The ever increasing expenditure and investment in information technology (IT) has been accompanied by an increasing demand to measure the business value of IT. The impact of IT on improving the productivity and performance of organisations has been varied. While some organisations have realised gains, other organisations have found the business value of IT to be elusive. In most organisations a large portion of senior management’s time is being spent on finding methods to measure the contribution of the organisations’ IT investments to business performance. IT investments in organisations are huge and increasing rapidly year on year and yet there is a lack of understanding of the impact of proper IT investment evaluation processes and practices in these organisations. This is applicable to South Africa and thus one can argue that a detailed program of research into the current practice and process of the business value of IT in South Africa is warranted. This masters dissertation which, has evolved from IT evaluation literature, is to highlight the differences between IT literature and what occurs in practice. The research objective utilised an existing questionnaire which was sent to large South African organisations to assess the understanding and activities performed by these organisations regarding the business value of IT. The aim was to investigate the business value of IT and benefits management and realisation in South African organisations so as to highlight the current practices and norms in this area and to serve as a basis for understanding and communicating findings and implications for South African organisations in general. / Mrs. D. Groenewald

M. Tech. Business Information Systems / Today, and in the past few years, organizations have supported and continue to support their business strategies by enabling technology based Information Systems, that enhance their business processes. Information Systems has become an essential tool to enable real time decision making, monitoring, planning and thus supports organizations to be more competitive, by improving productivity and reducing costs. Organizations are facing lots of challenges during Information Systems projects which cost them dearly. There are many factors that influence Information Systems projects and these factors must not be ignored. The research argument driving this dissertation is that if these factors are identified, understood and considered, organizations may leverage the challenges currently experienced. This dissertation is about describing and analysing factors that influence Information Systems projects. If understood, these factors can be used to minimize failures in Information Systems development projects

M. Tech. Business Information Systems / The technological world is emerging and advancing rapidly. Organisations aspire to meet their business goals and strategic objectives. IT projects have the ability to enable organisations meet their business goals and objectives hence organisations invest a lot of time and money on implementing them. The increasing need for organisations to use technology has made organisations implement IT projects. IT projects are implemented to achieve efficiency and effectiveness that is crucial in achieving business goals and strategic objectives. Other benefits include, improved and increased customer satisfaction, improved growth and development within the teams and competitive advantage. Despite an increase in studies on the performance metrics for IT project success in organisations, IT projects still fail. Many IT Projects are considered failed when they are not delivered on time, not delivered within budget, and when the delivered solution does not meet the business requirements. This research study aimed at determining the performance metrics for IT project success within a financial organisation

M. Tech. Business Information Systems / Technology has become essential to the running of many enterprises in the modern world as it can enable businesses and help them operate more efficiently and effectively. Information Systems are developed to help in the daily running of business operations. Information systems projects are undertaken to manage the delivery of these Information Systems and enable the business through technology solutions. However, not all projects succeed in delivering their required solution and benefits. This dissertation is about understanding how Information Systems projects are managed and how that could be improved. The study, underpinned by the Work System Theory, explored Information Systems project management; it reveals how Information Systems projects are managed and the factors influencing project failure or success. This goal of this research was to conceptualise a framework for improving the management of Information Systems projects.

M. Tech. Business Information Systems / Information Technology projects can fail for any number of reasons and in some cases can result in considerable financial losses for the organisations that undertake them. One pattern of failure that has been observed but seldom studied is the IT project that seems to take on a life of its own, continuing to absorb valuable resources without reaching its objective. The research study investigated the different challenges and failures of IT projects and looked at the root causes of these failures and how to overcome them. This research study was informed by the use of a case study of Liberty Life, one of the largest financial service providers in South Africa. The primary research question that informs this research study is: How mature is the organisation in implementing Information Technology projects.

Thesis (Mcomm)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The focus of this research was to compile a practical, step by step approach that can be followed by those persons charged with the governance of enterprises in South Africa to successfully bridge the information technology gap. The King Code of Corporate Governance for South Africa and the King Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa (together KINGIII) was identified as a starting point for the compilation of the approach. KINGIII is the corporate governance standard in South Africa and in the introduction to KINGIII it is recommended that the principles contained in the Code should be implemented by all entities. KINGIII is the third report on governance issued by the King Committee and introduced governance principles for Information Technology (IT). The Code contains seven IT governance principles and 24 recommended practices. The application of the IT governance principles of KINGIII, as well as the related recommended practices, is a complicated endeavour. This is partly because IT in itself is complex and also partly because the governance of IT is a relatively new area of corporate governance. Through a detailed study of the seven IT governance principles of KINGIII, as well as the related recommended practices and narrative discussions, it was identified that in order to successfully implement IT governance, a company has to establish and implement an IT governance framework which includes relevant structures, processes and mechanisms to enable IT to deliver value to the business. It was also identified that the IT governance framework has to facilitate and enhance the company’s ability to reach its stated objectives by ensuring that the most appropriate decisions are made in respect of the incorporation of IT into the operations of the business. Lastly, it was identified that a company must acquire and use appropriate technology and people to support its business.To address the requirement for the establishment and implementation of relevant structures, processes and mechanisms, a framework of 33 IT governance practices was identified, mapped to the IT governance principles of KINGIII and an analysis performed. Through this analysis the IT governance practices that can be utilised to implement the IT governance principles of KINGIII were identified and discussed. To address the requirement of ensuring that the framework facilitates that the most appropriate decisions are made in respect of the incorporation of IT into the operations of the business, five key decisions that have to be made in respect of IT was identified and discussed. The five decisions were mapped to (1) the KINGIII principles to demonstrate which of the IT governance principles are addressed by each of the decisions and (2) the IT governance structures identified in the framework above to demonstrate which of the IT governance structures can be used to provide input into taking the relevant decision and which can be used to take the decision. Finally, to address the requirement that a company must acquire and use appropriate people and technology to support its business, a framework of organizational competencies required in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) was identified and mapped to (1) the KING III principles to demonstrate which of the IT governance principles could be addressed by each of the relevant competencies and (2) to the five key IT decisions identified above to demonstrate which of the competencies can be utilised to make each of the five key decisions. Based on the findings of the research conducted as set out above, the practical, step by step approach was compiled. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die fokus van hierdie navorsing was die samestelling van ‘n praktiese, stapsgewyse benadering wat gebruik kan word deur daardie persone wat verantwoordelik is vir die korporatiewe beheer van ondernemings in Suid Afrika om suksesvol die inligtings tegnologie (IT) gaping te oorbrug. Die King Code of Corporate Governance for South Africa en die King Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa (gesamentlik KINGIII), was geidentifiseer as ‘n beginpunt vir die samestelling van die benadering. KINGIII is die korporatiewe beheer standaard in Suid Afrika en in die inleiding tot KINGIII word alle ondernemings aanbeveel om die korporatiewe beheer beginsels en gepaardgaande aanbeveelde praktyke te implementeer. KINGIII is die derde verslag oor korporatiewe beheer wat deur die King Komitee uitgereik is en het korporatiewe beheer beginsels met betrekking tot IT bekend gestel. KINGIII bevat sewe koporatiewe beheer beginsels wat met IT verband hou, asook 24 aanbeveelde korporatiewe beheer praktyke. Die toepassing van die IT korporatiewe beheer beginsels van KINGIII, asook die aanbeveelde praktyke, is ‘n ingewikkelde onderneming. Dit is gedeeltelik omdat IT self kompleks is, maar ook omdat die korporatiewe beheer van IT ‘n relatiewe nuwe area van korporatiewe beheer is. Deur middel van ‘n in diepte studie van die sewe korporatiewe beheer beginsels van KINGIII, insluitend die aanbeveelde korporatiewe beheer praktyke en besprekings, is daar geïndetifiseer dat ‘n IT korporatiewe beheer raamwerk saamgestel en geimplementeer moet word as deel van die implementering van korporatiewe beheer oor IT. Hierdie IT korporatiewe beheer raamwerk moet relevante strukture, prosesse en meganismes bevat wat IT daartoe instaat sal stel om waarde toe te voeg tot die onderneming. Dit is ook geïdentifiseer dat die IT korporatiewe beheer raamwerk die onderneming se vermoeë om sy doelstellings te bereik moet verbeter deur te verseker dat die mees gepaste besluite geneem word met betrekking tot die integrasie van IT in die bedrywighede van die onderneming. Laastens is daar geïdentifiseer dat ‘n maatskappy toepaslike tegnologie en mense moet bekom en aanwend om die bedrywighede van die onderneming te ondersteun. Om die vereiste vir die samestelling en implementering van relevante strukture, prosesse en meganismes aan te spreek, is ‘n raamwerk van 33 IT korporatiewe beheer praktyke geïdentifiseer, kruisverwys na die IT korporatiewe beheer beginsels van KINGIII en verder ontleed. Deur hierdie ontleding is die IT koporatiewe beheer praktyke wat aangewend kan word om die IT korporatiewe beheer beginsels te implementeer geïdentifiseer en bespreek. Om die vereiste aan te spreek dat die raamwerk fasiliteer dat die mees gepaste besluite geneem word met betrekking tot die integrasie van IT in die bedrywighede van die onderneming, is vyf sleutel besluite wat in verband met IT geneem moet word geïdentifiseer en bespreek. Die vyf besluite is (1) kruisverwys na die IT korporatiewe beheer beginsels van KINGIII om te demonstreer watter IT korporatiewe beheer beginsels deur elke besluit aangespreek word en (2) na die IT korporatiewe beheer strukture wat in die bogenoemde raamwerk geidentifiseer is om aan te dui watter IT korporatiewe beheer strukture gebruik kan word om insette te verskaf vir die neem van die vyf sleutel besluite en watter strukture gebruik kan word om die besluite te neem. Laastens, om die vereiste aan te spreek dat ‘n maatskappy toepaslike tegnologie en mense moet bekom en aanwend om sy bedrywighede te ondersteun, is ‘n raamwerk van organisatoriese bevoegdhede wat benodig word in klein tot medium-groote ondernemings (SME’s) geïdentifiseer en kruisverwys na (1) die KINGIII korporatiewe beheer beginsels om aan te dui watter IT korporatiewe beheer beginsels deur die relevante bevoegdhede aangespreek word en (2) na die vyf sleutel besluite wat hierbo geïdentifiseer is om aan te dui watter van die bevoegdhede aangewend kan word om elkeen van die vyf sleutel besluite te neem. Die stapsgewyse benadering tot die korporatiewe beheer van IT is gevolglik saamgestel met verwysing na die bevindinge van die navorsing wat uitgevoer is soos hierbo uiteengesit.

M. Tech. Business Administration / It has been noted that in developing countries, including South Africa, many projects on e-Government implementation have failed, while others have added very little value to the everyday lives of the citizenry. Broad reasons for the partial success or failure are related, inter alia, to people, policy, process or infrastructure. According to the management report of 2010 SITA (PTY) Ltd, there are many factors affecting the implementation of e-Government services. In terms of governance, there is a lack of both vision and consultation. In addition, there no is centralised budget for e-Government projects. The other challenge faced by SITA is that of skills inefficiency, as well as lack of technological upgrading that affects e-Government. In terms of process, employees are working in silos; there is no collaboration, and e-Government is a non-integrated service delivery process. The research purpose can be stated into the following objective: To identify governance, technology and financial factors that affect effective implementation of e-Government services at SITA (PTY) Ltd.

Thesis (MTech (Quality)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009 / Corporate governance is viewed as one of the topical issues of the 21st century. Little focus has however been directed to date at the specific application of corporate governance to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) outsourcing companies. The research problem, which was researched reads as follows: “The application of inadequate or poorly formulated governance mechanisms within ICT outsourcing companies invariably lead to poor service delivery and substandard quality of outsourced deliverables, and which could ultimately lead to the outsourcing contract being cancelled at a significant loss of jobs and revenue to the industry”. The research question which was researched to mitigate the research problem, reads as follows: “Can a generic governance framework be formulated to address the specific governance requirements of ICT outsourcing organisations?” As a result, the objective of the research was to assess the extent to which known governance reference models, frameworks and standards address the specific governance requirements of ICT outsourcing companies. The case study research method was utilised for the research as this type of research method allows for the establishment of in-depth data concerning the current governance mechanisms within the target organisation. The research study was supported by a governance efficiency survey conducted on a South African subsidiary of a multinational ICT outsourcing company, where the director‟s duties in respect of IT governance, were assessed. The questionnaire used in this research comprised of closed questions, based on the well known Likert scale. Primary data gleaned from the research survey was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The survey returned that, although best practices pertaining to „governance‟ are mature, openly available and clearly described in literature, they are not necessarily widely adopted. This implies that in many organisations, there is significant room for improvement in the IT governance domain. The research furthermore returned that current known governance reference models, frameworks and standards to a limited extent, address the specific governance requirements of ICT outsourcing companies. A generic IT Governance Framework was developed, providing a valuable contribution to the improvement of customer satisfaction levels, by suggesting practical models for the integration of processes, the organisation design of the service provider and outsource client, and the relationship between „governance‟ and „quality‟.

D.Phil. / The dependancy of academic information services on information technology is growing, particularly as information technology is the primary infrastructure of a digital library . This is compounded by the fast changing/developing nature of information technology and the trend towards digitisation. The changing nature of information technology contributes to the need to manage it. The focus of this thesis is on the management of information technology with specific reference to the changing nature of this resource. The problem addressed is: What is the most effective way (model) of managing changing information technology in academic information services and how can the disciplines of the management of change and the management of technology be used to find such a way? To solve this problem and to find a suitable model with which to manage information technology the management of change as well the management of technology was studied. In doing so 11 variables (which should be included in a management model) were distilled from the literature. Directors of academic information services in the South African tertiary sector were approached to rank the variables, an exercise that indicated the more important variables in the South African context. The ranking was as follows: Vision of the role of information technology in the enterprise Integrated strategic information technology and business plans of the enterprise Environmental scanning Available resources in the enterprise Centralised management responsibility Information technology standards and architecture Technological forecasting Market analysis The human aspect with reference to mankind's influence on and use of technology Evaluation of the information technology Risk assessment. Of these 11 variables, the first six were identified as key criteria. When existing information technology models were evaluated, these key criteria were used as the most important measures of effectiveness. However, attempts to find a suitable existing model that accommodates all six key criteria were unsuccessful. Equally, the effort to find a model which could be adapted to meet the criteria, was unproductive, though an effort was made to enhance the most promising model. In the process it has also been established that there are additional measures to which a successful model must comply. The development of a new model was embarked upon with success. The development of the model was done in two stages. The first effort was limited to the six key variables, while it was expanded in the second attempt to include all 11 variables. The model reflects both the relationships between the variables and the influences exerted between them. In designing a model for the management of information technology, it was discovered that the aim or goal of the model should be an integral part of the model. Integrating the goal resulted in clarity and contributed towards understanding the relationships and influences between the variables. In evaluating the model after completion, it was concluded that none of the 11 variables were unique or restricted to the tertiary sector or to South Africa. This conclusion is significant because it implies that the model can be applied as a general model for the management of information technology, irrespective of economic sector or geographic location.

A mini-dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Educational Psychology) in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at the University of Zululand, 2004. / This study investigates the validity of the General Scholastic Aptitude Test as a tool for predicting academic success for first year Information Technology (IT) students. Secondly it seeks to establish if it is an equally good predictor for the various racial groups in South Africa. Thirdly it investigates it’s usefulness as a predictor for the different gender groups. The final aim is to establish whether the GSAT correlates with the Swedish Rating (SR) and English language ability in terms of predicting academic success for first year IT students. The student group that served as the sample was the first year IT student group over the three year peroid from 2000 to 2002 at the Port Elizabeth (PE) Technikon. The study found that there was a weak link between GSAT and academic success across the entire sample. It however proved not to be an equally good predictor across all the racial groups, where it proved to be a far more useful tool for white students than for students from the other racial groups. Insofar as the gender groups were concerned it appeared to have some predictive power across the whole sample but not necessarily equally for the different gender and racial groups. There appeared to be a positive correlation between GSAT and Swedish Rating but not between GSAT and English language ability. From this study it appears that the GSAT has some merit in predicting academic success, although with differing rates of usefulness across different demographic groupings in South Africa. In addition there are many other factors that may militate against academic success in a student’s life which may hinder the usefulness of the GSAT as a predictive tool. If such assessments are to be used it would seem that they should be used very carefully, that factors reducing the chances of academic success need to be identified, and that institutions ensure that programmes are in place to empower students to maximize their potential.