For software development firms to be competitive they must assure the quality of the software product. This has led many firms to adopt software process improvement (SPI) programs such as the capability maturity model integration (CMMI). However, for small software firms, especially those in developing countries with limited resources, these programs are often too cumbersome and costly to implement. To address this issue, this paper proposes a simplified SPI model for small firms (SPM-S) comprised of 10 key software development practices; with fewer practices, the proposed model should be more accessible and less costly to implement. Using data collected in four developing countries in the English-speaking Caribbean from 112 developer/user dyads, the model is evaluated with respect to its impact on software quality. The findings show that the software development process coupled with supporting technology (e.g. project management tools) significantly impact software product quality. Implications for software process improvement in small firms and future research are discussed.
Despite various studies and several IT innovative interventions, the information systems (IS) community continues to experience low quality and unsuccessful software systems. Persistent IS failures have plagued large and small organizations throughout the globe; however, smaller firms in developing countries such as those in the English‐speaking Caribbean and Jamaica, in particular, do not have the capacity to absorb the losses that result from the delivery of ineffective and low quality systems. This research effort is a continuation of our quest to provide some solutions to these problems – particularly in Jamaican organizations – by developing a research model that integrates the literature from a variety of sources to empirically explore the impact of process, people and perception on IS quality and success. The setting is Jamaica; however, we believe that the insights obtained would be relevant to developing countries in other contexts. The results of the study indicate significant relationships between (1) developer knowledge and IS quality, (2) perceived usefulness and IS success, and (3) IS quality and IS success. Our findings should be interesting to IS practitioners and we offer the proposed research model to IS scholars to promote further research into IS quality and success in small businesses in developing countries.
Article information:To cite this document: Michael A. HaughtonAnne P. CrickStanford E. MooreLawrence A. Nicholson, (2003),"A methodology for improved synergy between the classroom and management practices", Education + Training, Vol. 45 Iss 1 pp. 30 -44 Permanent link to this document: http://dx.If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.
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AbstractUniversities constantly try to balance the need to be seen as research institutions contributing new knowledge to society with the need to be seen as effective teaching institutions. This article describes one way in which the two requirements have been effectively resolved in teaching short courses to non-university students. The methodology incorporated students and research teams, thus drawing on the strengths of both. The result is enhanced student participation and motivation, greater access to data and new insights for the faculty members. The paper concludes by describing other applications of such an approach.
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