Authors:
Diana Kirk
and
Stephen G. MacDonell
Affiliation:
Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
Keyword(s):
Software Practices, Software Organisations, Research Model.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Artificial Intelligence
;
Business Process Management
;
e-Business
;
Enterprise Engineering
;
Enterprise Information Systems
;
Knowledge Management and Information Sharing
;
Knowledge-Based Systems
;
Service-Oriented Software Engineering and Management
;
Software and Systems Development Methodologies
;
Software Engineering
;
Software Process Improvement
;
Symbolic Systems
Abstract:
It is widely acknowledged by researchers and practitioners that software development methodologies are generally adapted to suit specific project contexts. Research into practices-as-implemented has been fragmented and has tended to focus either on the strength of adherence to a specific methodology or on how the efficacy of specific practices is affected by contextual factors. We submit the need for a more holistic, integrated approach to investigating context-related best practice. We propose a six-dimensional model of the problem-space, with dimensions organisational drivers (why), space and time (where), culture (who), product life-cycle stage (when), product constraints (what) and engagement constraints (how). We test our model by using it to describe and explain a reported implementation study. Our contributions are a novel approach to understanding situated software practices and a preliminary model for software contexts.