OpenUCT :: Browsing by Author "Smith, Derek"

Browsing by Author "Smith, Derek"

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Open Access
A Balanced Approach to IT Project Management
(2007) Smith, Derek; Brock, Susan; Hendricks, Danyal; Linnell, Stephen
The primary objectives of this study were to identify how IT projects can be managed using the Balanced Scorecard approach. Although the research is positioned to have potential application within international project management discipline, the analysis is limited to a South African project management perspective and only internal aspects of managing projects are considered.
Open Access
An analysis of the educational needs of end user and information systems personnel as perceived by each other
(1994) Du Plessis, Raoul; Smith, Derek
One of the basic needs of both information systems practitioners and academics is in determining what skills and knowledge staff need in order to be able to perform adequately in their jobs (Nelson : 1991). This study was concerned with the information technology and information systems learning needs of two distinct classes of personnel; end users and information systems personnel. More specifically, it examines the perceptions that each group has of the other's particular deficiencies. It also compares the importance that each group accords to skill or knowledge in particular items for their counterparts, and how these expectations match their counterparts' own perceptions of item importance. The study was thus concerned with cross-perceptions; the perceptions that each group has of the other. This study examined these perceptions by means of the analytical survey method. The research instrument used was an adapted version of an instrument previously validated and used by Nelson (1991). The research instrument was completed by 168 employees within ten different organizations. The findings suggest that within six different areas of knowledge and skill both end user and IS personnel perceived their counterparts to be most deficient in the area of general IS knowledge; particularly in knowledge of the fit between IS and the organization, the potential uses of IS/IT within the organization, and in the use of IS for competitive advantage. In addition, both groups of personnel perceived their counterparts to be particularly deficient ii') their ability to communicate effectively. The deficiency in general IS knowledge was aggravated by the finding that both groups expect their counterparts to carry more of the responsibility for knowledge in general IS matters than their counterparts appear willing to assume. The implication of this mismatch of expectations is that it must first be resolved by clarifying the respective roles and responsibilities of both end user and IS personnel before the deficiencies themselves can be dealt with.
Open Access
Career orientations and turnover intentions of information systems professionals in South Africa
(2004) Speight, Hilary; Smith, Derek
Managing Information Systems (IS) personnel has frequently been cited as a major challenge for organisations, particularly with respect to reducing and controlling the high rate of turnover that IS personnel have historically displayed. In the past, with demand for qualified IS personnel outstripping supply, alternative job openings were plentiful and organisations found it difficult to attract and retain sufficient staff. However, the last few years have seen significant cutbacks in IS spending, resulting in declining growth rates and a reduced demand for IS personnel. Although the South African IS job market does not appear to be as severely affected as in other parts of the world, and there are still pockets of high demand worldwide, it seems unlikely that the IS industry will return to its former glory in the foreseeable future. Despite these stringent market conditions, organisations continue to be plagued with high, and even more surprisingly, increasing turnover rates. This trend is particularly perturbing for organisations that are highly dependent on IS because of its negative implications. Employee turnover is costly and disrupting, often leading to delays in project completion, there is a loss of valuable expertise and productivity of the IS department is reduced. Although, this research project only considered IS personnel turnover at the individual level, there are many other factors related to the work and external environments that are believed to affect IS personnel turnover in South Africa. However, these factors which include organisational structure, perceived job market and government policy, are very difficult to measure and are often beyond the control of organisations endeavouring to reduce and control turnover; and as such were not explicitly studied.
Open Access
A changing global south? The emergence of the BASIC grouping
(2014) Kotze, Christoff Gideon; Smith, Derek
The rapid economic advancement of emerging economies in the South has come to effect a change within the nature of the global South and within the traditional North-South relationship more broadly. One development representative of a change within the global South as a unit has been the emergence of smaller, ad hoc, issue specific South-South groupings comprising the exclusive membership of emerging economies. While rooted in a common historic agenda of enabling a more equitable distribution of power for the South with the North, such new groupings have been increasingly independent and detached from the rest of the developing world. As such, they represent the ambitions of its members to garner more economic and political power within international politics. The BASIC grouping consisting of Brazil, South Africa, India and China represents an example, formed at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen as a bloc opposition against the suggested implementation of binding emissions reduction obligations for emerging economies as part of the global South. BASIC argued that this was primarily an issue of equity, departing from the “Common but Differentiated Responsibilities” between developed and developing states as agreed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992. While ostensibly arguing on behalf of the broader South, the formation of the BASIC grouping represents a detachment from the rest of the developing world, inspired in large by the growing economic and political ambitions of emerging economies. Inspired by the vestiges of a North - South relationship rooted in inequity and marginalisation, the formation of BASIC signifies a new direction of multilateralism that has come to define the changing nature of the global South, enabled by its increasingly powerful members.
Open Access
Enablers and moderators of telework : assessing the maturity of telework practices in organisations
(2012) Van der Merwe, Francois; Smith, Derek
Telework has been a subject of interest for many years to re- searchers and policy makers as it has the potential to benefit individuals, organisations and society. Enabled by information and communication technologies, telework has been in existence for over 35 years and even with significant technological improvements, telework has not achieved wide spread adoption. Of the many aspects of telework investigated, few studies have examined the effect of organisational features, which affect telework success. This research study examines the role of the organisation in telework adoption and explores the organisational factors that may positively or negatively influence telework diffusion.
Open Access
Enhancing information systems project team performance : team member selection strategies
(2001) Waker, Lionel; Smith, Derek
It is widely acknowledged that the information Systems (IS) industry suffers from a high failure rate with regards to IS development projects. Much of the effort to improve IS project performance has been focussed on technological issues. However, there is an increasing body of evidence that suggests that the nature of the problems facing the teams that are assigned to these projects is more sociological than technological. As the adoption and utilisation of teams becomes more prolific in the IS industry, it is becoming increasingly important to develop team composition methods that take the compatibility of team members into consideration. Many IS team member selection strategies are based primarily on the traditionally measurable skills of individuals. Yet, selecting a team in which the members have the appropriate skills does not guarantee that the individuals in the team will combine to form an effective and cohesive unit. Several team effectiveness models relating to sociological constructs have been developed in past research. These identify variables that have been predicted to inﬂuence the effectiveness of various types of teams. This research proposes a model that demonstrates the extent to which certain variables that have been identiﬁed in the literature inﬂuence the effectiveness of IS project teams. Through this assessment, it is possible to isolate the variables that have a signiﬁcant impact on IS team effectiveness, thereby highlighting some of the sociological issues that should be considered when selecting team members. The relationships in the model were tested through a questionnaire that was distributed amongst 33 Information Systems project teams. Individuals in 4 of the teams submitted incomplete responses, thereby yielding a ﬁnal sample of 29 teams comprising 163 individuals. Where possible, all questions were based on previously validated instruments. Initial construct validity was improved by removing 2 items from the questionnaire. Certain constructs were broken into 2 dimensions, yielding a set of constructs with reasonably high validity. All construct measures in the instrument were shown to be statistically reliable. It was found that certain variables did have a significant impact on the effectiveness of IS project teams. The predicted relationships that were supported were those between skill heterogeneity and IS team effectiveness, and between team role balance and IS team effectiveness. It was shown that individuals are more likely to combine to form an effective team if they are diverse in terms of their skills and abilities. The members should also fulﬁl team roles that combine to provide the team with a team role profile that is balanced. The levels of cohesion within the teams mediated the relationship between skill heterogeneity and IS team effectiveness. A strong correlation between cohesion and IS team effectiveness was demonstrated. One of the relationships in the research model that was not supported was that between background heterogeneity and IS team effectiveness. it was initially predicted that teams in which members displayed a diverse set of backgrounds, expertise, and experience would be more effective than those that did not. The diversity levels of these characteristics within IS project teams were shown to have no inﬂuence on the effectiveness of the teams. Past research in which the impact of background heterogeneity on team effectiveness has been examined has also yielded mixed results. It is recommended that future research examine this relationship more closely as an increasingly migrant global work force will ensure that this issue wilt be one of the key issues facing IS management in the future. It is also suggested that research into the area of IS team composition variables be speciﬁc to both the type of IS project being undertaken, and the lifecycle stage in which the project is operating.
Open Access
ERP projects : an examination of the factors influencing additional unplanned effort in the project life-cycle
(2005) Ng Cheong Tin, Marie Melina; Smith, Derek
For over a decade, ERP systems have been the target of significant amounts of investment in organisations. Some have reaped the benefits anticipated while others struggle to achieve the required level of success. In fact, based on available statistics, numerous organisations have faced problems in keeping their allocated budget and time schedules on track often facing the threat of failure, escalation or significant redirection in their projects. As a result, organisations are seen to spend what can be termed as additional unplanned effort (AUE) in order to try and achieve a certain level of success given budget and time constraints. Using the concept called AUE, derived from topics such as ERP project success and failure, the ERP life-cycle framework and critical success factors (CSFs) relevant to the life-cycle phases, this study attempted to investigate the factors that influence AUE in the phases ofthe ERP life-cycle which in this study consist of the pre-implementation and implementation phases specifically. A sub-objective was also to investigate the possible influence that the presence of factors, responsible for escalation of commitment (EoC) in IT projects, have on AUE in ERP projects. Based on a qualitative mUltiple case-study of 5 ERP projects at different organisations, results showed that there are several factors that influence AUE in satisfying CSFs in each phase of the life-cycle. Particularly, in the pre-implementation phase, factors such as the justification for ERP adoption, the formalisation of an ERP vision, the finalisation of an ERP package choice, the stability of organisational structure, the organisation and flow of the acquisition process, the nature of market conditions and the type of internal and external partnership were found important in influencing AUE in that phase. In the implementation phase factors such as the formalisation of an implementation strategy, the management of organisational momentum and resistance to change, the maintenance of external partnership relationships, conditions external to the organisation, the nature of the organisation and the management of project factors were found important.
Open Access
Examining user acceptance and effectiveness of critical chain project management : a longitudinal case study
(2003) Lu, Terry (Chen-Yen); Smith, Derek
Bibliography: leaves 84-90.
Open Access
Factors influencing the success of business-IT alignment : a study of South African firms
(2010) Onumajuru, Paulinus Uche; Smith, Derek
This study investigated the factors influencing the success of business-IT alignment in South African firms while taking into consideration the coverage of the requisite dimensions and paradigms of business-IT alignment. The impacts of the South African business operating environment and the industry sector of firms on the success factors for business-IT alignment were also examined. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with 10 CIOs of major firms in five industry sectors - major retail, food and beverages, higher education, governmental organisation, and financial services.
Open Access
How business intelligence is adding business value
(2010) Crossland, Maria; Smith, Derek
Business Intelligence (BI) continues to top the list of CIO priorities, investment in BI technologies continues to grow and organizations are becoming increasingly reliant on BI to help reduce costs and grow revenues. However, structured measurement and monitoring of the business value that can be attributed to BI investment remain elusive. This study used a multiple case study approach to examine how BI is adding value to organizations, what processes and methods are being followed for the evaluation of the business value that BI delivers as well as what approaches are being used to maximize the potential value that the organization's investment on BI could deliver.
Open Access
The influence of stakeholder power, proximity and urgency on the selection and prioritization of projects within IT project portfolio management
(2010) Christoffels, Mervyn; Smith, Derek
IT investments constitute a major portion of the capital budgets of many organizations. It can be challenging to select the right projects that fit the corporate strategy to maximize value for the organization. In the past, senior executives focused on projects that met three criteria, namely being on-time, on budget and in scope. However, a shift has occurred as a result of the fact that senior executives are more concerned about the right mix of projects that will best utilise the organization's resources and deliver long-range growth. Some of the benefits of IT Project Portfolio Management (IT PPM) are to provide executives with the ability to monitor projects ensure business alignment and identify risks quickly. It is argued that maintaining a balanced portfolio of diverse projects can reduce the risk of an individual project and can produce a higher rate of return.
Open Access
Information system success and its association with user attitude, belief and involvement
(1993) Meskin, Mark Israel; Lay, Peter M Q; Smith, Derek
The motivation for this research was twofold. The first was to explore measures of information system success. The second, to investigate the influence of user variables, specifically attitude, belief and levels of user involvement, on information system success. Although researchers agree that the aggregate organisational benefit derived from an information system is the best measure of success, no practical instrument has been employed to measure this benefit. Rather, a number of surrogate measures, specifically system use and user information satisfaction have been employed. This research explores a new measure, the "fit to objectives", as an appropriate and practical measure for information system success. It also uses this measure to establish the relationship between information system success and user involvement. User attitude, user belief and levels of user involvement have all been examined by previous research and are postulated to be positively associated to information system success. However, in testing the above postulations previous research has achieved mixed results. The major constraints in verifying the above has been a lack of accepted definitions, inappropriate measures, and poor methodologies. With the growth in the importance of the user in information systems development, a better understanding of the behavioural influences relating to the user is required. In examining these user influences, this research employs tested and proven measures based on past research from the information systems, organisational behaviour, and psychological disciplines. The research is both exploratory and empirical in nature. A focus throughout has been on the practical application of constructs and instruments and providing contributions to both information system practitioners and researchers alike.
Open Access
Information technology policy : first steps for the new South Africa
(1996) Johnston, Kevin Allan; Smith, Derek
The fundamental question is not whether South Africa should have a National Information Technology Policy to exploit Information Technology (IT), but more fundamentally what kind of government policies and programs for IT make sense. In today's competitive world what kind of policies and programs will be for the betterment of South Africa's economic and social structures? How can the South African government use IT to increase international competitiveness, and at the same time enhance economic and technological progress and create social improvement in the country? These and many other fundamental questions are the basis for this investigation. The starting point of this research was to compare South African IT to that in other countries; Expert opinion was obtained to identify speciﬁc issues, goals and technologies, and to propose ideas for government policies to: i) increase the country's competitiveness, ii) enhance its economic and technological progress, and iii) uplift its people. The main points emerging from this research are that the South African government needs to formulate a National IT Policy in order to direct the development of IT. Competitiveness, progress and social upliftment are inseparable and must be balanced when positioning such a policy. The policy should be directed from a high level to ensure that its recommendations are followed.
Open Access
An investigation into the consensus surrounding information systems project success
(2005) Hendricks, Danyal; Smith, Derek
Open Access
An investigation into the efficiency & effectiveness of Project Management Offices(PMOs)
(2014) Benjamin, Nuhaah; Smith, Derek
PMOs are complex organisational-specific entities. Companies are increasingly establishing PMOs in search of more favourable outcomes for their projects. However, these PMO organisational structures are rarely found to survive and are often disbanded or transformed every few years. The PMOs implemented in the public sector are faced with the task of justifying their value to business over time. These PMOs function in particularly stressful environments as they run complex projects that are driven by politics. The public sector provides a unique context in that organisational transformation is likely to occur every few years with the election of a new political cabinet. The notion of a PMO is a relatively new phenomenon with limited research available at present. There are few practical and theoretical guidelines identified in the research literature. The public sector environment has received even lesser research despite offering a unique organisational structure that commonly undertakes large, complex and political-focussed projects. The purpose of this study is to seek a better understanding of the contribution made to public sector PMO value in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. An understanding of the efficiency and effectiveness factors involved can aid managers in identifying where to focus their efforts to ensure value-add of new services and products are achieved in the public sector. A mixed method research approach was employed to investigate the public sector PMO organisational environment case study, using interviews and a complementary survey. A model of the factors that contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of a PMO was derived from the research literature. This was followed by an in-depth case study of a public sector PMO. The factors relevant to the case study were captured using interviews and then analysed using thematic analysis. The results were then compared to the model. The study revealed that most of the public sectors PMOs (77%) was found to be structured as virtual PMO offices with varying levels of capacity and authority. The results of the survey found that most of the PMOs focus in terms of efficiency was on productivity (60%), planning (20%), and proﬁt (20%). In terms of effectiveness, the foci were mainly on responsiveness (40%) and flexibility, adaption and innovation (60%). It was concluded that project management maturity could be significantly improved by focussing on the areas that were lacking for these PMOs, i.e. benchmarking, hiring external consultants with PM knowledge and linking with external consultants.
Open Access
An investigation of the effect that the availability of legitimate channels for acquiring digital music has on piracy in South Africa
(2014) Hope , Stuart; Smith, Derek
The problem of music piracy has been around for many years and costs the global economy millions of dollars annually. In recent years, advances in technology have facilitated more efficient methods for disseminating music in non-physical (digital) form by means of peer-to-peer networks and the internet, often without cost. The widespread practice of digital media piracy has been implicated as the major driving force behind the sharp decline in music sales over the last decade. Despite this, recent industry reports offer evidence of a gradual increase in music sales, specifically of digital albums. It is suggested that this growth is driven by the increasing number of available legitimate sources of digital media in the global marketplace. A number of these legitimate download (and streaming) services have recently become available to South Africans and offer a valid alternative to piracy. As such, this research presents an investigation into the effect that these legitimate channels have on South Africans’ digital music acquisition habits. The relative awareness (and adoption of) a number of legitimate services amongst South Africans have been investigated (“iTunes” - download, “Deezer”, “YouTube” – streaming) and contrasted against a popular source of contraband (“The Pirate Bay” website). Factors often cited by literature (“Risk”, “Price”, “Convenience” and “Availability”) have been incorporated into a conceptual model employed by this research to measure the influence of these elements on South Africans’ intention to practice digital music piracy. Data was collected by means of a web-based survey instrument and enriched by a limited number of interviews with South African digital music consumers and musicians. Key findings of this research are that South Africans tend to believe that digital music piracy is wrong and they acknowledge some risk of being caught and prosecuted for participating in the practice. Most respondents assert that they have the necessary technical abilities required to locate and download contraband from the internet. This research found that respondents are willing to share their media, both legitimate and illegitimate with their peers and that the practice of digital music piracy is considered socially acceptable in South Africa.
Open Access
Leveraging mobile business intelligence to create strategic business value
(2014) Kashora , Kudzai; Smith, Derek
Currently, there is a growing need for mobile Business Intelligence (BI) in the business world as the nature of work is changing and employees are more mobile than ever before. Mobile BI promises portability and pervasive access to BI, making it a topic high on many directors’ agendas; however the tangible and intangible benefits of mobile BI are still not well understood. Coupled with this, BI practitioners’ are sceptical about the real business value of delivering BI reports to mobile devices and how this undertaking can bring about organizational changes in the long run. As the field of mobile BI is still in its infancy, there is a lack of research which addresses the business value of mobile BI. The existing studies in this research area have been focused on adoption and implementation strategies. This study therefore attempts to address the gap by investigating how mobile BI can be utilised to enhance organizational performance and also contribute towards strategic business value. In light of this, an extensive literature review was conducted which revealed that mobile BI usage can result in benefits, such as improved employee performance management, organizational agility and customer satisfaction. A conceptual model was developed based on the literature and this model acted as the framework for investigating the research problem.
Open Access
Peer assessment: A complementary instrument to recognise individual contributions in IS student group projects
(2005) Scott, Elsje; van der Merwe, Nata; Smith, Derek
This paper discusses peer assessment as a component of the assessment strategy used for Information Systems student group projects at a South African university. The value of peer assessment and the contribution to the real-life experience offered by group projects, will be discussed. It will also illustrate how this process adds value by enhancing deep learning. Its value as a complementary assessment instrument in a multiple assessment strategy and how the results of peer assessment are used to recognise individual contributions to group performance will be illustrated. The use of peer assessment as an instrument for both informal formative assessment and formal summative assessment will be described. To perform the peer assessment specific instruments were designed and used throughout the lifecycle of the course.
Open Access
The relationship between the leadership style and emotional intelligence of information system project managers
(2010) Kirabira, Olivia; Smith, Derek
Managing an information systems (IS) project is a challenging undertaking because of the very nature of these projects. The IS project manager is challenged with increasing and changing requirements, the management of technical resources and business users, and the delivery of the project to meet the business need in time and on budget. The high failure rate of projects in general is a concern for organizations as this can have serious repercussions for the business in terms of loss in turnover or business opportunities. The abilities that are required of an IS project manager in order to manage IS projects efficiently and successfully are of interest to both organizations and the IS project managers themselves. The mastery of project management competencies was previously regarded as being sufficient for successful project management. However, with the high rate of project failure, it became evident that successful project managers have other "soft" skills or abilities over and above these competencies that enable them to be successful. The leadership style that the project manager employs during the project can affect the outcome of the project. A transformational leader motivates and inspires the team to improve themselves and become more effective. Emotional Intelligence is a soft skill that enhances the project manager's ability to practice transformational leadership. This study examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership of South African project managers practicing specifically in the IS field. The study further explored the effect of demographic factors such as age, gender and occupational background on emotional intelligence and transformational leadership, and the relationship between the two constructs. Data was collected from a sample of 49 IS project managers based in South Africa. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was used to determine leadership and the Genas El Inventory was used to determine the emotional intelligence of the participants. The results of the data analysis show a strong positive and significant relationship between the transformational leadership and emotional intelligence of South African IS project managers. None of the demographic factors had an effect on the relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership. IS project managers with a more technical background showed lower average scores for both emotional intelligence and transformational leadership than their peers. Female IS project managers showed slightly higher average scores for both transformational leadership and emotional intelligence than their male counterparts. The results suggest that an increase in emotional intelligence can assist an IS project manager to effectively improve their transformational leadership skills. Further research into the appropriate interventions that should be introduced in order to increase emotional intelligence In South African project managers is advisable. The perceived effect on the project team and the success of the IS project manager after introducing these interventions should be measured. This will be useful in motivating South African organizations to facilitate and encourage their IS project managers to develop their emotional intelligence and transformational leadership skills in order to be more effective and achieve better results with IS project implementation.
Open Access
Towards a regional ontology for information systems project management
(2008) Sewchurran, Kosheek; Smith, Derek; Roode, JD
The extant research literature on Information Systems (IS) project management illustrates that there is considerable confusion about the true nature of IS project management. The bewilderment is expressed in a number of ways. Practitioners are reporting that there is considerable mismatch between the prescribed practices they are socialised into and their actual experiences of project work. Appropriately, there are also debates about what constitutes project success and about what factors influence project success and failure. Whilst these fundamentals are being debated there are also concerns expressed about the lack of adequate underlying theoretical constructs to give coherence to the kinds of questions raised. As the essence of IS project management is being debated there is evidence suggesting that the project-driven organisational form is growing in popularity. Together with the concerns there are proposals being offered as alternatives to improve understanding of project management. The review undertaken in this thesis illustrates that alternatives are emerging despite the existence of an entrenched value system that makes society prone to unwittingly accept and be attracted to the adoption of best practices such as PMBOK, which is central to the debate taking place in IS project management.