Growing attention on component-based development has inspired the development of several normative methods for selection of software components. Despite these efforts, empirical studies show only minor adoption of such methods. To understand how research can contribute to improving the selection of components we interviewed developers from 16 Norwegian software companies which integrate Open Source Software (OSS) components into their systems. We find that the selection of OSS components has a situational nature where project specific properties significantly constrain the selection’s outcome, and that developers employ a ’first fit ’ rather than ’best fit ’ approach when selecting OSS components. This could explain the limited adoption of normative selection approaches and general evaluation schemas. Moreover, it motivates a shift from developing such methods and schemas towards understanding the situational nature of software selection. 1

The FAMEtool: an automated supporting tool for assessing

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems are very common in large companies. However, CRM systems are not very common in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Most SMEs do not implement CRM systems due to several reasons, such as lack of knowledge about CRM or lack of financial resources to implement CRM systems. SMEs have to start implementing Information Systems (IS) technology into their business operations in order to improve business values and gain more competitive advantage over rivals. CRM system has the potential to help improve the business value and competitive capabilities of SMEs. Given the high fixed costs of normal activity of companies, we intend to promote free and viable solutions for small and medium businesses. In this paper, we explain the reasons why SMEs do not implement CRM system and the benefits of using open source CRM system in SMEs. We also describe the functionalities of top open source CRM systems, examining the applicability of these tools in fitting the needs of SMEs.