An assessment of software project management maturity in Mauritius

Abstract

It is sometimes very difficult for an organization to adopt a specific software project management methodology in a short space of time. It requires sufficient time, adequate financial support and skilled human resources in order to start with a comprehensive methodology. It is, however, often more appropriate to use a maturity model so as to progress from one maturity level to the next. Assessment of the maturity level of an organization provides a good benchmark to rate the success of its operations. One such exercise was carried out in South Africa in 2003, and the overall average project management maturity was found to be 2.92 (Sonnekus & Labuschagne, 2004) on a scale of 1 to 5. The maturity level was found to be closely linked to the success rate of projects. In this paper we report on a similar exercise conducted in Mauritius regarding the maturity level of software development projects. The average maturity of software development companies in Mauritius can provide a useful indication of, among others, the current status of software project management with a view of bringing about improvement in this sector. Given that Mauritian software development companies are making use of European/Western software project management methodologies, this study has been carried out and a preliminary attempt was made to also assess their ability to deal with factors related to cultural, social, economic and political situation within the local context. These factors, when incorporated into existing project management methodologies, can bridge the gap between developing and developed countries and also contribute towards the globalization of software project management.