Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / This investigation is exploratory and seeks to gain an insight into the culture of IT organisations by using an SA based IT organisation as a case study. The initial assumptions are that the organisational culture in IT influences the business outcomes and the effectiveness of IT as a service provider to meet business demands. The finding of this investigation confirms the impact and significance of the IT organisational culture and describes how this manifests in the organisations performance.

Includes bibliographical references. / Studies show that women entrepreneurs are constrained and faced with challenges that inhibit the growth and performance of their businesses. Such challenges include race and gender differences, inadequate education, family responsibilities, lack of access to capital and other socio-cultural factors. However, with their human competencies, mobile technology and the appropriate business strategy, women-led small and medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) can steer their businesses to better performance. While the need for SMEs to align these three elements (human competencies, mobile technology and business strategy) has been suggested, there is limited knowledge on how SMEs can achieve this; no studies, to the author’s knowledge, have examined this in women-led SMEs. This study therefore sought to fill this gap by investigating how women-led SMEs can best align these three elements to enhance their business performance. In light of this, extensive literature review and theoretical work on the phenomenon was conducted. Given the existence of the interplay between these three elements (human competencies, mobile technology and business strategy), the study adopted the perspective of alignment as Gestalts as the most appropriate method in determining the best way women-led SMEs may align these three aspects.

Bibliography: pages 182-188. / The problems besetting software development and maintenance are well recorded and numerous strategies have been adopted over the years to overcome the so-called "software crisis". One increasingly popular strategy focuses on managing the processes by which software is built, maintained and managed. As such, many software organisations see software process improvement initiatives as an important strategy to help them improve their software development and maintenance performance. Two of the more popular software process improvement (SPI) models used by the software industry to help them in this endeavour are the Capability Maturity Model for Software (SW-CMM) from the Software Engineering Institute and the Software Process Improvement and Capability determination (SPICE) model from the International Standards Organisation. This research begins with the supposition that, although these SPI models have added significant value to many organisations, they have a potential shortcoming in that they tend to focus almost exclusively on the software process itself and seem to neglect other organisational aspects that could contribute to improved software development and maintenance performance. This research is concerned with exploring this potential shortcoming and identifying complementary improvement areas that the SW -CMM and SPICE models fail to address adequately. A theoretical framework for extending the SW-CMM and SPICE models is proposed. Thereafter complementary improvement areas are identified and integrated with the SW-CMM and SPICE models to develop an Extended SPI Model. This Extended SPI Model adopts a systemic view of software process and IS organisational improvement by addressing a wide range of complementary improvement considerations. A case study of an SPI project is described, with the specific objective of testing and refining the Extended SPI Model. The results seem to indicate that the framework and Extended SPI Model are largely valid, although a few changes were made in light of the findings of the case study. Finally, the implications of the research for both theory and practice are discussed.

Graduate employability has been a common subject among researchers, governments and higher education systems around the world. However, while there is a lot of information and numerous models that inform on graduate employability, there has been limited empirical research in this area. Furthermore, most employability studies have been conducted in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world, which may not be representative of the South African environment. Despite Information Technology (IT) being one of the most sought after qualification by employers in South Africa, it still remains unclear as to why many IT graduates struggle to secure jobs after graduation. This study provides insight into the concept of employability in South Africa, with a particular focus on Information Systems (IS) graduates in Cape Town. The study addresses three research questions: What individual factors affect the employability of IS graduates in Cape Town, South Africa? Who is responsible for graduate employability in South Africa? How can employability be embedded into South African curriculums? The study was guided by Dacre Pool and Sewell's (2007) CareerEDGE model, and Yorke and Knight's (2006) definition of employability. Data was collected from 19 individuals using focus group and in-depth interviews. Results showed that career development learning, experience (work and life), degree subject knowledge, skills and understanding, generic skills, emotional intelligence, self-confidence and reflection and evaluation affected one's employability. Employers, graduates and academic institutions were each expected to play a role in graduate employability. To embed employability into curriculums, universities need to ensure that curriculums are aligned to industry needs, that there is a balance between the soft and hard skills taught and that effective methods of teaching are being used. Universities are also encouraged to incorporate experiential learning in their programs and to provide proper career guidance counselling services to students early in their degree studies, so that students can make informed decisions regarding career paths and goals, and start tailoring their skills accordingly. The research contributes to the existing literature and debate on graduate employability, and builds upon the employability factors and relationships defined by Dacre Pool and Sewell's (2007) CareerEDGE model. The research also contributes to the existing theories on employability by providing empirical evidence regarding individual graduate employability factors. Lastly the research provides recommendations for practice and for improving employability in graduates.

Technology advancement has resulted in the creation of new paradigms such as the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT is defined as the interconnectedness of devices or things through a path or network. The IoT is powered by Radio Frequency Identifiers (RFIDs), sensors, actuators, and the internet to enable an anytime, anyplace, with anything and anyone connection. The IoT is perceived as a major technological advancement in history, even though its enabling devices have been in existence for many years. The IoT is moving the digital world into an era where it will power billions of devices bringing about the transformation of products and services offered by businesses. The IoT is predicted to change business processes by the year 2020 while 33% of South African businesses are set to invest in the IoT in the next 3 years. Businesses that will invest in the devices or things that make up IoT are expected to gain more and grow exceptionally well when compared to other businesses in that same market that are not using the IoT. The IoT is changing the retail industry by providing new opportunities to businesses and its customers creating new efficiencies in the business structures resulting in the increase in revenue. The research took a subjective ontological stance with an interpretive view of reality using a deductive approach to theory employing the Technology Organisation Environment (TOE) Framework as a lens for the research. Data for this research was collected using a qualitative research approach using interviews as data collection method. For this research, heads of Information Technology (IT) were interviewed to answer the main research questions which included: 1. What is the potential use of IoT in South African retail businesses? 2. How can the South African retail environment potentially use IoT? 3. What are the potential benefits of using IoT in South African retail businesses? 4. What are the potential challenges of using IoT in South African retail businesses? The findings revealed that retail businesses in South Africa are potentially looking at using the IoT for business processes in the coming years. Currently, retail businesses are not extensively using IoT as the devices and things that power the IoT are not widely available in South Africa. Other barriers that limit uptake is the cost of IoT devices in South Africa and bandwidth. However, respondents stated that the benefits of the IoT outweigh its challenges. The data further revealed that the Return on Investment (ROI) in the IoT will not be realised immediately. Retail businesses are looking at using the IoT for internal business processes rather than customer interaction. Retailers believe that the South African environment is not ready for a fullyfleshed IoT structure such as Amazon Go or Monoprix as the average South African is not technologically savvy. These findings support the TOE Framework that assumes that the technology, organisation, and environment are the driving forces behind a decision to innovate technologically.

Supervisor: K.A. Johnstone Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-56).

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Word processed copy. / Includes bibliographical references. / This thesis aims to further the understanding of the conditions under which IT investments add value and conducts a replication of a study by Dehning, Richardson and Zmud (2003) in the context of South Africa.

Includes abstract. / Includes abstract. / The purpose of this study is to identify and present the concerns of project stakeholders in relation to Software Quality Assurance (SQA) in a Scrum environment. Guided by the tenets of Classic Grounded Theory Methodology, this exploratory and inductive case study presents a broad range of SQA concepts related to the main concern of “Meeting User Expectations”. In trying to resolve the main concern, the Scrum project stakeholders alluded to lack of “Concrete Guidance” on SQA strategies, tools, and techniques in Scrum. The lack of concrete guidance in Scrum requires a development team to devise “Innovations” which may include “Adopting Practices” from other methodologies and carefully designing the “Process Structure” to accommodate the “Adopted Practices”, ensure “Continuous Improvement” of the process, and provide an environment for “Collaborative Ownership”. In addition to the “Need for Concrete Guidance”, the study reveals two other important concepts necessary for “Meeting User Expectations”: the “Need for Solid User Representation” and the “Need for Dedicated Testing”. While some Agile proponents claim that the Agile SQA practices are adequate on their own, the study reveals a number of challenges that impact on a team’s ability to meet user expectations when there is no dedicated tester in a Scrum environment.

Includes bibliographical references. / The importance of Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and Information Technology (IT) is widely acknowledged. Various government initiatives leverage both for socio-economic development and national growth. However, SMEs are characterised by lack of resources, which hamper IT value delivery. IT governance is a mechanism for maximizing IT value and has the potential for alleviating the barriers to IT use in SMEs. Notwithstanding its benefits, empirical evidence on IT governance in 5MBs is scant. The purpose of this research is to contribute to knowledge in this field. The literature suggests that IT governance and SMEs should be investigated from managerial, organizational and external perspectives. This research examined the impact of selected managerial, organisational and external characteristics of SMEs on IT governance practices and the relationship between such practices and IT value. Data was collected in a survey involving firms in the IT, finance, transport and retail sectors in three provinces in South Africa.