OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGES OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA: THE SHEWA MODEL

Abstract

Software developers employ different software models as tools for achieving software project goals. Software developers in Nigeria face a lot of challenges in this regard due to constant change of requirements. Though literature reveals many different models that can be used to plan, undertake and monitor software development projects, many of them may not be applicable in the Nigerian setting due to technical factors and other anomalies. This paper aims to develop a model for software development tailored towards the Nigerian context. In doing this, software development professionals were contacted. The primary tool for data collection was questionnaire, two hundred and fifty (250) of which were administered in Lagos, Port Harcourt and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Of these, 92% was retrieved and formed the basis for the analyses. The software developers were asked to select key success factors of software development application in the Nigerian milieu from four purposively selected models which are waterfall, spiral, incremental, and prototyping from literature. Subsequently, a flow chart diagram was sketched to consolidate the key success factors to develop a model. The model, named Shewa, was tested using internal factors such as licencing and linkages (4.43), human resource (3.69) and external factors such as access to technical information and support (3.65) and competition with international market (3.59) among others. The results show that Shewa is applicable in Nigeria given the internal and external factors.