Conference Paper

Building Capacity in Kenya’s ICT Market Using Cross-Border Scrum Teams

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Abstract

This practitioner report outlines the nature of constraints to the development of ICT markets in Kenya, and identifies the cause of key market failures to grow domestic capacity. Results of an initiative to improve Kenyan ICT capacity though mentoring, international collaboration and the use of Agile project management methods are discussed. Based on findings from CodePamoja, a two-year collaboration between Dutch and Kenyan IT companies and the German government, the report explains how the use of cross-border Agile teams may align well to the objectives of those working in ICT4D.

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... Studies have investigated agile methods adoption in Kenya [15], Ethiopia [23] and Egypt [20]. Whereas, in Kenya where an offshore/onshore collaboration model was employed, in Ethiopia and Egypt, practitioners were adopting agile methods with little prior first hand experience. ...
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There is evidence that agile approaches to information system development can improve product quality and developer productivity. However, successful adoption of these approaches appears to depend on adaptation to specific contexts. This research contributes to a broader goal to understand what it means to “be agile” in the presence of adaptations to the specific context. To pursue our research objectives, we have performed 31 semi-structured recorded and transcribed practitioner interviews from three companies in Lebanon. The interview transcripts were analysed using an approach informed by grounded theory. Agile methods enable learning and improvement through team conversations. Yet, the practitioners in our study shun public self-evaluation, finding it difficult to discuss areas for improvement in public. We also found legacy “top down” management practices that undermine team autonomy and local client companies lack experience of engaging with agile processes. In a more positive vein, we found evidence of rich use of various communications channels to overcome geographical distance. On the one hand, agile methods represent a “northern” idea being propagated to the Global South. And yet, on the other hand, the agile concept of self-organising teams has the potential to be empowering and emancipatory. Post-colonial theory helps us understand the phenomenon of agile tailoring, where development process ceremonies are adapted to suite a specific local context.
... The [14]. This is a web-based tool that allows 360-degree reporting and auditing of project participants, and shows results in several ways (text, numbers, charts). ...
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Fair Trade Software (FTS) builds on the principles of conventional Fair Trade and applies them to software services in developing countries. Using a model of Shared Value Creation, FTS leverages reputation enhancement opportunities for companies in OECD countries to encourage them to share knowledge with partners in developing countries. Working in this way has been demonstrated to improve the quality and capacity of software companies in developing countries and generate digital employment for urban youth. The improvement gains can lead to significant improvements in other sectors that rely on digital services, e.g. healthcare and education.
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Human thriving and outsourcing can go hand in hand. This research aims to outline outsourcing approaches for facilitating human thriving by conducting a semi-systematic literature review. We identified three outsourcing approaches that consider corporate social responsibility: impact sourcing, ethical outsourcing, and Fair Trade Software. The aim of this research is to understand the effect of these approaches on marginalized people, and the benefits and challenges for client organizations. The following main conclusions are drawn. First, impact sourcing provides marginalized people with the opportunity to generate an income, to develop themselves professionally, and to build a social circle. In some cases it can generate harmful impacts such as stress. Second, the benefits of impact sourcing for client organizations compared to traditional outsourcing are reduced costs, reduced employee turnover, improved corporate social responsibility, and new chances for growth. Third, ethical outsourcing protects brand image and can improve stakeholder management. However, the extra investments required may reduce competitiveness. Last, Fair Trade Software is a relatively new model, and therefore the benefits and challenges have yet to be assessed. A potential benefit is capacity building by knowledge transfer and network strengthening. Currently some of the biggest challenges are the lack of audits, caused by a lack of resources, and increasing the adoption rate of this outsourcing model.
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The ICT sector in Kenya is projected to be a leading contributor of the country's developmental blueprint yet despite this, ICT projects that have been initiated in the country continue to face several challenges. In a review of the sustainability of these projects initiated in the country suggest that the biggest challenge in the ICT project implementation is relatable to the issues of stakeholder management. Particularly, the integration of various stakeholder clusters within the project schema still remains a challenge for the implementation of these projects. The research study examined existing stakeholder management models within the context of stakeholder integration from the ICT projects in Kenya. A Delphi (Qualitative) research model was employed to obtain data. Forty senior project practitioners were interviewed through the Delphi technique. The responses were analyzed through content analysis. The study has proposed a strategic stakeholder management model that could be used to enhance existing stakeholder integration practices in Kenya.
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This book presents the collection of papers selected for presentation at the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Working Group 9.4 16th International Conference organized under the banner of the Third European Conference on the Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries. The conference was hosted in Manchester, UK, by the University of Salford in June 2020. Research papers published in this volume address ICT-related research challenges in Africa, Asia, and South America, including: Bangladesh, Brazil, Lebanon, Malawi, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Palestine, South Africa, and Rwanda. Despite being Convened as a European Conference, we were delighted to have facilitated such a global perspective on ICT4D.
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In studying ICT4D one may develop a sense of scepticism towards the topic, fuelled by high failure rates that have plagued ICT4D practice and the subsequent lack of developmental impacts that such failure implies. It seems that if the impacts of ICT4D are to be realised, changes must be made to the way it is approached and delivered. Simultaneously, in studying development, one may notice the process approach as a significant alternative to traditional, top-down management; and notice a connection between elements of the process approach and reactions to failure highlighted in the ICT4D literature. This paper thus sets out to answer the question: "Can a process approach increase the likelihood of success in ICT4D projects?" Through analytical study of four successful ICT4D projects, it finds the presence of the five key elements of a process approach: beneficiary participation; flexible, phased implementation; learning from experience; institutional support; and programme management. Pushing the use of a process approach further, we find that "success" and "failure" should not be used as single, cross-sectional, final judgements. Instead, they should be seen as multiple, contingent and passing; and as a basis for learning. From this perspective, ICT4D projects should look for successes – solution relevance, opportunities for capacity-building, and sustainability. Those can be delivered by taking a dynamic, holistic view – summarised in the ICT4D Process Approach Wheel – that frames ICT4D management as an ongoing interconnection of the five process elements. The paper ends with some specific recommendations for ICT4D project practice.
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THE CAPITALIST SYSTEM is under siege. In recent years business increasingly has been viewed as a major cause of social, environmental, and economic problems. Companies are widely perceived to be prospering at the expense of the broader community.
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Large-scale offshore software development programmes are complex, with challenging deadlines and a high risk of failure. Agile methods are being adopted, despite the challenges of coordinating multiple development teams. Agile processes are tailored to support team coordination. Artefacts are tangible products of the software development process, intended to ensure consistency in the approach of teams on the same development programme. Objective: This study aims to increase understanding of how development processes are tailored to meet the needs of large-scale offshore software development programmes, by focusing on artefact inventories used in the development process. Method: A grounded theory approach using 46 practitioner interviews, supplemented with documentary sources and observations, in nine international companies was adopted. The grounded theory concepts of open coding, memoing, constant comparison and saturation were used in data analysis. Results: The study has identified 25 artefacts, organised into five categories: Feature, sprint, release, product and corporate governance. It was discovered that conventional agile artefacts are enriched with artefacts associated with plan-based methods in order to provide governance. The empirical evidence collected in the study has been used to identify a primary owner of each artefact and map each artefact to specific activities within each of the agile roles. Conclusion: The development programmes in this study create agile and plan-based artefacts to improve compliance with enterprise quality standards and technology strategies, whilst also mitigating risk of failure. Management of these additional artefacts is currently improvised because agile development processes lack corresponding ceremonies.
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This paper examines forty articles published in the journal Information Technologies & International Development between 2003 and 2010 in an effort to identify commonalities among projects that failed to meet some or all of their development objectives. We considered whether the selected papers articulated clear development objectives, and whether baseline data was used to inform project design. We then considered two factors associated with how development objectives are implemented: the development perspective (top-down vs. bottom-up), and the project focus (the technology vs. the community). Our goal was not to find fault with our colleagues or their work, rather to advance the debate about the effectiveness of ICTD initiatives at a particularly important point in the history of the discipline. We conclude that top-down, technology-centric, goal-diffuse approaches to ICTD contribute to unsatisfactory development results. Careful consideration of development objectives, perspective and focus is essential in all phases of an ICTD project, from design to deployment. Honest and comprehensive reporting of failure (and success) helps ICTD researchers and practitioners focus on best practices in meeting critical development needs.
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Nairobi: announcing funding from omidyar network
  • J Colaço
ICT4D and the human development and capability approach $$vert $$ human development reports
  • J.-Y Hamel
Reflections on applying iterative and incremental software development methodologies (agile, RAD etc.) to aid and development work in developing countries
  • M Haikin
Haikin, M.: Reflections on applying iterative and incremental software development methodologies (agile, RAD etc.) to aid and development work in developing countries, https://matthaikin.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/agile-blarticle-part-11.pdf