Research Articles (Informatics)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/1697

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The influence of technology-enhanced brain-based learning on the science understanding and performance of first-year undergraduate engineering students
Terblanche, Hester Aletta; Matthee, Machdel C.; De Villiers, Carina (International Council of Associations for Science Education, 2026-04-01)
This study examines the impact of technology-enhanced, brain-based learning (BBL) on the science understanding and performance of disadvantaged students in South Africa. The research employed an experimental design, involving 18 students in the control group and 23 in the experimental group. These students were assessed at a University of Technology in South Africa over six consecutive sessions, focusing on a challenging physics concept, fluid mechanics, which is not covered in the school syllabus. The teaching intervention incorporated BBL strategies supported by technology, integrating current neuroscientific insights with evidence-based pedagogical approaches in the classroom. A science achievement test was administered before and after the intervention, along with a structured Likert-scale questionnaire. The findings suggest that the intervention positively influenced science understanding and performance. Participant feedback indicated that 91.3% felt optimistic that the intervention helped them better grasp science concepts. The statistical analysis shows that the experimental group exhibited greater improvement in science scores than the control group, although the difference was not statistically significant.
Health information technology acceptance by older people : a systematic review
Azzi, Sabrina; Daramola, Olawande; Gagnon, Stéphane (Springer Nature, 2026-04-02)
BACKGROUND : The increasing ageing population has led to the development of Health Information Technologies (HIT) for older individuals. However, there is a lack of clarity on which HIT older people are more likely to accept and the factors influencing their intention for acceptance. METHODS : A systematic literature review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Four academic databases were searched: Scopus, PubMed, the Web of Science, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, which resulted in the retrieval of 4941 articles. A total of 51 primary studies from 2007 to 2025 that satisfied the inclusion criteria and were subjected to quality assessment and used for the study. This review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD 420251271463). RESULTS : The study revealed that older people have a higher intention to accept assistive technologies over mobile health/eHealth. Older people’s HIT acceptance is influenced by personal, social, and technology design factors. There is a lack of geographical diversity of studies, with few coming from regions like Asia and Africa, hindering a global understanding of HIT acceptance factors. Notably, nearly half of the studies (45.09%) did not employ a theoretical framework, suggesting a lack of grounding in established knowledge and theoretical validity. While theories like the Technology Acceptance Model and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology and their extensions are commonly used, other frameworks, such as the Theory of Reasoned Action, Theory of Planned Behaviour, and Social Cognitive Theory, have been underexplored. CONCLUSION : The study highlights the need for more rigorous research with diverse geographical representation and the application of broader theoretical perspectives to deepen understanding of HIT acceptance among older people. It also specifies the imperatives for user-centredness in developing HIT products by manufacturers.
MFSSIA : ontology of blockchain-based multi-factor challenge set self-sovereign identity authentication
Kormiltsyn, Aleksandr; Iqbal, Mubashar; Dwivedi, Vimal; Norta, Alex; Matulevicius, Raimundas (Elsevier, 2026-06)
Communication in the machine-to-everything (M2X) economy, where machines, devices, systems, and humans interact in a highly interconnected environment, is evolving rapidly. Trust among participants is essential for secure operations and data sharing. The multi-factor challenge set self-sovereign identity authentication (MFSSIA) provides an advanced form of identity authentication for securing M2X interactions through verifiable challenge-response mechanisms. In this complex ecosystem, ensuring tamper-proof and reliable interactions is crucial. Current identity authentication systems rely on single sign-on (SSO) or a limited set of predefined challenges, often controlled by governments or large corporations. These centralized systems pose risks such as social discrimination. However, such models lack the flexibility and transparency needed in the M2X environment, where diverse and dynamic actors interact. MFSSIA addresses these limitations through a structured challenge/response lifecycle, where sets are generated, validated, and answered in a decentralized manner using blockchain technology. This removes the need for a central authority while ensuring secure identity validation. This research introduces an MFSSIA challenge/response ontology based on the unified foundational ontology (UFO) to standardize and structure identity interactions. The ontology defines concepts and rules for consistent identity challenge issuance and verification. Additionally, the ontology supports the creation and sharing of secure challenge sets by different companies through a marketplace that ensures their quality and reliability. This approach enhances trust and decentralization in the M2X economy.
From paper to platform : digitalising CPI data collection at South Africa's National Statistics Office
Suraj Narayan, Bhupendra; Mawela, Tendani (Emerald, 2026)
PURPOSE : The digitalisation of official statistics has accelerated globally, yet limited empirical evidence exists on its operational impact within national statistics offices in developing countries. This study aims to evaluate the transition to digital consumer price index data collection at Statistics South Africa, framing it as a socio-technical transition that enhances operational efficiency and transforms organisational workflows. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : A pragmatic case study and mixed-methods approach was used. The study integrated semi-structured interviews with a System and Information Quality survey grounded in the updated DeLone and McLean information systems success model. FINDINGS : Results demonstrate substantial improvements in timeliness, accuracy and efficiency through “process compression” within the sampled organisational context. While digitalisation eliminated manual re-entry and enhanced oversight, findings reveal heightened individual accountability through stringent system validation and reduced procedural flexibility for field staff. Quantitative results confirmed high user satisfaction, though infrastructure-dependent reliability remained a critical moderator. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS : Generalisability is limited by the single-domain focus and head-office sample, which likely underestimates the severity of infrastructural challenges in remote areas. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS : The findings offer guidance for national statistics offices pursuing digital transformation, emphasising the need for offline synchronisation, multi-layered device security and role redeployment aligned to new workflows. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS : This study shows how digitalisation strengthens the reliability and timeliness of official statistics, supporting more effective public policy and service delivery. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : This study provides empirical insight into a developing-country national statistics office. It extends the DeLone and McLean model to official statistics, offering actionable lessons on managing socio-technical trade-offs in mandatory public-sector digital transformations.
Enhancing the user experience of learning management systems in higher education : chatbot design principles
Swanepoel, Maria M.; Matthee, Machdel C.; Hattingh, Maria J. (Marie) (AOSIS, 2026-02-05)
The integration of chatbots into learning management systems (LMSs) has the potential to significantly enhance the user experience (UX) in the context of higher education. However, the lack of evidence-based guidelines for the design of such chatbots has diminished this potential. This study proposes a set of guiding principles to improve the design of LMS chatbots. A design science research approach was adopted to formulate the chatbot design principles, drawing on insights from 12 LMS users (students, instructors and administrators) at diverse higher education institutions, gathered during a design thinking workshop and refined through expert evaluation. This study offers a framework for developing LMS chatbots that prioritise UX, ensuring that LMS platforms remain an asset in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The principles address various aspects, including technical mechanisms, language usage, user experience and feedback mechanisms. Practically, it offers actionable principles to enhance responsiveness, accessibility, personalisation and trust. Future research should focus on the empirical evaluation of these principles in real-world implementations and their applicability to Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled chatbots to validate their effectiveness and broader impact on UX for users. CONTRIBUTION : This study proposes a structured, empirically grounded set of design principles for LMS-integrated chatbots. It addresses user dissatisfaction and underutilisation in LMS platforms by offering evidence-based guidance to enhance UX. It builds on and provides a framework for improving chatbot-user interactions. Practically, it offers actionable principles to enhance responsiveness, accessibility, personalisation and trust. This study thus supports digital transformation in higher education by promoting more engaging, inclusive and student-centred technology-enhanced learning environments.
User engagement with Mobile Health applications for self-management of diabetes : a principal component analysis approach
Kanny, Devendran; Adebesin, Funmi (Koegni-eHealth Innovation for Development, Germany , 2026-01)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Diabetes is a non-communicable disease that can arise from a genetic predisposition or develop due to the unhealthy lifestyle of an individual. mHealth applications (apps) can potentially revolutionise diabetes management by empowering people diagnosed with diabetes to take better control of their condition and promoting effective self-management. User engagement and sustained usage are critical determinants of mHealth apps’ success. While user engagement has been studied, detailed guidelines for developing applications that meet engagement requirements are limited. This study reported in this paper investigated the applicability of the User Engagement Scale (UES) in evaluating user engagement with a mHealth app for diabetes self-management. METHODS : A 30-item UES questionnaire was distributed through Diabetes South Africa (DSA), a non-governmental organization that supports and advocates for people living with diabetes in South Africa. Participants, who are either diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, rated their agreement with each statement in the UES using a 5-point Likert scale. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was conducted on 55 responses to evaluate the UES’s dimensionality. RESULTS : PCA suitability was confirmed by the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of 0.650 and a significant Bartlett’s test of sphericity, χ2(435) = 1124.16, p < 0.001. A new factor, Incentive, emerged by combining Aesthetic Appeal and Reward, which impacted user engagement. Additionally, Focused Attention and Perceived Usability were identified as significant predictors of user engagement. A revised 25-item scale was produced after five items were removed due to low factor loadings. CONCLUSIONS : This study validated the UES in a mHealth app context among South African participants, suggesting that the three-factor, 25-item solution is effective in evaluating user engagement in mHealth application settings.
Green bytes : leveraging knowledge management for sustainable organizations
Smuts, Hanlie (IADIS, 2025)
In today’s ubiquitous computing environment, organizations rely heavily on Information Technology (IT) to drive business value and economic success. However, true organizational sustainability extends beyond economics to include environmental and social dimensions, particularly in how IT equipment is disposed of, how software is developed, how data is generated and managed, how digital infrastructure is powered, and how end-user behaviour influences energy consumption. Energy-intensive data centers and growing data volumes contribute significantly to carbon emissions, necessitating greener IT practices. This study explores key knowledge management (KM) strategies and tactics that support green IT initiatives to promote organizational sustainability. Based on 539 survey responses, factor analysis revealed three core KM strategies: performance tracking and measurement, dark data management, and knowledge exchange. A multiple-factor analysis further examined the perspectives of KM practitioners, organizational learning practitioners, and data analysts, uncovering a notable divergence between the KM and learning communities versus data professionals. The results are synthesized into a KM strategies and tactics work system designed to guide organizations in aligning KM efforts with sustainability objectives by fostering interdisciplinary engagement and collaboration.
Beyond the beep : reimaging screen reader usability with UX at the forefront
Smuts, Solett; Smuts, Hanlie (IADIS, 2025)
Digital technologies have become deeply embedded within the present computing environments that shape users’ daily interactions, emerging as essential tools for education, communication, and information exchange. While users generally engage with these technologies through digital interactions, individuals with visual impairments (VI) or visual disabilities (VD) encounter distinct challenges compared to their sighted counterparts. In the specific context of computer-aided drawing systems for the blind (CADB), existing scholarship has significantly advanced our understanding of assistive technologies and the unique ways in which blind and visually impaired (BVI) users interact with human–computer interfaces. It is crucial to enhance usability, support shape creation, and enable intuitive spatial navigation to fully leverage the potential of these interfaces and foster meaningful engagement. This study sought to identify key user experience (UX) principles relevant to the design of screen readers—critical tools in improving digital accessibility for BVI users. The research analyzed a curated selection of 18 scholarly works employing a systematic literature review methodology. A thematic analysis of these sources produced 86 sub-themes, organized into seven overarching themes: Navigation, Content Creation Tools, Interactive Technology, UX Design Principles, Evolving Technology, User Needs, and User Skills. These themes were synthesized into a conceptual model offering actionable insights for UX designers and developers. The resulting framework not only informs the development of more accessible and user-centered screen readers but also contributes to the broader goal of inclusive digital design by ensuring that assistive technologies address the diverse needs of their users.
DAOMod : a modeling method for decentralized autonomous organization development
Avanzo, Sowelu; Domenicale, Irene; Norta, Alex; Linares, Julio; Schifanella, Claudio; Hattingh, Maria J. (Marie); Mitwalli, Daniel Sami (European Association of Software Science and Technology, 2025)
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) are a type of Decentralized Applications (DApps) that utilize smart contracts to support governance processes. To achieve a high degree of utility of the system, stakeholders need to identify a suitable organizational structure in the early stages of design. While Model-Driven Development (MDD) methods are established for DApp and smart contract design, they lack specialization for modeling the organizational structures of DAOs. To address this gap, we propose a modeling language and a method which support crucial DAO design and development phases. The method is evaluated through an in vivo case study. Unlike existing solutions, comprehensive stepwise guidance is provided by our method for both technical and non-technical stakeholders involved in DAO development from the initial stages of the project.
Prediction of students’ feedback on faculty performance using stacking ensemble method : machine learning algorithm
Alade, Mayowa Samuel; Adejumo, Samuel Olujimi; Ninan, Olufemi Deborah; Adeniyi, Abidemi Emmanuel; Ogbuju, Emeka; Aroba, Oluwasegun Julius; Ramchander, Manduth; Adeliyi, Timothy (Learning Gate, 2025)
Students’ feedback is fundamental for the growth and development of higher education institutions. Feedback and comments from students are an extremely useful and valuable source of information that reflects the quality of education or educational services received by students. However, the effective management of qualitative opinions of students is a challenge. Undeniably, many organisations deal with quantitative feedback effectively, while qualitative feedback is either manually processed or ignored. This paper proposes an opinion mining or sentiment analysis system using a stacking ensemble-based method. Furthermore, four base models, comprising various base-level classifiers, including logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM), multilayer perceptron (MLP), and Naïve Bayes (NB), predict the orientations as positive, negative,or neutral. The system has been evaluated using performance metrics such as accuracy, precision, recall and F1-measure; and compared with similar models. Experimental results show that the four base-independent algorithms yield the following classification accuracies: LR algorithm, 79.05%; SVM, 81.76%; MLP, 50.68%; and Multinomial Naïve Bayes, 50.68%. These forecasts can be used by Nigerian Public universities and higher education institutions to improve the educational system and assist students to receive a better and quality education.
Factors influencing the integration of ICT in teaching and learning
Somagaca, Unathi; Mawela, Tendani (Christ University Bangalore, 2025)
Please read abstract in article.
Tuberculosis treatment adherence and associated factors in the Butha-Buthe district, Lesotho : a retrospective cohort study
Rangoanana, Motlatsi; Ngah, Veranyuy; Tamuzi, Jacques Lukenze; Maphalale, Sele; Molete, Mabatho; Ratikoane, Retselisitsoe; Maama, Llang; Fwemba, Isaac; Daramola, Olawande; Ogunrombi, Modupe; Nyasulu, Peter Suwirakwenda (Pan African Medical Journal, 2025-04-02)
INTRODUCTION : Lesotho remains one of the world's 30 high-tuberculosis (TB) burden countries. In Butha-Buthe district, unfavourable TB treatment outcomes were higher than those set forth by the WHO. This study's objective was to evaluate TB treatment adherence and treatment resistance among patients enrolled in the 12 health facilities in Butha-Buthe. METHODS : data were collected from the medical records of patients with sputum smear-positive TB and extra-pulmonary forms of TB between January 2015 and December 2020. Results were presented in frequencies and percentages. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with treatment adherence. RESULTS : among 1,792 patients who were enrolled, 1,320 were included in the study. The overall mean TB treatment adherence rate was estimated at 37.20%. Factors found to be associated with treatment adherence in multivariate analysis were age ≥60 years (aOR: 0.59, 95%CI: 0.54- 0.66; P<0.001), being a mine worker (aOR 1.09, 95%CI: 1.03-1.14; P<0.001), having pulmonary TB (aOR: 1.23, 95%CI: 1.17-1.29, P<0.001), being in the continuation phase of the treatment (aOR 1.38, 95%CI: 1.33, 1.45; P<0.001) and category 2 (aOR 0.93, 95%CI: 0.88-0.99; P = 0.016). Regarding TB contact support, family members (aOR: 1.08, 95%CI: 1.03-1.14; P<0.001), friends (aOR 1.30, 95%CI: 1.19-1.41; P<0.001), spouses (aOR: 1.24, 95%CI 1.16-1.34; P<0.001), and unreported contacts (aOR 1.18, 95%CI: 1.09-1.27; P = 0.015) all showed increased TB adherence. CONCLUSION : the overall adherence to TB therapy was poor in Butha-Buthe district. Lesotho urgently needs district-level strategies to improve TB treatment adherence and reduce treatment resistance.
Student reflections on empowering ECD educators to integrate sensory gardens in schools
Jordaan, Martina; Thuketana, Nkhensani Susan (Common Ground Research Networks, 2025-07)
This article reports on efforts to empower ten early childhood development (ECD) educators on the concept of sensory gardens in 2023. This project builds on another project launched in 2022. During the 2022 sessions, ECD practitioners were taught the basic concepts of sensory gardens. Ten ECD practitioners interested in including aspects related to sensory gardens in their ECD centers in 2022 were invited to the training sessions by fourteen ECD students. The participants were encouraged to develop interactive elements for their gardens and incorporate them into their ECD centers. A qualitative approach was employed in which the students reflected on the training they provided to the ECD practitioners. The study revealed that training ECD practitioners to incorporate aspects of sensory gardens into their ECD centers positively impacted the students’ overall learning experience and development. The study provides valuable insights into the benefits of integrating sensory gardens into ECD centers and their potential for promoting holistic development in students in the ECD phase.
Leveraging principal component analysis of crime trends to drive innovation in industry, policy, and society
Khanyile, Thabiso; Adeliyi, Timothy; Aroba, Oluwasegun J. (EnPress Publisher, 2025-01-08)
Given the multifaceted nature of crime trends shaped by a range of social, economic, and demographic variables, grasping the fundamental drivers behind crime patterns is pivotal for crafting effective crime deterrence methodologies. This investigation adopted a systematic literature review technique to distill thirty key factors from a corpus of one hundred scholarly articles. Utilizing the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for diminishing dimensionality facilitated a nuanced understanding of the determinants deemed essential in influencing crime trends. The findings highlight the necessity of tackling issues such as inequality, educational deficits, poverty, unemployment, insufficient parental guidance, and peer influence in the realm of crime prevention efforts. Such knowledge empowers policymakers and law enforcement bodies to optimize resource allocation and roll out interventions grounded in empirical evidence, thereby fostering a safer and more secure societal environment.
Optimizing the knowledge work environment : strategies for enhancing knowledge worker productivity
Mare, Annie; Smuts, Hanlie (IGI Global, 2026-01)
The built environment has a significant impact on knowledge workers' productivity. Work environments should be designed to address the needs of the workers who inhabit the space to ensure optimal effectiveness in executing their work tasks, thereby increasing their productivity. This paper proposes a user-centered process for workspace design that would allow organizations to improve the capabilities of their work environment continually and address the needs of knowledge workers. A structured literature review was conducted to identify principles for effective workplace design as well as dimensions for testing workplace usability. A focus group was facilitated to enrich the findings emanating from the literature review, where the love and breakup letter method (LBM) was implemented to elicit the needs of office workers. The findings determined that the most significant negative impact on knowledge worker productivity was the implementation of a hot-desk system, and suggested a move towards activity-based workspaces.
Development of an mhealth App prototype for LGBTQIA+ individuals’ sexual and reproductive health in Gauteng Province, South Africa : design science research study
Seretlo, Raikane James; Mokgatle, Mathildah Mpata; Smuts, Hanlie; Sepeng, Nombulelo Veronica (JMIR Publications, 2025-12)
BACKGROUND : The fast rate of technological advances in the health care sector remain as a pressing need for effective solutions that address the unique health care needs of sexual and gender minorities. If these innovative solutions are considered, societal challenges such as stigma, discrimination, and a lack of tailored health care resources, as experienced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and more (LGBTQIA+) individuals could be addressed at lower cost. OBJECTIVE : This study aimed to develop a mobile health (mHealth) app specifically designed to address the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and more (LGBTQIA+) individuals in Gauteng Province, South Africa. METHODS : This study used a Design Science Research (DSR) framework and a mixed-method exploratory sequential approach. DSR was executed in three cycles: cycle one followed an ethnography approach; involved 33 health care providers (HCPs) and 22 LGBTQIA+ individuals, focusing on identifying specific SRH and the challenges encountered in accessing and providing these services. Participants shared their views on the potential role of mHealth apps in addressing these issues. Cycle two engaged 13 experts through Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach using the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) to collaboratively identify essential content for the app, fostering a co-creation process. Lastly, cycle three followed an interventional pre-experimental approach by involving software developers and principal investigator working together to develop a functional prototype of the mHealth app. RESULTS : This study revealed critical insights into the specific SRH of LGBTQIA+ individuals, alongside the barriers faced by health care providers in meeting these needs. The co-created app prototype named "Queery wellness hub" was developed and incorporated features tailored to enhance accessibility, confidentiality, and user engagement, addressing both user and provider perspectives. CONCLUSIONS : The findings underscore the potential of mHealth apps in transforming the delivery of SRH for LGBTQIA+ individuals in South Africa. Continued collaboration with stakeholders is essential for further refinement and successful implementation of the app, ultimately contributing to better health outcomes for sexual and gender minorities.
An enterprise framework for blockchain interoperability
Mafike, Senate Sylvia; Mawela, Tendani (Springer, 2026-01-24)
Achieving blockchain interoperability is a complex process for many organisations seeking to use the technology to augment business processes. The novelty of blockchain technology introduces new challenges that cannot be effectively addressed with contemporary interoperability approaches, and blockchain-centric interoperability tools, methods, and frameworks that support organisations are scarce. Therefore, there is a need for blockchain-specific frameworks and solutions to be developed. This study addresses this gap by exploring blockchain interoperability from an enterprise perspective. The study adopted the design science research approach and was informed by multiple data collection points, including systematic literature reviews, qualitative interviews with blockchain experts, and industry webinars. The research, underpinned by the General Systems Theory, developed and evaluated a blockchain interoperability framework within the context of the banking industry. The results emphasised the importance of a clear blockchain use case, understanding the goal for adopting blockchain, and defining the scope of interoperability, understanding systems, data, and compliance with regulatory frameworks as key elements that inform the blockchain interoperability approach. The study makes a theoretical and practical contribution through the comprehensive Enterprise Blockchain Interoperability (EBI) framework and guidelines. The EBI framework can be used as a guide and reference point for blockchain practitioners and organisations to guide the decisions regarding the process of interoperating blockchain technology with existing organisational processes and systems. The EBI framework and design guidelines were evaluated and validated by blockchain experts, pointing to their utility for enterprises that are considering integrating blockchain systems.
Leveraging blockchain for ethical AI : mitigating digital threats and strengthening societal resilience
Udokwu , Chibuzor; Voicu-Dorobant, Roxana; Ogunyemi, Abiodun Afolayan; Norta, Alex; Sturua, Nata; Craß, Stefan (MDPI, 2025-07-17)
This position paper proposes a conceptual framework (CF-BIAI-SXT) for integrating blockchain with AI to enhance ethical governance, transparency, and privacy in high-risk AI applications that ensure societal resilience through the mitigation of sexual exploitation. Sextortion is a growing form of digital sexual exploitation, and the role of AI in its mitigation and the ethical issues that arise provide a good case for this paper. Through a combination of systematic and narrative literature reviews, the paper first explores the ethical shortcomings of existing AI systems in sextortion prevention and assesses the capacity of blockchain operations to mitigate these limitations. It then develops CF-BIAI-SXT, a framework operationalized through BPMN-modeled components and structured into a three-layer implementation strategy composed of technical enablement, governance alignment, and continuous oversight. The framework is then situated within real-world regulatory constraints, including GDPR and the EU AI Act. This position paper concludes that a resilient society needs ethical, privacy-first, and socially resilient digital infrastructures, and integrating two core technologies, such as AI and blockchain, creates a viable pathway towards this desideratum. Mitigating high-risk environments, such as sextortion, may be a fundamental first step in this pathway, with the potential expansion to other forms of online threats.
Identification and prioritization of success factors in agile software development in the South African software development industry
Gwangwadza, Ashley Shumirayi; Hanslo, Ridewaan (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2025-08)
Agile software development is a methodology initiated to offer “agility” by addressing the rigidity of traditional methodologies to limit the associated negative effects. It has been increasingly adopted in the South African software development industry. However, there is no comprehensive research on the factors that affect the success of Agile software development projects in a South African context and the hierarchy of importance of these factors. This study addresses this gap through a case study of a South African software development organization. The study identifies and prioritizes the critical success factors of Agile software development in the South African software development industry. In total, 15 semistructured interviews were conducted with Agile practitioners in various roles in the case study organization to identify the critical success factors. A total of 25 critical success factors were identified and grouped into six categories: organizational, team, customer, process, technical, and project. Based on the findings, the research proposed a framework for critical success factors in Agile software development in the South African software development industry. The factors were then ranked based on the combined frequency of mentions of the factor and its descriptive attributes. Organizational culture was the highest ranked factor, placing the highest importance on this factor. In addition, the organizational and team categories had the most highly ranked factors, while the project category had the least ranked factors. The research findings provide information that, if used by Agile practitioners in South Africa, may increase the success of Agile software development projects in the South African software development industry.
Data-driven insights into road accident severity in sub-Saharan Africa : a multiple correspondence analysis for SDG-aligned policy
Adeliyi, Timothy; Oluwadele, Deborah; Aroba, Oluwasegun J.; Igwe, Kevin (International Information and Engineering Technology Association, 2025-07-31)
In recent years, several impactful studies have provided stakeholders with actionable insights aimed at reducing accident severity, aligning with Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 11, which target a reduction in global deaths and injuries by 2030. Building upon this foundation, the present study applies the Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) technique to uncover complex and latent relationships among categorical variables influencing road accident severity across Sub-Saharan Africa. The dataset comprises 12,316 accident records spanning 2017 to 2020, with 22 carefully selected categorical variables relevant to driver demographics, environmental conditions, vehicle characteristics, and road infrastructure. Through MCA, the dimensionality of the original 182 dimensions was reduced to 29 dimensions based on eigenvalue retention, with the first two dimensions accounting for 60.2% of the total variance. The resulting MCA biplot reveals distinct quadrant-based groupings of variables. The top-right quadrant demonstrates a strong positive correlation among factors such as younger drivers (aged 18-30), vehicle ownership, type of vehicle, service year, presence of medians or lanes, specific accident-prone areas, and weekdays. This cluster suggests that accident severity is significantly influenced by driver age and vehicle characteristics in particular contexts. This study revealed the interrelationships among key features, offering a data-driven foundation upon which policymakers and transport authorities can design and implement targeted interventions. These may include stricter licensing regulations for younger drivers, the enforcement of improved vehicle safety standards, and strategic infrastructural enhancements in identified high-risk zones. The findings provide a strong foundation for the expansion of sustainable road safety strategies and contribute to the growing discourse on mitigating accident severity in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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