Unintended effects of dependencies in source code on the flexibility of IT in organizations

This study links business requirements and adaptability of existing software systems. Organizations expect flexibility of IT with regard to business requirements. We hypothesize that the flexibility of business requirements is difficult in IT systems, because of software dependencies in the way domain knowledge is implemented. In this paper, we, therefore, explore how Business requirements have been implemented in the source code of three open source healthcare systems. Outcomes suggest that a tight interdependency of business terminology and functionality in source code hides business requirements from view and thereby hinders IT flexibility on higher levels. Diagram of Modeling levels of OMG Diagram of Modeling levels of OMG … Figures - uploaded by Rogier van de WeteringAuthor content All figure content in this area was uploaded by Rogier van de Wetering Content may be subject to copyright.