The external factors used to define the perceived success of software projects

The purpose of this quantitative research was to improve the way success of software projects is measured. This was done by identifying and exploring external factors that serve as success criteria. It is postulated that by understanding these factors, organisations will be able to focus their resource efforts on the most prevalent factors that they can use to judge software project success. This will ensure project success and ultimately create a competitive advantage for the organisation. The research started off with a structured literature review. This was followed by a research design based on a quantitative questionnaire presenting embedded units of analysis. The results provided a useful insight into the factors that are used to define the success of software projects. The outcome of the study is in the form of a model which highlights the following variables applied to define software project success: system quality, information quality, user satisfaction, net benefits and the traditional variables of time, budget and specification