The Effects of Increased Software Errors on Software Product Functionality

Abstract

The expense of software adoption among end-users has increased the users’ exposure to software errors. This study identified how increased software errors lead to functional issues related to software products. Testing measures have been developed and incorporated to mitigate software errors. However, errors continue to emerge in the final product, causing issues for the end-users and affecting their trust regarding software products. Software developers are the main stakeholders in contributing to software programs. Understanding and analyzing their challenges with software errors from the technological, organizational, and environmental perspectives is essential to finding the root cause of software errors. This qualitative phenomenology study addressed the root cause of software errors from developers’ opinions employing technology, organization, and environment (TOE) as a framework. Four research questions addressed the research problem, and 12 software developers participated in this study. Interviews were the instrument for collecting data. Thematic analysis was the method used to discover the technological challenges the developers faced, and the security challenges imposed on the organization due to errors. The findings revealed and explained the external factors that affect developers’ decision-making. The results showed that the developers faced significant challenges from the TOE directions, which created errors in the software products. Organizations can utilize these findings to improve their software development process and tools and minimize disruptive errors in software products. Future research can focus on specific challenges that developers and organizations face and investigate further to analyze software errors.