Influence of software development processes on organisational performance : case study of a petroleum company in South Africa

Abstract

Business requirements and needs continue to change rapidly. Thus, many organisations depend on their IT for enablement and support as their needs change through software. Organisational culture plays a significant role in IT implementation and influences organisational performance. Organisational culture manifested in beliefs and assumptions, values, attitudes, and behaviours of employees, is a valued source of an organisation’s competitive advantage. In today’s rapidly changing environment, the achievement of IT enablement through standardised software development processes is vital for the organisation’s sustainability and support as their needs continue to change through software. Furthermore, effective teamwork is essential for the achievement of IT enablement. Software development is a challenging task performed by humans. It includes interactions between humans, methods, and tools to develop a complete quality-oriented software system. The study aimed at exploring the nature of factors associated with software development processes within a case study context, whilst taking cognizance of the impact they have on the performance of the organisation itself. A subjectivist philosophical stance was followed, and epistemology lay within the interpretivist paradigm. The study is qualitative. To address the aim and meet the objective of this study, two main questions were asked: 1) What factors are associated with the software development processes evident in organisational culture in an IS/IT department of a petrochemical company in the Western Cape? 2) How do the factors that are associated with software development processes impact organisational performance? An inductive research approach was followed, while a case study conducted in a real-world, privately owned petrochemical organisation context was used as a research strategy. The research design included a non-probabilistic, purposively, and conveniently selected sample, comprised of technical and non-technical participants in the IT/IS department within the selected organisation. This formed the unit of analysis, while eight selected participants in the organisation formed the unit of observation. The participants were selected to answer research questions ensuring an adequate sample size for the thematic analysis. Data was collected, employing a semi-structured protocol through interviews, and these were digitally recorded via Microsoft Teams. The study employed ATLAS.ti 9 as a qualitative data analysis tool to encode both relevant literature sources and empirical data in the search for thick and rich data leading to emergent themes.

After synthesizing the empirical data, the study outlined six emergent themes. Thus, Table 4.1 in the study illustrates the relationship between emergent themes and associated factors. Thus, Figure 5‑2 in the study concretised a proposed framework of guidelines to an approach that could mitigate some of the challenges faced by the selected organisation as well as other similar organisations in the industry. The framework addressed findings of the study associated with research questions MRQ1 and MRQ2 with respective objectives MRO1 and MRO2 as outlined in Table 5-1. This study addressed a gap in published literature sources regarding the identification and characterisation of relevant factors associated with software development processes. Additionally, it acknowledged a need to explore the impact of these factors on perceived operational quality and organisational performance. Thus, it is recommended that the guidelines presented in this research are followed and that automated business processes be introduced and adopted by the other eight role-players involved in the software development process. Furthermore, the organisation should invest in software quality tools and standards for support to improve the process. Ethical requirements as requested by CPUT are fulfilled.