Laurence Brooks

Identifying and classifying processes (traditional and soft factors)that suuport COTS component selection: a case study

COTS-Based Systems (CBS) development focuses on building large software systems by integrating previously existing software components. CBS success depends on successful evaluation and selection of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software components to fit customer requirements. Literature shows that successful selecction of off-the-shelf systems to fit customer requirements remains problematic. This paper presents the outcome of a study aimed at using a social-technical approach to identify and classify processes (including traditional and soft factors) that support COTS software selection. The identified factors and lessons learnt from the case study assisted in elaborating and further development of Social-Technical Approach to COTS Evaluation framework (STACE).

E-government Implementation in Zambia: Contributing Factors

Most developing countries in Africa are at the emerging stage of e-government development and lag far behind developed nations, despite having had national e-government strategies in place for a considerable period of time. This research argues that although Zambia has recognised the importance of e-government, its benefits are yet to be realised. The paper explores the reality of e-government implementation in Zambia using survey based research. The authors found that while challenges such as environmental issues, leadership, change management, human capital, funding and infrastructure are critical to the successful implementation of e-government in Zambia, there is little evidence to suggest that effort is being applied to counteract these challenges. The lack of context-specific e-government programmes and the absence of marketing to promote e-government among policymakers and government workers have resulted in minimal awareness about the importance and value of e-government to Zambia.

Assessing organisational obstacles to component-based development: a case study approach

Abstract This paper discusses some human, social and organisational issues affecting the introduction of Component-Based Development (CBD) in organisations. In particular, the paper presents the outcome of a case study aimed at assessing organisational obstacles influencing successful application of CBD in the industry. We present some organisational problems experienced by three organisations in adopting and implementing CBD, including cognitive skills, disincentives, organisational politics and organisational culture. In each case we suggest some solutions that developers and managers should consider in order to minimise these organisational problems. We suggest that applying social–technical approaches can minimise the impact of these organisational obstacles. Examples of social–technical approaches include maintaining a relationship with customers throughout the development process and eliciting support from key sponsors and stakeholders.

A situated cultural approach for cross‐cultural studies in IS

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a comprehensive framework of a situated culture approach to studying culture within the IS discipline.Design/methodology/approach – This is achieved via an articulation of structuration theory and the provision of an approach to study cross‐cultural phenomena within the IS discipline. The paper proposes two main components of a structuration theory based analysis model which is proposed as a way to study culture within IS discipline. First, the paper presents ideas behind the practice lens for studying the use of technology, as proposed by Orlikowski. Second, the paper presents a structurational analysis approach as detailed by Walsham. The paper argues that using a practice lens contributes to identifying the mediated shared structures between actors through understanding the actions of the actors within the phenomena. Then, using a structurational analysis approach contributes to identifying the cultural dimensions that are embedded in the identified mediated shared ...

Understanding collaboration using new technologies : A structurational perspective

Recent research in information systems (IS) has focused on the application of social theory in general and Anthony Giddens structuration theory in particular to help reveal how technical systems can support or hinder human interaction in societal, organizational, and personal contexts. This article examines the potential of structuration theory to facilitate an understanding of social and organizational issues that surround collaboration using new technologies.

Structurantion in Research and Practice: Representing Actor Networks Their Structurated Orders and Translations

This paper sets out to describe how the StructurANTion theoretical framework and tools derived from it can be used to represent translations of humanchine actor networks and their structurated orders, to underpin both research and practice in integrating IS and organizational transformation.

Assessing important factors that support component-based development in developing countries

Abstract Most developing countries (DCs) have yet to fully benefit from the many advances in the information technology (IT) field because of specific problems experienced by these countries. Examples include a lack of systems infrastructure and resources to invest in IT. Component‐Based Development (CBD) offers a number of benefits that the DCs can tap into, such as reducing development and maintenance costs and improving reuse across projects. CBD entail purchasing a number of off‐the‐shelf software components, each satisfying some part of the requirements of the system and integrating these components into the required system. This paper will discuss the findings of a survey conducted in a specific developing country (Zambia) to assess important factors that support the CBD process. The results suggests that, although CBD has great potential for DCs there are some social and technical factors that need to be addressed by organisations in DCs for this to be fully realised. For example, the results show that from the social point of view there is lack of management support for CBD and from the technical point of view that organisations were not familiar with the technology for integrating components.

Social Media and Government Responsiveness: The Case of the UK Food Standards Agency

Social media are often regarded as a set of new communication practices which are likely, if deployed effectively, to make public sector organisations more responsive to the various stakeholders with whom they interact. In this context, responsiveness is usually approached as an administrative function of establishing additional channels of information and responding faster to citizen queries. Notwithstanding the importance of these objectives, this study aims to reconceptualise the relationship between social media and government responsiveness. Drawing on current literature and the case of the Food Standards Agency in the UK, the study identifies new dimensions of social media responsiveness. The findings of this study can provide useful insights both for researchers in the area and those in the process of developing social media strategies in government.

ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY: THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

This paper examines the institutional arrangements in the development of Nigerias electronic payment system (EPS) using a new institutional economics (NIE) perspective. A case study of Nigerias EPS was carried out using semi structured interviews to collect data from 18 participating stakeholders; a thematic method was used for the data analysis. The study suggests that a well‐functioning set of arrangements, which is lacking in the institutional setup in Nigeria may be required to build necessary institutional capacity suitable for development of safe and efficient electronic payment systems. Although the technological payment infrastructure in Nigeria is modern and of comparable standard, the failure to put in place reliable and relevant market and collaborative agreements has not enabled full exploitation of the available infrastructure. Current governance structures show elements of power struggle and distrust between stakeholders (players and regulators), hampering the creation of an environment that would sustain free market economic activities and effective development of payment systems.

CSCW and Requirements Analysis: Requirements as Cooperation/Requirements for Cooperation

Cooperation is defined as working together for a common purpose. It would therefore seem a suitable description of the process by which analysts and clients interact in developing the requirements for a computer-based information system (IS). In addition, as Howard (1987) notes, the term has positive connotations, evoking equal power relationships and mutual aid, which make it attractive as an epithet to be associated with the requirements process. Further, Kyng (1991) introduces cooperation as an important aspect of work for supporting computer application design to enhance quality of work and products. In principle, therefore, it would seem desirable that requirements analysis (RA)1 should be seen “as cooperation” (see also Macaulay 1992).