Decision Making in Software Projects: A Control Theory Perspective

Software projects are difficult to control given their complexity, intangibility and dynamic nature. Control theory has been applied in several domains in management. Control theory can provide a useful framework for understanding the learning and adaptive processes involved in managing software projects. Software project management can be understood as a goal driven activity with a hierarchy of goal structure. This research draws upon control theory to propose a hierarchy of control in software project management. Specifically, within this hierarchy of control, the level of project decision making is elaborated and propositions on managerial attention allocation, the role of mental models, feedback and decision strategies are put forth. Further research should test these propositions empirically.