How to start a software development project in a customer-supplier context: the supplier’s viewpoint

Abstract

Suppliers continue to find it challenging to successfully deliver software development projects to external customers. A project’s start-up phase is recognized to be crucial to success of the project. This dissertation aims to find a solution to the research problem: how to start a software development project in a customer - supplier context? To find an answer to the research problem, this research concentrates on the supplier’s perspective and studies the project business of six supplier firms by applying both quantitative and qualitative research methods. As a result, a project start-up model was developed, concentrating on the project start-up phase from the supplier’s perspective. The model combines the project start-up practices and the roles involved. The practices described in the model are designed to help a supplier firm create the conditions for the success of the project by following a structured and systematic approach during the project start-up phase. Additionally, this research identified context-related challenges from supplier’s perspective during the project start-up phase. The identified challenges emphasize the importance of differentiating the customer’s and supplier’s perspectives, especially when studying software development projects in a customer-supplier context. This research offers deeper understanding about the software development projects within the customer-supplier context and makes the project start-up phase visible from the supplier’s perspective. This research provides a tool, in the form of a project start-up model, for suppliers to use when developing their project processes and practices. For future research, it is important to test the developed project start-up model and to ensure its applicability in different contexts and projects. Implementing the project start-up phase by applying the proposed model contributes to the success of a software development project and thus helps ensure achievement of the business objectives set for the project from both the supplier’s and the customer’s perspectives. Keywords: project business, project start-up, project management, supplier, software development project