From Concept to Completion: Critical Success Factors in Agile Project Management for IT Projects

Introduction

In the ever-evolving landscape of Information Technology (IT) projects, achieving successful outcomes remains a persistent challenge. According to the 2018 Project Management Institute report, the average loss incurred for every $1 billion invested in projects amounts to $99 million (Takagi & Varajão, 2019). IT projects still face pertinent challenges with high rates of failure, a predicament often associated with their unique and rapidly evolving nature. According to the CHAOS 2020: Beyond Infinity Overview by the Standish Group, the successful implementation rate of IT projects stood at just 31%, with 50% of projects facing challenges, and 19% ultimately failing (Standish Group, 2020). Recognizing the need for a more adaptive and transformative approach, many IT organizations have shifted their project management strategies, opting for Agile Project Management (APM) over traditional methodologies to enhance their chances of success (Ambler, 2012; Fernandes & O’sullivan, 2023). However, the adoption of APM can be challenging for organizations new to this approach, or those who are aiming to scale up, prompting concerns and uncertainties among teams regarding the prioritization of Critical Success Factors (CSFs).

This paradigm shift introduces a set of challenges that project managers and teams must confront (Putrianasari et al., 2024). These challenges include resistance to change (a common and understandable reaction as teams navigate away from established norms), a lack of experience and training, incomplete requirements due to unclear user story mapping and lack of collaborative requirement gathering, and the delicate balance between flexibility and structure especially in the context of larger projects. Communication hurdles, particularly in teams dispersed geographically, add complexity to the collaboration dynamics, emphasizing the importance of robust communication tools and synchronous channels. Further challenges arise such as complexities in sprint planning and time estimation, challenges in team collaboration and dynamics. Simultaneously, maintaining stringent quality standards requires a meticulous approach to testing practices, continuous integration, and code reviews within the fast-paced cycles of Agile development. Moreover, the difficulties of tracking progress and metrics in an Agile environment require a careful selection of relevant metrics aligned with project goals, calling for a nuanced approach to progress assessment (Chow & Cao., 2008; Adzmi & Hassan, 2018).

Despite these multifaceted challenges, the evolution of APM, rooted in the Agile Manifesto's principles (Beck et al., 2001), emphasizes a transformative approach that centers on flexibility, collaboration, and iterative progress in conceptualising and completing IT projects. APM offers numerous opportunities for organizations and teams willing to focus on CSFs (Daraojimba et al., 2024). These opportunities encompass the capacity to seamlessly adapt to change, accelerate time-to-market, cultivate enhanced collaboration and communication, gain increased flexibility for tasks reprioritization, elicit responsiveness from stakeholders, foster a culture of continuous improvement, deliver higher quality outcomes, increase stakeholder engagement, reinforce risk management strategies, empower teams, streamline efforts to minimise waste, and adopt a customer-centric approach (Noteboom et al., 2021; Garousi et al., 2019). Due to today's rapidly evolving technological advancement, the success of IT projects is highly influenced on the ability for organisations and teams to adapt and respond effectively to changing requirements and market demands (Putrianasari et al., 2024).