Reexamining Software Project Risk in Modern Day Project Contexts

The importance of software project risk management cannot be overstated, but do researchers’ conceptualizations match developers’ reality? We set out to apply a validated software project risk measurement instrument in modern project contexts, hypothesizing that factors which make newer project contexts, such as game software, more successful or risky would differ from those affecting other contexts such as productivity software. As we began pilot testing the validated survey instrument, we found that project team members’ nomological nets vary significantly from past research results. Our results contribute to research on risk management and challenge assumptions about software project management. By doing so, this study contributes to IS research on project risk and paves the way for surveys that make sense to project managers and developers in contemporary project contexts.