Packaged software implementation as requirements engineering practices at SMSDCs

Abstract

An enduring problem in PS implementation has been the misalignments between software functions and users’ needs. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that most current requirements engineering approaches are appropriate when software is to be developed from scratch, not for packaged software implementation. However, it is now the case that in most organizations, new software is created by integrating functionality from existing software and components or by implementing packaged software. To explore this area, we study cases of packaged software (PS) implementation in two software development companies. Our research design follows an interpretive approach, in which analysis was undertaken using an inductive approach. From an analysis of the cases, we induced that when implementing packaged software, there is a greater need for certainty regarding whether what the packaged software infrastructure requires and what the user’s IT infrastructure has match each other. Furthermore, analysts may use work-arounds, but this is in order to minimize customization, rather than to reduce conflicts between requirements.