The client as a real option in successful software project management (The CPPM model)

Being able to understand the client´s perspective during software project management is considered as the required key skill of project managers. It deals with how client feels thinks, behaves and expect. Project managers with their experiences and skills can understand and practice it. The role of client in software development projects is critical for project success. Besides the standardized processes, client is the key factor of project success. Unfortunately, limited attention is given to this most important aspect of project management. Very limited research works highlight this important factor. This paper describes the important role of client through a CPPM model and explains its various elements through model diagram. The model would help project managers in understanding the client´s behavior and its practical implementation. The paper describes how to apply this approach in projects and follow it through the project lifecycle. A short qualitative case study of real projects is performed to validate the model. The outcome of the paper is the introduction of new project management approach. The research aims at giving the right direction to the project management activities by following client based approaches.