Decoding success: an empirical study of critical success factors in software projects

Achieving project success is a primary objective for organizations dedicated to software development. Despite the concerted efforts of these organizations, statistics indicate that a significant portion of projects ultimately fail. Numerous authors in the literature have focused on defining success and failure in software projects, as well as the factors contributing to these outcomes. However, it appears that there is no consensus on these terms, and they do not accurately represent the experts’ perspective. This study presents results obtained from semi-structured interviews with 30 professionals in the technology sector, enabling the identification of Critical Success Factors that professionals believe can influence the success of software projects, along with their perception of the concepts of project success and project failure. The article outlines the conducted research, details the application of the thematic analysis methodology for analysing the interview data, and reports the findings of the empirical study. Specifically, the identification of 49 Critical Success Factors that experts deem influential in the success of software projects, providing a more nuanced and precise definition of project success and project failure. Among these 49 Critical Success Factors, grouped into six categories, it is important to highlight Skills, Involvement, Technology maturity, Detailed requirements analysis, and Good communication with all the people involved in the project, as the most frequently mentioned by the interviewees. The findings of this study not only provide a clearer definition of project success and project failure but also suggest that the resulting set of Critical Success Factors can support technology professionals in considering and adequately managing the factors that may increase the likelihood of success in their projects.