The effects of perceived value and stakeholder satisfaction on software project impact

Context: In this paper we present a multiple case study on the insights of software organizations into stakeholder satisfaction and (perceived) value of their software projects. Our study is based on the notion that quantifying and qualifying project size, cost, duration, defects, and estimation accuracy needs to be done in relation with stakeholder satisfaction and perceived value. Objectives: We contrast project metrics such as cost, duration, number of defects and estimation accuracy with stakeholder satisfaction and perceived value. Method: In order to find out whether our approach is practically feasible in an industrial setting, we performed two case studies; one in a Belgian telecom company and the other in a Dutch software company. Results: In this study we evaluate 22 software projects that were delivered during one release in the Belgian telecom company, and 4 additional large software releases (representing an extension of 174% in project size) that were delivered in a Dutch software company. Eighty-three (83) key stakeholders of two companies provide stakeholder satisfaction and perceived value measurements in 133 completed surveys. Conclusions: We conclude that a focus on shortening overall project duration, and improving communication and team collaboration on intermediate progress is likely to have a positive impact on stakeholder satisfaction and perceived value. Our study does not provide any evidence that steering on costs helped to improve these. As an answer to our research question - how do stakeholder satisfaction and perceived value relate to cost, duration, defects, size and estimation accuracy of software projects? - we found five take-away-messages.