Book Description

Abstract (Summary) Frequent occurrence of software project failures has created two general streams of research. One theme analyzed the common causes of cost overruns, late schedules, and unmet scope. With the belief that project failures are avoidable through proactive means, another group of researchers investigated software project risks. With such intent, comparative studies were conducted in Finland, Hong Kong, and the United States. Subsequent research in Nigeria determined the impact of the socioeconomic context. To further extend the coverage of prior studies, the research in the current study focused specifically on the Canadian financial services sector. Project managers were solicited for input to discover, determine, and rank risk factors in software projects using the same research design that was used in previous comparative research studies--a three-phase Delphi survey that uses nonparametric statistical techniques. In sharp contrast to prior studies, however, this research aimed not for general applications of the results at the country level but for specific collective relevance to software projects in banks, trust companies, insurance companies, mutual fund companies, and similar organizations. The composite rankings of the studies in Hong Kong, Finland, and the United States listed lack of management commitment, inability to get user commitment, and misunderstanding of the requirements as the top three risk items in software projects. Given that only the misunderstanding of requirements made it into the top three risk items in Nigeria, it would be of value to scholars and practitioners to determine how the results would differ if the study was conducted in a specific sector in the industry. Except for one risk factor (lack of dedicated, full-time project resources), this study confirmed that the previous list of risk factors captured the top risk factors in the Canadian financial services sector.