Software Development Success

Software Development Success


Software development success based on the development of good software consistently and this goodness is multidimensional which is divided into user and developer perspective. The success of any project is based on the iron triangle such as cost, time, and quality. The criteria for success are: delivery stage (process) doing it right and post delivery stage (system) getting it right, which is now shifted as: quality, scope, time, and cost; and there are main five dimensions for success: 1) people, 2) process, 3) technology, 4) project, and 5) organization.
For successful software development, user and developer play an important role because user provides an idea and image of software product which is developed by developer. This section considers successful software development on developer point of view only.
Software development is a complex activity that required technical and managerial tool to manage the software project successfully. There are five main essential factors which affect the successful software project: 1) Start on the right foot means plan properly, 2) Maintain momentum used to maintain or rebuild team effort, 3) Track progress using a conceptual model blueprint buildup that people can see, 4) Make smart decisions means make good decisions to fulfill user requirements, and 5) Institutionalize post-mortem analyses used to learn from their past mistakes.
Project manager is attentive to control working of project and plan a strategy for project success. There are technical and non technical factors which affect project success. There are three types of critical success factors (CSFs) of software project such as: people (7 CSFs), process (16 CSFs), and technology (3 CSFs). There are various situational factors which affect project management such as: clear requirements and objectives, effective project management skills, user involvement, proper planning, and good quality management.

Effective risk management used to implement a successful project by using time, cost, and effort. The success of any project can be measure by resource utilization. The reason of the projects failure can be directly related to the area of risk management undertaken. Further the point of risk management process undertaken during a project impacts directly on the success of the project. Effective risk management should be always undertaken during the project lifecycle to increase project success. There are various situational factors which affect risk management for project success such as: effective and efficient utilization of resources, definition of clear goals, project team performance, and acceptance by the customer.
Existing models of CSFs of software projects have less concentration on communication, team, and product related factors. A conceptual model of CSFs for software projects categorizes the success factors. There are various situational factors which affect conceptual model such as: communication skills, ability to manage people well, company morale, business process reengineering, team capability, and leadership.
Contingency fit model developed by Ahimbisibwe, Cavana, and Daellenbach compare traditional plan based method and agile methodologies. They identify good decision making lead to project success and identify or categorize CSFs. There are total 37 CSFs for software development success. There are various situational factors which affect contingency fit model such as: organizational culture, vision and mission, relative project size, realistic schedule, up to date progress reporting, and clear assignment of roles and responsibilities.
After software product development, project success is analyzed. Main indicator for any project success is: project and its environment which affect productivity. There are various situational factors which affect project success analyses such as: time, budget, functionality, quality, need, product, user satisfaction, and team satisfaction. To achieve project success a balance relationship established and implemented in software projects.
New product success (NPS) holds importance for every software company. Over the past decades, Meta analytical method has been used to summarize empirical findings on NPS factors. There are lots of factors such as: product, strategy, process, marketplace, and organizational characteristics. Situational factors which affect software development success are shown in Table.

Table : Situational Factors That Affect Software Development Success

Software Development Success	Situational Factors
Project Management	Clear requirements and objectives, Effective project management skills, User involvement, Proper planning, and Good quality management
Risk Management	Effective and efficient utilization of resources, Definition of clear goals, Project team performance, and Acceptance by the customer
Models Conceptual Model Contingency Fit Model	Communication skills, Ability to manage people well, Company morale, Business process reengineering, Team capability, and Leadership
	Organizational culture, Vision and mission, Relative project size, Realistic schedule, Up to date progress reporting, and Clear assignment responsibilities of roles and
Project Success Analyses	Time, Budget, Functionality, Quality, Need, Product, User satisfaction, and Team satisfaction

There are various success factors for software development specified in Table, which is affected by various situational factors. Project management is used to manage the project successfully. Risk management suggests how to utilize the resources to perform effectively. Conceptual and contingency fit model is used to find out the CSFs and shows the importance of these factors for project success. A project success analysis is used to analyze project success. Project management is most important than others because using accurate project management we can develop successful software product.