A Systematic Mapping Study on Off-The-Shelf-based Software Acquisition

Acquiring software from external suppliers and developing less software in-house can help software-developing organizations improve operational efficiency by reducing costs, time and reusing current technologies. Software projects increasingly use Off-The-Shelf (OTS) products. From the acquirer perspective, there is a need to understand in more detail OTS-based software acquisition processes, because they are different to and less well-understood than those for the acquisition of custom software. In this paper we have undertaken a systematic mapping study on OTS-based software acquisition. The study compares and contrasts OTS-based software acquisition and non-OTS-based software acquisition, and identifies factors influencing decision making in OTS-based software acquisition. We find that the main difference is that there is a relationship between determining the software requirements and OTS selection in OTS-based software acquisition. For commercial OTS software, the major factors are functionality and quality of the software, but for open-source OTS software, cost was the most important factor

An investigation into the application of systematic software reuse in a project-centric organisation

The software development continues to become more competitive and demanding, placing pressure on developers. Changes in the international political climate have resulted in shrinking military budgets, putting developers of defence software under further pressure. At present, systematic reuse is probably the most realistic way of addressing this pressure by improving software development productivity and quality. Software product line (SPL) engineering provides a comprehensive approach to systematic software reuse and is becoming widely accepted. The focus of this interpretive case study was ground station software development in a small multidisciplinary project-centric company which produces avionics systems for military aircraft. The purpose of the study was to investigate the potential implementation of systematic software reuse in the company. The study consisted of three phases, a literature study, a contextualisation and a set of field interviews, and used elements of the Carnegie-Mellon Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Product Line Practice Framework to examine the suitability of SPL engineering for the company. The findings of the study highlight the potential challenges that SPL engineering poses for the company, and emphasise how the company's project-centric structure could impede its implementation of systematic software reuse.ComputingM.Sc. (Information Systems

An Information Systems Design Theory for E-learning

This thesis seeks to offer an answer to the problem of how to design, implement and support information systems that effectively and efficiently support e-learning within universities. This problem is increasingly prevalent and important to the operation of universities. It is also a problem where existing solutions are limited in terms of variety, quality and explicit theoretical guidance. This thesis formulates a specific Information Systems Design Theory (ISDT) “An Information Systems Design Theory for Emergent University E-learning Systems“ as one answer to this problem. The ISDT is formulated using an iterative action research cycle that encompasses the design, support and evolution of the Webfuse information system at Central Queensland University (CQU) from 1996 through 2009. The Webfuse system was used by tens of thousands of staff and students. It is the knowledge gained through this experience that, in two separate stages, is used to formulate design theory. The final ISDT recognises that diversity and rapid on-going change are for a number of reasons, the key characteristics of e-learning within universities. Consequently, the ISDT specifies both process and product models that aim to enable the e-learning information systems to be emergent. In particular the ISDT proposes that emergent e-learning information systems will encourage and enable greater levels of e-learning adoption in terms of quantity, quality and diversity; as well as providing a level of differentiation and competitive advantage for the institution. This thesis makes two additional contributions. First, the Ps Framework is developed and used to analyse the current, dominant practice of providing elearning information systems within universities. The resulting analysis reveals a significant mismatch between the requirements of e-learning within universities and the characteristics of the product and process models used by the dominant approach to supporting e-learning within universities. It is this mismatch that the ISDT seeks to address. Second, is the formulation of an alternate method for specifying the components of an ISDT. This alternate specification arose from difficulties faced with using existing ISDT specifications