Agile development methods for developing web application in small software firms

Small software firms that involved with developing web application are lacked of well defined development process. Many development methods have been proposed for developing web application in these firms. However, these methods have some limitations.This paper aims to identify the agile development methods that are suitable for small development teams and determine the enhancements needed to get high quality web application.In order to achieve these objectives a comparative study was conducted on the suitable agile development methods that have been selected. Comparisons were made according to a set of criteria that include development process, project management, requirement, testing and design.The findings of this paper will be used as baseline for building a new measurable web application development methodology for small software firms

Identification of suitable web application development methods for small software firms

Many development methods have been proposed for developing web application in small software firms.However, these methods have some limitations.This paper aims to identify the suitable development methods for building high quality web application.In order to achieve this objective, a comparative study was conducted on several current development methods.Comparisons were made according to five criteria that include fitted to 10-50 size, simplicity, flexible to change, customer collaboration and quality assurance used measurement program(QAMP).The findings of this paper will be used as a baseline for building a new development methodology for small software firms that emphasize on monitoring

Applications of lean thinking: a briefing document

This report has been put together by the Health and Care Infrastructure Research and Innovation Centre (HaCIRIC) at the University of Salford for the Department of Health. The need for the report grew out of two main simple questions, o Is Lean applicable in sectors other than manufacturing? o Can the service delivery sector learn from the success of lean in manufacturing and realise the benefits of its implementation?The aim of the report is to list together examples of lean thinking as it is evidenced in the public and private service sector. Following a review of various sources a catalogue of evidence is put together in an organised manner which demonstrates that Lean principles and techniques, when applied rigorously and throughout an entire organization/unit, they can have a positive impact on productivity, cost, quality, and timely delivery of services

Harmonizing CMMI-DEV 1.2 and XP Method to Improve The Software Development Processes in Small Software Development Firms

Most software development organizations are small firms, and they have realized the need to manage and improve their software development and management activities. Traditional Software Process Improvement (SPI) models and standards are not realistic for these firms because of high cost, limited resources and strict project deadlines. Therefore, these firms need a lightweight software development method and an appropriate SPI model to manage and improve their software development and management processes. This study aims to construct a suitable software development process improvement framework for Small Software Development Firms (SSDFs) based on eXtreme Programming (XP) method and Capability Maturity Model Integration for Development Version 1.2 (CMMI-Dev1.2) model. Four stages are involved in developing the framework: (1) aligning XP practices to the specific goals of CMMI-Dev1.2 Key Process Areas (KPAs); (2) developing the proposed software development process improvement framework based on extending XP method by adapting the Extension-Based Approach (EBA), CMMI-Dev1.2, and generic elements of the SPI framework; (3) verifying the compatibility of the proposed framework to the KPAs of CMMI-Dev1.2 by using focus group method coupled with Delphi technique; and (4) validating the modified framework by using CMMI-Dev1.2 questionnaire as a main item to validate the suitability of the modified framework for SSDFs, and conducting two case studies to validate the applicability and effectiveness of this framework for these firms. The result of aligning XP practices to the KPAs of CMMI-Dev1.2 shows that twelve KPAs are largely supported by XP practices, eight KPAs are partially supported by XP practices, and two KPAs are not-supported by XP practices. The main contributions of this study are: software development process improvement framework for SSDFs, elicit better understanding of how to construct the framework, and quality improvement of the software development processes. There are possible avenues for extending this research to fulfil the missing specific practices of several KPAs, examining other agile practices and using CMMI-Dev1.3 to improve the framework, and conducting more case studie

An agile information flow consolidator for delivery of quality software projects: technological perspective from a South African start-up

In today’s knowledge-based economy, modern organisations understand the importance of technology in their quest to be considered global leaders. South African markets like others worldwide are regularly flooded with the latest technology trends which can complicate the acquisition, use, management and maintenance of software. To achieve a competitive edge, companies tend to leverage agile methods with the best possible combination of innovative supporting tools as a key differentiator. Software technology firms are in this light faced with determining how to leverage technology and efficient development processes for them to consistently deliver quality software projects and solutions to their customer base. Previous studies have discussed the importance of software development processes from a project management perspective. African academia has immensely contributed in terms of software development and project management research which has focused on modern frameworks, methodologies as well as project management techniques. While the current research continues with this tradition by presenting the pertinence of modern agile methodologies, it additionally further describes modern agile development processes tailored in a sub-Saharan context. The study also aims novelty by showing how innovative sometimes disruptive technology tools can contribute to producing African software solutions to African problems. To this end, the thesis contains an experimental case study where a web portal is prototyped to assist firms with the management of agile project management and engineering related activities. Literature review, semi-structure interviews as well as direct observations from the industry use case are used as data sources. Underpinned by an Activity Theory analytical framework, the qualitative data is analysed by leveraging content and thematic oriented techniques. This study aims to contribute to software engineering as well as the information systems body of knowledge in general. The research hence ambitions to propose a practical framework to promote the delivery of quality software projects and products. For this thesis, such a framework was designed around an information system which helps organizations better manage agile project management and engineering related activities.Information SciencePh. D. (Information Systems

ORGANIZING FOR THE DIGITAL WORLD: A PATHWAY TOWARDS THE AGILE MARKETING CAPABILITY

The ultimate goal of this dissertation is to explain how agility intersects in the field of marketing capabilities, in order to deepen the understanding about a new marketing capability: the Agile Marketing Capability. My dissertation consists of three papers. The first paper inquires how the Agile Marketing Capability can be formally theorized and conceptualized, identifying its key theorizing elements and putting the basis for its further exploration and analysis. The outcomes of this first study identify the core dimensions (or constructs) of the Agile Marketing Capability, advance a holistic theoretical model, and discuss the underlying constructs and relationships. With this first conceptualization of a marketing-focused capability of agility, I start outlining a new path of marketing capabilities, seeking to redefine marketing capabilities by learning more about Agile Marketing implementation. Thus, I lay the terrain for future exploration and forecast of this topic, and enrich the debate on the opportunity to integrate agile principles into marketing studies, and ultimately impact marketing capabilities. The second paper provides an initial empirical investigation of agile capability in marketing field, exploring its main defining features and thus elaborating some key theoretical and empirical dimensions which may characterize and compose the Agile Marketing Capability. The outcomes of this second study identify and organize the key theoretical concepts and dimensions of the Agile Marketing Capability in a theoretical framework. To summarize study results I also formulate some propositions, which could stimulate future theoretical and empirical research towards this topic. The findings of this research considerably advance extant knowledge on capabilities greater aligned with digital transformation challenges, which is a topic still at an early stage in current literature. Specifically, the analysis carried out in the second paper improves the understanding on agility in digital and international marketing settings, contributing to extend dynamic capabilities and marketing capabilities literature. In the meantime, the framework and propositions of this study, as well as the empirical findings, contribute to explain what strategic actions are needed to foster marketing agility, thus pursuing and implementing an Agile Marketing Capability. The third and final paper extends the body of knowledge of agile capabilities in marketing field by looking at how different organizations pursue and implement the Agile Marketing Capability. The outcomes of this third study deepen the conceptualization and definition of the Agile Marketing Capability dimensions, proposing a four-stage Agile Marketing Capability maturity framework. The framework provides key actions, activities and behaviours organized in progressive maturity levels to enable organizations to assess and improve their capabilities in Agile Marketing implementation. The findings of this work contribute to deepen the body of knowledge on marketing capabilities and agility research streams, explaining the benefits that could derive from employing agile approaches and capabilities in marketing, and how their employment actually may enhance organizations’ extant marketing capabilities, particularly in turbulent and fast-changing contexts. Notably, the analysis performed in this third study sheds light on progressive behaviors and actions representative of different maturity levels in the development and management of the Agile Marketing Capability. The maturity framework proposed in this paper and the empirical findings clarify to managers and practitioners how to assess current maturity level in the development of such capability, understand potential improvement actions, and, thus, achieve higher levels of performance. Briefly, it provides useful guidelines for organizations to become more agile in their marketing capabilities

Digitally Enhancing Customer Agility and Competitive Activity: How Firms Use Information Technology to Sense and Respond to Market Opportunities in Hypercompetitive Environments

This dissertation studies how information technology (IT) facilitates customer agility and, in turn, competitive activity. Customer agility refers to the extent to which a firm is able to sense and respond quickly to customer-based opportunities for innovation and competitive action. As such, customer agility consists of two key dimensions: sensing and responding. We propose that IT plays a critical role in facilitating a firm\u27s customer agility - in particular, its sensing and responding components. The Internet has spawned a rich set of tools that allow firms to engage in rich, interactive dialogues with a broad and diverse customer base, thereby enhancing firms\u27 ability to sense and respond to shifting customer needs and preferences. Although academics and practitioners suggest that IT is a key enabler of customer agility, we know little concerning how IT facilitates customer agility. Building on the dynamic capability literature, we propose that the \u27knowledge creating\u27 synergy derived from the interaction between a firm\u27s web-based infrastructure and its analytical ability will enhance the firm\u27s ability to sense customer-based opportunities, and the \u27process enhancing\u27 synergy obtained from the interaction between a firm\u27s coordination efforts and its level of IT integration will facilitate the firm\u27s ability to respond to those opportunities. Finally, we propose that the alignment between customer sensing capability and customer responding capability will impact the firm\u27s competitive activity. We test our model with a two-stage longitudinal research design in which we survey marketing executives of high-tech firms. Our results find that web-based (resource and user) infrastructure has a significant effect on customer sensing capability. Moreover, analytical ability positively moderates these relationships. We also find that interfunctional coordination and channel coordination both have a significant impact on customer responding capability. Furthermore, internal information systems (IS) integration positively moderates the interfunctional-response relationship, yet external IS integration does not moderate the channel-response relationship. Our results also show that varying types of alignment between customer sensing capability and customer responding capability are related to different types of competitive activity. Specifically, a higher \u27match\u27 between sensing and responding results in actions which effectively meet or address customer needs. Furthermore, customer responding capability mediates the relationship between customer sensing capability and 1) number of actions executed and 2) the speed at which firms respond to changing customer needs. Finally, we also find that agility alignment is not related to action repertoire complexity. Our results have implications for both research and practice. To our knowledge, it is the first study to conceptualize and test a comprehensive yet parsimonious research model which includes the role of IT, customer agility and competitive activity. In doing so, we contribute to the IT business value literature, dynamic capabilities research, competitive dynamics literature, and organizational innovation research. We also give managers greater insight into how they can effectively leverage IT resources when sensing and responding to their customers in turbulent environments