Browsing by Author "Tanner, Maureen"

Now showing 1 - 13 of 13
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    Open Access
    Assessing the Association between Agile Maturity Model Levels and Perceived Project Success
    (2018) Henriques, Vaughan; Tanner, Maureen
    The underlying philosophy of the agile manifesto is embodied in principle one which promotes the continuous delivery of software that is deemed valuable by the customer, while principle twelve encourages continual improvement of the delivery process. This constant improvement, or maturity, is not a concept unique to agile methods and is commonly referred to as a maturity model. The most common of maturity model is the Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI). However, research consensus indicates CMMI is incompatible with agile implementation, specifically at higher levels of maturity without sacrificing agility. Agile maturity models, which are aligned to agile principles encourage continuous improvement while maintaining agility. Given the underlying philosophy of the agile manifesto, this research hypothesises that an increase in agile maturity is associated with improved perceived project success, by using a conceptual model based on an existing agile maturity model and how each of the maturity levels are related to the perceived project success. The research also brings to light the concept of perceived project success, showing success in an agile environment is a subjective concept. Conducted quantitatively, the findings of this research show which specific focus areas within each of the maturity levels is most strongly correlated with perceived project success and concludes an increasing correlation between the maturity levels and perceived project success.
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    Domestication of open educational resources by academics in an open distance e-learning institution of South Africa
    (2022) Mncube, Lancelord Siphamandla; Tanner, Maureen; Chigona, Wallace
    The emergence of open educational resources has gained popularity and acceptance in higher education institutions and beyond the basic education sector. This brought a persisting shift in depending on information communication technologies for tuition and research provision. Information technology artifact was not treated in isolation to user perspective. The study established how academics accept, feel, perceive, and what skills, opportunities, challenges exist to hinder the domestication. The study context had no uniform guidelines or tools and policy in place for the domestication of open educational resources. The study adopted the exploratory approach guided by the interpretivism paradigm. The study employed Domestication theory. This study conducted in an heterogenous single case study, which is the open distance e-learning (University of South Africa). That was done for an in-depth investigation by relying on multi-methods for data triangulation such as semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, document analysis, and actual artifact analysis. The total of participants were 52. The study found that most academics played a role in the domestication of open educational resources besides the minority who were unable. The experience and prior knowledge were found to be a factor hindering the domestication process. Open distance e-learning found to relevant space for open educational resources. Such institutions play a role in the adoption and development of open educational resources and mostly rely in information technology for tuition and research. Information technology infrastructure found to be an enabler and disabler in the domestication process. This study contribution to the world of knowledge is based on the theory and practice. Eight theoretical propositions were suggested. The study further contributed by extension of domestication theory as recommended two additional phases which are non-appropriation and dis-appropriation. The current proposed Domestication theory has five phases. Lastly, the study recommended the actual guidelines for adoption and development of open educational resources. This guideline can be adopted by higher education institutions by infusing them in policy development or for general guidance in actual adoption and developments.
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    Exploring How Business Analysts Contribute To The Dynamic Capabilities Of Agile Software Development Teams
    (2020) Ndlela, Mandlakazi; Tanner, Maureen
    Today's organisations are characterised by high competition and a volatile business environment which continues to be a predicament for agile software development managers and practitioners. Software development frameworks that are designed to help organisations respond to these environments include a group of flexible methodologies known as Agile Software Development. However, reliance on mainly software techniques and tools might not be sufficient, hence the need to consider the capabilities of individual team members, particularly those of Business Analysts. Given that agile methodologies do not explicitly advocate the relevance of Business Analyst role, literature reveals ongoing debates regarding the role of Business Analysts in Agile Software Development teams. This can be attributed, in part, to a knowledge gap concerning the manner in which Business Analysts contribute to overall team capabilities, particularly those which are essential in enabling teams to respond to environmental changes. The purpose of this study was to address this gap by investigating how Business Analysts contribute to the Dynamic Capabilities of Agile Software Development teams. Adopting a deductive approach, this study adapted and applied a research model based on the Dynamic Capabilities theory to explore the value of business analysts in agile teams. This study is interpretive and was executed using a qualitative, single case-study research strategy directed at an Agile Software Development team in the financial services industry. Data was collected through face-to-face, semi-structured interviews; a group interview; nonparticipant observation; documentation; and physical artefacts. The thematic analysis technique was used to analyse the data. Findings reveal that there are several factors that allow Business Analysts to contribute to the Dynamic Capabilities of Agile Software Development teams which include: sharing business operations tacit knowledge; promptly sharing insights about requirement changes and assisting team members in completing tasks; as well as actively participating in sprint planning meetings. The findings also showed that Business Analysts experience difficulty in contributing to Dynamic Capabilities when they lack system, industry, and business rules knowledge. This study provides a useful contribution in two ways. Firstly, it proposes a model that can be applied by researchers to help explore ways in which individuals influence team dynamic capabilities. Secondly, this contribution is important for practitioners as it highlights how the knowledge, skills, and behaviours of Business Analysts may support or hinder their ability to contribute to the Dynamic Capabilities of Agile Software Development teams. This study can be used to inform the design of capacity development programmes for individual team members and Business Analysts, and thus help managers to curate teams which will best promote Dynamic Capabilities. Although substantial data was collected, this research was limited, to some extent, by restricted access to classified and confidential documents. It is proposed that future researchers consider applying a multiple case-study strategy to allow for comparative analysis between teams that operate in different contexts.
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    Factors impacting on tacit knowledge transfer within Scrum software development teams
    (2014) Takpuie , Deon; Tanner, Maureen
    Over time, there has been a high failure rate of information systems development (ISD) projects, although Agile development has brought recent improvements. Knowledge management is also known to be one of the critical factors to Agile and project success; however, there are some knowledge transfer studies in Agile development. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to present a theoretical model examining what makes individuals successful at transferring knowledge in teams using Scrum, Agile’s most popular methodology. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted at two Scrum companies in Cape Town. Participants interviewed ranged from project managers and Scrum masters to software developers, business analyst and testers. The interviews were all transcribed, then analysed using thematic analysis. The findings produced new relationships between characteristics already well known to impact knowledge transfer as well as newly defined characteristics impacting knowledge transfer in Scrum teams: empathy and articulation skills of the source. The results have shown that the recipient should perceive the person wanting to transfer knowledge as having these characteristics to enable successful knowledge transfer: empathy, motivation, capability, credibility, articulate and ability to communicate enough. The contribution of this study to practice is a list of attributes for HR managers to help improve the knowledge transfer of Scrum team members. The contribution to Scrum research is a new theoretical model that suggests which characteristics a person needs to transfer knowledge successfully in Scrum teams, adapted from Joshi, Sarker and Sarker’s (2007) knowledge transfer model. This model can also be extended in the future by looking more deeply into the new relationships between constructs, such as how motivation together with capability of the source affect knowledge transfer in Scrum teams.
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    Factors influencing software development in complex IT Projects using Agile approaches - A single telecoms case study
    (2021) Griebenouw, Willem; Tanner, Maureen
    Customer's needs and wants are forever changing and organistion need to be able to rapidly respond to the shifts in the market coupled with changing customer behaviour. Companies are continuously striving for different and innovative approaches to address these challenges. Several different approaches ranging are used by these organisation which range from incorporating new technologies, developing new products and services, and thoroughly understanding customer needs and requirements. These approaches require the organisation to adapt and adopt to new ways of working and moving away from traditional project management methods to agile methods. However, this transition gives rise to challenges such as the natural human resistance to change, needing to ensure that staff remain positive during these periods of uncertainty and change, ensuring that the organization does not backslide into its old ways of working (whilst under immense pressure to conform), effectively prioritizing projects and resources, as well as managing the cultural shift required to support these (organisational) changes. Coupled with these various challenges is a steep learning and adoption curve that must be overcome if the newly embedded technologies and processes are to be successfully assimilated into the organization. Thus it is crucially important that organisation not only understand the benefits associated with transitioning to agile methods, but also those barriers that need to be overcome to ensure a successful transition. Therefore this research is aimed at providing insight into the barriers and benefits associated with transitioning from Traditional Project Management (TPM) methods to agile approaches, specifically in the context of large complex IT projects. Throughout the study an inductive approach to data analysis was used to categorise the findings into broader themes after which two frameworks were used to interpret these findings. The Technology organisation environment framework (TOE) as well as the Socio-Technical Theory (STT/STS) framework were used to interpret the findings obtained. TOE assisted in analysing the relationships between the organisation, the external environment and the technological environment in which it operates. STT/TSS supported the TOE framework by guiding the analysis of the technical subsystem (agile tools) in conjunction with the social subsystem (employees) within the organisation. The study included a combination of of agile- and non-agile practioners within a telecommunications organisation, who all had previous experience of working on complex IT projects in a traditional and agile construct. The research provides insights into those themes that are associated with these barriers, for example poor and ineffective management style being displayed, teams still using a traditional TPM mindset when placed under duress, ineffective agile adoption within the teams, poor change management within the organisation, lack of support from business to enable delivery, and ineffective or unclear roles within teams and management, etc. and also highlighted several benefits to the transitioning which include empowered teams that are able to function autonomously, improved transparency and visibility within teams, improved speed of delivering and improved performance metrics in use within the organisation. During the course of the research several differing opinions were found which lead to contradiciting themes arising as each team witnessed the agile transition and implementation differently, which highlighted areas of future research. For example team autonomy was identified as a benefit to the transition allowing for self-direction but also sighted as a negative themes where teams empowerment is lacking; Traditional Project Management methods still providing improved speed of delivery when compared to agile methods. Other examples include some teams being disempowered with little or no decision-making authority, whilst others were able to self-direct and manage. Measurement metrics had been identified as both an advantage as well as a barrier to successfully transition to agile approaches as some felt the teams were measured effectively, whist others lamented a lack of appropriate metrics.
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    Factors that Influence the Synergy between Development and IT Operations in a DevOps Environment
    (2020) Dinner, Arther; Tanner, Maureen
    Software development processes have been associated with severe conflicts between the development and operations teams. The problems further worsened by the occasional performance of activities such as planning, testing, integration, and releases. Many developing software development concepts reveal attempts to address these challenges. For instance, continuous integration is a practice that has emerged to reduce disconnects between development and IT operational deployments. In a comparable thread, the current emphasis on DevOps acknowledges that the integration between software development and its operational deployment needs to be a continuous whole. Problems involving the integration of software development and operations require positive synergy within DevOps teams. Team synergy brings about team effectiveness and performance as well as creating opportunities for innovation. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that influence team synergy between the development and operations teams in a DevOps environment. The researcher conducted a case study at one of South Africa's leading information and communication technology services providers. Thirteen participants were interviewed to provide insight into the research questions. Interviews were conducted at the premises of the participating organization in Cape Town. The participants in the study preferred pseudonyms instead of their actual names to preserve anonymity. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. During the analysis of the transcribed data, themes and categories were identified. The themes and categories that emerged from the data sources were aligned to the theoretical framework. The findings from this study describe enabling and inhibiting factors that influence the synergy between development and operations teams in a DevOps environment. Recognizing that DevOps teams face several challenges, the factors identified in this study provide insights into how organizations can influence the build and motivate their DevOps teams to achieve team synergy. The contribution to DevOps research is the application of a theoretical framework that suggests the importance of team social capital dimensions in the formation of team synergy. Based on its findings, this study recommends that further investigation and improvement on strategies to mitigate the factors that inhibit the dimensions of team social capital and prevent team synergy in a DevOps environment. The study also recommends a more detailed and practical demonstration to validate the value of the theoretical framework and continue to improve or extend it. This study revealed that DevOps teams operate in a complex and dynamic environment with many stakeholders and complex technical infrastructure. Based on this outcome, the study also suggests that future studies can take a different approach to create a different perspective on the synergy between DevOps teams by focusing on the behavior of the actors and complex problematic situations involving social activities.
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    How do South African organisations adopt agile methodologies for software development in practice?
    (2010) Noruwana, Nimrod; Tanner, Maureen
    Before organisations adopt agile methods, they need to ensure that they are prepared for the change. They also need to understand the problems they are trying to address by adopting agile methods. Agile methods deviate substantially from traditional methods of systems development (Tolfo & Wazlawick, 2008). This, therefore, makes it difficult for organisations to adopt agile methods even though they might see them attractive, as the adoption of such methods has an effect on organisational culture. If the culture cannot accommodate an agile approach, then the organisation will not be able to adopt agile (Lindvall, Basisli, Boehm, Costa, Dangle, Shull, Teseriero, Williams & Zelkowitz, 2002). Having a culture that is conducive to the adoption of agile methods is almost unanimously perceived by agile experts to be a necessary factor for the introduction of agile methodologies (eWorkshop, 2002). It is also important to understand the phases organisations go through during the process of adopting agile methods.
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    An investigation into the ICT Vendor–Value Added Reseller (VAR) partnerships and the perceived factors that influence their relationship satisfaction in South Africa
    (2014) Hassa, Ishmael; Tanner, Maureen
    The purpose of the study is to explore the perceived factors that contribute to relationship satisfaction between Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) downstream supply chain management (SCM) Vendors and Value-added Resellers (VARs) in South Africa. In addition, the study investigates the motivation for Vendor-VAR relationships as this exposes the antecedent and consequences of the perceived factors. By exploring and exposing the relationship quality in an under-researched industry and country context, the study shall illuminate the challenges faced in these critical dyads. ICT is integral to South Africa's social, economic and technological progress. The successful diffusion and adoption of ICT in South Africa hinges on Vendor-VAR relationships.The dissertation pursued qualitative research methods in which relevant experts from both ICT Vendors and VARs were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. This allowed deep and underlying thoughts and feelings to be exposed without restrictions. The study draws on existing knowledge in SCM, interpersonal and business relationships. Importantly, the study utilises existing theory, which is the Interaction Approach (IA). IA is suitable for the research as it concentrates on business interactions and the outcomes thereof as they are influenced by individuals, organisations, networks and the environment. The findings of the study indicate that the four-relationship satisfaction factors contained in the "atmosphere" variable within the theory is not comprehensive enough when interpreting business relationships in the ICT industry in South Africa. There are some critical factors, which emerged, such as profitability, communication and value, that are antecedent and consequent factors to other perceived relationship satisfaction factors. For these reasons, the IA model is extended to reflect interesting and important factors that emerged from the study. In addition, the findings revealed that the "environment" variable within IA does not sufficiently represent the ICT industry in South Africa. The South African context exposes unique "environment" issues such as Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) that has a bearing on relationship satisfaction in the ICT industry. An unexpected finding is around the deep influence ICT customers have on SCM .This inquiry minimises the gap in knowledge and is intended to encourage discussions between stakeholders and be a catalyst for further research.
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    Software quality assurance in Scrum the need for concrete guidance on SQA strategies in meeting user expectations
    (2013) Khalane, Tiisetso; Tanner, Maureen
    The purpose of this study is to identify and present the concerns of project stakeholders in relation to Software Quality Assurance (SQA) in a Scrum environment. Guided by the tenets of Classic Grounded Theory Methodology, this exploratory and inductive case study presents a broad range of SQA concepts related to the main concern of “Meeting User Expectations”. In trying to resolve the main concern, the Scrum project stakeholders alluded to lack of “Concrete Guidance” on SQA strategies, tools, and techniques in Scrum. The lack of concrete guidance in Scrum requires a development team to devise “Innovations” which may include “Adopting Practices” from other methodologies and carefully designing the “Process Structure” to accommodate the “Adopted Practices”, ensure “Continuous Improvement” of the process, and provide an environment for “Collaborative Ownership”. In addition to the “Need for Concrete Guidance”, the study reveals two other important concepts necessary for “Meeting User Expectations”: the “Need for Solid User Representation” and the “Need for Dedicated Testing”. While some Agile proponents claim that the Agile SQA practices are adequate on their own, the study reveals a number of challenges that impact on a team’s ability to meet user expectations when there is no dedicated tester in a Scrum environment.
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    The democratisation of decision-makers in data-driven decision-making in a Big Data environment: The case of a financial services organisation in South Africa
    (University of Cape Town, 2020) Hassa, Ishmael; Tanner, Maureen; Brown, Irwin
    Big Data refers to large unstructured datasets from multiple dissimilar sources. Using Big Data Analytics (BDA), insights can be gained that cannot be obtained by other means, allowing better decision-making. Big Data is disruptive, and because it is vast and complex, it is difficult to manage from technological, regulatory, and social perspectives. Big Data can provide decision-makers (knowledge workers) with bottom-up access to information for decision-making, thus providing potential benefits due to the democratisation of decision-makers in data-driven decision-making (DDD). The workforce is enabled to make better decisions, thereby improving participation and productivity. Enterprises that enable DDD are more successful than firms that are solely dependent on management's perception and intuition. Understanding the links between key concepts (Big Data, democratisation, and DDD) and decision-makers are important, because the use of Big Data is growing, the workforce is continually evolving, and effective decision-making based on Big Data insights is critical to a firm's competitiveness. This research investigates the influence of Big Data on the democratisation of decision-makers in data-driven decision-making. A Grounded Theory Method (GTM) was adopted due to the scarcity of literature around the interrelationships between the key concepts. An empirical study was undertaken, based on a case study of a large and leading financial services organisation in South Africa. The case study participants were diverse and represented three different departments. GTM facilitates emergence of novel theory that is grounded in empirical data. Theoretical elaboration of new concepts with existing literature permits the comparison of the emergent or substantive theory for similarities, differences, and uniqueness. By applying the GTM principles of constant comparison, theoretical sampling and emergence, decision-makers (people, knowledge workers) became the focal point of study rather than organisational decision-making processes or decision support systems. The concentrate of the thesis is therefore on the democratisation of decision-makers in a Big Data environment. The findings suggest that the influence of Big Data on the democratisation of the decisionmaker in relation to DDD is dependent on the completeness and quality of the Information Systems (IS) artefact. The IS artefact results from, and is comprised of, information that is extracted from Big Data through Big Data Analytics (BDA) and decision-making indicators (DMI). DMI are contributions of valuable decision-making parameters by actors that include Big Data, People, The Organisation, and Organisational Structures. DMI is an aspect of knowledge management as it contains both the story behind the decision and the knowledge that was used to decide. The IS artefact is intended to provide a better and more complete picture of the decision-making landscape, which adds to the confidence of decision-makers and promotes participation in DDD which, in turn, exemplifies democratisation of the decisionmaker. Therefore, the main theoretical contribution is that the democratisation of the decisionmaker in DDD is based on the completeness of the IS artefact, which is assessed within the democratisation inflection point (DIP). The DIP is the point at which the decision-maker evaluates the IS artefact. When the IS artefact is complete, meaning that all the parameters that are pertinent to a decision for specific information is available, then democratisation of the decision-maker is realised. When the IS artefact is incomplete, meaning that all the parameters that are pertinent to a decision for specific information is unavailable, then democratisation of the decision-maker breaks down. The research contributes new knowledge in the form of a substantive theory, grounded in empirical findings, to the academic field of IS. The IS artefact constitutes a contribution to practice: it highlights the importance of interrelationships and contributions of DMI by actors within an organisation, based on information extracted through BDA, that promote decisionmaker confidence and participation in DDD. DMI, within the IS artefact, are critical to decision-making, the lack of which has implications for the democratisation of the decisionmaker in DDD. The study has uncovered the need to further investigate the extent of each actor's contribution (agency) to DMI, the implications of generational characteristics on adoption and use of Big Data and an in-depth understanding of the relationships between individual differences, Big Data and decision-making. Research is also recommended to better explain democratisation as it relates to data-driven decision-making processes.
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    The use of a user-centric smart mobile application prototype for supporting safety and security in a city: a design science method
    (2021) Mathijssen, Maxine; Tanner, Maureen; Densmore, Melissa
    Cities have always been the drivers of innovation, growth and change. Cities around the world are still rapidly expanding, especially on the African and Asian continents. Cape Town is one of those cities, where urbanisation rates are high, and crime is persisting at alarmingly high levels with crime rates being among the worst in the country and the world. Additionally, the city is home to 7 of 10 worst-performing police services in the country. Combining these factors, there is a need to look at ‘smart' ways of growth which includes facilitating a safe and secure city for citizens. Although Cape Town is pursuing smart initiatives, these have failed to place communities and individuals among the key stakeholders in the smart planning process. This research focuses on further researching smart city initiatives in Cape Town, placing citizens at the centre of the development process. As Cape Town's mobile phone penetration rate is high and access to Internet is rapidly expanding, this research aims to use crowdsourcing techniques for developing a smart mobile application prototype that is focused on enhancing community engagement and facilitating increased perceived feelings of safety and security for citizens. The study uses a Design Science Research method with Cape Town citizens as the main stakeholders, to propose an artifact based on their wishes, needs and current issues faced with regards to safety and security in the city. The proposed artifact focuses on enhancing community engagement, through a chat room and user-logged incident reports, as well as a customised safe route planning functionality where users can send emergency signals to comembers with the use of GPS live location tracking. The research shows participants are willing to adopt the use of the mobile application prototype, given there is substantial community buy-in, and the functionalities in the app are easy to use and quickly accessible. The study further identifies the need for better police follow up and involvement, as the city's police system could benefit from crowd-sourced crime-data in reducing the number of crimes in neighbourhoods to make citizens feel more safe and secure.
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    Understanding the structured processes followed by organisations prior to engaging in agile processes: A South African Perspective
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2012) Noruwana, Nimrod; Tanner, Maureen
    There appears to be a lack of knowledge on the phases South African (SA) organisations go through while adopting agile methods. As a means to address this gap, this study uncovered empirical evidence on the phases SA organisations go through whilst adopting agile methods as well as the disparities between agile prescriptions and the way SA organisations actually implement agile methods. The data collected using a case study approach was analysed through the lens of Actor-Network Theory (ANT). The results reveal that there is no structured process for adopting agile methods and organisations go through various phases in their attempts to adopt agile methods. During the various phases, organisations face challenges which are culture as well as people related. Through this study South African practitioners could now be aware that before adopting an agile methodology, there has to be a common understanding of the problems at hand and the envisioned solution. The findings also inform aspiring adopters in South Africa that adoption of the methods does not have to be as prescribed. They are free to adopt only those aspects the organisations need most.
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    The use of social media in business by women entrepreneurs in the KSA: The case of Instragram
    (2017) Al-Haidari, Nawal Nasser; Tanner, Maureen
    There have been few studies done on Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in the context of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, studies show that Saudi women entrepreneurs (SWE) are constrained and faced with challenges that inhibit the growth of their small businesses. Such challenges include cultural factors, lack of business knowledge and expertise by entrepreneurs, lack of financial support for entrepreneurs, lack of training from the private sector, lack of business education supported by government for entrepreneurs and limited business opportunities. However, the adoption of social media, like Instagram, has been shown to help SME address numerous challenges experienced in their business context. The Instagram application has attracted huge numbers of users and is one of the fastest growing social media platforms in the world. It differentiates itself from other social networking sites by offering people a unique and easy way to communicate, since many social media users prefer posting photos or short video clips. Instagram is characterized by its primary function of posting and sharing images. Instagram is a highly effective, time-efficient, and user-friendly social media platform for businesses. Instagram quickly gained global popularity and reached roughly 300 million users in 2014. Thus Instagram, as a tool to market products and services, could enable SWE to overcome challenges which they face in the day to day running of their businesses. While the usefulness of adopting Instagram has been highlighted, there is limited knowledge regarding how SWE can adopt this social media application to overcome the various challenges experienced in their small businesses. No studies, to the author's knowledge, have examined this phenomenon in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This study, therefore aims to examine how women entrepreneurs in the KSA adopt social media, Instagram in particular, to overcome various challenges in their small businesses. The study uncovers the challenges they face while adopting Instagram, as well as the advantages of adopting the tool. This study is qualitative, assumes an interpretive epistemological stance, and uses domestication theory as a framework for the research. Domestication theory involves looking at how people adopt technologies and integrate them into their activities and relationships in their daily lives. The data for this study was gathered through semi-structured interviews with a sample of 20 women entrepreneurs in the KSA. Interviewees were identified using snowball and purposive sampling techniques. Thematic analysis was used for analysing the data collected in order to extract codes and configurations of business challenges, Instagram-related challenges and benefits that result from adopting Instagram in small businesses. The findings revealed the following business challenges incurred by SWE: lack of business experience, stringent requirements for business registration, financial restrictions, judgement by society, the need for privacy and security, poor communication, and physical access to customers. The adoption of Instagram as a marketing space helped increase flexibility in the daily lives of SWE. The findings have shown that SWE appreciate the benefits of adopting Instagram in order to overcome business challenges. Yet, the findings also displayed that despite SWE still running their businesses through Instagram, there are a number of challenges that they are faced with. These challenges include coping with the lack of time to answer all inquiries, the lack of business rights and protection, the cancellation of orders, the need for uniqueness, and trust issues.