Decision making for software project management in a multi-project environment: an experimental investigation.

Abstract

Software project development can be characterized as failing to meet the user's needs within budget and schedule limitations. The number of software development failures far exceeds the number delivered as specified throughout industry and specifically in the Department of Defense. The System Dynamics Model of Software Project Management is a sustained and generally accepted quantitative model for simulating the software development lifecycle. Dynamic management issues can now be evaluated in an experimental setting which eliminates the financial risks. The objective of this thesis is to use the System Dynamics Model's gaming interface to investigate the effects of managerial motivation on software project managers in a multiproject environment. Specifically, this experiment was conducted to determine the effect of individual or team motivation on subsystem managers of a larger project. The effect of the two motivation methods are measured in terms of staffing level decisions, final cost and final duration.