Software Project Management Processes Research Articles

Time Series Forecasting during Software Project State Analysis

Repositories of source code and their hosting platforms are important data sources for software project development and management processes. These sources allow for the extraction of historical data points for the product development process evaluation. Extracted data points reflect the previous development experience and allow future planning and active development tracking. The aim of this research is to create a predictive approach to control software development based on a time series extracted from repositories and hosting platforms. This article describes the method of extracting parameters from repositories, the approach to creating time series models and forecasting their behavior. Also, the article represents the proposed approach for software project analyses based on fuzzy logic principles. The novelty of this approach is the ability to perform an expert evaluation of different stages of software product development based on the forecasted values of interested parameters and a fuzzy rule base.

Using GQIM Model and Gompertz Model to Measure, Analyze, and Optimize the Whole Process of Software Project

This paper proposes a novel concept of using defect management technology to measure, predict, and optimize the management of the entire software project cycle. It first utilizes the software defect measurement GQIM model and prediction Gompertz model to track and quantify the defects of the entire project cycle. Then, the specific optimization strategy is proposed to manage the core processes of the project management, including project scope management, project time management, project quality management, project human resource management, project communication management, and project risk management. This study solves the quantification problems that are common in the current software project management process, such as complex testing procedures, high defect repair costs, and high communication costs. Furthermore, it contributes to promote the overall level of project management in the software industry. Taking the SDLM’s electronic banking software project management as an example, the various management quality indicators before and after the optimization of the project management process strongly indicate that using software defect management technology to optimize the software project management process is feasible and effective.

Application of Agile Project Management in Software R&D Management of M Enterprise

With the rapid development of information and network technology, the scale and complexity of software are becoming larger and larger, and the traditional software development process has become increasingly difficult to cope with the rapidly changing market. In the fierce market competition, more software development teams begin to use lightweight agile management methods to replace the traditional software project management process. Due to the incremental nature of agile methods and their emphasis on communication and people-centered values, some conventional software project management processes and methods cannot be applied. First of all, through the analysis of the current situation of software management projects and the quality problems in the agile process, the direction of quality improvement is clarified.

Multi-method Simulation Approach for Software Project Management Training in-process Decision Support System: a Conceptual-operative Framework

Software project management (SPM) is a discipline that comprises of different topics, practice and theories. There are two dimensions in the knowledge of SPM, theoretical or concepts of SPM and; practical or experience of SPM. These two dimensions although grow separately but come across at one point that is experiential knowledge of SPM. To present these dimensions through a proper training, a practitioner needs to have a proper view on SPM process. In this paper we present a new framework for practicing SPM through a distinct simulation technique to bring on an in-process decision support system, supporting the proper training approach. The framework developed based on three different methods of simulation technique, discrete event simulation (DES), system dynamics (SD) and partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP).1

Measures related to social and human factors that influence productivity in software development teams

Software companies need to measure their productivity. Measures are useful indicators to evaluate processes, projects, products, and people who are part of software development teams. The results of these measurements are used to make decisions, manage projects, and improve software development and project management processes. This research is based on selecting a set of measures related to social and human factors (SHF) that influence productivity in software development teams and therefore in project management. This research was performed in three steps. In the first step, there was performed a tertiary literature review aimed to identify measures related to productivity. Then, the identified measures were submitted for its evaluation to project management experts and finally, the measures selected by the experts were mapped to the SHF. A set of 13 measures was identified and defined as a key input for designing improvement strategies. The measures have been compared to SHF to evaluate the development team's performance from a more human context and to establish indicators in productivity improvement strategies of software projects. Although the number of productivity measures related to SHF is limited, it was possible to identify the measures used in both traditional and agile contexts.

Reconciliation of scrum and the project management process of the ISO/IEC 29110 standard-Entry profile—an experimental evaluation through usability measures

Software process standards and models are used in large- and medium-sized organizations to reach the Iron Triangle. In contrast, small and very small entities either ignore them or cannot apply them because these standards and models are technically and economically not affordable. Consequently, agile software development practices are usually used by small and very small organizations. The ISO/IEC 29110 series of standards and guides are now available for very small organizations, but their utilization with agile practices represents an agility-rigor reconciliation problem. In this research, we report the experimental evaluation of Scrum + EPG (a reconciled agile-rigorous software Project Management process from Scrum, and the Project Management process of the ISO/IEC 29110 series-Entry profile, documented in an Electronic Process Guide). Scrum + EPG was compared to Scrum EPG (a non-modified Scrum process also documented in an Electronic Process Guide). Thirty-two international academicians and practitioners, including experts and novices on agile practices, from Latin America, North America, and Asia–Pacific regions, evaluated six metrics of usability. A within-subjects design and Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank tests were applied for collecting and analyzing the experimental data. The statistical results support the claim that the Scrum + EPG was considered a high-quality conciliated agile-rigorous software Project Management process for the Entry profile. Given the scarcity of similar studies and the need for reconciling agile-rigorous software development practices, this study contributes to a plausible solution for very small organizations. Finally, further empirical research is encouraged to confirm, update, and extend the results reported in this investigation.

Scrumban: An Agile Integration of Scrum and Kanban in Software Engineering

Software Engineering (SE) technologies are emerging day by day and seeking ABPR (Agile Business Process Reengineering) for Software Engineering Management (SEM) frameworks in software development organizations. BPR can enable organizational capabilities to initiate and implement critical change in execution. Under the roof of agile and on the base of empiricism, the Scrum has been proven itself as an ABPR approach for software engineering management in the software development organizations, across the world, by improving productivity, self-organization and collaboration for standard software development processes. Scrum has been leading software project development practices using its own characteristics: Artifacts, Pillars, Values, Events and Roles. But still software project development organizations are facing some issues with their software project development and management processes, like no documentation policy which results into inaccurate estimation, internal states of each work item flowing through the Scrum Board, Sprint tracker and prediction towards goal achievement which can be considered as challenges for Scrum due its limitations as well as Scrum does not allow, any alteration in its rules. Such issues have raised a question against implementation of Scrum and have opened the door for the next level of research to answer the question, how to overcome the limitations of Scrum. Kanban can provide the solution to some of these issues but it can’t provide complete SEM solutions to software Development Organizations. The aim of this research study is empirical analysis about how the formation of hybrid framework Scrumban as an integration of Scrum with Kanban, can resolve challenges of Scrum; using literature reviews, case study reviews, and research surveys; and this research has proposed a conceptual customized Scrumban framework, by keeping Kanban in the center of customization under the bound of Scrum rules. This research also concludes limitations of Scrumban, like project documentation, planning, large scaled project, distributed environment, team capabilities etc.; as each method has its own limitations.

A Review on Software Project Management Ontologies

This article aims to provide the reader with a comprehensive background for understanding current knowledge and research works on ontologies for software project management (SPM). It constitutes a systematic literature review behind key objectives of the potential adoption of ontologies in PM. Ontology development and engineering could facilitate substantially the software development process and improve knowledge management, software and artifacts reusability, internal consistency within project management processes of various phases of software life cycle. The authors examined the literature focusing on software project management ontologies and analyzed the findings of these published papers and categorized them accordingly. They used qualitative methods to evaluate and interpret findings of the collected studies. The literature review, among others, has highlighted lack of standardization in terminology and concepts, lack of systematic domain modeling and use of ontologies mainly in prototype ontology systems that address rather limited aspects of software project management processes.

A serious game to support the ISO 21500 standard education in the context of software project management

ContextIn recent years the interest in using serious games for software engineering, software process, software project management and software process standards education has increased significantly. The ISO 21500 standard is an international reference standard that provides generic guidance and good practices in project management. ObjectiveThe objective of this work is to identify the state of the art related to the use of serious games for understanding, teaching and supporting education of the standard ISO 21500 with the goal of proposing a simulation-based serious game that supports its management processes in the context of software projects. MethodA multivocal literature review was conducted and a simulation-based serious game, called ProDec, was proposed. In addition, we analyzed the coverage of the management processes, the process and subject groups of the ISO 21500 that ProDec is able to provide, and we conducted an empirical evaluation to assess the educational effectiveness of the game in terms of motivation, user experience, and learning outcomes. ResultsAs a result, ProDec is able to cover 7 of the 10 subject groups and almost 75% of the project management processes of the ISO 21500 standard. Moreover, all the participants, involved in the empirical evaluation, expressed positive comments that ProDec stimulated their motivation, offered a positive user experience and promoted the learning of the management processes involved in these 7 subject groups. ConclusionThe analysis of the coverage of the ISO 21500 and the outcomes of the educational effectiveness assessment allow us to conclude that ProDec can be a helpful learning resource to be used within the learning/teaching process of the ISO 21500 standard in the context of software projects.

Selecting a process variant modeling approach: guidelines and application

Various modeling approaches have been introduced to manage process diversity in a business context. For practitioners, it is difficult to select an approach suitable for the needs and limitations of their organization due to the limited number of examples and guidelines. In this paper, we report on an action research study to perform a comparative process variant modeling application in a process management consultancy company. This company experienced difficulties in maintaining and reusing process definitions of their customers. We describe how the requirements were determined and led to the selection of two specific approaches, the Decomposition Driven Method and the Provop approach. We comparatively evaluated the suitability of these approaches to develop variant models for six software project management processes of five customers. This study contributes to the field by presenting an industrial case for process variant modeling, reporting in-depth, real-life applications of two approaches, applying the approaches for hierarchical processes, and presenting guidelines for choosing an approach under comparable conditions.

Yazılım Projelerinde Karşılaşılan Risk Faktörleri ve Risk Yönetim Süreci

There are very important problems that occur nowdays in the field of software projects ever widespreading. The respective problems has influenced software being developed negatively. Therefore, “Software Risk Management” processes must be carried out successfully beyond a good coding in order to avoid or to minimize this situation. In this study, within the scope of the software project management, risk identification, risk factors, risk types, risk strategies and risk management process are discussed in details and comparative. By revealing the software risks and the methods of prevention of these risks, the necessasy actions has been clarified to eliminate or to reduce the risks resulting from any software. This study is aimed at being an important reference for the researches interested in this field

Action Driven Decision Modeling Framework towards Formulating Software Project Management Tacit Knowledge

Managing the tacit knowledge in organizations raises substantial challenges in regards of the associated processes. In software project management decision making has the critical role in this scenario since it defines the manager’s responsibilities and stems from the various sources linked to the process. With the respect of tacit knowledge, the decision making constructs the essential foundation and thereby it needs a reliable framework for modeling of the decision structure. In this paper a conceptual multi-method simulation based framework will be introduced in a modality to cover multiple levels of the decision structure over software project management process. The methods used are integrated towards a multi-method simulation model whereas each of these methods exclusively realizes distinct aspect of software project management. The framework evolves the manner of decision making by a paradigm which establishes the foundation for a tactical level understanding and decision support for practitioners. At the results section an optimal policy for the framework will be presented.

Ontologies for Software Project Management: A Review

Software Project Management is a knowledge intensive process that can benefit substantially from ontology development and ontology engineering. Ontology development could facilitate or improve substantially the software development process through the improvement of knowledge management, the increase of software and artefacts reusability, and the establishment of internal consistency within project management processes of various phases of software life cycle. A large number of ontologies have been developed attempting to address various software engineering aspects, such as requirements engineering, components reuse, domain modelling, etc. In this paper, we present a systematic literature review focusing on software project management ontologies. The literature review, among other, has identified lack of standardization in terminology and concepts, lack of systematic domain modelling and use of ontologies mainly in prototype ontology systems that address rather limited aspects of software project management processes.

A Generic Agent Framework to Support the Various Software Project Management Processes

An international association advancing the multidisciplinary study of informing systems. Founded in 1998, the Informing Science Institute (ISI) is a global community of academics shaping the future of informing science.

External disturbance control for software project management

Software project management processes are examined using the Law of Requisite variety to illustrate that a different control approach is required to prevent failures. Causes (disturbances) of project failures in the literature are identified to illustrate how a control system might be designed. A more inclusive use of project personnel and a much more proactive role by buyer executives to provide observers and control solutions is needed. Failure of the London Ambulance Service computerisation is used as an example. Software failures can only be reduced if these disturbances are observed and controlled as early as possible in the project formation.

Validating the Need to Validate Code

Validating the Need to Validate Code

Software project dynamics: an integrated approach

Presents a scientific model of the software project management process based on focused field interviews and includes a detailed case study that was conducted to test the model. Covers human resource management, software production, controlling and planning.

An exploratory analysis relating the software project management process to project success

A conceptual model of the software project management process that relates to actual project performance is presented. The model is described, and an investigation that seeks to establish the feasibility of the conceptual model and examine its associated hypotheses is presented. The exploratory feasibility analysis described here is based upon questionnaire and interview data from 24 projects. Assisted by this data, the factors of adversity that may be present in the project environment and the factors of intrinsic management skills that may be put forth to manage and overcome this adversity are characterized. These are related to both project technical and cost/schedule performance through an interviewing variable referred to as residual management power. >