Behavioural aspects of software project management - In-house software development

Abstract

The study was aimed at looking into the behavioural aspects of software project management in in-house software development centres in India. It was considered to investigate the relationship between sector type and major organisational factor as perceived by the in-house software project head and the collective behavioural perception of in-house software project heads on human resource management, project management practices and supportive skills and environment where in-house development happens. The study was based on survey explorative design by using a structured questionnaire which was pre-tested with 35 in-house software project heads. After making necessary modifications from the collected feedback, questionnaires were sent to nearly 300 in-house software project heads in four different sectors and finally 200 responded. The collected data was analysed using chi-square analysis, correlation and other statistical tools to draw conclusions. The study revealed the collective perception of the in-house software project heads, in the descending order of their perceived interests, towards the factors of human resource management, project management practices, and supportive skills&environment. It was also found out that there is a relationship between sector type and organisational factor as perceived by the in-house software project head. In-house development centre heads need to be concerned with the behavioural aspects of developer community in their organisation, and beginning to consider these variables in their management practices will surely help to turn out successful projects both quantitatively and qualitatively. It is time to prove through further research and experiments that the behavioural aspects of software project management in the in-house development centres in India still need to catch up with the practices to match the global standards as set by major software development companies both in India and abroad.