Software Project Risk Management Practice in Ethiopia

Abstract

In a country like Ethiopia, where information and communication systems are in the early stage of development, software projects may face several challenges. Risk is one of the factors that challenges project performance, and even causes failure. Risk management helps project managers to control the effect of risks. However, risk management appears to be the least practiced component of project management. To help understand the software risk management practice in the developing countries (DC) context, this study explores the risk management practice of Ethiopian software projects. It also investigates the level of adoption of formal risk management models and which steps are included in the ad-hoc risk management exercise. Finally, it looks into the relationship between risk management practice and project success. We conducted a survey of 45 banks, insurance companies and United Nations agency offices in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In this study, a very low rate of application of formal risk management models was observed. We observed a different perception of risk management whereby only watching projects to see if any risks occur during implementation without performing risk identification and mitigation or response plan was considered as a risk management practice by project managers. It was also found that some project managers were not able to confidently tell whether risk management processes have taken place in the projects they manage.