Development of a valid and reliable software customization model for SaaS quality through iterative method:...

Area of Science:

• Software Engineering
• Information Systems
• Quality Management

Background:

• Standardization in Software as a Service (SaaS) is beneficial, but customer-specific requirements necessitate application customization.
• Balancing standardization with customization is crucial for SaaS application success and user satisfaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a valid and reliable model for software customization in SaaS applications.
• To identify generic software customization types, common practices, and key quality attributes associated with SaaS customization.

Main Methods:

• The study involved three phases: model conceptualization, content validation with academic expertise, and reliability testing with software engineers.
• An initial model with six customization approaches, 46 practices, and 13 quality attributes was refined through two validation rounds.
• Internal consistency reliability was assessed by 34 software engineer researchers.

Main Results:

• The final model comprises six constructs and 44 items, including Configuration, Composition, Extension, Integration, Modification, and SaaS quality.
• Content validation led to the removal of one approach and 14 practices, with 20 practices being reformulated.
• The reliability study confirmed that all constructs of the content-validated model are reliable.

Conclusions:

• The developed model provides a framework for empirically analyzing the impact of software customization on SaaS quality.
• The model's constructs and items can enhance the systematic evaluation of customization strategies in multi-tenant SaaS environments.
• This research contributes to a better understanding of how to manage and measure SaaS application customization effectively.