Evaluation of Determinants of Software Quality in Offshored Software Projects

Author(s):  
Ganesan Kannabiran ◽  
K. Sankaran

Successful offshoring engagements of Indian software vendors is increasingly dependent upon the quality of the projects delivered rather than cost considerations. However, delivering quality software is reliant on effective management of various organizational, technological and people aspects. This research is to identify and evaluate the determinants of quality on software projects delivered by vendors through offshoring. Data related to recently completed projects were collected through a survey of 440 project managers from Indian vendors. Based on structural equation modeling, the authors analyze the influence determinants on specific product quality attributes. It is found that, out of six determinants, technical infrastructure and process maturity have significant influence on most of the attributes of quality in offshored IS projects from India. The authors provide a set of implications for practice and directions for further research.

2022 ◽  
pp. 1857-1883
Author(s):  
Ganesan Kannabiran ◽  
K. Sankaran

Successful offshoring engagements of Indian software vendors is increasingly dependent upon the quality of the projects delivered rather than cost considerations. However, delivering quality software is reliant on effective management of various organizational, technological and people aspects. This research is to identify and evaluate the determinants of quality on software projects delivered by vendors through offshoring. Data related to recently completed projects were collected through a survey of 440 project managers from Indian vendors. Based on structural equation modeling, the authors analyze the influence determinants on specific product quality attributes. It is found that, out of six determinants, technical infrastructure and process maturity have significant influence on most of the attributes of quality in offshored IS projects from India. The authors provide a set of implications for practice and directions for further research.


2012 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffaele Cioffi† ◽  
Anna Coluccia ◽  
Fabio Ferretti ◽  
Francesca Lorini ◽  
Aristide Saggino ◽  
...  

The present paper reexamines the psychometric properties of the Quality Perception Questionnaire (QPQ), an Italian survey instrument measuring patients’ perceptions of the quality of a recent hospital admission experience, in a sample of 4400 patients (Mage = 56.42 years; SD = 19.71 years, 48.8% females). The 14-item survey measures four factors: satisfaction with medical doctors, nursing staff, auxiliary staff, and hospital structures. First, we tested two models using a confirmatory factor analysis (structural equation modeling): a four orthogonal factor and a four oblique factor model. The SEM fit indices and the χ² difference suggested the acceptance of the second model. We then did a simulation using a bootstrap with 1000 replications. Results confirmed the four oblique factor solution. Third, we tested whether there were significant differences with respect to age or sex. The multivariate general linear model showed no significant differences in the factors with respect to sex or age.


Author(s):  
Laura Esteban ◽  
Patricia Navas ◽  
Miguel Ángel Verdugo ◽  
Víctor B. Arias

People with intellectual disability (ID) and extensive support needs experience poorer quality of life than their peers whose disability is not as severe. Many of them live in residential settings that limit community participation and prevent them from exercising control over their lives. This work analyzes the extent to which professional practices are aimed at promoting the right to community living for people with ID and extensive support needs, as well as the rights that are particularly linked to it, such as the right to habilitation and rehabilitation and the right to privacy. A specific questionnaire was designed and administered to 729 adults with intellectual disability (M = 37.05; DT = 12.79) living in different settings (family home, residential facilities and group homes). Measurement and structural models were estimated using exploratory structural equation modeling. Results obtained reveal that people with extensive support needs receive less support in terms of guaranteeing their right to independent living and privacy, especially when they live in disability-related services. This study highlights the need to implement and monitor, using valid and reliable indicators, mesosystem strategies that guarantee the right to live and participate in the community, especially for individuals with ID and extensive support needs.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109980042110096
Author(s):  
Ruey-Hsia Wang ◽  
Chia-Chin Lin ◽  
Shi-Yu Chen ◽  
Hui-Chun Hsu ◽  
Chiu-Ling Huang

Purposes: Women with diabetes (WD) are more severely impacted by the consequence of suboptimal diabetes control. This study aims to examine the impact of demographic and disease characteristics, baseline self-stigma, role strain, diabetes distress on Hemoglobin A1C (A1C) levels, quality of life (D-QoL) and 6-month A1C levels in younger WD. Methods: This study was a 6-month prospective study. In total, 193 WD aged 20–64 years were selected by convenience sampling from three outpatient clinics in Taiwan. Demographic and disease characteristics, self-stigma, role strain, diabetes distress, A1C levels, and D-QoL were collected at baseline. A1C levels were further collected 6 months later. Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the hypothesized model. Results: The final model supported that higher baseline D-QoL directly associated with lower concurrent A1C levels and indirectly associated with lower 6-month A1C levels through baseline A1C levels. Higher baseline self-stigma, role strain, and diabetes distress directly associated with lower baseline D-QoL, and indirectly associated with higher 6-month A1C levels through D-QoL. Conclusion: Improving self-stigma, role strain, and diabetes distress should be considered as promising strategies to improve D-QoL in young WD. D-QoL plays a mediation role between baseline self-stigma, role strain, diabetes distress and subsequent glycemic control in younger WD. Enhancing baseline D-QoL is fundamental to improve subsequent glycemic control.


Author(s):  
Angel M. Dzhambov ◽  
Peter Lercher ◽  
Drozdstoy Stoyanov ◽  
Nadezhda Petrova ◽  
Stoyan Novakov ◽  
...  

Background: Online education became mandatory for many students during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and blurred the distinction between settings where processes of stress and restoration used to take place. The lockdown also likely changed perceptions of the indoor acoustic environment (i.e., soundscape) and raised its importance. In the present study, we seek to understand how indoor soundscape related to university students’ self-rated health in Bulgaria around the time that the country was under a state of emergency declaration caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Between 17 May and 10 June 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional online survey among 323 students (median age 21 years; 31% male) from two universities in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Self-rated health (SRH) was measured with a single-item. Participants were asked how frequently they heard different types of sounds while at home and how pleasant they considered each of those sounds to be. Restorative quality of the home (the “being away” dimension of the Perceived Restorativeness Scale) was measured with a single-item. A priori confounders and effect modifiers included sociodemographics, house-related characteristics, general sensitivity to environmental influences, and mental health. Our analysis strategy involved sequential exploratory factor analysis (EFA), multivariate linear and ordinal regressions, effect modification tests, and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: EFA supported grouping perceived sounds into three distinct factors—mechanical, human, and nature sounds. Regression analyses revealed that greater exposure to mechanical sounds was consistently associated with worse SRH, whereas no significant associations were found for human and nature sounds. In SEM, exposure to mechanical sounds related to lower restorative quality of the home, and then to poorer SRH, whereas nature sounds correlated with higher restorative quality, and in turn with better SRH. Conclusions: These findings suggest a role of positive indoor soundscape and restorative quality for promoting self-rated health in times of social distancing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dissakoon Chonsalasin ◽  
Sajjakaj Jomnonkwao ◽  
Vatanavongs Ratanavaraha

The airline industry in Thailand has grown enormously over the past decade. Competition among airline companies to reach market share and profit has been intense, requiring strong strategic abilities. To increase the service quality of such companies, identifying factors related to the context of airlines is important for policymakers. Thus, this study aims to present empirical data on structural factors related to the loyalty of domestic airline passengers. Structural equation modeling was used to confirm the proposed model. The questionnaire was used to survey and collect data from 1600 airline passengers. The results indicate that satisfaction, trust, perceived quality, relationship, and image of airlines positively influenced loyalty with a statistical significance of α = 0.05. Moreover, the study found that expectation and perceived quality indirectly influenced loyalty. The findings provide a reference for airline operators to clearly understand the factors that motivate passenger loyalty, which can be used to develop the sustainability of marketing strategies and support competitiveness.


2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pilar Fernández-Ferrín ◽  
Belén Bande-Vilela ◽  
Jill Gabrielle Klein ◽  
M. Luisa del Río-Araújo

Purpose – Consumer ethnocentrism and consumer animosity provide marketing management with two useful concepts to understand the reasons behind consumers’ purchase decisions concerning domestic vs imported products. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the antecedents and consequences of animosity and ethnocentrism within a single model, and respondents’ evaluations of a specific product category are solicited. Design/methodology/approach – The study is conducted within an ideal context for the study of consumer animosity: data were collected in Belgrade shortly after the US-led NATO bombings of 1999. The surveys were carried out in person at the interviewees’ home. The sample was part of a regular omnibus panel composed of 270 adult respondents, of which 92.2 percent agreed to participate. Findings – The findings indicate that animosity and consumer ethnocentrism are distinct constructs. Also consistent with previous research, results obtained confirm that each construct has unique antecedents and consequences. Practical implications – Once consumer animosity and ethnocentrism levels have been measured, managers can then make decisions about whether to promote their country of origin or, alternatively, create more powerful local connections for their products. Thus, the consideration of animosity and ethnocentrism can be part of a firm’s international strategies. Originality/value – Previous studies on consumer animosity have demonstrated through structural equation modeling that the two constructs are distinct and have distinct antecedents, but research has not examined both the antecedents and the consequences of animosity and ethnocentrism in the same study. Thus, this study investigates the antecedents and consequences of animosity and ethnocentrism within a single model.


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