Project Management Institute (PMI) defines a project as “One shot, time limited goal directed major undertaking requiring the commitment of various skills and resources”. A project, by definition, is a temporary activity with a starting date, an end date, defined goals and tasks, a budget, a plan and involvement of multiple parties. Software development projects can be looked at as a category of projects executed with the objective of developing and distributing software products (Pressman, 1997). Software development projects may include new development, adjustment, re-use, re-engineering, maintenance, or any other activities that result in software products.
A project is typically deemed as successful if it meets the desired requirements,
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Reports indicate that large numbers of IS development efforts result in systems that do not function as envisioned, are not used, or are never delivered (Gibbs, 1994; Jones, 1995; Lyytinen and Hirschheim, 1987). The Standish Group research (1999) shows a staggering 31.1% of projects are cancelled before they get completed. Further results indicate that 52.7% of projects cost over 189% of their original estimations. Only 16.2% of software projects are completed on-time and on-budget. Even when these projects do get completed, many are no more than a mere gumshoe of their original specification requirements (Standish survey, 1999). A study conducted by Ewusi- Mensah and Przasnyski (1991) showed that 35% of abandoned projects are not abandoned until the execution stage of the project’s life cycle. Gordon (1999) found that, on the average, a company will complete only 37% of its major information system projects on time and only 42% will be completed within …show more content…
This has instigated the demand on locally developed software in Nigeria to increase. As at the 1980s and early 1990s, several software emerging companies sprang up, but only a few are left today. Their exodus from business has been attributed to consistent project failures. The study will look into the Nigerian software industry as whole, critically examine different software development projects within the public and private sector and Identify the critical failure factors from the clients perspective that have led to the seeming collapse of the Industry as suggested by (Asiegbu, 2011). Considering the rate of deployment and expansion of software Projects in Nigeria, it is critical to comprehend the dynamics of software Projects and assuring a proper grasp of special features of software Projects is critical to the successful implementation of software Projects. (Nwakanma,