Using a socio-technical maturity model to assist in the sustainability of ICT4D projects

Abstract

In this mini-dissertation the author, through a process of Dialectical analysis, using Interviews (with participants in ICT4D projects), Observations (of ICT4D projects) and Document analysis (of documentation about ICT4D projects), attempts to define what is necessary for the technical success of an ICT4D (Information and Communication System for Development) project. The author attempts this definition by using technical maturity models as a basis for determining what the current level of success or sustainability for an ICT4D project is. The author goes further by defining and creating his own technical maturity model, for ICT4D projects, and then refining it based on his Observations, a series of Interviews and Document analysis. This final revised model, and the process used to create it, is used to answer the question of whether a technical maturity model can be used in an ICT4D project and to what extent such a model will assist in the sustainability of an ICT4D project.