| The activity of developing software systems is not an end, but a means to an end for the people who directly or indirectly depend on them. Taking such a view thus implies that software systems must be engineered such that they help people meet their ends. The primary focus of this study is to show how decisions about software systems can be made such that they are better aligned to realize the values (ends) of its stakeholders (people).;This study develops an interdisciplinary theory and process by integrating research in organization design, economics, and software engineering. It goes beyond both that in addressing why a software system is being produced, and how well it needs to perform. It makes an inquiry into the current practices related to decision making in thinking about and constructing or acquiring software systems. With a few exceptions, it shows how most current practices fall short in addressing the full set of stakeholder values (disconnected from stakeholder values), and how current practices use an insufficient unit of analysis that does not include the context in which the software has to transition (disconnected from context). |
