This thesis is based on data collected within NAV between March 2017 and August 2019. As summarized in Table 3, three methods of data collection were used.
Real-time studies, which provided the main source of data, were complemented by a historical reconstruction, providing a contextual and temporal frame of reference (Van de Ven 1992). Together, the real-time studies and the historical reconstruction covered a period of almost 13 years, from 2006-2019. As the study was initiated in 2017, the outcome of the change process was still unknown at the beginning of the study, thereby biases involving a priori knowledge of success or failure were avoided. For instance, some of the informants who were sceptical of the transformation in the initial interviews downplayed and sometimes even denied their own scepticism in later interviews.
Document reviews were an important source of information throughout the study of NAV. Before I gained access to the company information, publicly available documents provided me with background on the case and enabled me to prepare for the initial interviews (Pan and Tan 2011, p. 165). This literature included governmental white papers (Government 2004-2005), tender documents from the Parental Benefit project (retrieved from www.doffin.no), newspaper articles, public reports (Johansen and Skålnes 2014; Vågeng 2015), and research papers describing the NAV reform (Askim et al. 2010; Askim et al. 2011; Klausen 2016).
After I gained formal access to NAV, I was given an internal email account and could access most internal document systems, including calendars, project wikis (Confluence), issue-tracking systems (JIRA), and the NAV intranet. To gain insight into NAV’s mission, I also became a member of two Facebook groups: one where NAV employees shared internal events and discussed operational issues and another where citizens could ask NAV employees questions. These Facebook groups provided insight into the complexity and diversity of the issues facing NAV and its users.
Figure 5. Relation between the real-time study and the historical reconstruction
The examined written documents were complemented by a large number of recorded conference presentations given by NAV employees at a series of conferences. Four of these presentations were transcribed and used in the data analysis. During recent years, NAV has played an active role in sharing the challenges and opportunities associated with digital transformation in the public sector. Conference presentations have also been a key ingredient in the recruitment of IT personnel, and they gave me valuable insights into the specifics of the technologies used to build the platform. Consistent with the second step of the structured-pragmatic-situational approach to conducting case studies (Pan and Tan 2011), these documents enabled me to conceptualize the phenomenon of interest and prepare for the initial interviews.
Participant observation was another data source used during the initial stage of data collection. By observing meetings, I was able to pick up on relevant discussions and concerns within the IT department. During my first three visits to NAV, I spent a total of six days shadowing two members of the IT Architecture division. In addition, I borrowed different workstations in the project area each time I visited. This allowed me to observe different teams and pick up on discussions and activities. My observations were extensively documented in a field diary and became a part of the later analysis. My observations were also sensitized to relevant problems and concerns in the IT department and provided important background during the interviews.
Interviews formed the primary source of data for this study. These interviews provided access to the feelings and opinions of the participating informants (Walsham 1995).
Beginning in August 2017, I paid regular visits to the IT department, conducting 5-6 interviews during each visit. Although some rounds of interviewing were performed with my supervisors, I conducted most of the interviews alone. During the two-year study period, I conducted 42 formal interviews. Of these interviews, 23 were recorded and transcribed. Most of the interviews lasted between 45 and 60 minutes. Because of their sensitive nature, not all the interviews could be recorded. In cases where an interview
could not be recorded, I took notes during the interview and elaborated on these notes immediately after the interview ended.
The formal interviews were complemented by informal conversations. As mentioned above, I was given an access card and was able to move freely within the IT department.
I was able to gain a considerable amount of insight through conversations by the coffee machine and encounters in the hallway. As previously noted, obtaining access is essentially relational and requires relation building with prospective informants.
Lunches and coffee breaks provided an arena where I could introduce myself and my research while acquainting myself with the organization. My observations and conversations were extensively documented in a field diary after each visit to NAV.
These different data sources are summarized in Table 3.
Table 3. Data sources and descriptions
Data source Description Interviews (formal
and informal)
● 42 semi-structured interviews conducted with 17 unique informants; 23 were transcribed
● Conversations during coffee and lunch breaks Participant
observations
● Architecture decision meetings
● Project meetings (diverse meetings attended by architects)
● Section meetings within the IT Architecture division Documents ● Documents retrieved from the Internet (Government
white papers, procurement documents, newspaper articles, research papers, and evaluation reports)
● NAV’s internal intranet
● JIRA (internal issue-tracking system)
● Confluence (wiki-type web tool used to document project activities)
● Facebook groups for NAV employees and NAV users
● Video presentations given by NAV representatives at various conferences (recorded and available online)
To ensure the validity of the data collected, all the pieces of evidence used in the construction of the case study were triangulated by at least two sources of data (Yin 2003). For instance, since one part of the organization saw the ongoing transition as a threat to the stability and predictability of the organization’s services while the other argued that flexibility would in fact increase, I systematically collected accounts from both sides. In addition, I used internal and external reports and project documents to verify the facts and figures presented by the informants.
Multiple perspectives were also gained by choosing informants from different levels of the organization, and they ranged from senior management to project managers, developers, and case workers. The distribution of the informants across different parts and levels of the organization is shown in Table 4.
Table 4. Distribution of the informants across the organization
Organizational division Number of informants Stakeholder groups
Parental benefit project 10 Project managers
Developers IT architects
DigiSyFO project 2 IT architect
Developer
Line organization 3 CTO
IT architect
Department manager
Other 2 Case worker
Business expert