Modelling the critical success factors of agile software development projects in South Africa

There are several critical success factors suggested for why agile software development projects succeed, including organisational and process factors. Although there are an increasing number of identified critical success factors, IT professionals lack the modelling techniques and the theoretical framework to help them meaningfully understand their influences. To solve this problem, this study developed a model by employing the following theories: Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to create a fit model for agile software development projects. The research sought to answer the question: What are the critical success factors that influence the success of agile software development projects? The literature review considers the continued failure of agile and traditional software development projects which have led to the consideration of, and dispute over, critical success factors — the aspects most vital to a methodology’s success. Though TRA, TPB and UTAUT have previously been applied to agile methodologies, empirical models have not been completely integrated to develop a fit model. This research sought to fill this gap. Data was collected in South Africa through a web-based survey using structured questionnaires and an interview guide. Face-to-face interviews were done to identify the critical success factors in agile projects. The data was captured and analysed for descriptive statistics, convergent and discriminant validity, composite and internal reliability, and correlation in order to inform the structural equation modelling (SEM). SEM was used to test the research model and hypotheses to answer the research questions. The results informed development of a comprehensive model that could provide guidelines to the agile community. The study contributes towards understanding the critical success factors for agile projects. It examined direct, indirect and moderating effects, and the findings contribute towards developing a framework to be used by agile professionals. These key result shows that organisational factors have a great influence on performance expectancy characteristics. To ensure success of agile projects, managers are advised to focus on the effect of the organisation’s environment, culture and policies on performance and effort expectancy.School of ComputingPh. D. (Computer Science

Green-Agile Maturity Model: An Evaluation Framework for Global Software Development Vendors

Agile methods are extensively adapted by software development organizations due to the competitive benefits it offers. In recent years global software development (GSD) projects practice agile methods as prominent methods to deliver the software in increments with utmost user satisfaction and affordable cost. Beside the use of agile methods, the software industry has also considered the green aspect of software, to be in line with the demands of the organizations and the world technological ecosystem. The green and sustainable feature of software should focus both the energy and resource efficiency key factors. This phenomenon of embedding the green flavor in software has emerged a new research area, green software engineering, that promises the development of eco-friendly software with minimum energy and use of less computing resources, to trim down the adverse effects on both society and environment. The principal objective of this research study is to design and develop a multi-level Green-Agile Maturity Model (GAMM) to assess the GSD vendors' agile maturity in terms of green software development. The model has been built in four phases. In phase I and II, systematic literature review (SLR) was performed to identify the success factors and risk factors that either supports or hinders the green and sustainable software development respectively by practicing the agile methods in GSD. The results have been validated from 106 relevant experts, dealing with agile and green software projects, through questionnaire survey. The experts' demographic represents 25 different countries. We also identified the industry practices through SLR and survey, to address our identified critical factors. Phase III of this research deals with development of the GAMM by categorizing the identified factors into seven Green-Agile maturity levels. A similar approach has been used in other models such as Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), Implementation Maturity Model (IMM) and Software Outsourcing Vendors Readiness Model (SOVRM). In phase IV of this research, five case studies were conducted at GSD organizations, to evaluate the structure and efficacy of the GAMM, while as a major contribution, this paper presents our developed model, the GAMM, which aims to assess the green-agile maturity of the GSD vendors in terms of green and sustainable software development.Qatar University [IRCC-2021-010]

Critical Success Factors for the Application of Agile Methodology in IT Telecommunication Projects: A Mixed Method Research Approach

This research project reflects an In-depth analysis of the critical success factors associated with the application of Agile project management methodology in the IT telecommunication domain in the region of the Middle East and Africa. The agile project management approach has proven to be effective in the area of IT telecommunications. The agile project management approach in the field of digital services and managed services are essential for the success of the project. The goal of this research project was to determine the critical success factors linked to people and organisational factors and the perceived success of software development initiatives in the two realms of managed services and digital services. This research is an explanatory study with a more in-depth emphasis on the contribution of five critical variables (Team Size, Team Communication, Team Performance, Customer Involvement, and Management Involvement) to the performance of agile projects. The researcher used the sequential explanatory mixed approach as a technique. Random sampling was extended to survey operators with a cross-sectional time horizon. Purposive sampling was extended to the interviewees to reach a consensus and answer the three research questions. A total of a hundred and ten study participants replied to the survey, and five interviewees contributed to the study. Here, the researcher shows the agile project management approach to be practical as applicable to managed services and digital services. Team size between five and nine has proved successful, team communication using daily standups or video conference during pandemic proves to be successful, team performance in terms of experience and agile knowledge proves to be successful, customer involvement on daily basis is a key of success, and management involvement as governance and not micromanagement is important too. These five variables found to be a critical success factor for this research project. A positive linear relationship called correlation between the five variables and the success of the project in terms of the project value was found, although the strength and the relationship between the five variables and the project success cannot be predicted statistically. Two pilot projects proved to be successful in achieving the project success value concerning time to market. More analysis areas are outlined; in particular, team communication, customer involvement, the form of contract, and internal company regulation. Whilst the research offers new insights into the form of contract, applying agile methodology on quality assurance, more in-depth research needs to be done to provide more understanding for people and organisational factors, especially in the field of IT telecommunications under both DS and MS departments

Ketterien projektinhallintamenetelmien vaikutus projektin menestykseen

Tiivistelmä. Projektien keskeinen tavoite on menestys. Hyvin iso osa yritystoiminnasta on projektimuotoista. Menestys on niin projektinhallinnan kuin koko yritystoiminnan keskeinen pyrkimys. Menestyksen saavuttamiseksi on tärkeää määrittää, mitkä ovat projektin tavoitteet ja menestyskriteerit. Tässä työssä esitellään menetelmiä projektin suorituskyvyn mittaamiseksi ja niitä hyödynnetään ketterien projektinhallintamenetelmien menestyksen arvioinnissa. Tämän työn tarkoituksena on tutkia ketterien projektinhallintamenetelmien vaikutuksia projektin menestykseen. Erityisesti työssä selvitetään projektin kriittisiä menestystekijöitä ja menestyskriteereitä. Työssä myös esitellään ja arvioidaan tilanteita, mihin ketterät menetelmät soveltuvat parhaiten. Tutkimuskysymykset tässä työssä ovat: — Miten ketterät menetelmät vaikuttavat projektin menestykseen? — Minkälaisiin tilanteisiin ketterät menetelmät soveltuvat? — Mitkä ketterät ominaisuudet parantavat menestystä? Tutkimusmenetelmänä työssä käytetään pääsääntöisesti kirjallisuuskatsausta. Tehtyjen tutkimusten ja olemassa olevaan kirjallisuuteen pohjautuen arvioidaan ketteriä menetelmiä projektissa hyödyntäneiden menestystä ja menestykseen johtavia tekijöitä. Menestykseen johtavien tekijöiden pohjalta muodostetaan malli, joka kuvaa mitkä ketteryyden periaatteista ovat tärkeimpiä, ja miten niitä voidaan hyödyntää osana perinteistä projektinhallintaa. Ketterillä menetelmillä on havaittu selkeä vaikutus menestykseen erityisesti ohjelmistoprojekteissa ja ainutlaatuisissa projekteissa, kuten uuden tuotteen kehityksessä. Projektin ympäristön tulee siis sisältää epävakautta tai projektin tulee olla tyyliltään ainutlaatuinen. Suurin hyöty ketterillä menetelmillä saadaan asiakasvaatimusten huomioimisen osalta. Ketterät projektinhallintamenetelmät painottavat jatkuvaa kehitystä ja korostavat asiakkaan roolia. Ketterälle projektitiimille on tyypillistä sen pieni koko, tiimijäsenten ammattitaito ja kokemus. Tämän työn tuloksia voidaan käyttää hyödyksi projektinhallintamenetelmän valinnassa ja arvioinnissa. Tuloksia ei kuitenkaan voi yleistää jokaiseen tapaukseen, sillä tutkimus tehtiin pääsääntöisesti ohjelmistokehityksen kontekstiin. Tulokset ovat siis suuntaa antavia.Impact of agile project management methods on project success. Abstract. Success is a common goal for projects. A significant part of the activities in organizations are project-based. Success is a common ambition both in project management and in organizations in general. Regarding project’s success it is also necessary to determine the key success factors for project management. In this thesis methods for measuring project’s success are presented. These measures are used to evaluate the success of agile project management methods. The aim in this thesis is to study the impacts agile methods have on project success. Especially this study aims to find critical success factors regarding projects success and to find situations in which the agile methods are particularly useful. The research questions for this study are following: — What kind of impacts do agile methods have on project success? — In what kind of situations are agile methods effective? — What agile characteristics improve project success? Research method used in this thesis is literary survey. Based on existing researches and literature the goal is to measure the impacts of agile methods. The factors resulting to successful projects are identified. Based on them the goal is to form a model of the characteristics leading to successful projects. The single characteristics identified can be included as part of traditional methodology to improve project performance. Agile methods are perceived to have a positive impact on project success especially in the field of software development and other unique type of projects. The project environment must contain uncertainty to get the most out of agile methodology. The most significant benefit gained with agile methods is responding to customer requirements. Agile methods emphasize continuous improvement and the role of a customer. Typical agile team is relatively small, professional and experienced. The results of this thesis can be used to choose and evaluate methods for project management. These results can’t be generalized in every situation as the research was done mainly in software development context. The results are therefore suggestive

Critical success factors for outsourced software development projects from a vendor's perspective: A structural equation modelling analysis of traditional plan-based and agile methodologies

There are many factors proposed as to why software projects fail, one of them is the inappropriate choice of a project management methodology. Although there is an increased range of available management choices, project managers do not frequently consider their alternatives. They tend to narrowly tailor project categorisation systems and use categorisation criteria that are not logically linked with objectives. To address this, this study develops and tests an integrative contingency fit model for contrasting perspectives of traditional plan-based and agile methodologies specifically for outsourced software development projects. In addition, it takes a vendor‘s perspective, rather than the client perspective that is mostly used. Overall, the research seeks to answer these questions: (RQ1) what are the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for outsourced software development projects from a vendor‟s perspective? (RQ2) What are the differences in these CSFs for traditional plan-driven and agile methodologies towards project success from a vendor‟s perspective? The IT literature reveals two major distinct categories of methodologies: traditional plan-based and agile. Previous research has identified CSFs with respect to project success with mixed findings. The recent increase in popularity of methodologies has shifted the debate, interest and controversy to CSFs that are the factors which are most important to make a methodology successful. While there is an increasing diversity of project types, project contexts and methodologies, the frameworks or theories connecting these are limited. To date software development projects studies have addressed generally one methodology per study and perceived candidate CSFs as a form of reasons of success amidst a wide range of project success criteria. Although contingency theory has been previously argued for outsourced software development projects, empirical models have frequently not fully incorporated contingency as fit or fit as moderation (i.e. traditional vs. agile). This study sought to fill this research gap. Cross-sectional data from 984 senior vendor project managers and team leaders was collected by a global web-based survey. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) (a multivariate statistical technique, in which parameters are estimated by minimizing the discrepancy between the model-implied covariance matrix and the observed covariance matrix) was used for data analysis. SEM results provide support for several contingency hypotheses theorizing relationships between candidate CSFs and project success. Project management methodology was found to moderate the effects of various CSFs on project success, and in different ways for various success measures. Similarly, the results show the level of project uncertainty moderates the impact of various CSFs on project success, and in different ways for various success measures. Together these findings provide empirical support for contingency as fit and more fully incorporate fit as moderation. The study contributes towards understanding the differences between traditional plan-based and agile project management based on the perceptions of vendor respondents with regard to their client organizations, and also to understanding what are the most significant antecedents of success (the CSFs) in different project contexts. The study also examines the indirect and interaction effects, and the findings contribute towards understanding of the contingency perspective as a framework to be used by project managers and organizations. Practical implications of these results suggest that project managers should tailor project management methodologies according to various project types, which is likely to improve current project success rates

Non-Technical Individual Skills are Weakly Connected to the Maturity of Agile Practices

Context: Existing knowledge in agile software development suggests that individual competency (e.g. skills) is a critical success factor for agile projects. While assuming that technical skills are important for every kind of software development project, many researchers suggest that non-technical individual skills are especially important in agile software development. Objective: In this paper, we investigate whether non-technical individual skills can predict the use of agile practices. Method: Through creating a set of multiple linear regression models using a total of 113 participants from agile teams in six software development organizations from The Netherlands and Brazil, we analyzed the predictive power of non-technical individual skills in relation to agile practices. Results: The results show that there is surprisingly low power in using non-technical individual skills to predict (i.e. explain variance in) the mature use of agile practices in software development. Conclusions: Therefore, we conclude that looking at non-technical individual skills is not the optimal level of analysis when trying to understand, and explain, the mature use of agile practices in the software development context. We argue that it is more important to focus on the non-technical skills as a team-level capacity instead of assuring that all individuals possess such skills when understanding the use of the agile practices.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figur

Flexible Global Software Development (GSD): Antecedents of Success in Requirements Analysis

Globalization of software development has resulted in a rapid shift away from the traditional collocated, on-site development model, to the offshoring model. Emerging trends indicate an increasing interest in offshoring even in early phases like requirements analysis. Additionally, the flexibility offered by the agile development approach makes it attractive for adaptation in globally distributed software work. A question of significance then is what impacts the success of offshoring earlier phases, like requirements analysis, in a flexible and globally distributed environment? This article incorporates the stance of control theory to posit a research model that examines antecedent factors such as requirements change, facilitation by vendor and client site-coordinators, control, and computer-mediated communication. The impact of these factors on success of requirements analysis projects in a “flexible” global setting is tested using two quasi-experiments involving students from Management Development Institute, India and Marquette University, USA. Results indicate that formal modes of control significantly influence project success during requirements analysis. Further, facilitation by both client and vendor site coordinators positively impacts requirements analysis success

Empirical Investigation on Agile Methods Usage: Issues Identified from Early Adopters in Malaysia

Agile Methods are a set of software practices that can help to produce products faster and at the same time deliver what customers want. Despite the benefits that Agile methods can deliver, however, we found few studies from the Southeast Asia region, particularly Malaysia. As a result, less empirical evidence can be obtained in the country making its implementation harder. To use a new method, experience from other practitioners is critical, which describes what is important, what is possible and what is not possible concerning Agile. We conducted a qualitative study to understand the issues faced by early adopters in Malaysia where Agile methods are still relatively new. The initial study involves 13 participants including project managers, CEOs, founders and software developers from seven organisations. Our study has shown that social and human aspects are important when using Agile methods. While technical aspects have always been considered to exist in software development, we found these factors to be less important when using Agile methods. The results obtained can serve as guidelines to practitioners in the country and the neighbouring regions

Project Success in Agile Development Projects

The paper explains and clarifies the differences between Waterfall and Agile development methodologies, establishes what criteria could be taken into account to properly define project success within the scope of software development projects, and finally tries to clarify if project success is the reason why many organizations are moving to Agile methodologies from other ones such as Waterfall. In the form of a literature review, it analyses several, publications, investigations and case studies that point out the motives why companies moved to Agile, as well as the results they observed afterward. It also analyses overall statistics of project outcomes after companies evolved from traditional methodologies such as Waterfall to Agile development approaches

Evaluating the Impact of Critical Factors in Agile Continuous Delivery Process: A System Dynamics Approach

Continuous Delivery is aimed at the frequent delivery of good quality software in a speedy, reliable and efficient fashion – with strong emphasis on automation and team collaboration. However, even with this new paradigm, repeatability of project outcome is still not guaranteed: project performance varies due to the various interacting and inter-related factors in the Continuous Delivery 'system'. This paper presents results from the investigation of various factors, in particular agile practices, on the quality of the developed software in the Continuous Delivery process. Results show that customer involvement and the cognitive ability of the QA have the most significant individual effects on the quality of software in continuous delivery