In the last decades Information Technology (IT) has become vital for every company. And, a company not using IT would be unimaginable today. Primarily, IT was merely used for accelerating existent processes. Mostly standardised applications have been deployed to standard areas in companies (for example accounting software). Today, IT is an important part for modelling all types of business processes, not only the standardised processes. Furthermore, to gain competitive advantages, mere standard software is not suitable anymore. This is because standard software can not support the requirements of individualised processes, necessary for doing business better than the competitor. Therefore, either standard software is customised for supporting individualised processes or a company decides developing individualised software from the scratch.
Often companies decide to develop individualised software on their own because of the following three reasons: First, the process knowledge is important for gaining competitive advantages and this confidential information must kept inside the company. Second, employees within the organisation have the best process knowledge. Effective transfer of process knowledge to the IT-department can be guaranteed. Third, customising standard software needs much external expertise which is in general expensive.
Often, software development projects have budgets of several million Euros and can cause an even higher reduction of costs. Thus, process and software development has become one of the most important aspects for many IT-departments in today’s companies.
However, managing software developing projects is not an easy task. Many software developing projects are not on time and budget. An analysis of the Standish Group shows that only 26% of all software projects are completed on time and on budget and can provide the predefined functions. On the other hand, excellent developers with sophisticated approaches can increase productivity by ten to twenty times. (cf. Moll 2004) Consequently, the potential of cost reduction is very high. In future, companies have to deploy new information systems more effectively than today. Otherwise companies can not sustain competitive in faster changing markets.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Example project
1.1.1 Project organisation
2. Problem definition
2.1 Introduction to software development
2.1.1 The nature of software
2.1.2 Development process
2.1.3 General problems of software development
2.2 Goal of the thesis
3. Management
3.1 General Management
3.1.1 Strategy
3.1.2 Structure
3.1.3 Culture
3.2 Effective Management
3.2.1 Principles
3.2.2 Tasks
3.2.3 Tools
3.2.4 Applicability
4. Team
4.1 Viable System Model
4.1.1 Application to software development
4.1.2 Applicability
4.2 X-Teams
4.2.1 Application to software development
4.2.2 X-Teams compared to VSM
4.2.3 Applicability
5. Customer
5.1 Customer involvement
5.1.1 Eliciting requirements
5.1.2 Customer Reviews
5.1.3 Testing
5.1.4 Design and modelling
5.2 Clear business objectives
5.3 Change management
5.4 Support of senior management
6. Evaluation
6.1 Approach
6.2 Rating
6.2.1 Management
6.2.2 Team
6.2.3 Customer
6.3 Results
7. Conclusions
7.1 Possible weaknesses of evaluation
7.2 Possible project improvements
8. References
Objectives and Research Themes
The primary objective of this thesis is to define effective software management practices that extend beyond traditional development models and project management methodologies. It focuses on identifying critical success factors by analyzing stakeholder roles—specifically management, team, and customer—and evaluating an example ERP project based on these dimensions.
- Application of the General Management Model (Malik) to software development
- Team structure analysis using the Viable System Model (VSM) and X-Team theory
- Examination of customer involvement strategies and requirement elicitation
- Evaluation of change management processes in IT project environments
- Assessment of project performance based on organizational effectiveness and management tools
Excerpt from the Book
2.1.1 The nature of software
Compared to other products, software products have a particular nature. The most important characteristics of software are shown as follows.
Software is complex and huge: The code of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software can comprise million lines of code. Also, there is little regularity and there are many paths through the code of software. Therefore, changes in one part of code often have unintended consequences in other remote sections of the code.
Software is flexible: Software is a flexible specification of computations.
Software is easily modified: In comparison to other engineering areas, modification of software is very easy. Basically, only a computer is needed to modify software.
Software is never finished: Because of the ease of modifying and changing requirements, software has a long maintenance phase. The maintenance phase is to be considered as the longest part of the software life cycle and consists of ongoing design and implementation of new features. (cf. Aaby 2003)
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the context of modern IT in business, the rationale for individual software development, and introduces the specific ERP project used for evaluation.
2. Problem definition: Analyzes the challenges inherent in software development, such as estimation difficulties and changing requirements, and outlines the thesis goals.
3. Management: Applies the St. Gallen General Management Model and Malik’s effective management principles to the specific needs of software project leadership.
4. Team: Investigates team structures and functions using the Viable System Model (VSM) and the X-Team theory to optimize software development team dynamics.
5. Customer: Discusses the necessity of customer involvement, requirement elicitation, and the support of senior management for successful software project outcomes.
6. Evaluation: Details the practical assessment of the example ERP project based on the theoretical frameworks of management, team structure, and customer relations.
7. Conclusions: Reviews potential evaluation limitations and suggests actionable improvements for the observed IT department.
8. References: Provides the academic and industry sources used to ground the research findings.
Keywords
Software development, project management, ERP, stakeholder analysis, General Management Model, Viable System Model, X-Teams, customer involvement, requirement elicitation, change management, innovation management, organizational structure, performance evaluation, software engineering, strategic management
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The work focuses on identifying success factors for managing software projects that go beyond simple development models and traditional project management.
What are the primary themes discussed in the thesis?
The key themes are management strategy, structural organization of teams, the role of the customer, and effective software project evaluation.
What is the main goal of the thesis?
The objective is to establish a definition of effective software management by analyzing the specific roles and requirements of the project management, development teams, and the customer.
Which scientific methods are utilized?
The research utilizes a stakeholder analysis and applies management frameworks such as the St. Gallen General Management Model, the Viable System Model, and X-Team theory to evaluate an actual ERP project.
What is covered in the main body of the work?
The main body examines management principles, team modeling (VSM and X-Teams), and the importance of customer integration (e.g., requirement elicitation, change management).
Which keywords best characterize the work?
The work is best defined by terms like software development, project management, stakeholder analysis, Viable System Model, and customer involvement.
How does the VSM help in the context of software projects?
The VSM is used to model the organizational functions of a development team, helping to identify how to manage operational and strategic tasks effectively.
Why is customer involvement considered critical in this thesis?
The thesis argues that because software is an individual product tailored to the customer's needs, active involvement is essential for requirement accuracy and project success.
What are the limitations of the evaluation presented?
The author notes that the evaluation is based on a single, personal perspective and uses an arithmetic mean which may lead to central tendency in the final results.
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- Peter Hirschbichler (Autor:in), 2008, Managing software developing projects, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/165309
