Major Issues in Software Engineering Project Management

Software engineering project management (SEPM) has been the focus of much recent attention because of the enormous penalties incurred during software development and maintenance resulting from poor management. To date there has been no comprehensive study performed to determine the most significant problems of SEPM, their relative importance, or the research directions necessary to solve them. We conducted a major survey of individuals from all areas of the computer field to determine the general consensus on SEPM problems. Twenty hypothesized problems were submitted to several hundred individuals for their opinions. The 294 respondents validated most of these propositions. None of the propositions was rejected by the respondents as unimportant. A number of research directions were indicated by the respondents which, if followed, the respondents believed would lead to solutions for these problems.