COSMOS - COntextualization of Software MethOds in the context of a Sustainable Intercultural Healthcare Platform

Methods in software engineering are formulated in general terms, as if they were universally applicable. However, experience shows that they need to be adapted to fit the needs of specific development situations and domains. This is termed as 'contextualization'. Since the adaptation normally occurs in industrial countries, it is taken for granted that certain assump-tions hold in all contexts. The need for contextualization is much more radical in developing countries, in particular in rural areas, where the basic conditions expected in industrialized countries cannot be met.