Johannes Britsch

Software Usability in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Germany: An Empirical Study

Usability has become a competitive factor in the software industry. Specifically, the software industry in the United States has recognized this important factor and successfully leverages it for achieving competitive advantage. Compared to this fast development in the US, it seems questionable whether this view is also widespread among small and medium sized software producing and client companies in Germany and whether they direct sufficient attention to usability. This article presents the results of an empirical study exploring the status quo of the importance, the knowledge and the actual use of usability concepts among small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Germany. Following an organizational field perspective, we investigate how interactions between actors in the software field influence the usability awareness as well as the knowledge and actual use of usability concepts. Based on the results of our study, we provide recommendations on how to increase awareness and maturity of software usability in SMEs in Germany.

Anything Relationship Management (xRM) as Management Layer for the Hyper-connected Society

There is a strong consensus that collaboration and co-creation will become one of the main business drivers in the future. However, the question of how to set-up inter-organizational relationships and involve stakeholders in an efficient way still remains largely unsolved. This paper proposes Anything Relationship Management (xRM) as managerial and technological foundation and platform providing interoperability between different stakeholder groups. It provides an overview of the evolution of the relationship management concept, analyzes the current status of the xRM solution market and proposes an xRM-framework for collaborative networks and cyber-physical systems.

Die Zukunft des Dialogmarketings! – Träumen Androiden von elektrischen Schafen?

Das Internet ist der Ausloser konvergenter Technologieentwicklungen; mit zunehmender Vernetzung entstehen neue Interaktionskanale zwischen ehemals getrennten Bereichen, Wertschopfungsprozesse verandern sich und die Arbeitsteilung wird neu organisiert. Viele Objekte (z. B. Autos, Beleuchtungen und Wohnungsheizungen) werden neben den menschlichen Teilnehmern zukunftig in das Internet eingebunden werden.