Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 133-143). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.S.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Computer Science. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S. in Software Engineering)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): James Bret Michael, Man-Tak Shing. Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-84). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2003. / Title from title screen (viewed June 20, 2003). "March 2003." Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-84). Also issued in paper format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 318-328). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.S.)--Worcester Polytechnic Institute. / Keywords: component adaptations; active interfaces; blackbox component adaptation; component specification language; software reuse. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D. in Software Engineering)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2003. / Dissertation supervisor: Luqi. Includes bibliographical references (p. 333-341). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S. in Software Engineering)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Mikhail Auguston, Christopher D. Miles. Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-61). Also available online.

The successful development of software continues to be of central interest, both as an academic topic and in professional practice. Consequently, several software development approaches and methodologies have been developed and promoted over the past decades. However, despite the attention given to the subject and the methodical support available, software development and how it should be practiced continue to be controversial. This thesis examines how beliefs about software development come to be socially established as legitimate, and how they come to constitute software development practices in an organization. It is argued that the emergence of a dominant way of conceiving of and practicing software development is the outcome of power relations that permeate the discursive practices of organizational actors. The theoretical framework of this study is guided by Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic violence and organizational discourse theory. As a research method, ethnographic research techniques are utilized as part of a case study to gain deep insights into the standardization of software development practices. The research site is the IT division of a large financial services organization and is composed of ten units distributed across eight countries. The tumultuous development of a knowledge management programme intended to institutionalize a standard software development process across the organization’s units provides the case for this research. This thesis answers the call for studies providing detailed accounts of the sociopolitical process by which technically oriented practices are transferred and standardized within organizations. It is submitted that a discourse theoretical approach informed by Bourdieu’s thinking enables us to conceptualize this process in a more meaningful, and theoretically rigorous, manner. In providing this theoretical approach, the thesis seeks to contribute to current research on technology and innovation management, and to offer guidance on some issues concerning the management of the software development process.

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