Software Project Failure Process Definition

Abstract

Many researchers have attempted to identify the factors behind software project failures and their solutions from various perspectives. However, systematic and integrated process definitions of failure as process models for success are lacking. This study aims to build a process definition for software project failure as an anti-pattern by identifying the main phases and their relationships in terms of team behavior. We researched software engineering literature and case studies to gather information about critical incidents and repeating behaviors of teams in failed projects into a novel dataset. Grounded theory was employed to build a theoretical foundation for failure phase definitions from the collected data. The design structure matrix and Bayesian belief network were used for the quantitative assessment of the transitions between phases. The results revealed that common behavioral patterns occurred in approximately 89 percent of the case studies, supporting the decision to consider software project failure as a process. The proposed failure process definition has a simple structure that uses everyday concepts for phase names and reveals the critical behaviors leading a software project to failure Thus, it provides critical insights for software professionals, non-technical stakeholders, and managers to evaluate the progress of their projects and design strategies to avoid failure.INDEX TERMS Bayesian belief network, grounded theory, qualitative process analysis, software process models.

The impact of usability in information technology projects

“…Extensive research has been conducted on information technology (IT) projects' success and failure factors, revealing the inherent risk involved in such endeavors [1]- [3]. It is well established that achieving success in IT projects is a complex and challenging process that requires careful planning, execution, and management.…”

Agile Effort Estimation: Comparing the Accuracy and Efficiency of Planning Poker, Bucket System, and Affinity Estimation Methods

“…Software development project failures are common even though increasing importance is placed on factors that lead to project success. In the last decade, the failure rate of software projects remained high [42,61]. One of the main reasons for project failures are unplanned changes that occur during the project [76].…”

Avaliação de Conhecimento em Engenharia de Requisitos no Startup Gov.br

“…Esses profissionais passaram por concurso público temporário (Contrato Temporário da União, CTU), e foram contratados para as seguintes áreas de conhecimento: gerenciamento de projetos, processos de negócio, experiência do usuário, desenvolvimento de software, segurança da informação e ciência de dados.Após um ano de instituído o programa StartUp Gov.br, entre fevereiro e maio de 2022, foram realizados 23 grupos focais com até 12 pessoas, totalizando 175 participantes (majoritariamente, CTUs), com o objetivo de avaliar e identificar melhorias no programa. Conforme reportado por Marsicano et al (2023) [11], entre as descobertas desse estudo verificou-se que o conhecimento sobre a engenharia de requisitos (ER) e suas práticas, não estavam bem estabelecidas entre os profissionais alocados nas StartUps, o que pode, potencialmente, representar um risco ao programa StartUp Gov.br, dada a importância e impacto da ER no sucesso de projetos.Nizam [17] investigou causas de falhas em projetos de software. Ele observa que em 2014, o Standish Group CHAOS Report encontrou uma taxa de sucesso de apenas 29% dos projetos, uma taxa de projetos desafiados em suas restrições de 59% e uma taxa de projetos cancelados de 19%.…”

“…Nizam [17] investigou causas de falhas em projetos de software. Ele observa que em 2014, o Standish Group CHAOS Report encontrou uma taxa de sucesso de apenas 29% dos projetos, uma taxa de projetos desafiados em suas restrições de 59% e uma taxa de projetos cancelados de 19%.…”