Analyzing Agile Project Success Criteria from a Practitioner Perspective

Sammanfattning: Problem: Researchers argue that the definition of project success is difficult to pinpoint as it varies depending on both individual perspectives and situational factors such as the organization and the project type. They also argue that the traditional way of evaluating project success, by adhering to schedule, cost, and scope, is outdated and incomplete and hence there still exists no exact definition for agile project success. Purpose: This thesis aims to create a definition of agile project success from the agile practitioner perspective, as well as determining the success criteria they consider important. The empirical findings and the models will help to define and evaluate agile project success they consider important, and therefore partially fill the theoretical knowledge gap found. Research methodology: Through critical literature review, the important theories were selected and reviewed from which the analytical framework was formed. This analytical framework acts as a basis for further discussions and analysis within this study. To collect data for this study an interview study was performed with Swedish agile practitioners in a technology industry. Then the interview data was transcribed and analyzed to find answers for the research question. Results: Thus, the most important access criterion considered by agile practitioners especially in an IoT technology industry are found to be: Value, Team success, Quality, Business Benefits and Constraints. Value was found to be the most important agile project success criteria and it constitutes the backbone of APM. Team success is another vital criterion emerged within this research. It is not an entirely new concept, but it has been given less importance in the previous project management research. Conclusion: Within this thesis it was found that a successful agile project is a project that generates value in a sustainable manner. “A sustainable manner” also takes into consideration team success, as well as the flexibility needed within an agile mind-set. Generating value both entails working with quality, an important aspect of APM, as well as creating benefit for the customer. The agile project success criteria found to be important by Swedish agile practitioners are: Value, Team Success, Quality, Business Benefits, and Constraints.