RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FOCUS AREAS AND IT GOVERNANCE TOOLS USED BY SOFTWARE COMPANIES: A MULTICASE STUDY OF COMPANIES IN CURITIBA’S SOFTWARE CLUSTER

Abstract

This paper seeks to identify the presence of ITG (Information Technology Governance) focus-areas and instruments, as well as associations between them, through a multi case study with 13 companies in the software LPA (Local Productive Arrangement) in Curitiba. A survey was used for data collection. Analysis was performed using quantitative methods with the support of statistical techniques: descriptive and Fisher's exact test. Results show the strong presence and the good contribution of maturity models – such as CMMI and MPS.BR – and project management, for IT management in the surveyed companies. On the other hand, emblematic ITG instruments – COBIT and ITIL – showed little expression among those companies. This invites to a reflection on the effectiveness of such instruments in companies with similar characteristics to those of the surveyed companies. Through these findings, this paper contributes to filling gaps in the empirical studies on the presence of ITG focus-areas and instruments in software companies.