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Software project management is a relatively recent discipline that emerged during the second half of the 20th century (Kwak, 2003). Many of the software project management methodologies available today were developed in Western/European countries and research showed that there was a need to formalise a software project management framework for developing countries, in particular Africa (Muriithi & Crawford, 2003). Based on surveys and discussions with software professionals, a methodology for software project management is being proposed. The methodology is based on a maturity model as Mauritius is faced with a shortage in skilled professionals. So far, few organisations in Mauritius have been found to be using software project management methodologies developed in Western/European countries. Most maturity models, for example Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and Kerzner's maturity model, have five maturity levels. The trend is towards the development of maturity models that have fewer maturity levels. For example, the Organisational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3) and Prince 2 Maturity Model have been developed with three maturity levels. Similarly, the proposed Evolutionary Software Project Management Maturity Model (ESPM3) has three maturity levels and a continuous process improvement group of key process areas (KPAs). ISO 9001:2000 is chosen as the quality management system and each KPA is mapped onto the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle. The model is conceptually represented as a conical structure to better display the evolutionary development of KPAs. KPAs, which are focus areas to be considered for project management, are developed until they attain maturity at a certain level. As organisations have to be responsive to their environments, these KPAs may require further changes even after they have reached maturity. A continuous process group of KPAs helps in adapting to changes in environment. In order to test the proposed methodology, one case study has been included. The application of the methodology to the project could not be discussed in detail in this paper. The development of KPAs in an organisation takes time and the case study was only a snapshot of the application of the methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global Software Development (GSD) is a growing sector in Mauritius and South Africa. With an increasing number of information technology (IT) investors, both countries are being recognised as IT hubs in the Southern African region; hence the need for further research on GSD in those two countries. Furthermore, due to a highly diverse cultural setting prevailing in Mauritius and South Africa, common GSD practices derived from other studies might not be fully successful when applied in these contexts. It is thus useful to explore how alternative GSD practices have been put in place to handle these cultural disparities and the resulting communication requirements. The study has been undertaken in an attempt to enlighten investors on the communication and cultural practices that could be followed while partaking in GSD in Mauritius and South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]