1,721,120 research outputs found
The End of the Line:Project Management Challenges in Small Software Shops in Pakistan
No full textVery small software companies (VSSCs) with from five to ten employees comprise a large share of the total number of software devel- opment companies in both “developed” and “developing” economies. In this chapter, we discuss characteristics and challenges of VSSCs in Pakistan. In a study of seven Pakistani VSSCs, we found that these companies operate mostly on the global software market as vendors to clients in Europe and the United States. The companies share several of the challenges and characteristics found in VSSCs in other parts of the world, but their position and role in a global software production chain create additional challenges: They are separated from the end customer by several layers of intermediaries, they experience communication delays and distortion, and payments are often delayed. Furthermore, their immediate customer often takes responsibility for key project management tasks. We argue that software process improvement ini- tiatives directed at this type of company must be designed around their specific context and properties
An Integrated Framework for The Value Focused Thinking Methodology
Full text linkIn this paper we presented an integrated framework for the Value Focused Thinking (VFT) methodology that attempts to address issues that have not been adequately addressed. This framework provides several benefits including: the elicitation and high quality definition of objectives that incorporates organizational-oriented & domain- oriented concerns and knowledge, and the automatic generation of the alternate solutions that best satisfy the objectives, constraints and preference values. The proposed framework could contribute to a more effective application of the VFT methodolog
A context-aware data mining process model based framework for supporting evaluation of data mining results
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Structuring IS Outsourcing Contracts for Mutual Gain: An Approach to Analyzing Performance Incentive Schemes
Full text linkAs information systems managers come under increasing pressure to improve the cost performance of information processing, outsourcing has become an important management strategy. Although information systems outsourcing is now a major industry, it is still a new decision problem for many managers. As managers gain more and more experience with IS outsourcing, satisfaction with vendor performance is becoming a major issue. Key to managing outsourcing relationships is the outsourcing contract. These contracts assign responsibilities and rewards for the parties. However, improperly or incompletely written contracts have lead to adverse problems. How then are managers to choose from a set of options that which is most appropriate for their firm? Outsourcing problems are complex and entail considerable implications for the strategy of the firm. Although many articles have appeared on outsourcing, few have extended the discussion beyond simple cost-benefit analysis. Contracts that encourage vendor performance and discourage under-performance are clearly of interest to managers. In this paper, an approach to analyzing incentive schemes and structuring outsourcing contracts for the mutual gain of the parties is presented. The approach provides managers with a strategy and techniques for analyzing some of the more subtle issues they may face when dealing with complex outsourcing decision problems
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