Bernard Augey: The agile transformation of an IT department: changes to the organisation, management and business functions of Pôle Emploi’s IT department

The ongoing evolution of technologies and the methods associated with the IT profession, as observed throughout a career, coupled with the acceleration of this trend in recent years and the lack of sociological analysis of its impact on the IT profession, form the basis of this research
topic. The sociological analysis aims to describe the organisational realities of agile transformation: which projects involve a transition to agility, what deployment trajectories are followed, what levels of penetration exist in theory and in practice, but also how this is perceived by the various professional groups involved, particularly by members of the management line—such as, in the case of an IT department, the various categories of IT professionals?

The theoretical framework draws primarily on symbolic interactionism and the sociology of activity, or the pragmatic sociology of work. The research approach adopted is qualitative in nature; it is conducted from an action research perspective. To provide a framework for the conditions of the study and the relationship with Pôle Emploi’s IT department throughout the research, a collaboration agreement was signed between the latter and Gustave Eiffel University.

Building on an agile methodology that originated within the development profession, we will seek to understand how Pôle Emploi interprets it and what adjustments it has made; we will focus on assessing all aspects of the organisational work undertaken in support of this transformation. We will then examine Pôle Emploi’s strategic dimension and how its social and political initiatives are interwoven with its drive for transformation. At the heart of our approach lies the transformation of IT professionals’ work; we will explore the changes in their profession and professional identities, going so far as to understand how IT professionals have come to embrace these changes.