From the editor’s desk

I am pleased to present the 24(2)^nd issue of the Journal of IT Case and Application Research (JITCAR). This issue contains an editorial preface article by Vivek Kumar Singh and Kailash Joshi, a teaching case article by Dipankar Chakrabarti and Arindam Mukherjee, and a research case article coauthored by Zachary Davis and Heather Davis. Vic Matta and his team write the expert opinion article. The book review article is written by Soo Il Shin and Miriam Mele Kwon. Summary information on these articles is as follows.

In the editorial preface article, Automated machine learning (AutoML): An overview of opportunities for application and research, Singh and Joshi explain automated machine learning (AutoML), identify some of the fundamental steps in model development, and discuss currently available operationalizations of these systems. They also outline potential research opportunities for IS researchers in this field. The editorial argues that while AutoML systems technology enhancement is primarily the domain of computer scientists, their effective implementation and use in organizations to improve decision making and productivity while meeting the societal and organizational obligations of fairness and ethical behavior is an area where IS researchers’ can play a major role.

The teaching case by Chakrabarti and Mukherjee titled A case study on dynamic capabilities developed by a product start-up to grow at the time of pandemic shows a start-up’s agile development process transformation journey to overcome the challenges posed by “work from remote” policies charted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Work from remote disrupted collaboration between clients, sales teams, and development teams. The case shows how the start-up owners, through the “dynamic capabilities framework,” reconfigured the agile working processes and improved the remote working capability of employees. The teaching case focuses on imparting knowledge on agile development and dynamic capabilities to Information Systems students.

The research case article by Davis and Davis is titled Usability assessment in the adaptation phase of the Electronic Health Record (EHR). This case study utilizes a mixed-methods approach to analyze survey data collected within a large academic healthcare system regarding the use and usability of the EHR. The primary respondents were nurses, the largest group of EHR users. Results indicate that changes to the EHR should decrease the effort required for documentation, reduce the redundancy of charting, reduce the amount of data on flowsheets, address communication strategies and streamline documentation to improve the usability of the EHR.

The Expert Opinion report by Vic Matta provides a transcript of a diverse panel discussion on bias in AI. The panel included experts from the IT industry, law enforcement, manufacturing, and social work. Given that AI is being used in a range of industries and functions from agriculture, education, music, fashion, healthcare, manufacturing, law enforcement, and even raging wars, to name a few; and impacts people of all age groups and from all walks of life, this article attempts at understanding the ethical perspectives of AI from diverse perspectives. Regardless of the function and the industry, the discussion reminds us that since we humans are creating AI, our perspectives and biases are reflected in the tools we create. The article cautions developers to be aware of their inherent biases and ask tough questions while creating AI-based solutions.

The book review article by Shin and Kwon focuses on The Future is Faster Than you Think, authored by Diamandis and Kotler. According to the review contributors Shin and Kwon, the book author draws our attention to how the speed of technology development continues to get faster at an exponential degree. The book provides the impact of technology change on almost all affected industries. The book also gives vivid illustrations of how such impacts will change ordinary life for the average person. The contributors also reflect on the author’s narration of the five migration trends that are shaping our world: migration to a safer place (to avoid disasters caused by global warming), migration from rural to urban, from real to virtual, from earth to space, and from intelligence to meta-intelligence.

I hope you will enjoy reading all the items in this issue.

With best regards,

Sincerely