The evidence of project management is known for centuries as can be
observed from the construction of the pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall of
China. In the modern age, project-based approaches are increasingly being
adopted in almost all areas of product development. Project management has
emerged as a specialised discipline since the importance of completing projects
within time, cost and quality constraints is crucial for organisations to continue
to survive in the competitive world.
Project Management, in general, has been developed under the assumption of
economic, political, cultural and social rationality. Little is known about
indigenous project management in developing countries. The concepts and
principles put forward in Western/European countries have been applied to
developing countries without much prior studies. Developing nations are
struggling constantly to maintain their projects within the constraints of time,
cost and quality. Software development companies have found it difficult to
adopt methodologies/models/standards that have shown evidence of success in
the developed world.
This thesis comprises the study of software project management in developing
countries. Mauritius, as an instance of developing countries, with problems
related to social, economic, cultural and political conditions are discussed.
However, these conditions differ from country to country. It is believed that
adjustments are required in a software project management framework to fit the
requirements of a country.
An evolutionary software project management maturity model is proposed for
managing software development in developing countries. This model adopts an
evolutionary approach, whereby areas of interest (called key process areas)
progressively attain maturity. Three levels of maturity are defined along with
key process areas that are applicable over all the maturity levels (called the
i
continuous process improvement group of KPAs). The model is also applied to
two software projects in Mauritius to test its effectiveness. Given the studies
carried out and its successful application to the Mauritian context, this model for
software project management is expected to contribute towards a higher
software project success rate. Notwithstanding the application in the Mauritian
context, it is plausible that other developing countries may also customise this
model as similar problems occur across these countries. / Computing / D.Phil. (Computer Science)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/1303 |
| Date | 31 March 2009 |
| Creators | Sukhoo, Aneerav |
| Contributors | Eloff, M. M., Van der Poll, John Andrew, Barnard, A. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (1 v. (various leaves)) |
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