Abstract:
Software projects are the lifeline of software development organizations. Due to the
ever increasing complexities in systems, it is paramount that extensive planning and
risk assessment is performed to ensure successful project completion. As an emerging
industry in Sri Lanka, sound software project risk management is of crucial
importance. This study is focused on measuring the awareness of software project risk
management in Sri Lankan software industry.
The study focuses primarily on investigating three key objectives: Firstly, identify the
overall level of awareness of the software project risk management in Sri Lankan
software industry. Secondly, extract the factors affecting to software project risk
management and thirdly discussion on the risk response methods to the most
significant risks found from survey results. Finally, the research discusses
recommendations on improving the performance on better software project risk
management based on the interviews conducted and the literature review.
The research uses both qualitative and quantitative approaches to fulfill research
objectives. Data was primarily gathered through the questionnaire and interviews.
The questionnaire was distributed among selected professionals in Sri Lankan
software industry.
The results of the study indicate that the overall level of risk awareness in Sri Lankan
software industry is above the average, evaluating to an estimated overall mean value
of 3.7 out of 5. Study revealed that the awareness of software project risk
management is dependent on the rganizational characteristic' such as size,
complexity and cost of the project, organizational culture and higher management
initiative. However there is no evidence to state that awareness is dependent on
'Technological aspects and individual characteristics'
Since the irganizational characteristics have a relationship with the risk awareness,
it is advisable to strictly adhere to the processes and policies within an organization to
ensure the positive outcome.
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