Requirements engineering current practice and capability in small and medium software development enterprises in New Zealand

This paper presents research on current industry practices with respect to requirements engineering as implemented within software development companies in New Zealand. A survey instrument is designed and deployed. The results are analysed and compared against what is internationally considered "best practice" and previous New Zealand and Australian studies. An attempt is made to assess the requirements engineering capability of New Zealand companies using both formal and informal frameworks.Comment: Proceedings of the 9th ACIS Conference on Software Engineering Research, Management & Applications (SERA 2011

Beyond ‘the Beamer, the boat and the bach’? A content analysis-based case study of New Zealand innovative firms

In this paper we will use case studies to seek to understand the dynamic innovation processes at the level of the firm and to explain the apparent 'enigma' between New Zealand's recent innovation performance and economic growth. A text-mining tool, Leximancer, (version 4) was used to analyse the case results, based on content analysis. The case studies reveal that innovation in New Zealand firms can be best described as 'internalised', and the four key factors that affect innovation in New Zealand firms are ‘Product’, ‘Market’, ‘People’ and ‘Money’. New Zealand may be an ideal place for promoting local entrepreneurship, however, many market/technology opportunities cannot be realized in such a small and isolated economy, hence the poor economic performance

National strategies for technology adoption in the industrial sector: Lessons of recent experience in the developing regions

human development, technology

A study of requirements engineering practices among software developers at UUM Information Technology (UUMIT)

Requirements Engineering (RE) is a systemic and integrated process of eliciting, elaborating, negotiating, validating and managing the requirements of a system in software development project. UUM has been supported by various systems in academic, administrative, students’ affair and many others. Most of the current systems are developed and maintained by the Information Technology Department (UUMIT). The aim of this study is to review the current requirements engineering practices and proposing requirements engineering practices during software development at UUMIT. The outsourcing of software development is rapidly growing because of its allied benefits in the limited resources of the organizations. The main problem that is discussed in this research is the lack of studies that support software development activities at the Information Technology department (UUMIT). The study used quantitative methodology and systematic literature review to answer research questions. The main significance of this study is helping educational institutes to produce quality software development and saving cost and time by implementing requirements engineering practices. In addition to that, the study contributes to UUM by identifying the activity needed for software development so that the management is able to allocate budget to provide adequate and precise training as well as seminars for the software developers. The researcher investigated three variables; Requirements Description, Requirements Development (Requirements Elicitation, Requirements Analysis and Negotiation, Requirements Validation), and Requirement Management. The results from the survey showed that the current practice of requirement engineering in IT department of UUM is encouraging, but need for further development because most of RE practices associated with requirement development and requirement management are achieved on a regular basis and not frequently. The researcher recommended providing effective training programs for UUMIT staffs on RE practices and increases their understanding on system requirements using RE practices to develop better systems for the university. Further investigation is required in the future to understand the effect of other RE practices on software developmen

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

Readiness to meet demand for skills: a study of five growth industries

Overview: This study considers issues pertinent to ensuring the Australian education and training system can respond to emerging skills demand in the following industries: food and agriculture; biotechnology and pharmaceuticals; advanced manufacturing; mining equipment, technology and services; and oil and gas. The report finds a widening gap between education and skills demand and highlights the crucial role of employees in developing a skilled workforce, as well as calling for a shift in thinking about the way skills are generated

ICT for eco-sustainability: an assessment of the capability of the Australian ICT sector

Executive summary As eco-sustainability issues become increasingly important to most, if not all, Australian organisations, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry is expected to provide solutions that reduce material consumption (dematerialise), emissions (decarbonise), and energy use and waste production (demobilise) in both the ICT infrastructure and the business processes and practices of industries. The term \u27Green ICT\u27 represents this eco- sustainability enabling role of the ICT industry. The School of Business Information Technology and Logistics, RMIT University in collaboration with the Australian Information Industries Association (AIIA) surveyed all members and affiliates of the AIIA at the beginning of 2010 to understand Australian ICT firms\u27 capability to enhance the eco-sustainability of other industries. Based on data collected from 133 ICT firms, this report constitutes the first comprehensive study that exclusively focuses on the Australian ICT industry

Impact of information technology in trade facilitation on small and medium-sized enterprises in Bangladesh

This paper focuses specifically on one particular aspect of trade facilitation in the context of Bangladesh, i.e., impact on SMEs of IT in trade facilitation. It is hoped that the policy recommendations offered in this paper will be useful in furthering the cause of SME internationalization in Bangladesh.Trade Facilitation, Bangladesh, SMEs, Information Technology