Clients’ participation in software projects: comparative case study between an agile and a ‘traditional’ software company

One of the main characteristics of agile software development is the active and continuous participation and involvement of the clients throughout the project. According to agile proponents, this leads to building ‘the right’ product and to satisfied clients. In this paper we present a comparative study of two Dutch software development companies in respect to client participation and its impact on the project. One of the companies is purely agile while the other is following a traditional software development approach. Our study suggests that active clients’ participation is not an exclusive attribute of agile projects and that it can be successfully integrated (and implemented) in a traditional project as well. Further, the study shows that by involving clients, software companies have the chance to get higher customer satisfaction, regardless whether or not they implement agile software development processes. Although our study is not quantitative, we think that it is indicative about the impact of the factor “client’s participation” on the client’s satisfaction

USING FACET THEORY TO REVIEW THE IS SUCCESS LITERATURE

This literature review study aimed at examining papers covering the IS Success research domain employing Facet Theory and its mapping tools. Facet Theory uses mapping sentences composed of facets that together represent all the plausible values of a universe or construct content. Forty three papers chosen by eight researchers were analyzed for similarity based on constructs included in their research models. In addition, constructs were coded for their relevance to the IS implementation timeline: before, during, after, and at maturity. In addition each paper was assigned a code calculated as the average position of its model constructs in the IS timeline. A simple exemplary mapping sentence was employed, based on the papers timeline index, and it was hypothesized that the IS timeline facet will demonstrate the axial topology. The results supported the hypothesis, showing that when ordered by their position in the IS timeline, papers are mapped employing an axial topology. It also showed that more papers focus on earlier stages of IS implementation rather than on the more mature stages. Furthermore, the SSA map obtained by the construct similarity index Sab allowed identification of primary IS Success research areas and lacunas. Being a Research in Progress, more work is under way, yet this work in progress has already demonstrated that Facet Theory can serve as an adequate yet not commonly use literature review and literature meta-analysis tool

Message and Medium: The Role of Social and Individual Factors in Using Computer Mediated Communications

The proliferation of computers and technology has resulted in increased use of computer mediated communications. However, the effective use of technology like bulletin boards and e-mail based communications can only be obtained if we understand how to enhance employee usage. Although human-computer interface has been a topic of considerable studies, most research has been done with students and under controlled conditions. In addition, field research has been limited in its inclusion of both social and individual factors that affect usage. In order to expand this research we report the results of a longitudinal study conducted within an entrepreneurial software company that used an innovative bulletin-board communication system. Our study uses employee survey data to measure social and individual factors that encompass attitudes toward the computer system. In addition, we obtained actual employee usage (copies of all postings to the bulletin board system) for the 12-month period of time following our survey. In addition to reporting the results of our study, we discuss implications of this work for other forms of computer mediated communications

Management Information System (MIS) and Institutional Effectiveness of Universities in South-South Geo-Political Zone of Nigeria

The rapid development and usage of management information system during the past three decades has had many points of contact with effective performance of universities. To achieve the purpose of the study, three (3) research hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Ex-post-facto design was adopted for the study. The population consisted of six thousand from four (4) universities in the zone. The study adopted the purposive sampling technique, to draw a sample of 414 staff of the universities used for the study, management information system usage and universities effectiveness questionnaire (MISUUEQ) was used to elicit information for the study. The data obtained was analyzed using the Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient. The findings of the study revealed that there is a relationship between management information system usage and institutional effectiveness in terms of examination conduct, students records keeping, staff appraisal, library services. Based on the findings the study concludes that the usage of management information system influences institutional effectiveness of universities. It was therefore recommended among others that more MIS infrastructures should be adequately provided in our universities since the task before them is enormous and more awareness and training should be organized regularly for staff heading faculties, department and units in the system. Keyword: Management, Information System, and Institutional Effectiveness

Does User Participation Lead to System Success?

The effect of user participation on successful systems development has been the focus of much attention for information systems researchers for some time. Common understanding has been that extensive user participation is not only important, but absolutely essential to system success. However, earlier studies trying to link user participation to system success have shown mixed results. In this paper, we analyze fourteen more recently published, empirical research studies that investigate the significance of user participation. From our results we conclude that user participation in the systems development process is indeed critical to system success. Common themes are identified

Relevant Participants\u27 Participation in Systems Development: When is Particitipation Irrelevant?

User participation and involvement (UPI) are complex concepts with many factors. This complexity stems from the different ways in how users are defined, how they participate and are involved, from the characteristics of the system, and the various phases within systems development. Managing UPI is important to change agents, i.e., managers, information technology experts, and consultants because they are the ones who are tasked with choosing the best participants at the right time to contribute to the systems development process to ensure a successful system. By reviewing relevant literature, this paper examines when participants should not participate in specific phases of systems development so as to not impede success or contribute to the failure of the systems development project

The determinants of Strategic Information System Planning (SISP) success: A proposed framework for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

The growing importance of Information System (IS) to support business operation demands for adequate IS planning.Good IS planning enables organizations to closely align the IS and strategic business objectives.Such alignment ultimately ensures organizations to gain competitive advantages from IS-related investment.Despite extensive works to understand SISP practices in large organizations, works are still limited in the context of Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs).This issue is worth further investigation in view of the increasing importance of IS to support many facets of the SMEs operation.More importantly, due to inherent resource constraints among SMEs to invest in IS, top management commitment as well as user participation in IS planning activities are getting more crucial.This study, therefore proposes a framework to assess the effect of top management commitment and user participation on SISP success. The findings are of relevance for firm’s top management in ensuring SISP success

Towards a Contingency Theory based Model of the Influence of Regulation on MIS

In modern societies and in particular since the financial crisis legal requirements and regulations get more and more attention. The massive amount of regulations also affects management information systems (MIS) with an impact on both, the system level as well as the organizational level. To consider all these regulations is a challenging task for organizations which handle regulative complexity in different ways. Until now, the influence of the degree of regulation on the organization of MIS received only little attention in IS research. This paper introduces a theoretical model and research design that enables investigating the influence of regulation on the organization and success of MIS. The presented model is based on the contingency theory

Minimizing Conformity in Focus Group for Software Development

In order to create successful software or systems, user involvement is one of the essential activities in the software development process. When user involvement is solicited, participant attitudes and their knowledge level about the software are substantially related to the quality of participant feedback. Particularly, in a focus group test, which is one of the most widely used methods for attaining user feedback, if a participant is extremely passive or has no experience to share, he or she cannot provide productive feedback and, more importantly, may tend to conform to the viewpoints of others. This tendency can be problematic in focus groups because it decreases the likelihood that participants’ feedback stands for their true belief and further amplifies the strength of dominant voice in the group. In this research, conformity and its relationship with the knowledge level and assertiveness of participants in the focus group will be investigated in the context of a focus group test