STANDARDIZATION, REQUIREMENTS UNCERTAINTY AND SOFTWARE PROJECT PERFORMANCE

A risk-based model of software project management was developed to exp lain the effect of software development standards on a software proces s and product performance in the presence of uncertainty in requiremen ts. Residual performance risk, defined as the extent of difficulty in estimating performance outcomes during the later stages of the project , was modeled as a mediating variable. Based on a prior theory, six hy potheses were derived and empirically tested using a survey design. Da ta from 64 projects suggested support for the model, in general, and f ive of the six hypotheses, in particular. Increases in the standardiza tion were directly associated with decreases in the residual performan ce risk which, in turn, led to increases in both process and product p erformance.