Organizational Indicators for CASE Tools Selection: A Case Study

It is known that the selection, acquisition and implementation process of a CASE (Computer Aided Software Engineering) tool in an organization is a complex process. Fundamentally the impact of a tool is not simply the product of its inherent properties but also depends on the nature of the Information Systems (IS) development process and the organization thereof. Based on: (a) the foregoing and the support provided by CASE tools for the IS-development, (b) the large quantity and variety of the latter which are present in the market, (c) the characteristics of the organizations which develop their own IS and, (d) the strategic importance of the selection of a CASE tool for the IS-development according to the needs of the specific organization. This paper proposes and discusses the application to a significant sample of Venezuelan IS developing units, a series of organizational indicators, with their corresponding measurement variables, that shall offer a quantitative way of comparing different CASE tools from the organizational standpoint, as per the characteristics inherent to an IS -developing unit in any organizational context and country.