<p>Den här rapporten behandlar frågeställningen om hur man kan anpassa systemutvecklingav ett informationssystem enligt livscykelmodellen till att inkludera användbarhetstester. </p><p>Frågeställningen grundar sig i att god användbarhet inte är ett explicit uttryckt mål i Andersens beskrivning av livscykelmodellen. För att besvara frågeställningen har vi utvecklat och testat ett bokningssystem åt en mindre verksamhet. Utvecklingsarbetet har bedrivits enligt en egen anpassning av livscykelmodellen. Testerna har utförts enligt metoden c<i>ooperativ evaluation. </i></p><p>Frågeställningen besvaras genom att vi presenterar hur vi har gått tillväga för att inbegripa testerna i utvecklingsprocessen. De delar av informationssystemet som vi utvärderat beskrivs i rapporten. </p><p>Testerna hjälpte till att identifiera problem i systemets gränssnitt som annars troligen inte skulle ha upptäckts förrän slutanvändarna fått tillgång till systemet. </p><p>Slutsatserna är att det är möjligt, och dessutom önskvärt ur användbarhetssynpunkt, att innefatta användbarhetstester i utveckling av informationssystem. </p> / <p>This reports regards the question of how one can adjust system development according to the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) to include usability testing. </p><p>The question is based on the fact that usability isn’t an explicit goal in Andersen description of the SDLC. To answer this question we have developed and tested an information system for a small business. The development has been carried on according to an own adaptation of the SDLC. The testings have been performed in accordance with the Cooperativ evaluation method. </p><p>The question is answered by the presentation of our adaptation to include the tests in the development process. The parts of the information system we have evaluated are described in the report. </p><p>The tests helped to identify problems in the user interface which otherwise probably would not have been discovered until the end user gotten access to the system. </p><p>The conclusions are that it is possible, and furthermore desirable from a usability point of view, to include usability testing duringthe development of information systems.</p>

The need for information systems has increased to a point where virtually all business environments require some sort of software to aid in its daily operations. This study will address the need for quality information systems by examining techniques which can potentially aid in producing consistent high-quality information systems. Two techniques in particular, namely Process Maturity Models (PMMs) and Systems Development Methodologies (SDMs) are examined. Process Maturity Models such as the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) as well as the ISO-9000 standards aid in standardising and improving an organisation’s information systems development processes. These Process Maturity Models often require either the use of certain Systems Development Methodologies or at the very least techniques used within some Systems Development Methodologies. Systems Development Methodologies refer to a set of development processes, tools, techniques etc. which can be used during software development to standardise the entire development process by offering the use of modelling techniques, tools to analyse requirements, illustration of processes etc. These techniques differ from one Systems Development Methodology to the next. This study aims to identify the relationship between Process Maturity Models and Systems Development Methodologies. During the research process a questionnaire was sent out to people within the information technology business environment. The questionnaire contained questions used to determine and measure the usage of Systems Development Methodologies and how projects were affected. The questionnaire was also used to do an informal assessment of each respondent’s Capability Maturity Model level. Furthermore the data retrieved was statistically analysed and the results were interpreted. The results indicate that a relationship exists between the use of SDMs and the success of the respondent’s development processes and developed products. A total of 73% of respondents indicated that they do use SDMs to some extent, the most common being the Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC). The majority of organizations implementing SDMs have been doing so for three years or more. Results also show that most of the respondents are not certified in some formal Process Maturity Model; however, they do implement some of the processes required by models such as the CMMI. An informal assessment performed indicated that 65% of respondents can be grouped into a perceived CMMI level 2 category. Project outcome was measured and the relationship between PMM implementation as well as SDM use was measured. Results show no statistical evidence which indicates that an organisation’s perceived CMMI level is influenced by SDM use, both vertically and horizontally. Results do, however, indicate that organizations which have been implementing SDMs for a longer period of time are more likely to apply CMMI level 4 activities. Results also indicate that the horizontal use (number of projects/people which implement SDM knowledge) of SDMs have a significant effect on the development process- and the developed product success. Lastly the results indicated that organizations which satisfy more of the CMMI’s level 4 activities experience a higher quality development process which leads to a more successful development process. / Thesis (MSc (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The need for information systems has increased to a point where virtually all business environments require some sort of software to aid in its daily operations. This study will address the need for quality information systems by examining techniques which can potentially aid in producing consistent high-quality information systems. Two techniques in particular, namely Process Maturity Models (PMMs) and Systems Development Methodologies (SDMs) are examined. Process Maturity Models such as the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) as well as the ISO-9000 standards aid in standardising and improving an organisation’s information systems development processes. These Process Maturity Models often require either the use of certain Systems Development Methodologies or at the very least techniques used within some Systems Development Methodologies. Systems Development Methodologies refer to a set of development processes, tools, techniques etc. which can be used during software development to standardise the entire development process by offering the use of modelling techniques, tools to analyse requirements, illustration of processes etc. These techniques differ from one Systems Development Methodology to the next. This study aims to identify the relationship between Process Maturity Models and Systems Development Methodologies. During the research process a questionnaire was sent out to people within the information technology business environment. The questionnaire contained questions used to determine and measure the usage of Systems Development Methodologies and how projects were affected. The questionnaire was also used to do an informal assessment of each respondent’s Capability Maturity Model level. Furthermore the data retrieved was statistically analysed and the results were interpreted. The results indicate that a relationship exists between the use of SDMs and the success of the respondent’s development processes and developed products. A total of 73% of respondents indicated that they do use SDMs to some extent, the most common being the Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC). The majority of organizations implementing SDMs have been doing so for three years or more. Results also show that most of the respondents are not certified in some formal Process Maturity Model; however, they do implement some of the processes required by models such as the CMMI. An informal assessment performed indicated that 65% of respondents can be grouped into a perceived CMMI level 2 category. Project outcome was measured and the relationship between PMM implementation as well as SDM use was measured. Results show no statistical evidence which indicates that an organisation’s perceived CMMI level is influenced by SDM use, both vertically and horizontally. Results do, however, indicate that organizations which have been implementing SDMs for a longer period of time are more likely to apply CMMI level 4 activities. Results also indicate that the horizontal use (number of projects/people which implement SDM knowledge) of SDMs have a significant effect on the development process- and the developed product success. Lastly the results indicated that organizations which satisfy more of the CMMI’s level 4 activities experience a higher quality development process which leads to a more successful development process. / Thesis (MSc (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Den här rapporten behandlar frågeställningen om hur man kan anpassa systemutvecklingav ett informationssystem enligt livscykelmodellen till att inkludera användbarhetstester. Frågeställningen grundar sig i att god användbarhet inte är ett explicit uttryckt mål i Andersens beskrivning av livscykelmodellen. För att besvara frågeställningen har vi utvecklat och testat ett bokningssystem åt en mindre verksamhet. Utvecklingsarbetet har bedrivits enligt en egen anpassning av livscykelmodellen. Testerna har utförts enligt metoden cooperativ evaluation. Frågeställningen besvaras genom att vi presenterar hur vi har gått tillväga för att inbegripa testerna i utvecklingsprocessen. De delar av informationssystemet som vi utvärderat beskrivs i rapporten. Testerna hjälpte till att identifiera problem i systemets gränssnitt som annars troligen inte skulle ha upptäckts förrän slutanvändarna fått tillgång till systemet. Slutsatserna är att det är möjligt, och dessutom önskvärt ur användbarhetssynpunkt, att innefatta användbarhetstester i utveckling av informationssystem. / This reports regards the question of how one can adjust system development according to the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) to include usability testing. The question is based on the fact that usability isn’t an explicit goal in Andersen description of the SDLC. To answer this question we have developed and tested an information system for a small business. The development has been carried on according to an own adaptation of the SDLC. The testings have been performed in accordance with the Cooperativ evaluation method. The question is answered by the presentation of our adaptation to include the tests in the development process. The parts of the information system we have evaluated are described in the report. The tests helped to identify problems in the user interface which otherwise probably would not have been discovered until the end user gotten access to the system. The conclusions are that it is possible, and furthermore desirable from a usability point of view, to include usability testing duringthe development of information systems.

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.

This study investigates the team aspects of a process improvement project situated in an Internet banking system maintenance and modification phase. To investigate how team processes could be improved in this context, four interventional change techniques were introduced and implemented during an action research study in which the researcher was included as one of the team members and participated during group meetings and discussions. Internet banking is an important Internet-delivered service which is expected to provide benefits for both commercial banks and bank customers. Internet banking allows bank customers to have the freedom to perform their financial activities at their convenience. Developing, maintaining, and improving Internet banking systems requires large amounts of investment to maintain high levels of Internet banking service quality, and the maintenance and modification phase of the overall lifecycle cost is a considerable part of this investment. Therefore, in order to ensure high levels of usability, reliability, and quality for these Internet banking services, commercial banks need to make significant investments in the maintenance and modification phases of their Internet banking systems' lifecycle. The four interventional change techniques used in this study were: departmental participation, equal participation, holistic scenario, and management support. The four techniques were found to be influential in developing process improvements in the maintenance and modification phase of Internet banking systems. These techniques generated several significant improvements which directly affected the way team members managed their work. The significant contributions of these interventional change techniques were: the creation of cross-functional multilevel teams, development of effective departmental participation and communication techniques, extended scope and knowledge by the team members of Internet banking systems, an increase in team learning and understanding, techniques to change problem structure, and an end to end problem-solving approach. ii These contributions also directly improved the performance of the Internet banking systems maintenance team, and there was a significant improvement in the outcomes of the Internet banking systems maintenance and modification phase.

<p>Systems development projects and their documents are more or less standardized and can mainly be applied on systems that are supposed to be built from scratch, or updated. In pace with the number of IT-systems are increasing worldwide there is no need for every organization to build their own IT-system. Nowadays it is also possible to purchase licenses which allow the purchaser to modify or add functions to the system. Along with those changes, there have been an increased amount of “rapid development methods” such as Agile and “Quick and Dirty” solutions, but these methods and perspectives are mainly focusing on entire systems development processes, as the old ones, but quicker.</p><p>If a company purchases an off-the-shelf system with source code available, there is no real need to go through a proper systems development process. During interviews with a small company that has acquired a system as mentioned above, the researcher realized that only one single document is needed, the requirements specification. Today’s requirements specifications can be either well detailed or less, but a project still needs the details specified. Combining a known agile development process with IEEE’s standardized requirements specification, a new way to proceed with projects based on one single document (the requirements specification) has been made. This document also has a focus on simplicity for the inexperienced readers, but with the depth that every developer has got a use for.</p>

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

<p>Logistics and Information System Development are hot topics in today’s business world. Although many studies have been conducted on these two areas, information about logistics costs is still lacking in many companies. Information Systems are tools that, if properly developed, aid organizations in processing data and providing information with speed, accuracy and quality to its intended users. A lacking in the relation between the business world and the Information System’s world was apparent in a studied company’s self-developed Enterprise Resource Planning system, where information about logistics costs was neglected. A case study made in this same studied company, show the importance of seven different logistics costs types and its related information. Using the analysis of the material gathered from both literary work and this case study, it was determined what information about logistics costs is neglected by the manufacturing organization’s self-developed ERP-system. Finally, it was concluded what information on these logistics costs that should be considered by manufacturing organizations for facilitating the understanding of total product cost of specific products and which may not be supported by these systems.</p>

<p><em>Knowledge has become one of the most important assets for companies nowadays. Knowledge Management (KM) uses organizational knowledge as a resource to make companies more competitive. Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) are gaining popularity, however, the failure rate remains high, with many projects not achieving their goals or being shut down early. KMS are often underestimated and treated as normal systems. IS practices do not cover certain aspects specific to KMS, aspects that do not show in other IS (e.g. socio-cultural issues). There are many studies concerning the KMS failures but they just focus on the symptoms and do not provide a solution to the problem. The goal of this master’s dissertation is to generate a preventive tool that will help the KM field. With The experience gained by working in a real KMS project within a textile agency in Sweden and relevant literature, an Information Systems Design Theory (ISDT) for KMS was developed. As some authors suggest, KM needs an ISDT of it’s own. An ISDT will guide practitioners through the process by restricting practices and features of the system to a more effective set. It will also encourage the academia to work on this theory for its improvement, completion, and validation</em></p>