An Explorative Study on Cooperation among Municipal Corporations

The literature on local government management seldom relates to the issue of collaboration between municipal corporations.This article seeks to contribute to this subject, while projecting the existing knowledge of management of organizations in general to the local municipal sphere in particular. The main aim of the article is to evaluate the preparatory activities required as a preliminary stage for the initiation and promotion of collaboration between municipal corporations. The methodology used is based on quantitative analyze and qualitative ones (Likert scale). We focused on the perceptions of the senior managers of these municipal corporations and found out that defining the managers' resources (time, authority, money, personnel, equipment, ego, and information, skills), ensuring the support of municipality's top management, undergoing early activities of openness to change have positive influence on the managers' perceptions of the importance of collaboration and their willingness to promote it

Exploring Strategies for Capturing Requirements for Developing ICT4D Applications

Some software engineers make decisions using applications designed from poorly captured user requirements. The quality of user requirements is crucial in the requirements engineering process, costing 50 times more to remedy the defects of using poorly captured user requirements. Grounded in the socialization, externalization, combination and internalization model of Nonaka theoretical framework, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies software engineers in Southern African software houses and IT departments use for capturing information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) requirements. The participants consisted of software 12 engineers who were working in Southern Africa, capturing ICT4D requirements. The data were collected using semistructured interviews. Thematic analysis was used, and four themes emerged: (a) interacting with stakeholders—socialization, (b) transforming interactive knowledge into user requirements—externalization, (c) sharing documented knowledge about user requirements—combination, and (d) applying assimilated knowledge from documented knowledge—internalization. A recommendation is for software engineers to capture their users’ needs and experiences to develop reliable ICT4D software that can assist in delivering interventions to marginalized societies. The implications for positive social change include improving the socioeconomic status of marginalized citizens with ICT4D software applications due to potentially improved requirements engineering practices