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Research suggests the relationship between time pressure and software quality to be more complex than presumed. While software developers can adjust their output to improve observed performance at the expense of software quality, the latter has been found to increase with time pressure in case of work-pace dependent incentives. An untested, but widely disseminated game-theoretical model seeks to resolve this contradiction and hypothesizes that high rates of time pressure avoid so-called 'shortcuts', which occur in the form of imperfections induced by developers to meet unrealistically tight deadlines. We conduct two laboratory experiments to empirically test this model for the first time. Our results corroborate the model with regard to its suggestion that shortcuts can be reduced if developers perceive unrealistic deadlines as ever-present. However, we also show that the actual critical probability of unrealistic deadlines-the point at which shortcut taking is drastically reduced-is above the theoretical one. Although final conclusions on the impact of time pressure on software quality remain to be drawn, our results suggest that-considering the contingencies of our study-time pressure helps in striving for quality in software projects.

In general, works on information system (IS) project success focus on either project success factors or project success criteria, neglecting the relationships (mechanisms) between these concepts. Accordingly, it is mainly unclear how success factors actually contribute to success criteria. We attempt to illuminate this black box by conducting semi-structured qualitative interviews with experienced IS project managers by applying Repertory Grid and Laddering. Our exploratory study yields numerous success mechanisms, revealing project-related motivation to be the central hub in the factors-criteria network. Factors preceding project-related motivation such as transparency, certainty, and management attention are described.

The effectiveness of information technology (IT) depends on its embeddedness into its contingent context. Thus, enabling adequate knowledge management (KM) system design requires awareness of the characteristics of the knowledge that is created. Since related insights are missing, we explore what software developers learn on their projects by conducting interviews based on the Repertory Grid Technique. We assess the characteristics of the identified knowledge and skills and derive suggestions for KM system design accordingly. Our study gives rise to challenge the common idea that KM design should be chosen according to the type of knowledge (explicit versus tacit) to be managed. Incorporating further knowledge characteristics (task domain and volatility of knowledge), our results indicate that organisations should implement a codification strategy or a strategy between codification and personalisation, depending on the knowledge at hand.

This study illuminates the role of client–vendor communication in relation to project performance and client satisfaction in information system projects. Results from a field study with managers on the client side suggest that both process and product performance positively influence the confirmation of expectations; however, process expectations do not, which might be due to the normality of budget and schedule overruns. Furthermore, client–vendor communication wields an important influence on client satisfaction. Future research should address the contributions of different communication mediums and contrast agile and non-agile projects.

Whereas expectations concerning both process and product are essential for information system development (ISD) project success, research has focused on end-user expectations toward the product. Based on semi-structured interviews, we shed light on the relevance of process expectations for customer satisfaction in ISD projects, concrete customer expectations toward the process, and approaches for managing these expectations. Our study provides means to manage customer expectations and thus increase the likelihood of customer satisfaction.

Despite extensive research over the past several decades, assessing information system (IS) project success is still a challenging endeavor. While the traditional approach takes process performance (time and budget) and product performance (functional and non-functional requirements) into account, the contemporary perspective acknowledges the more comprehensive character of project success and emphasizes the criticality of stakeholder satisfaction. Continuing previous research, we propose and test a model with customer satisfaction as the uppermost criterion of IS project success and process performance and product performance as its determinants. Following recent calls for researchers to investigate the explicit linkage between success factors and success criteria, we also analyze the influence of process transparency on process and product performance. We conducted a survey via a questionnaire with IS experts in Germany. We contribute to a deeper understanding of IS project success by indicating that customer satisfaction is less a matter of time and budget and that a stronger emphasis should be placed on product performance. Moreover, our results illuminate the role of process transparency in IS projects showing that it contributes to both process and product performance.

Many companies struggle with effective and efficient accomplishment of enterprise application integration (EAI), resulting in significant time and budget overruns. Concerning project management, a major reason for failure is considered to be effort underestimation. This underestimation is an aftermath of applying estimation methods that do not account for all relevant factors influencing EAI project effort. Applying the Repertory Grid Technique, we explore factors affecting the effort of such projects by conducting 22 semi-structured expert interviews. We provide an extensive overview of 91 effort-influencing factors and their classification in nine categories, which can be used as a checklist in EAI projects.