A Comprehensive Software Project Management Framework

Abstract

Project management is vital for software project success. Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), CMMI for Development (CMMI-DEV), and other software project management models and practices established to assist software organizations, each of these models offers diverse focal points. Combined effective software project management practices remain a challenge to software organizations. In striving to raise the likelihood of software project success, this paper introduces a framework for software project management effectiveness which integrated a set of software project management practices based on the PMBOK guide processes, CMMI-DEV processes, and management areas that influence a software project. The proposed framework called 4PTRB which includes people, process, product, project, technology, risk, and business management areas. The 4PTRB software project management framework provides a whole comprehensive view to help software project managers to improve their project management effectiveness. The framework is validated by conducting a web-based survey of software professional practitioners around the world. A statistical analysis of twenty software projects has been conducted as a case study thereafter, spanning small to large development projects. The consistency of the case study and survey results shows the power of the 4PTRB framework as an inclusive software project management framework.