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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1089
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| Title: | Special topics in computing and ICT research: strengthening the role of ICT in development |
| Authors: | Aisbett, Janet
Gibbon, Greg
Rodrigues, Anthony J.
Migga, Joseph Kizza
Nath, Ravi
Renardel, Gerald R. |
| Keywords: | ICT in development
Computing
ICT research |
| Issue Date: | 2008 |
| Publisher: | Fountain Publishers |
| Abstract: | Previous studies showed that as much as 68% of software acquired by government
bodies of developing countries remained either unused or unsuccessfully utilized
[Gib 1998]. This is partially caused by indigenous software developers not being
well equipped to transform their innovative ideas into usable products, capable
of meeting the local demands. Software usability plays a critical part of any
countries growth because software is the central nervous system of Information
and Communication Technology.
Software usability is the quality of being convenient and of practical use
[Merriam-Webster 2002] or a measure of the quality of a user’s experience with
a product or system [Nielsen 1993]. According to the International Standards
Organisation [ISO/IEC TR 9126-2 2003], usability is the extent to which a
product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness,
efficiency and satisfaction in a given context of use.
Usability is often ignored within the software development process and this
results in the production of software that does not address the real needs of the
user community [Centennial Software 2005; Bhagwati et. al. 2004; Mankiw and
Swagel 2006]. The developed software therefore remains less relevant to society
and so does the corresponding economic stimulus. This can partly be overcome by
involving users within the software development process [Ogwang, 2006].
This research highlights the reasons why software usability remains relatively
low in developing countries. The goal is to identify what can be put in place to
promote production of locally designed and socially relevant products demanded
Computer Science for by the private and public sectors. It involved going to the software end-users to
inquire about their software experiences, practices and needs. The findings, which
are documented in this report, will be useful to the trainers / mentors of software
education and incubation centers especially during the process of updating the
curriculum to include indigenous solutions to the revealed problems.
This article is organised as follows: Section 2 summarizes the previous software
usability practices in developing countries, Section 3 and 4 briefly describe the
purpose and description of this survey. The results obtained from the investigation
are given in Section 5 while Sections 6 and 7 propose some recommendations and
concluding remarks. |
| Description: | Copyright 2008, Makerere University. All rights reserved. |
| URI: | http://www.fountainpublishers.co.ug
http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1089 |
| ISBN: | 978-9970-02-871-2 |
| Appears in Collections: | Theses & Dissertations (CIT)
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Files in This Item:
| File |
Description |
Size | Format |
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| ICT-complete-book-volume-iv-2008.pdf | | 4903Kb | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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