Practitioners’ Perspective on Software Project Management Education

Despite Software project management (SPM) being one of the most relevant topicsin the area of software engineering that should be addressed in computing programs, SPM skills of recent graduates are not satisfactory yet. In this context, besides being important to know there are skill deficiencies, we also need to gather specific information on how to adjust and improve the education on the corresponding topics. In this paper we attempt to identify what knowledge deficiencies in SPM can persist after a student graduates from a computing degree program. We surveyed practitioners that graduated and worked as software project managers to gather the knowledge deficiencies from the industry perspective. In general, the results indicated that there is a number of professionals who seeks postgraduate programs to fill the deficiencies of the undergrad programs

Improving software project management quality through the use of analytics on project management data

Abstract in EnglishSoftware project management has been less effective as a result of being focused on resource management and the completion of projects within allocated resources and other confines. There has not been much focus on improving software project management quality through improved decision-making, software project management standards and methodologies, hence the focus of this study to explore the possibility of using data analytics with project management standards and methodologies to improve software project management quality. The main question to be addressed in this study is: Can data analytics use in software project management improve decision-making and project management quality? This study, therefore, explores and provides insight on data analytics use, by means of a survey that was completed by software project managers. A questionnaire was used to collect data from software project managers. The gathered data was captured and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), and the analysed data was used for validity testing, while the reliability of the measurement items was tested using Cronbach’s Alpha. A hypothesis was used to evaluate the effect of data analytics use on software project management quality. The research made use of the positivist research method. The study established that data analytics has not yet been widely adopted by software project managers and organisations alike, as both the project managers and organisations have not done enough to promote the training in, and the adoption of data analytics. The research also established that data analytics can improve software project management quality through improved decision-making and in complementing software project management standards. The study findings will be beneficial to software project managers, researchers and organisations as it reveals the factors that are necessary to effectively use data analytics in software project management, as well as highlighting how data analytics improves software project management qualitySchool of ComputingM.Sc. (Computing

An experiment on the introduction of software project management techniques to industry

The title of this thesis is "An experiment on the introductlon of software project management techniques to industry". The objecuve of the experiment is to test the hypothesis that the incidence of project management failure within organisations can be reduced by modifying both the approach to project management training and the method employed to manage projects. At the start of this experunent, a survey of project management practice within Irish industry was carried out. A benefiual outcome from this survey was the recruitment of a test organisation to participate in the expmnent. The experiment was conducted by executcng 8 stages of a test process The results from the expement were as follows: Key Finding 1 - Project management maturity within indiginous compames appears to be low - it would be worthwhle investigating this further to establish if such project management immaturity is typical for Irish industry. Key Finding 2 - Before a software enginering experient is run in a live environment we should first investigate if there are broader orgamsational issues (perhaps not directly related to the experiment) whch may affect the execution and ultimately the results of the experiment. Key Finding 3 - Experiment results suggest that the test training approach and project management methodology had a positive impact on the test project environment. It would be worthwhile to re-run the experiment on a larger sample size of projects to establish if these results can consistently be obtained across a larger sample group Key Finding 4 - The lessons to be learned with respect to software engineering experiments in general are as follows Some experiments can only be properly conducted in a live environment - this can present some difficulties to the person executing the experiment However, we should vlew any challenges presented as opportunities to collect potentially valuable data about the test environment; data that mght be used in future experiments or indeed to add value to the result of the experiment itself. And finally - Factors outside of the experiment made it dificult to properly evaluate the effects of the test training approach and methodology - consequently I would consider the experiment to have only been a partial success The results however, suggest that it may be beneficial to the project management industry to conduct further work in this area. This may be something to consider for a future date

Communication and leadership skills in the Computer Science and Information Systems curricula: A case study comparison of US and Bulgarian programs

In this paper we present results from our curriculum research on the behavioral educational topics being in the computer science (CS) and information systems (IS) academic programs in two countries USA and Bulgaria. Specifically, we address learning outcomes as they pertain to IT Project Management. Our research reveals that the two countries approach undergraduate education from different vantage points. The US universities provide a flexible general education curriculum in many academic areas and students have the opportunity to strengthen their soft skills before they enter the workforce. Bulgarian universities provide specialized education in main CS subject areas and the students are technically strong upon graduation. Is there a way to balance out this divergent educational experience so that students get the best of both worlds? Our paper explores this aspect and provides possible solutions

Software project management anti-patterns in innovation projects

Software project management anti-patterns describe bad practices and their negative consequences in the field of software project management. Anti-patterns also present a refactored solution in order to recover from the negative situation or prevent it beforehand. Anti-patterns are one of the causes of software project failures which have been a significant issue in software engineering and software project management. These failures can be decreased at a certain level with the knowledge of anti-patterns. Therefore, it becomes essential that available anti-patterns in the literature should be studied by project managers, and negative experiences should be faced. Also, knowledge on managing software projects should be shared in an organized way, and new anti-patterns should be investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate software project management anti-patterns encountered in innovation projects. In order to achieve the purposes of this study, a quantitative research methodology was chosen. A group of university students, who worked as project managers in industrial innovation projects, were requested to fill in a questionnaire. The collected data through the questionnaire were analyzed compared and contrasted to the available anti-patterns in the literature that are mostly found in traditional software projects. One of the research outcomes of this study is that, some anti-patterns which have been encountered in conventional software projects were also identified in innovation projects. Additionally, a new possible anti-pattern was identified and investigated. The new anti-pattern regards the management of team creativity. In particular, the latter can be considered an anti-pattern because it can be an obstacle in teamwork progress, having negative consequences. A remedy solution was recommended as a re-factoring and recovering management strategy. This study can be considered as a first step towards a set of practical guidelines for project managers, and innovation project managers in particular; this is a current need that must be addressed. Furthermore, there is a gap of relevant knowledge in the field and there are no similar studies regarding software project management anti-patterns in innovation projects in the literature. Therefore, this thesis could be considered as the first ever research study which investigates and reports on anti-patterns in innovation projects

Using a Class-Wide, Semester-Long Project to Teach Software Engineering Principles

A senior-level, project-based Software Engineeringcourse taught at the University of Central Arkansas serves asthe capstone course for the Computer Science Program andintroduces students to the theory, tools, and techniques used tobuild large-scale software systems in a project-driven setting.Foundational to the course is the use of a class-wide, semesterlongcourse project to emphasize the theoretical aspects of thesoftware process and the system used for scoring studentperformance on the project. One project is selected for theentire class with students divided into teams of four to sixstudents to support different functional requirement areas. Amilestone-driven approach is used following a modifiedversion of the Unified Process for project development.Student scores on the project are divided into a group score,assignable via a rubric-like grade sheet, and an individualscore which is determined by the individual’s effort asassigned using the task-management tool, Issue-Tracker.Experiences gained and lessons learned in teaching the courseare provided as a guide for those wishing to follow a similarapproach to teaching Software Engineering in the future

Walking Through the Method Zoo: Does Higher Education Really Meet Software Industry Demands?

Software engineering educators are continually challenged by rapidly evolving concepts, technologies, and industry demands. Due to the omnipresence of software in a digitalized society, higher education institutions (HEIs) have to educate the students such that they learn how to learn, and that they are equipped with a profound basic knowledge and with latest knowledge about modern software and system development. Since industry demands change constantly, HEIs are challenged in meeting such current and future demands in a timely manner. This paper analyzes the current state of practice in software engineering education. Specifically, we want to compare contemporary education with industrial practice to understand if frameworks, methods and practices for software and system development taught at HEIs reflect industrial practice. For this, we conducted an online survey and collected information about 67 software engineering courses. Our findings show that development approaches taught at HEIs quite closely reflect industrial practice. We also found that the choice of what process to teach is sometimes driven by the wish to make a course successful. Especially when this happens for project courses, it could be beneficial to put more emphasis on building learning sequences with other courses