Defining ‘success’ for software projects: An exploratory revelation

Agarwal, Nitin; Rathod, Urvashi

doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2005.11.009

Cited by 251 publications

(170 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The findings of such initial explorations can then be used to frame increasingly detailed studies (Bryman, 2004). Whilst surveys are often associated with confirmatory studies, suitably designed surveys are also an accepted means of establishing an initial overview of a domain of interest (for example in the field of IS project management: Agarwal and Rathod, 2006).…”

Section: Research Design and Survey Instrumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of project management offices (PMOs) in IS project success and management satisfaction

Ward

Daniel

2013

Journal of Enterprise Information Management

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School (OUBS). Prior to joining OUBS in 2005, she worked in the IS ResearchCentre at Cranfield School of Management. Elizabeth's research has addressed a number of areas including benefits management and IS in marketing and supply chains. Recent work has included studies of home based online businesses and the uses of consumer and employee data. She has published many papers in leading academic journals and a number of management reports. 2 AbstractPurpose: Organisations are increasingly using project or programme management offices (PMOs) to co-ordinate activities across information system (IS) projects. This paper explores how the presence of PMOs and their involvement in IS projects relates to project success and to senior management satisfaction with those projects.Design/methodology/approach: The study uses an exploratory survey method to consider the relationship of both the presence of a PMO and the involvement of the PMO in five key practices that span the project life-cycle on project success and management satisfaction. Findings:Counter-intuitively, it is found that the presence of a PMO reduces senior management satisfaction with IS projects and has no effect on the overall success rates of those projects. The study draws on ideas of escalation of commitment to explain this finding. Practical implications:The findings suggest that it is more important for PMOs to be involved at the start and at the review stage of projects, rather than in the on-going monitoring, which is where much of their current focus is. Originality/value:This study is the first that we are aware of, to identify a reduced level of management satisfaction associated with the presence of a PMO. It is also the first study to consider PMO involvement at the level of key project practices and hence to be able to suggest how to understand and address the reduced management satisfaction identified.

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Section: Research Design and Survey Instrumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of project management offices (PMOs) in IS project success and management satisfaction

Ward

Daniel

2013

Journal of Enterprise Information Management

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“…Other research, in particular examining the macro (external factors) and micro (internal factors) that determine failure or success criteria has been conducted in studies carried out by Lim and Mohamed (1999) and also by Agarwal and Rathod (2006), although this study was heavily constrained due to concentration on the perception of failure or success accepted by only the project team.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A qualitative re‐construction of project measurement criteria

Ojiako

Johansen

Greenwood

2008

Industrial Management &Amp; Data Systems

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Purpose -Failure is encountered regularly within project-based industries and there has been research for decades into this phenomenon. Much of it has considered the failure of projects in terms of the classic project progress issues such as time, cost and quality. Using cases from two major industries the authors aim to develop a different understanding of project measurement criteria. This work is part of a larger completed investigation into information systems and information technology (IS/IT) project management models, developed for industry comparisons. Design/methodology/approach -During the study, the concept of project failure and success is investigated. The authors carry out a UK-based, grounded study of two project-based industries of differing maturity levels (construction and IS/IT) to investigate measures of project failure or success across the two industries. Findings -The paper presents a reassessment of project measurement criteria. This is based on the separation of measures for project performance and project progress. Research limitations/implications -The adopted strategy of naturalistic inquiry has always been susceptible to the criticism that it relies too much on subjective interpretation of data. In addition, no clear relationship was established between the factors discussed and the criteria for measuring project success. Originality/value -The paper discusses current differences in perception of what actually constitutes a failed or successful project. The paper highlights that often two different (but closely related) concepts, are being discussed by project stakeholders.

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“…Similar studies have been carried out in other contexts, such as the construction industry (eg, AlTmeemy et al, 2011) and the information systems domain (eg Reel, 1999;Agarwal andRathod, 2006 andChow andCao, 2008). The position of the topic 'project success in nonsimulation projects' has gone even further to the stage that frameworks have been proposed to measure the success, mostly using KPIs.…”

Section: Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 69%

Key performance indicators for successful simulation projects

Jahangirian

Taylor

Robinson

2017

Journal of the Operational Research Society

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There are many factors that may contribute to the successful delivery of a simulation project. To provide a structured approach to assessing the impact various factors have on project success, we propose a top-down framework whereby 15 Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are developed that represent the level of successfulness of simulation projects from various perspectives. They are linked to a set of Critical Success Factors (CSF) as reported in the simulation literature. A single measure called Project's Success Measure (PSM), which represents the project's total success level, is proposed. The framework is tested against 9 simulation exemplar cases in healthcare and this provides support for its reliability. The results suggest that responsiveness to the customer's needs and expectations, when compared with other factors, holds the strongest association with the overall success of simulation projects. The findings highlight some patterns about the significance of individual CSFs, and how the KPIs are used to identify problem areas in simulation projects.

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Defining ‘success’ for software projects: An exploratory revelation

Cited by 251 publications

References 14 publications

The role of project management offices (PMOs) in IS project success and management satisfaction

The role of project management offices (PMOs) in IS project success and management satisfaction

A qualitative re‐construction of project measurement criteria

Key performance indicators for successful simulation projects

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