Understanding Requirements Volatility in Software Projects - An Empirical Investigation of Volatility Awareness, Management Approaches and their Applicability

Requirements volatility during software project development is known to be the most critical risk, and managing this is paramount to success in software project. The research described in this paper is based on a combination of interviews and a survey in two phases and aims to investigate the organizational practices in dealing with this risk, and how it is influenced by the adopted project execution strategy with regard to process model selection decisions. The results indicate study participants´ heightened perception of the risk of requirements volatility. Thirteen different approaches to managing projects under volatility could be identified, of which the practice of involving the business side was the most frequent. Differences could be observed in the usage of these approaches based on the chosen project execution strategy. The influence of business emerged as the highest determinant of the seven identified factors governing execution strategy selection. The variation in these factors under volatility has also been pointed out. The current practice regarding usage of these execution frameworks reveals a gradual shift towards customization. In this regard some incongruence between perception and practice under requirements volatility was also evident, and has been addressed in the paper. The study findings are expected to assist project managers in their choices related to project administration under requirements volatility.