Human Interactions in Software Deployment: A Case of a South African Telecommunication

Human Interactions in Software Deployment: A Case of a South African Telecommunication

Tefo Sekgweleo, Tiko Iyamu
Copyright: © 2014 |Pages: 18
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-6126-4.ch009
OnDemand:
(Individual Chapters)
Available
$37.50
Current Special Offers
No Current Special Offers
TOTAL SAVINGS: $37.50

Abstract

Software is intended to enable and support organisations, in order for them to function effectively and efficiently, towards achieving their strategic objectives. Hence, its deployment is critically vital to the focal actors (managers and sponsors). Software deployment involves two primary components, technology and non-technology actors. Both actors offer vital contributions to software deployment from different perspectives. Unfortunately, there has been more focus on the technological actors over the years. This could be attributed to why the same types of challenges, such as disjoint between development and implementation, persist. This chapter holistically examines the roles of non-technology actors in the deployment of software in organisations. The Actor-Network Theory (ANT) provides a lens in the analysis of the empirical data.
Chapter Preview
Top

Research Approach

A case study is one of the research methods commonly used in social science or other related fields (Yin, 2009). According to Noor (2008) a case study focuses on conducting an in-depth investigation into one or a few cases in order to gain a holistic insight about the phenomenon. Parè (2004:233) defines a case study as “an empirical enquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident”. The case study method was employed for this study mainly because of the nature of the study as well as the features of the case study method.

Letsatsi is a Telecommunication company based in South Africa. The organisation was used in the study mainly for the two reasons: of the eight organisations that were approached, it was only the only one that agreed to participate in the study; and there was a prima facie evidence that they had challenges in the development of software in the company.

Complete Chapter List

Search this Book:
Reset