An evaluation of the quality of management information systems used by SACCOs in Kenya

Purpose – Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) in developing countries require core banking Management Information Systems (MISs) to run their business, serve their clients and provide differentiated products and services to gain competitive advantage. Considering that SACCOs in Kenya lack the necessary resources to acquire the best information systems, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate MISs currently in use in the SACCO subsector to determine how well they are serving. Design/methodology/approach – Using the ISO/IEC 25010 Software Product Quality Model, the quality of MISs operated by 215 Deposit-Taking SACCOs in the Kenya was evaluated to determine their level of performance. Findings – The results indicated that the MISs currently in use by the SACCOs serve them well in terms of functionality, efficiency, reliability, ease of use and portability. However, vendor support, technical training and implementation process are a big concern to the SACCOs. Practical implications – The SACCOs in Kenya need not look for other MISs as the ones in use satisfied the condition required by the ISO/IEC 25010 Software Product Quality Model. The areas that require attention are vendor support services by entering into contracts technical training and service level agreement; and good project management in software implementation. Originality/value – The research addresses itself to one of the biggest setbacks faced by a fast growing subsector in adopting ICT with limited capacity and infrastructure.