  It is widely acknowledged by researchers and practitioners that software
development methodologies are generally adapted to suit specific project
contexts. Research into practices-as-implemented has been fragmented and has
tended to focus either on the strength of adherence to a specific methodology
or on how the efficacy of specific practices is affected by contextual factors.
We submit the need for a more holistic, integrated approach to investigating
context-related best practice. We propose a six-dimensional model of the
problem-space, with dimensions organisational drivers (why), space and time
(where), culture (who), product life-cycle stage (when), product constraints
(what) and engagement constraints (how). We test our model by using it to
describe and explain a reported implementation study. Our contributions are a
novel approach to understanding situated software practices and a preliminary
model for software contexts.
