Customer Interaction in Software Development: A Comparison of Software Methodologies Deployed in Namibian Software Firms

• Iyawa, Gloria Ejehiohen ^[1] ; Herselman, Marlien E ^[2] ; Coleman, Alfred ^[2]
  1. [1] University of Namibia

     University of Namibia

     Namibia

     
  2. [2] University of South Africa

     University of South Africa

     City of Tshwane, Sudáfrica

     
• Localización: EJISDC: The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries, ISSN-e 1681-4835, Nº. 77, 2016
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1002/j.1681-4835.2016.tb00560.x
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• Resumen

  • Software methodologies provide guidelines for the development of software applications. Studies reveal that customer interaction in the software development process improves the chances that software applications will meet customers’ needs. Despite a number of software methodologies introduced and a comparison of these methodologies, there is a dearth of studies that empirically investigate customer interaction between these software methodologies within the Namibian context. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in customer interaction between software methodologies deployed in Namibian software firms. The study adopted a qualitative, case study approach. Data was collected through standardized, open-ended interviews. The findings show that the methodologies deployed in Namibian software firms include the waterfall model, Scrum, iterative model, eXtreme Programming (XP), and rapid application development (RAD). The findings also reveal that although there was in-depth customer interaction in Scrum, the iterative model, XP and RAD, customer interaction in the software development process could also be challenging. The findings provide useful insights in software methodologies deployed in Namibian software firms and the experience within the Namibian context. An implication for software project managers and software developers is that customer interaction should be properly managed to ensure that the software methodologies for improving software development processes are effectively deployed.