Can software risk management improve system development: an exploratory study

Software risk management can be defined as an attempt to formalise risk oriented correlates of development success into a readily applicable set of principles and practices. Earlier research suggests that it can reduce the likelihood of a system failure. Using a survey instrument we investigate this claim further. The investigation addresses the following questions: (1) which characteristics of risk management practices; and (2) which other environmental and process factors (such as development methods, manager's experience) relate to improved performance in managing software risks? Our findings support in general the claim that the use of risk management methods improves system development performance. Yet, little support was found for the claim that specific risk management methods are instrumental in attacking specific software risks. Overall, risks are better managed with combined measures of having experienced project managers, selecting a correct project size, and investing in and obtaining experience in risk management deliberations.     

Decisions in software development projects management. An exploratory study

Given the importance of software in today's world, the development of software systems is a key activity that requires complex management scenarios. This article explores the implications of hard decisions in the context of software development projects (SDPs). More in deep, it focuses on the emotional consequences of making hard decisions in IT organisations. Complex SDPs involve a great variety of actors. This fact entails morale, feelings and emotions, which play an important role for communication, interaction and, ultimately, decision making. The aim of the article is twofold. First (Study 1), to identify which are the most important hard decisions in SDPS. Second (Study 2), to study the influence of emotions on decision-making processes (Study 2). Findings show the complex emotional consequences and difficulties that managers must face in hard decision-making processes.     

Success of software packages in small businesses: an exploratory study

In this paper we develop and use a framework for evaluating the success of microcomputer based integrated administrative software packages in small businesses. The results of an exploratory survey of 66 small business organizations show that small businesses have often been disappointed with their software packages. The disappointment is frequently a result of the inability of the package to adapt to the needs of the company, especially in small businesses of more than 50 employees. For small businesses of less than 20 employees the packages are too difficult to use. These findings indicate that small businesses should place more emphasis on the acquisition, especially the requirements specification, and developers should improve user-friendliness, the quality of support and documentation to fulfil the needs of the smallest of small businesses. The successful implementers—because of their experience—knew their needs, carefully acquired the package, and implemented various parts of it, benefiting from integration. There seem to be no shortcuts to success, but a determined and eager attitude of the personnel can produce success with any of the software packages in our study.     

Assessing software product line potential: an exploratory industrial case study

Corporate organizations sometimes offer similar software products in certain domains due to former company mergers or due to the complexity of the organization. The functional overlap of such products is an opportunity for future systematic reuse to reduce software development and maintenance costs. Therefore, we have tailored existing domain analysis methods to our organization to identify commonalities and variabilities among such products and to assess the potential for software product line (SPL) approaches. As an exploratory case study, we report on our experiences and lessons learned from conducting the domain analysis in four application cases with large-scale software products. We learned that the outcome of a domain analysis was often a smaller integration scenario instead of an SPL and that business case calculations were less relevant for the stakeholders and managers from the business units during this phase. We also learned that architecture reconstruction using a simple block diagram notation aids domain analysis and that large parts of our approach were reusable across application cases.     

开放源代码软件开发的基本问题

尽管开放源代码软件运动发展得相当成功,但是普通大众总感到它不易使用。本文讨论当前开放源代码软件开发趋势中的5个基本问题,并提出可能有助于克服这些问题的解决方案。1.　用户界面设计出于某种原因,开放源代码项目在用户界面设计上有许多问题。我猜想用户界面的低质量并非是一种原因造成的。在开放源代码圈内存在一种认识,认为要在完成了真正的工作之后再去设计友好的用户界面,而不把用户界面设计当成真正的工作。然而,如果开放源代码希望真正繁荣起来,使普通大众使用其工具,他们必须承认,大多数用户可能从来不知道开放源代码人员曾为复…     

Determinants of software quality in offshore development - An empirical study of an Indian vendor

Context

Cost advantage has been one of the primary drivers of successful offshoring engagements of Indian software and services companies. However, the emphasis has shifted to the ability of the vendors to provide high quality over cost advantage in delivering software products and services. Meeting high quality requirements of the clients is a challenge due to the very nature of development and delivery of software through offshoring.

Objective

The objective of this research paper is to identify and evaluate the key determinants of quality in the case of software projects delivered through offshoring model.

Method

A detailed survey was conducted among project managers/project leaders (leads) of a leading midsize Indian IT services company to evaluate the relationship of the determinants on the attributes of quality.

Results

Out of six determinants, our research reveals requirements uncertainty has significant association with all the attributes of quality. While process maturity and trained personnel have moderate association, communication and control, knowledge transfer and integration and technical infrastructure have relatively low association on software quality attributes in the case of offshoring.

Conclusion

It is concluded that the complexities in offshoring necessitates proper capturing of requirements. In addition high level of process maturity and availability of trained personnel to the project will help vendors to achieve software quality. The paper provides a set of implications for practice and directions for further research.     

An exploratory study of small business Internet commerce issues

Internet adoption by small business is important to the generation of critical mass for Internet commerce – governments in the G8 countries are setting up initiatives to ensure that small businesses adopt Internet commerce. This paper reports of a qualitative study into why small businesses are online. The study found that the small business Internet commerce (SBIC) phenomenon is still in its infancy, although small businesses are finding e-mail useful for business communication and document transfer; the perception of long-term benefits and potential business opportunities is what is driving SBIC; at present, the uptake of Internet-based financial transactions is still slow; there is almost no integration between the Internet and internal applications; and, finally, that SBIC seems likely to continue to expand in this sector of market only if small firms actually experience tangible benefits in the future.     

High integrity software development: process and tool issues

YSE and BAe Defence have recently completed an unclassified study for MoD (PE) specifically concerned with high integrity software development process and tool issues. The overall objective of the project was to produce guidance for MoD project managers on the sorts of processes and toolsets which their suppliers should be expected to deploy on projects being conducted in the context of Interim Defense Standard (IDS) 00-55 and IDS 00-56. A wide-ranging survey of industrial practice underpinned the project.This paper reports the main areas of work of the project and its results. The topics covered include:

• •⊗ ideal high integrity software development including tool support requirements;
• •⊗ a review of current high integrity software development practice;
• •⊗ available tool support (COTS and proprietary);
• •⊗ a minimum acceptable process and associated tool support;
• •⊗ process and toolset hazard analysis;
• •⊗ process and toolset safety cases;
• •⊗ building better toolsets;
• •⊗ process and toolset assessment.

     

TQM implementation factors for software development: an empirical study

Software Quality Journal - There is a need for methodologies which can enhance the quality of software and improve software developmental efficiencies. One such approach commonly used by software...     

An exploratory study on ontology engineering for software architecture documentation

The usefulness of Software Architecture (SA) documentation depends on how well its Architectural Knowledge (AK) can be retrieved by the stakeholders in a software project. Recent findings show that the use of ontology-based SA documentation is promising. However, different roles in software development have different needs for AK, and building an ontology to suit these needs is challenging. In this paper we describe an approach to build an ontology for SA documentation. This approach involves the use of typical questions for eliciting and constructing an ontology. We outline eight contextual factors, which influence the successful construction of an ontology, especially in complex software projects with diverse AK users. We tested our ‘typical question’ approach in a case study and report how it can be used for acquiring and modeling AK needs.     

The development of a mobile money service: an exploratory actor-network study

Mobile money has received ample academic and practitioner attention as a means to improve access to financial services in developing countries. However, there is a paucity of empirical studies examining mobile money development from a socio-technical stance. Based on an exploratory cross-sectional field study conducted at three sites in the Upper East region of Ghana, this paper attempts to understand the dynamics of the development and diffusion of a mobile money service from an actor-network theory (ANT) perspective. Data from semi-structured interviews with the principal stakeholders (supplemented by documentary evidence) were analyzed using grounded theory coding techniques and the emergent themes interpreted through the lens of the “moments of translation” (Callon, M. (1999). Some elements of a sociology of translation: Domestication of the scallops and the fishermen of St Brieuc Bay. In M. Biagioli (Ed.), The science studies reader (pp. 67–83). London: Routledge) framework of ANT. The study found that a mobile network operator has built a nascent network of composite social and material stakeholders to offer mobile money services despite significant challenges. Although the actor-network is still evolving and mobile money has yet to reach critical mass, there is evidence of growing uptake. This paper highlights the value of ANT as a lens for exploring the diffusion of innovations in information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) research.     

Risk orientation in software testing processes of small and medium enterprises: an exploratory and comparative study

Risk orientation in testing is an important means to balance quality, time-to-market, and cost of software. Especially for small and medium enterprises (SME) under high competitive and economic pressure, risk orientation can help to focus testing activities on critical areas of a software product. Although several risk-based approaches to testing are available, the topic has so far not been investigated in the context of SME, where risks are often associated with business critical issues. This article fills the gap and explores the state of risk orientation in the testing processes of SME. Furthermore, it compares the state of risk-based testing in SME to the situation in large enterprises. The article is based on a multiple case study conducted with five SME. A previous study on risk-based testing in large enterprises is used as reference for investigating the differences between risk orientation in SME and large enterprises. The findings of our study show that a strong business focus, the use of informal risk concepts, as well as the application of risk knowledge to reduce testing cost and time are key differences of risk-based testing in SME compared to large enterprises.     

Barriers in the selection of offshore software development outsourcing vendors: An exploratory study using a systematic literature review

Context

Software development outsourcing is a contract-based relationship between client and vendor organisations in which a client contracts out all or part of its software development activities to a vendor, who provides agreed services for remuneration.

Objective

The objective is to identify various barriers that have a negative impact on software outsourcing clients in the selection process of offshore software development outsourcing vendors.

Method

We have performed a systematic literature review (SLR) process for the identification of barriers. We have performed all the SLR steps such as the protocol development, initial selection, final selection, quality assessment, data extraction and data synthesis.

Results

We have identified barriers such as ‘language and cultural barriers’, ‘country instability’, ‘lack of project management’, ‘lack of protection for intellectual property rights’ and ‘lack of technical capability’ that generally have a negative impact on outsourcing clients. We have identified only one common frequently cited barrier in three types of organisations (i.e. small, medium and large) which is ‘language and cultural barriers’. We did not identify any common frequently cited barrier in three continents (Asia, North America and Europe) and in two decades (1990-1999 and 2000-mid 2008). The results also reveal the similarities and differences in the barriers identified through different study strategies.

Conclusions

Vendors should address frequently cited barriers such as ‘language and cultural barriers’, ‘country instability’, ‘lack of project management’, ‘lack of protection for intellectual property rights’ and ‘lack of technical capability’ in order to compete in the offshore outsourcing business.     

An exploratory study on meta skills in software development teams: antecedent cooperation skills and personality for shared mental models

Shared mental models (SMMs) provide an approach to improving team learning and performance. SMM means that team members share common expectations about the team processes, results, !and individual roles in achieving the team's objective. Our model of antecedents and consequences of SMMs demonstrates how cognitive capabilities contribute to effective software development teams. Higher scores on two meta-level cognitive skills (A-shaped skills and T-shaped skills) and a personality characteristic (agreeableness), which help teammates coordinate their skills and knowledge, enhance the development of an SMM and thereby enhance team performance. The results open new and important areas for research into both the meta-level cognitive skills and the agreeable characteristic required for team effectiveness. There is also promise for new approaches to team building.     

An exploratory study of moral intensity regarding software piracy of students in Thailand

In the business environment that is becoming increasingly global and digital, the need for proper safeguards for protecting digital assets is increasingly becoming critical. Specifically, software piracy is becoming economically devastating to companies that develop and market software. Some researchers have argued that the level of moral intensity regarding software piracy of individuals may be related to the extent of actual software piracy behaviour. In order to empirically study this relationship, it is important to understand the concept of moral intensity towards software piracy. In this research, we study the concept in an international setting, a university in Thailand. We report the relationship between moral intensity and some important demographic variables and also explore the relationship between moral intensity of individuals and the perceived moral intensity of their community, the students, employees, and faculty. The results have implications for developing and implementing appropriate policies to reduce software piracy.     

An exploratory study of moral intensity regarding software piracy of students in Thailand

In the business environment that is becoming increasingly global and digital, the need for proper safeguards for protecting digital assets is increasingly becoming critical. Specifically, software piracy is becoming economically devastating to companies that develop and market software. Some researchers have argued that the level of moral intensity regarding software piracy of individuals may be related to the extent of actual software piracy behaviour. In order to empirically study this relationship, it is important to understand the concept of moral intensity towards software piracy. In this research, we study the concept in an international setting, a university in Thailand. We report the relationship between moral intensity and some important demographic variables and also explore the relationship between moral intensity of individuals and the perceived moral intensity of their community, the students, employees, and faculty. The results have implications for developing and implementing appropriate policies to reduce software piracy.     

光滑粒子动力学核心算法与软件开发中的关键问题

针对光滑粒子动力学(Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics,SPH)软件开发中诸多关键性问题未得到解决、开发进程相对滞后的问题,从SPH的精度、粒子近似离散格式、粒子分布和大小、变形的自适应、时间积分步长的自适应及边界算法和耦合算法等方面,分析核心算法以及SPH软件开发中的关键问题,如高性能计算...