A theory-grounded framework of Open Source Software adoption in SMEs

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in European Journal of Information Systems. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Macredie, RD and Mijinyawa, K (2011), "A theory-grounded framework of Open Source Software adoption in SMEs", European Journal of Informations Systems, 20(2), 237-250 is available online at: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ejis/journal/v20/n2/abs/ejis201060a.html.The increasing popularity and use of Open Source Software (OSS) has led to significant interest from research communities and enterprise practitioners, notably in the small business sector where this type of software offers particular benefits given the financial and human capital constraints faced. However, there has been little focus on developing valid frameworks that enable critical evaluation and common understanding of factors influencing OSS adoption. This paper seeks to address this shortcoming by presenting a theory-grounded framework for exploring these factors and explaining their influence on OSS adoption, with the context of study being small- to medium-sized Information Technology (IT) businesses in the U.K. The framework has implications for this type of business – and, we will suggest, more widely – as a frame of reference for understanding, and as tool for evaluating benefits and challenges in, OSS adoption. It also offers researchers a structured way of investigating adoption issues and a base from which to develop models of OSS adoption. The study reported in this paper used the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB) as a basis for the research propositions, with the aim of: (i) developing a framework of empirical factors that influence OSS adoption; and (ii) appraising it through case study evaluation with 10 U.K. Small- to medium-sized enterprises in the IT sector. The demonstration of the capabilities of the framework suggests that it is able to provide a reliable explanation of the complex and subjective factors that influence attitudes, subjective norms and control over the use of OSS. The paper further argues that the DTPB proved useful in this research area and that it can provide a variety of situation-specific insights related to factors that influence the adoption of OSS

Towards the development of a simple tool to assist in agile methodology adoption decisions: agile adoption matrix

This paper describes the development of a decision support tool, an adoption assessment matrix based on critical adoption factors, that addresses a need in industry; namely, to improve the overall understanding of the constituent parts of agile systems development methodologies. It highlights the importance of critical adoption factors to the adoption of an agile method and illustrates the usefulness of a decision support process to determine the viability of an agile method for a specific software project. The paper describes the results of a series of workshops (two carried out in commercial software developement companies, and one with personnel from the British Minsitry of Defence) where the adoption assessment matrix was used to assess the suitability of agile methods in software development projects. A major benefit of the tool is that it guides discussion, concentrating the debate on the critical factors, applied to the individual project. These discussions proved to be as valuable as the output of the tool itself. The results of these workshops show that an argument can be made for the use of and benefit of such a decision support process in industry, in supporting the decision to adopt an agile methodology

Process capability assessments in small development firms

[Abstract}: Assessment-based Software Process Improvement (SPI) programs such as the Capability Maturity Model (CMM), Bootstrap, and SPICE (ISO/IEC 15504) are based on formal frameworks and promote the use of systematic processes and management practices for software development. These approaches identify best practices for the management of software development and when applied, enable organizations to understand, control and improve development processes. The purpose of a SPI assessment is to compare the current processes used in an organization with a list of recommended or ‘best’ practices. This research investigates the adoption of SPI initiatives by four small software development firms. These four firms participated in a process improvement program which was sponsored by Software Engineering Australia (SEA) (Queensland). The assessment method was based on SPICE (ISO/IEC 15504) and included an initial assessment, recommendations, and a follow-up meeting. For each firm, before and after snapshots are provided of the capability as assessed on eight processes. The discussion which follows summarizes the improvements realized and considers the critical success factors relating to SPI adoption for small firms

CMMI Adoption and Retention Factors: A Systematic Literature Review

CMMI has increased the productivity and reduced the cost of software development in the software industry. However, there are factors that influence the adoption and retention of CMMI in software organizations, and that need to be studied over time. This article aims to identify factors that influence the adoption and retention of CMMI in the software development organizations. A systematic literature review (SLR) was performed for this study. In the first stage, 2507 articles were obtained from 6 relevant databases and after the SLR process, 40 studies on factors and their possible influence were selected. These factor studies were classified according to a taxonomy based on: organization, people, processes and product. The most studied factors are related to people and organizations, in the CMMI adoption and retention processes, which is consistent with the fact that it is the "people" of the software development "organizations" who manage to carry out the software projects. Studies related to retention factors are still scarce, representing only 10% of the total identified. In addition, the use of alternate terms of factors and the use of "critical success factors" and "success factors" are observed without a clear distinction

Enablers of open source software adoption: A case study of APS organisations

Despite a considerable body of literature investigating factors involved in the Open Source Software (OSS) adoption process, there is little research into adoption of OSS by public sector organisations. So it was important to reassess the factors enabling OSS adoption in order to enhance OSS utilization within public sector organisations. This study explored various factors that may enable OSS adoption within Australian Public Sector (APS) organisations by interviewing those involved in software procurement. The findings were analysed through the lens of administrative complexity associated with OSS adoption. Success of OSS in government agencies was found to be contingent on critical aspects such as availability of support and maintainability of OSS products, ability to meet organisational business needs in a cost effective manner, economic value associated with OSS such as maintenance and training costs, and attitude of staff toward OSS. The findings suggested that value for money and fit for purpose criteria described in Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines were the major enablers of OSS adoption

Factors Influencing Adoption of Open Source Software - An Exploratory Study

Open Source Software (OSS), an example of an IS innovation, provides an alternative to proprietary software for organizations. Despite its free availability, OSS has not been universally adopted. While IS innovation has been extensively studied, there is a dearth of research literature on the adoption of OSS. Using a multi-site case study research method and a well known framework on the adoption of IS innovations, we explore this novel phenomenon and uncover critical factors that influence the adoption of OSS in organizations

Agile Methodology Adoption Decisions: An Innovative Approach to Teaching and Learning

This paper documents an innovative approach to teaching and learning in studying the area of agile software development methods. The observations and analysis of a Critical Adoption Factors workshop for agile methodologies are presented, where \u27Phase One\u27 of the workshop was undertaken in an academic context and \u27Phase Two\u27 was carried out in an industry context to validate the adoption assessment matrix developed in \u27Phase One\u27, and further refine classroom material. Overall, the innovative and unique contribution of this study is centred on the outputs of the Critical Adoption Factors workshops, in an effort to improve students understanding of the constituent parts of an agile methodology. Although this paper documents the initial stages of an ongoing research study, the early observations are encouraging for teaching and learning in the academic context