Even before software engineering was formally defined as a discipline, software projects were notorious for being behind schedule and over budget. The resulting software systems were also often described as unreliable. Researchers in the field have, over the years, theorised and proposed many standards, methods, processes and techniques to improve software project outcomes. Based on allegorical evidence, however, it would seem that these proposals are often not applied in practice. This study was inspired by a desire to probe this general theme, namely of the extent to which (if at all) software engineering theory is adopted in practice. The core of this research is an interpretive case study of a software project in the financial services industry that ran from end 2006 to mid 2008. I was one of a team of approximately 20 developers, analysts and development managers working on the project, until I left the company in 2009. Results are reported in a two-phase fashion over several themes. Firstly, the literature of recommended software engineering practices relating to a particular theme is reviewed. This is regarded as the "theory". Thereafter, the observations and evidence collected from the interpretive study in regard to the relevant theme is presented and discussed. The first theme investigated is the notion of "project outcome". Definitions of successful and failed software projects are considered from the perspective of the various stakeholders. Also considered are factors that contribute to project success or failure. After examining how case study participants viewed the project’s outcome, it is argued that the project could neither be labelled as a complete success nor as a complete failure. Two areas were identified as problematic: the requirements gathering process; and the system architecture that had been chosen. Improvements in these areas would arguably have most benefitted the project’s outcome. For this reason, recommended practices were probed in the literature relating both to requirements engineering and also to software architecture design. The case study project was then evaluated against these recommended practices to determine the degree to which they were implemented. In cases where the recommended practices were not implemented or only partially implemented, a number of reasons for the lack of adoption are considered. Of course, the conclusions made in this study as to why the recommended practices were not implemented cannot be naïvely generalized to the software engineering field as a whole. Instead, in line with the interpretive nature of the study, an attempt was made to gain in depth knowledge of a particular project, to show how that project’s individual characteristics influenced the adoption of software engineering theory, and to probe the consequences of such adoption or lack thereof. The study suggested that the complex and individual nature of software projects will have a substantial influence on the extent to which theory is adopted in practice. It also suggested that the impact such adoption will have on a project’s outcome will be critically influenced by the nature of the software project. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Computer Science / unrestricted

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a software solution which offers the opportunity to strengthen the company's effectiveness, integrating the business processes across functional areas. In order to obtain the expected benefit, a successful implementation of the ERP project is crucial.  The aim of this thesis is to understand which different leadership styles can be applied during the ERP implementation phase, how they influence the overall project outcome and what leadership style can lead to the successful overall project outcome. The research covers following questions. To begin we will study ​which different leadership styles are applied in ERP implementation projects and study the leader’s trait & behavior through the project implementation process. ​Afterwards we will study how significant the leadership style is to achieve a successful overall project outcome and which style better suits the general context of an ERP implementation project.  Survey questions were prepared either to project managers with experience in ERP implementation projects within their company or managers working for consultancy service firms. Concepts from multi-grounded theory i.e. open-, axial- and selective coding for empirical grounding are used as a methodological approach in the thesis. After the empirical and theoretical analysis, the conclusion we could draw was that the task structure and demand for the given situation, in which different type of team members are involved, is determining the factors to achieve the leadership effectiveness and consequently it is considered to be the major element determining the leadership style to be applied during the project.

Project Management Information Systems (PMIS) play a critical role in supporting project outcome. However, little attention has been paid to the impact of having multiple PMIS while governing projects within organizations. This thesis explores the effects of the presence of multiple PMIS at a large manufacturing organization. The study used a qualitative approach, including interviews with Managers, IT Department and Senior Management as well as observations and an analysis of organizational documents. The data collected was analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. The findings revealed that the presence of multiple PMIS within the organization resulted in several challenges, including data inconsistency, duplication of effort, detrimental effects on the user experience and difficulty in managing the complexity of the PMIS landscape. However, the study also identified several potential benefits of having multiple PMIS, such as improved functional flexibility, customizability and enhanced project monitoring. The study recommends that organizations carefully consider their PMIS strategy, including the integration of different PMIS and the training of project teams on their proper use, to ensure that the effects of utilizing multiple PMIS are adequately addressed. Nevertheless, the study also recommends several areas for future research, including the exploration of the role of PMIS in project governance, the impact of emerging technologies on PMIS, and the examination of the impact of PMIS on organizational culture and behavior. Overall, this study highlights the importance of carefully managing the PMIS landscape within an organization to ensure its effectiveness in supporting project outcome and organizational efficiency. / Projektledningsinformationsystem (PMIS) har en avgörande roll för att främja projektslutresultat. Trots detta har det ägnats väldigt lite uppmärksamhet åt betydelsen av att tillämpa flera PMIS inom en organisation. Denna avhandling utforskar effekterna som uppstår av att flera PMIS är närvarande inom ett stort tillverkningsföretag. Studien har tillämpat en kvalitativ metodik som omfattar intervjuer med chefer, IT-avdelningen och högsta ledningen, samt observationer och en analys av utvalda interna dokument. Den insamlade datan analyserades med hjälp av tematisk analys. Resultaten av studien påvisade att närvaron av flera PMIS inom organisationen ledde till ett flertal utmaningar, såsom inkonsekvent data, dubbelarbete, negativ påverkan på användarupplevelsen och svårigheter att hantera komplexiteten av PMIS-systemen. Studien identifierade även flera potentiella fördelar som PMIS bidrog med, såsom ökad funktionell flexibilitet, anpassningsbarhet och förbättrad övervakning av projektens framsteg. Studien rekommenderar att organisationer noggrant överväger sin PMIS-strategi med avseende på integrationen av olika PMIS, samt utbildningen av projektteam för korrekt användning av systemen. Studien rekommenderar även flera områden för framtida forskning, inklusive utforskning av rollen som PMIS har inom projektstyrning, konsekvenserna av framväxande teknologier för PMIS samt undersökning av påverkan som PMIS har på organisationskultur och beteende. Sammantaget betonar denna studie vikten av att noggrant hantera PMIS-landskapet inom en organisation för att kunna säkerställa systemens effektivitet i att stödja projektslutresultat och organisationers effektivitet.