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Clinical performance monitoring applications enable performance management of care processes in clinical settings. Although information technology has been advocated as a solution to support the provision of better care, the development of clinical performance monitoring applications is often a non-trivial task. A high rate of failure in IT healthcare project implementations has been reported in the literature due to the disconnect between clinicians and the development team. Furthermore, challenges inherent to the configuration of the healthcare system add to the complexity of developments. Often data sources are not adequately structured or cannot be accessed in a timely fashion; processes are uncoordinated or ill-defined; a plethora of information technologies across different healthcare organizations make interoperability problematic; and there are concerns related to privacy and security. Getting the right information to measure the achievement of the right goals at the right time for the right people is the main task to address when developing clinical performance monitoring applications. In this thesis we propose a development methodology that combines technical and managerial aspects of application development following a user-centered approach. It involves the engagement of stakeholders and users throughout in a three phase iterative process of modeling, implementation and evaluation to ensure user acceptance and adoption of applications when deployed. In particular, our focus is on the development of mobile clinical performance monitoring applications, where raw data about clinical problems are logged by healthcare providers and then transformed into meaningful reports that will support decision-making. The development methodology is evaluated using a case study of a Resident Practice Profile (RPP) application that was developed by a team lead by Dr. Gary Viner from the University of Ottawa medical school.

The development of e-government systems in South Africa has raised major concerns when coming to the systems development methodology used. Through the literature review conducted and the data collected, the study has indicated that there is lack of uniformity, isolated cost, models for choosing project teams and the overall control of the whole process of e-government systems development. As a result, this research investigates the use of systems development methodologies in the development of e-government systems. The study followed the qualitative research method; interviews were conducted in four case studies involved in the development of e-government systems. The collected data were then analysed using a software analytical tool called Atlas ti. 6.1. Subsequently a cross-case analysis was performed on the four case studies. The research findings of this study indicated that the appropriate use of systems development methodologies in the development of e-government systems helps improve the quality of e-government systems, reduces development costs, and also makes the development process effective and efficient. Based on the information gathered from the four case studies, developers in government find it difficult to select a suitable systems development methodology to use when developing e-government systems. Therefore the study proposes a conceptual framework that can be used to select the appropriate systems development methodology when developing e-government systems. This framework is made up of characteristics of e-government systems and different types of systems development methodologies. / MSc (Computer Sciences), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The development of e-government systems in South Africa has raised major concerns when coming to the systems development methodology used. Through the literature review conducted and the data collected, the study has indicated that there is lack of uniformity, isolated cost, models for choosing project teams and the overall control of the whole process of e-government systems development. As a result, this research investigates the use of systems development methodologies in the development of e-government systems. The study followed the qualitative research method; interviews were conducted in four case studies involved in the development of e-government systems. The collected data were then analysed using a software analytical tool called Atlas ti. 6.1. Subsequently a cross-case analysis was performed on the four case studies. The research findings of this study indicated that the appropriate use of systems development methodologies in the development of e-government systems helps improve the quality of e-government systems, reduces development costs, and also makes the development process effective and efficient. Based on the information gathered from the four case studies, developers in government find it difficult to select a suitable systems development methodology to use when developing e-government systems. Therefore the study proposes a conceptual framework that can be used to select the appropriate systems development methodology when developing e-government systems. This framework is made up of characteristics of e-government systems and different types of systems development methodologies. / MSc (Computer Sciences), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

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Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The primary intent of this study was to seek solutions to the practical problems experienced by practitioners in their management of child abuse cases. A fundamental problem regarding the current management of child abuse is that there is no guarantee that a child entering the child protective system will be dealt with in terms of a set procedure and/or protected against further abuse. To address this problem in the Western Cape, the Intervention Research (IR) methodology (Rothman & Thomas, 1994) was used to develop a Protocol for the Multi-Disciplinary Management of Child Abuse and Neglect. The protocol was designed for agencies that intervene in instances of child abuse. It establishes criteria and procedures for interdisciplinary co-ordination and effective case management, delineates the professional roles and responsibilities and provides step-by-step intervention procedures.

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According to recent surveys on the use of systems development methodologies, many organizations claim that they are adapting systems development methodologies (Hardy et al. 1995; Russo et al. 1996; Fitzgerald, 1998). The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the adaptation of systems development methodologies in South Africa. This problem was investigated by addressing the following research questions: • What are the perceptions of system developers regarding systems development methodologies? • Why do system developers adapt system development methodologies? • How do they adapt the methodologies? • Is there a difference in the quality of the systems which are developed with these adapted systems development methodologies opposed to those systems which are developed according to a specific formalised methodology? In this dissertation, interpretive case studies have been used to add to the researcher's knowledge concerning how and why systems development methodologies in South Africa are adapted. Qualitative interviewing was used as a data collection method. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. The next step was to analyse the transcribed data. In this study, content analysis with cross-case analysis was used. The findings obtained were confirmed by making use of triangulation and member checking. The results indicated that although the use of systems development methodologies is mandatory in organizations, it is not enforced by senior employees. Organizations use multiple systems development methodologies. Systems development methodologies are adapted due to several reasons, i.e. financial gains that is obtained, the lack of knowledge, time limitations, the fact that methodologies are not universally applicable, etc. Systems development methodologies are statically and dynamically adapted by adding and removing steps. The combination of methodologies and switching between methodologies also occur. The results indicate that developers realize that formal systems development methodologies produce systems of a higher quality. However, because it is so time-consuming, they are prepared to accept a lower quality system in order to gain a faster delivery time. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.