports, but also sports courses), travel or do culinary things – I love to cook and often bring home delicacies and recipes from my trips.
Current reading:
„Projekt Phoenix“ (Gene Kim et al.): IT und DevOps in fictional form, an ideal introduction to the topic for all interested parties. I can also recommend the continuation, "Project Unicorn"!
My field of expertise in three words:
service-oriented, agile and innovative
Doctoral studies are ...
... a great opportunity to advance personally and professionally. I would do it again anytime (and was actually sad when it was over)
[1]
During her diploma studies in business studies at HNU, Anna quickly realizes that she wants to gain as many different insights as possible. Two compulsory internships, one in the event management department at Alfons Schuhbeck in Munich and one at the German Bundestag in Berlin, are therefore followed by another voluntary internship at the stock exchange in Frankfurt am Main. "It has always been important to me to have as comprehensive a skills set as possible," explains the doctoral student, who recommends all students to gain a lot of practical experience early on, especially in broad-based degree programs such as business studies.
Put out feelers in good time: Compulsory and voluntary internships broaden horizons
Anna will get to know her current research area in information systems during her Master's degree in "Advanced Management", which she will follow on from her Diplom degree: "At that time, the conversion from Diplom courses to the Bachelor's and Master's system was in progress, and I thought it was great that HNU had already developed a Master's course in this area". What the doctoral candidate particularly appreciates about information systems is that, as a comparatively young discipline, it offers great potential for transformation. She writes her Master's thesis in 2014 on the subject of IT service provision (ITSD) - and will not only get a taste for academic work, but will also have her first contact with her current employer NTT DATA.
[2]
The cooperation with the Munich-based company enables Anna Wiedemann on the one hand to already conduct intensive empirical and qualitative research, and on the other hand to establish initial contacts there: "The opportunities for cooperation are a huge advantage of universities for applied sciences. They allow a wide range of insights, whether to other colleges or universities or into practice," says Anna. And: "The opportunities are there. But of course you have to take advantage of them and go through life with your eyes open".
Cooperative theses pave the way for professional practice
That's exactely what Anna does: she joins NTT DATA directly after her master's degree. For one and a half years, she worked in Munich as a Technical Consultant, primarily in a consulting capacity, and is travelling a lot. However, science preyed on her mind even during her full-time employment, and so she summarizes the research results obtained in her Master's thesis in a paper that she is able to present at the HICSS (Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences) in Hawaii in 2015. A first important point of contact with the (international) scientific system – and a respectable setting to boot, since HICSS is one of the most prestigious IT conferences in the world. "At that time, I really didn't think that I would be presenting so often at scientific conferences later on," Anna remembers.
[3]
The initial impetus for her doctorate was finally provided by the BMBF project "Efficient operating and control models for the holistic optimization of the value contribution of the IT function in the company (EBSGO-IT)", which the Center for Research on Service Science (CROSS (opens in a new window)) is recruiting. In 2015 a position as research assistantbecomes available there. NTT DATA is the third-party sponsor of the research project, which is exploring the design options for internal IT organization in companies, and project manager Prof. Dr. Heiko Gewald, who already supervised Anna during her master's studies, recommends that she applies. "So one thing led to another," explains the doctoral candidate, "and the application worked – luckily!". The contact to her employer and the free economy does not let her break off thereby: Beside her 100%-job as a scientific employee she remains NTT DATA by a secondary activity.
Business or science? No contradictions, but a dual career opportunity
Of course, the change from the classic everyday work routine in the company back to science was a small change, says Anna Wiedemann: "The processes are quite different - but I was able to adapt to them very quickly and settle in there. She has found her professional experience to be very helpful. Self-organization and disciplined work, a regulated workflow and structured project management - she was already used to all of this through her job: "I was on the road a lot, so you need good time management and must be able to organize yourself well".
DevOps
DevOps (Developement and Operations) s defined as a cultural and technological concept for integrating the tasks, knowledge and skills required to plan and execute the activities of a cross-functional team responsible for one or more IT service products.
Gartner Hype Cycle
The Gartner Hype Cycle is an instrument that makes the development of new technologies comprehensible and understandable. Developed in 1995 by Gartner consultant Jackie Fenn, the cycle visualizes five essential phases that each technology goes through from the first steps ("Innovation Trigger") to the successful implementation ("Plateau of Productivity").
Cooperative Doctorate / Joint Supervision
Universities of Applied Sciences (HAWs) generally do not have their own right to award doctoral degrees, but their Master's graduates are entitled to award doctorates at universities. For such cooperative doctorates under joint supervision, different models are offered at HNU (opens in a new window), for example through the BayWISS-Promotionsverbundkolleg (opens in a new window).
[4]
The thematic framework was already defined by the structure of the BMBF project – now it was necessary to find a suitable thesis topic. The decisive impulse is once again pprovided by cooperation: The Center for Research on Service Science organizes an IT Executive Circle (ITEC) twice a year, which deals with changing IT-relevant issues in a professional exchange. In 2015, DevOps is mentioned in this setting: a new concept dedicated to the efficiency-enhancing combination of software development and operational and control processes in IT. Anna reads up on this relatively unexplored area at this time and learns to "get to know and love it more and more". When DevOps is finally also mentioned as a new IT megatrend in the Gartner Hype Cycle, Anna Wiedemann realizes that with this topic she has the finiger on the pulse.
DevOps – a promising research area
This opportunity is also accompanied by quite a challenge: the state of research is still low, the data situation is somewhat sparse. Anna is working intensively on relevant theories, for example on agile IT teams, and is thus gradually designing a framework she can purposefully place her research question in. Anna's greatest motivation is her enthusiasm for her research area. DevOps is now on everyone's lips – the fact that one can directly experience and shape such developments is incredibly motivating, says the doctoral candidate.
[5]
In her doctoral thesis, Anna takes a closer look at the skills, IT control processes and internal IT alignment required for DevOps structures. The focus is on established, large companies in which the connection of control processes is naturally more complex than in smaller start-ups. Anna focused on the people who work together under the umbrella of a DevOps team: What does someone who is integrated into such a concept actually have to be able to do? While classic project management relies on differentiated departments with clear, limited responsibilities, the DevOps team member is characterized by so-called "t-shaped knowledge", i.e. he combines both specialized and generalized knowledge. This means: The respective person needs a good understanding of software development and operation; she or he is not only responsible for the development of new software functionalities, but must also be able to solve arising problems independently in a team according to the Amazon guiding principle "You build it, you run it". More and more companies work with agile software development. But: "There the focus is still on software development. DevOps now goes one step further and integrates the operating division – the "Ops" – into these agile teams," explains Anna. "In my research, I have seen that this results in a transformation from classic, very time and budget driven project management, away from silo departments and towards the establishment of product responsibility in cross-functional teams".
[6]
For Anna, the path to the finished thesis is primarily characterized by research work and interview acquisition: She investigates which companies are already DevOps-oriented, identifies and contacts possible interview partners via various networks. In the end, she has conducted 100 interviews, of which she can evaluate and analyze 80 ("the borders were sometimes very blurred: which companies really work with DevOps, which work "only" agile?").
Researching, publishing, teaching: The daily routine of a doctoral student
Anna says that the fact that a cumulative dissertation is not a monograph, but several individual papers, is a step in the right direction in terms of self-organization: "The individual work packages are more clearly defined and the respective submission deadlines already provide a relatively fixed time structure.
[7]
Since universities of applied science do not have the right to award doctorates, the path to a doctorate usually leads via cooperative doctorates at partner universities. Anna is no exception: in 2017, she gives a presentation at a conference in which Prof. Dr. Helmut Krcmar, professor for computer science in economics at Technische Universität München (TUM), is also participating. Anna Wiedemann presents her topic to him, and Helmut Krcmar will be her future supervisor.
Cooperative doctorate: Double infrastructure, double exchange
For Anna, the advantages of the support stand are obvious: "By integrating two institutions, you can not only use the double infrastructure – for example, two libraries –, you also benefit from a double professional exchange. During this time, Anna is keeping her apartment in Munich and lives with her family in the region on weekdays. Anna is convinced that if you are basically well organized, you can manage the transfer between the two universities. While at the TUM she was able to benefit from the wide range of courses offered by the structured social program, at HNU it is precisely it's manageable size that offers an enormous advantage in her eyes: Anna is part of the faculty board at this time and is in close contact with the HNU professors. "Above all, I have always appreciated these close working relationship and the opportunity to exchange ideas directly at eye level at HNU," she sums up.
[8]
In the meantime, Anna is preparing for her defense. She has completed the project, which she has been working on intensively for five years, and is already working full-time at NTT DATA again. Fortunately, however, she will continue to be available to the scientific community and HNU as a Research Associate – and also in the context of the lecture "Fundamentals of Information Systems", which she is giving in collaboration with HNU Professor Claudia Kocian-Dirr. Anna has more than enough ideas for exciting new research projects anyway. Regardless of how her path will continue, she is sure of one thing: "My heart will always beat for science".
