Four papers accepted at the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) 2022

1.      Authors: Paul Ohagen, Sebastian Lins, Scott Thiebes, Ali Sunyaev
Title: Using ChatOps to Achieve Continuous Certification of Cloud Services
Abstract: Continuous service certification (CSC) recently emerged as a promising means to provide ongoing assurances and disrupt pertinent certification approaches. CSC involves the consistent gathering and assessing of certification-relevant data by certification authorities about service operation to validate ongoing adherence to certification criteria. While research on CSC is increasing, practitioners still struggle in transferring researchers’ suggestions and guidelines into practice. This study provides a tentative design and a prototype of a monitoring-based service certification (MSC) system based on the novel ChatOps approach. Iterative evaluations support our propositions that ChatOps’ three key elements, a chat platform, chatbots, and third-party integrations, support the achievement of CSC. We contribute to research and practice by proving the technical feasibility of an MSC system, guiding future research and practitioners on achieving monitoring-based CSC, and validate the applicability and usefulness of extant guidelines on monitoring-based CSC proposed by prior research.

2.      Authors: Maximilian Renner, Sebastian Lins, Matthias Söllner, Scott Thiebes, Ali Sunyaev
Title: Understanding the Necessary Conditions of Multi-Source Trust Transfer in Artificial Intelligence
Abstract: Trust plays an increasingly important role, especially in new emerging AI-capable technologies. While different frameworks on establishing trustworthy AI were developed, extant research mostly neglects trust transfer mechanisms. We focus on multi-source trust transfer while taking a dual trust perspective including trust in provider and trust in technology. Our study falls in the context of autonomous vehicles as a target and AI and vehicles as sources. While conducting a survey with 432 participants, we applied necessary condition analysis to understand which sources are necessary for a multi-source trust transfer. Our results indicate that for trust in technology, AI and vehicle technology are necessary sources. In contrast, for trust in provider, only vehicle provider represents a necessary source. We contribute to research by providing a fresh perspective on trust in AI-capable technologies, applying a novel data analysis method to reveal necessary trust sources, and consider duality of trust in trust transfer.

3.      Authors: David Jin, Niclas Kannengießer, Benjamin Sturm, Ali Sunyaev
Title: Tackling Challenges of Robustness Measures for Autonomous Agent Collaboration in Open Multi-Agent Systems
Abstract: Open multi-agent systems (OMASs) allow autonomous agents (AAs) to collaborate in coalitions to accomplish complex tasks (e.g., swarm robots exploring new terrain). In OMASs, AAs can arbitrarily join and leave the network. Thus, AAs must often collaborate with unknown AAs that may corrupt coalitions, leading to less robust systems. However, measures to improve robustness of OMASs are subject to challenges, decreasing their effectiveness. To understand how to improve coalition robustness in OMASs and address challenges of existing robustness measures, we carried out a literature review and revealed three types of robustness measures (i.e., collaboration coordination, normative control, and reliability prediction). Moreover, we found 21 challenges for the identified robustness measures and 24 corresponding solutions. By carrying out this literature review, we forge new connections between existing measures and identify challenges and measures that apply to multiple existing measures. Hereby, our work supports more robust collaborations between AAs in open systems.

4.      Authors: Manuel Schmidt-Kraepelin, Simon Warsinsky, Scott Thiebes, Ali Sunyaev
Title: Conceptualizing Narratives in Gamified Information Systems
Abstract: Converging hedonic and utilitarian elements under the label of gamification has become an important phenomenon in information systems over the last decade. Yet, academic discourse on narratives in gamified IS remains scarce. To advance scholarly engagement, this study recontextualizes the concept of narratives in gamified IS. Based on the theoretical lens of hedonic and utilitarian consumption, we conducted a hermeneutic literature review in which we engaged with existing conceptualizations of narratives in a total of 84 studies across various disciplines. Results include a basic conceptualization of narratives complemented by six claims that may shape our way of thinking about narratives in gamified IS. Our findings contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of narratives in gamified IS that goes beyond that of traditional game elements. It may serve as a cornerstone for further discourse on narratives and how to meaningfully design them in gamified IS.