This paper provides an example of developing a coding strategy to build theory of the roles of methods in IS development. The research seeks to identify and understand how system development methods are used in an IS department within a large Australian bank. The paper details a theoretical framework, particulars of data collection, and documents an early phase of analysis – data reduction and the generation of an initial coding scheme. Guided by a framework to study the use of methods, the analysis demonstrates the framework’s plausibility in order to develop theoretical relationships with which to develop a grounded theory.