The Impact of Schedule Pressure on Software Development: A Behavioral Perspective

Timely software development has been a major issue in both information systems research and software industry. While researchers and practitioners seek better techniques to estimate and manage software schedules, it is important to understand the impact of management pressure on software development projects. This paper investigates the impact of schedule pressure on the performance in software projects. Data analysis indicates that a U-shaped function exists between time pressure and cycle time. A similar relationship is found between time pressure and development effort. Meanwhile, time pressure does not significantly affect software quality. The findings of this study will help software project managers develop effective deadline and budget setting policies