Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) of information technology (IT) projects using cloud computing. CSFs are variables that can influence the success of projects and therefore need to be identified and managed appropriately.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an exploratory qualitative study with 23 experts in cloud computing projects through semi-structured interviews. The data was analyzed using content analysis.
Findings
The results present a list of CSFs for projects in a cloud computing environment. The study demonstrated that the CSF with greater relevance to cloud projects is the team’s technical capacity, followed by the support of senior management and the team’s soft skills. In addition, results demonstrated that contract item management is a limiting factor for cloud projects.
Research limitations/implications
The sample comprised only Brazilian experts, so it may not represent the same scenario as in other locations. The CSF ratio for cloud computing projects may vary depending on the company’s maturity in projects of this nature.
Practical implications
The CSF relationship can guide managers in properly conducting cloud computing projects, contributing to minimizing the risks and challenges that may interfere with the project.
Social implications
The relationship of the CSFs in cloud computing projects proposed fills a gap in studies specifically related to this context and tries to minimize project managers’ stress.
Originality/value
Contract items for the cloud context are added to the CSF literature in IT projects, which have not been addressed so far.
Keywords
Cloud computing; Critical success factors; Project management
Introduction
Global business models have undergone profound changes related to the use of technology. In this context, cloud computing emerges as an evolution of information technology (IT), changing the way IT products (infrastructure, development platforms and software) are delivered to customers (Wang, Wood, Abdul-Rahman, & Lee, 2016Wang, C., Wood, L. C., Abdul-Rahman, H., & Lee, Y. T. (2016). When traditional information technology project managers encounter the cloud: Opportunities and dilemmas in the transition to cloud services. International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), 371–388. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.11.006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015....
). In this IT model, customers pay only for services consumed, such as measured service, payment for use, service provisioning or subscription contract (Wang et al., 2016Wang, C., Wood, L. C., Abdul-Rahman, H., & Lee, Y. T. (2016). When traditional information technology project managers encounter the cloud: Opportunities and dilemmas in the transition to cloud services. International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), 371–388. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.11.006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015....
).
Migrating to the cloud brings challenges to organizations such as provisioning services, migrations of virtual data machines, energy management, traffic management and analysis, maximization of machine use, software architecture and frameworks as well as data security and confidentiality (Zhang, Cheng, & Boutaba, 2010Zhang, Q., Cheng, L., & Boutaba, R. (2010). Cloud computing: State-of-the-art and research challenges. Journal of Internet Services and Applications, 1(1), 7–18. doi: 10.1007/s13174-010-0007-6.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13174-010-0007-...
; Singh & Chatterjee, 2017Singh, A., & Chatterjee, K. (2017). Cloud security issues and challenges: a survey. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 79, 88–115. doi: 10.1016/j.jnca.2016.11.027.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnca.2016.11.0...
). However, migrating to the cloud seems like a model that guarantees IT performance so that organizations can grow without restricting the necessary resources.
IT projects using the cloud are growing because IT has stood out as a tool capable of increasing organizational competitiveness (Priyadarshinee, Raut, Jha, & Gardas, 2017Priyadarshinee, P., Raut, R. D., Jha, M. K., & Gardas, B. B. (2017). Understanding and predicting the determinants of cloud computing adoption: A two staged hybrid SEM-Neural networks approach. Computers in Human Behavior, 76, 341–362. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2017.07.027.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.07.02...
). Thus, discussing how IT projects are conducted in the cloud computing environment is inevitable because some new challenges arise (Wang et al., 2016Wang, C., Wood, L. C., Abdul-Rahman, H., & Lee, Y. T. (2016). When traditional information technology project managers encounter the cloud: Opportunities and dilemmas in the transition to cloud services. International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), 371–388. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.11.006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015....
): team capacity, shared environments, specific technical knowledge, risks linked to changes and the customer and provider contract itself.
For successful planning and control of the project, it is necessary to properly manage the variables or conditions that may affect its success (Milosevic & Patanakul, 2005Milosevic, D., & Patanakul, P. (2005). Standardized project management may increase development projects success. International Journal of Project Management, 23(3), 181–192, doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2004.11.002.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2004....
; Abylova & Salykova, 2019Abylova, V., & Salykova, L. (2019). Critical success factors in project management: a comprehensive Review1, 2. PM World Journal, Retrieved from https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/pmwj82-Jun2019-Salykova-Abylova-critical-success-factors-in-project-management2.pdf
https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/up...
; Abdulla & Al-Hashimi, 2019Abdulla, H., & Al-Hashimi, M. (2019). The impact of project management methodologies on project success: A case study of the oil and gas industry. Journal of Engineering, Project and Production Management, 9(2), 115–125.). The critical success factors (CSFs) help minimize project risks and challenges. In addition, they can be linked to project environment, communication, team and resources beyond project boundaries, such as size and complexity (Milosevic & Patanakul, 2005Milosevic, D., & Patanakul, P. (2005). Standardized project management may increase development projects success. International Journal of Project Management, 23(3), 181–192, doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2004.11.002.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2004....
; Besteiro, de Souza Pinto, & Novaski, 2015Besteiro, É. N. C., de Souza Pinto, J., & Novaski, O. (2015). Success factors in project management. Business Management Dynamics, 4(9), 19.).
Thus, identifying CSFs becomes relevant. In light of this, the research question of this study emerges: What are the CSFs for projects using cloud technology? The objective is to identify the CSFs of projects using cloud computing technology. We conducted interviews with project management experts in cloud environments. Through content analysis (CA), according to Bardin (1977)Bardin, L. (1977). Análise de conteúdo, (p. 70), Lisboa: Edições., the content of the interviews was interpreted, and the results were inferred. This step generated a list of CSFs demonstrating that the most relevant CSF for cloud projects is the team’s technical capacity, followed by the support of senior management and the team’s soft skills. This study also demonstrated that managing contract items between providers and customers is essential for cloud projects. This is a new factor in specific IT projects in the cloud context that has not been suggested in other studies on CSFs. Contract items need to be reviewed by the project manager (PM) during project planning as they limit projects that use the cloud as the IT architecture.
The list of CSFs in cloud computing project management proposed fills a gap in studies specifically related to this cloud context as the architecture in IT projects. Such a relationship of CSFs can direct managers in the proper conduct of cloud computing projects, contributing to minimizing the risks and challenges that may interfere with the project. In addition, it contributes to the theoretical framework on the subject. This study also contributes socially by minimizing PMs’ stress regarding the need to avoid project failure.
2.Theoretical framework
2.1Cloud computing
Cloud computing is defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a model for convenient and on-demand access permission of a shared set of configurable computing resources such as networks, servers, storage, applications and services (Mell & Grance, 2009Mell, P., & Grance, T. (2009). The NIST definition of cloud computing. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Information Technology Laboratory, Version, 15(10.07). Retrieved from http://faculty.winthrop.edu/domanm/csci411/Handouts/NIST.pdf
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). The cloud revolutionizes the traditional adoption of IT (Hsu, Ray, & Li-Hsieh, 2014Hsu, P. F., Ray, S., & Li-Hsieh, Y. Y. (2014). Examining cloud computing adoption intention, pricing mechanism, and deployment model. International Journal of Information Management, 34(4), 474–488. doi: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2014.04.006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2014...
), as it allows contracting infrastructure, platforms and software as services, and it is not necessary to make them an organizational asset (Sultan, 2011Sultan, N. A. (2011). Reaching for the cloud: How SMEs can manage. International Journal of Information Management, 31(3), 272–278. doi: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2010.08.001.
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). This model increases the flexibility and scalability of the business, as resources can be contracted and immediately released when no longer needed (Zissis & Lekkas, 2012Zissis, D., & Lekkas, D. (2012). Addressing cloud computing security issues. Future Generation Computer Systems, 28(3), 583–592. doi: 10.1016/j.future.2010.12.006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.future.2010.12...
), and changes the way IT services are designed, developed, implemented, sized, updated, maintained and paid for (Avram, 2014Avram, M. G. (2014). Advantages and challenges of adopting cloud computing from an enterprise perspective. Procedia Technology, 12, 529–534. doi: 10.1016/j.protcy.2013.12.525.
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).
In the on-premise model (Wang et al., 2016Wang, C., Wood, L. C., Abdul-Rahman, H., & Lee, Y. T. (2016). When traditional information technology project managers encounter the cloud: Opportunities and dilemmas in the transition to cloud services. International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), 371–388. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.11.006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015....
), applications, data, operating systems, servers, virtual machines, storage and network are maintained by the customers themselves, while in the cloud model, they are offered separately. As a result, incorporating IT through cloud services can shorten the schedule, optimize the scope, reduce the cost of IT projects (Wang et al., 2016Wang, C., Wood, L. C., Abdul-Rahman, H., & Lee, Y. T. (2016). When traditional information technology project managers encounter the cloud: Opportunities and dilemmas in the transition to cloud services. International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), 371–388. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.11.006.
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) as well as minimize service provisioning issues, simplify systems and application management or reduce deployment costs.
Challenges of projects using cloud computing
Some features of the cloud imply challenges for organizations and PMs. Cloud environments are shared service environments where several clients can host their data on the same physical server or datacenter, increasing the security and control required in this environment (Google, 2020Google (2020). Future of cloud computing, Retrieved from https://cloud.google.com/future-cloud-computing#form-report (accessed 11 May 2020).
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). In the traditional IT approach, complete control of installed servers and systems is under the responsibility of the IT department, while in the cloud, the customer has restricted access, which makes it difficult to measure performance and control the reliability of some services (Hofmann & Woods, 2010Hofmann, P., & Woods, D. (2010). Cloud computing: The limits of public clouds for business applications. IEEE Internet Computing, 14(6), 90–93, doi: 10.1109/mic.2010.136
https://doi.org/10.1109/mic.2010.136...
; Wang et al., 2016Wang, C., Wood, L. C., Abdul-Rahman, H., & Lee, Y. T. (2016). When traditional information technology project managers encounter the cloud: Opportunities and dilemmas in the transition to cloud services. International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), 371–388. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.11.006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015....
). Cloud services are acquired, managed and measured through contracts between customer and provider, making the proper management of contracts and changes fundamental factors for projects in this context (Wang et al., 2016Wang, C., Wood, L. C., Abdul-Rahman, H., & Lee, Y. T. (2016). When traditional information technology project managers encounter the cloud: Opportunities and dilemmas in the transition to cloud services. International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), 371–388. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.11.006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015....
).
In the cloud context, challenges for project management can be technical knowledge; decentralized virtual teams of the customer and the provider; and different cultures arising from the location of the customer and the provider (Sultan, 2011Sultan, N. A. (2011). Reaching for the cloud: How SMEs can manage. International Journal of Information Management, 31(3), 272–278. doi: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2010.08.001.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2010...
; Wang et al., 2016Wang, C., Wood, L. C., Abdul-Rahman, H., & Lee, Y. T. (2016). When traditional information technology project managers encounter the cloud: Opportunities and dilemmas in the transition to cloud services. International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), 371–388. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.11.006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015....
). Furthermore, considering that cloud services are contracted on demand (Armbrust et al., 2010Armbrust, M., Fox, A., Griffith, R., Joseph, A. D., Katz, R., Konwinski, A., & Zaharia, M. (2010). A view of cloud computing. In Communications of the ACM, 53(4), 50–58, doi: 10.1145/1721654.1721672.
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), the set of the services influences their availability during the project.
IT service provider support and maintenance are based on the service level agreement (Hofmann & Woods, 2010Hofmann, P., & Woods, D. (2010). Cloud computing: The limits of public clouds for business applications. IEEE Internet Computing, 14(6), 90–93, doi: 10.1109/mic.2010.136
https://doi.org/10.1109/mic.2010.136...
). In this regard, the installation of services, the problem solution or the communication between the customer and the provider are given by the means and deadlines agreed to (Hofmann & Woods, 2010Hofmann, P., & Woods, D. (2010). Cloud computing: The limits of public clouds for business applications. IEEE Internet Computing, 14(6), 90–93, doi: 10.1109/mic.2010.136
https://doi.org/10.1109/mic.2010.136...
). Therefore, such aspects should be carefully considered in the project planning as these deadlines may not meet specific project needs that are subject to various risks and therefore need a good risk management plan.
Customers can receive constant updates in the Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud model. In this respect, the management of stakeholder expectations and the cultural and social expectations related to change are aspects to be considered in project management (Wang et al., 2016Wang, C., Wood, L. C., Abdul-Rahman, H., & Lee, Y. T. (2016). When traditional information technology project managers encounter the cloud: Opportunities and dilemmas in the transition to cloud services. International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), 371–388. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.11.006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015....
). Furthermore, about the transition to the cloud, Sheffield and Lemétayer (2013)Sheffield, J., & Lemétayer, J. (2013). Factors associated with the software development agility of successful projects. International Journal of Project Management, 31(3), 459–472. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2012.09.011.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2012....
highlight interpersonal skills because the PM will have to integrate activities between different teams of the customer and the provider, in addition to managing project stakeholders that have different organizational cultures.
Information technology projects and critical success factors
CSFs are defined as the areas that, with satisfactory results, can bring competitive performance to the organization (Rockart, 1979Rockart, J. F. (1979). Os executivos-chefes definem suas próprias necessidades de dados. Harvard Business Review, 57(2), 81–93.). CSFs in projects were explored by Fortune and White (2006)Fortune, J., & White, D. (2006). Framing of project critical success factors by a systems model. International Journal of Project Management, 24(1), 53–65. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2005.07.004.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2005....
, who listed 27 factors for various types of projects. They proposed the formal system model that grouped the CSFs into goals and objectives, performance monitoring, decision-making, transformation, communication, environment, limits, resources and continuity.
Several authors have studied which variables are essential for the success of IT projects, pointing out CSFs in this context. Some studies that stand out are Chow and Cao (2008)Chow, T., & Cao, D. B. (2008). A survey study of critical factors in agile software projects. Journal of Systems and Software, 81(6), 961–971. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.020.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.02...
, Nasir and Sahibuddin (2011)Nasir, M. H. N., & Sahibuddin, S. (2011). Critical success factors for software projects: A comparative study. Scientific Research and Essays, 6(10), 2174–2186.; Sudhakar (2012)Sudhakar, G. P. (2012). A model of critical success factors for software projects. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 25(6), 537–558, doi: 10.1108/17410391211272829.
https://doi.org/10.1108/1741039121127282...
; Imtiaz, Al-Mudhary, Mirhashemi, and Ibrahim (2013)Imtiaz, M. A., Al-Mudhary, A. S., Mirhashemi, M. T., & Ibrahim, R. (2013). Critical success factors of information technology projects. International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering, 7(12), 3154–3158.; Ahimbisibwe, Cavana, and Daellenbach (2015)Ahimbisibwe, A., Cavana, R. Y., & Daellenbach, U. (2015). A contingency fit model of critical success factors for software development projects. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 28(1), 7–33. doi: 10.1108/JEIM-08-2013-0060.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-08-2013-006...
; Martins Muller and Dal Forno (2017)Martins Muller, F., & Dal Forno, G. B. (2017). Construção e validação de um instrumento de avaliação dos Fatores Críti em Projetos de software. Brazilian Journal of Management/Revista de Administração da UFSM, 5(4).; Fayaz, Kamal, Amin, and Khan (2017)Fayaz, A., Kamal, Y., Amin, S., & Khan, S. (2017). Critical success factors in information technology projects. Management Science Letters, 73–80, doi: 10.5267/j.msl.2016.11.012.
https://doi.org/10.5267/j.msl.2016.11.01...
; and, finally, Stevenson and Starkweather (2017)Stevenson, D., & Starkweather, J. A. (2017). IT project success: The evaluation of 142 success factors by IT PM professionals. International Journal of Information Technology Project Management (IJITPM), 8(3), 1–21. doi: 10.4018/IJITPM.2017070101.
https://doi.org/10.4018/IJITPM.201707010...
. Chow and Cao (2008)Chow, T., & Cao, D. B. (2008). A survey study of critical factors in agile software projects. Journal of Systems and Software, 81(6), 961–971. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.020.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.02...
is the most cited among all these studies. From the analysis of 109 projects, the authors evaluated the CSFs of software development projects using agile methods and tested 12 CSFs extracted from a complete ratio of 36 CSFs, grouping them into dimensions. The authors related the CSFs to the perspectives of success considering quality, time, scope and cost.
When studying CSFs of software projects, Nasir and Sahibuddin (2011)Nasir, M. H. N., & Sahibuddin, S. (2011). Critical success factors for software projects: A comparative study. Scientific Research and Essays, 6(10), 2174–2186. suggest the following factors: clear and frozen requirements, a realistic estimate of schedule and budget, along with a competent PM. The study found that non-technical factors (94%) dominated over technical factors (6%). Sudhakar (2012)Sudhakar, G. P. (2012). A model of critical success factors for software projects. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 25(6), 537–558, doi: 10.1108/17410391211272829.
https://doi.org/10.1108/1741039121127282...
demonstrated that the project management dimension concentrates most of the CSFs of software development projects and that the main CSF is the support of senior management, followed by communication.
Imtiaz et al. (2013)Imtiaz, M. A., Al-Mudhary, A. S., Mirhashemi, M. T., & Ibrahim, R. (2013). Critical success factors of information technology projects. International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering, 7(12), 3154–3158. listed 15 CSFs in IT projects: top management support, leadership, work team, clear goals, team capacity, financial/budget support, effective communication, process quality, training, project progress monitoring, client/user involvement, risk management, effective monitoring and control, adequate requirements and correct team selection. Ahimbisibwe et al. (2015)Ahimbisibwe, A., Cavana, R. Y., & Daellenbach, U. (2015). A contingency fit model of critical success factors for software development projects. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 28(1), 7–33. doi: 10.1108/JEIM-08-2013-0060.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-08-2013-006...
study identified 37 CSFs for software development projects organized into four categories: organizational, team, clients and project. Finally, Martins Muller and Dal Forno (2017)Martins Muller, F., & Dal Forno, G. B. (2017). Construção e validação de um instrumento de avaliação dos Fatores Críti em Projetos de software. Brazilian Journal of Management/Revista de Administração da UFSM, 5(4). studied the CSFs for software development projects considering the influence of the methodology used by the projects (agile, traditional or mixed), and pointed out that, for Brazilian organizations, there is a similarity in the contribution of the CSFs in software development projects that is independent of the methodology.
The study by Fayaz et al. (2017)Fayaz, A., Kamal, Y., Amin, S., & Khan, S. (2017). Critical success factors in information technology projects. Management Science Letters, 73–80, doi: 10.5267/j.msl.2016.11.012.
https://doi.org/10.5267/j.msl.2016.11.01...
suggests 15 CSFs: management support, budget support, effective communication, effective training, monitoring and control, leadership, clear goals, requirements specification, risk management, user engagement, project progress schedule, team capacity, right team, project duration and teamwork. Stevenson and Starkweather (2017)Stevenson, D., & Starkweather, J. A. (2017). IT project success: The evaluation of 142 success factors by IT PM professionals. International Journal of Information Technology Project Management (IJITPM), 8(3), 1–21. doi: 10.4018/IJITPM.2017070101.
https://doi.org/10.4018/IJITPM.201707010...
grouped the CSFs into five categories of analysis: communication, project, project management and team, organization and stakeholders. They point out that the main factor for the project to succeed is project management and team, especially the ability of the group to communicate at multiple levels. Table 1 shows the CSFs by the authors’ approach.
It is possible to observe, in the cited works, that the CSFs have specific similarities and differences according to the focus of each study but are mainly based on variables found in the study of Fortune and White (2006)Fortune, J., & White, D. (2006). Framing of project critical success factors by a systems model. International Journal of Project Management, 24(1), 53–65. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2005.07.004.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2005....
on CSFs in projects. However, observing more specific IT projects that deal with the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, several authors such as Ehie and Madsen (2005)Ehie, I. C., & Madsen, M. (2005). Identifying critical issues in enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation. Computers in Industry, 56(6), 545–557. doi: 10.1016/j.compind.2005.02.006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compind.2005.0...
, Finney and Corbett (2007)Finney, S., & Corbett, M. (2007). ERP implementation: A compilation and analysis of critical success factors. Business Process Management Journal, 13(3), 329–347, doi: 10.1108/14637150710752272.
https://doi.org/10.1108/1463715071075227...
, Françoise, Bourgault, and Pellerin (2009)Françoise, O., Bourgault, M., & Pellerin, R. (2009). ERP implementation through critical success factors' management. Business Process Management Journal, 15(3), 371–394, doi: 10.1108/14637150910960620.
https://doi.org/10.1108/1463715091096062...
and Beheshti, Blaylock, Henderson, and Lollar (2014)Beheshti, H. M., Blaylock, B. K., Henderson, D. A., & Lollar, J. G. (2014). Selection and critical success factors in successful ERP implementation. Competitiveness Review, 24(4), 357–375, doi: 10.1108/CR-10-2013-0082.
https://doi.org/10.1108/CR-10-2013-0082...
listed specific CSFs, which may mean that for specific types of projects, such as cloud projects, the CSFs may also be more specific.
Considering CSFs for project management in cloud computing, some studies address the theme in contexts of cloud model adoption in ERP projects (Gheller, Biancolino, Junior, & Giroletti, 2017Gheller, A. A., Biancolino, C. A., Junior, J. S. D. M. M., & Giroletti, D. A. (2017). Fatores críticos de sucesso em projetos ERP cloud sob os aspectos processos, sistema e tecnologia no contexto empresarial brasileiro. Revista de Gestão e Projetos, 8(2), 127–140. doi: 10.5585/gep.v8i2.555.
https://doi.org/10.5585/gep.v8i2.555...
), cloud in HR processes (Ziebell, Albors-Garrigos, Schultz, Schoeneberg, & Perello-Marin, 2019Ziebell, R.-C., Albors-Garrigos, J., Schultz, M., Schoeneberg, K. P., & Perello-Marin, M. R. (2019). eHR cloud transformation. International Journal of Intelligent Information Technologies, 15(1), 1–21, doi: 10.4018/IJIIT.2019010101.
https://doi.org/10.4018/IJIIT.2019010101...
), cloud adoption in small and medium-sized companies (Hentschel, Leyh, & Baumhauer, 2019Hentschel, R., Leyh, C., & Baumhauer, T. (2019). Critical success factors for the implementation and adoption of cloud services in SMEs. In Proceedings of the 52nd HI International Conference on System Sciences.), cloud adoption in other industries such as construction (Oke, Kineber, Al-Bukhari, Famakin, & Kingsley, 2021Oke, A. E., Kineber, A. F., Al-Bukhari, I., Famakin, I., & Kingsley, C. (2021). Exploring the benefits of cloud computing for sustainable construction in Nigeria. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, doi: 10.1108/JEDT-04-2021-0189.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JEDT-04-2021-018...
) and cloud adoption in public sectors (Sallehudin et al., 2019Sallehudin, H., Razak, R. C., Ismail, M., Fadzil, A. F. M., & Baker, R. (2019). Cloud computing implementation in the public sector: Factors and impact. Asia-Pacific Journal of Information Technology and Multimedia, 7(2-2), 27–42.; Mohammed, Ibrahim, & Ithnin, 2016Mohammed, F., Ibrahim, O., & Ithnin, N. (2016). Factors influencing cloud computing adoption for e-government implementation in developing countries: Instrument development. Journal of Systems and Information Technology, 18(3), 297–327, doi: 10.1108/JSIT-01-2016-0001.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JSIT-01-2016-000...
), but studies do not address CSFs in cloud project management with an approach that considers the cloud as an IT project architecture, which is the focus of the present work. In a literature review by Hentschel et al. (2019)Hentschel, R., Leyh, C., & Baumhauer, T. (2019). Critical success factors for the implementation and adoption of cloud services in SMEs. In Proceedings of the 52nd HI International Conference on System Sciences. that analyzed 28 articles that deal with CSFs in the cloud, 26 of them dealt with CSFs of cloud implementation projects, confirming different objectives than the present article, which deals with the management of projects carried out in a cloud environment. Cloud-based CSFs can present a different degree of importance and relevance from other projects carried out in on-premise architecture environments.
Therefore, this study presented and discussed a new CSF model that deals with the influence of the cloud contract on the project (analyzed with the interviewees), showing that the cloud contract items need to be known by the PM and may appear as limiting factors during the execution of the project.
3.Propositions
When analyzing the studies on CSFs in IT projects, it was not possible to observe, in the set of CSF established as vital, references to some specific characteristics of cloud projects, such as items related to contract management (Wang et al., 2016Wang, C., Wood, L. C., Abdul-Rahman, H., & Lee, Y. T. (2016). When traditional information technology project managers encounter the cloud: Opportunities and dilemmas in the transition to cloud services. International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), 371–388. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.11.006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015....
), change management (Wang et al., 2016Wang, C., Wood, L. C., Abdul-Rahman, H., & Lee, Y. T. (2016). When traditional information technology project managers encounter the cloud: Opportunities and dilemmas in the transition to cloud services. International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), 371–388. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.11.006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015....
), communication management (Wang et al., 2016Wang, C., Wood, L. C., Abdul-Rahman, H., & Lee, Y. T. (2016). When traditional information technology project managers encounter the cloud: Opportunities and dilemmas in the transition to cloud services. International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), 371–388. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.11.006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015....
; Sheffield & Lemétayer, 2013Sheffield, J., & Lemétayer, J. (2013). Factors associated with the software development agility of successful projects. International Journal of Project Management, 31(3), 459–472. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2012.09.011.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2012....
) or how the characteristics of the teams impact the success of the projects (Wang et al., 2016Wang, C., Wood, L. C., Abdul-Rahman, H., & Lee, Y. T. (2016). When traditional information technology project managers encounter the cloud: Opportunities and dilemmas in the transition to cloud services. International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), 371–388. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.11.006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015....
). This suggests the need for a more cloud-driven CSF study.
We listed the propositions below from the theoretical framework analyzed to verify the CSFs for projects using cloud technology (Table 2). The Organizational, People, Processes, Technique and Project dimensions emerge from the study by Chow and Cao (2008)Chow, T., & Cao, D. B. (2008). A survey study of critical factors in agile software projects. Journal of Systems and Software, 81(6), 961–971. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.020.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.02...
, who listed the CSFs for agile projects. They were selected for their relevance and as the result of grouping several CSFs listed in other studies. The dimensions Contract management, Change and risk management and Communication management are proposed based on the literature on cloud projects.
Method
This research was based on the following phases: study for the theoretical framework; preparation of the interview protocol; face validation; interviews and objective questions with experts; transcription, codification and CA of the interviews; and presentation of results, analyses and conclusions.
A qualitative and exploratory approach was adopted, with data collection through semi-structured interviews (Bardin, 1977Bardin, L. (1977). Análise de conteúdo, (p. 70), Lisboa: Edições.) with cloud experts. A script guided the interviews on the CSFs in IT projects to analyze their application to cloud projects. The script contained questions concerning the characterization of the respondent and CSFs, based on the propositions presented in Table 2. This instrument was tested with one respondent, and we certified that it was suitable for use in the other interviews. However, to minimize any bias of the researcher, a new instrument was created with multiple-choice questions addressing the CSFs based on the 20 propositions for the interviewees to evaluate the degree of influence each CSFs had on the success of cloud projects (five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 – no influence to 5 – total influence). This new instrument was also validated with the same respondent.
For this research’s unity of analysis, IT projects that used cloud computing technology as an IT architecture were considered, either as Infrastructure as a service, Platform as a service or SaaS. The projects’ financial contribution was not relevant to the research, nor was the size of the organization to which the projects belonged. The region in which the company was located was not relevant, either. Respondents, or research subjects, were experts in cloud computing projects with experience in managing cloud projects, being leaders, PMs or directors directly involved in the project. There was no minimum amount of experience in managing projects of this type, but it was necessary that interviewees be involved with project management and not with the direct programming of IT resources in cloud environments.
We interviewed 23 specialists working in Brazil, totaling 23 h and 45 min of video recordings. The interviews were conducted through videoconferencing, using Skype and Google Meeting tools. In the sample of the interviewees, 2 were women and 21 were men. The participants ranged from 25 to 68 years (an average of 44). The professionals’ experience in IT ranged between 7 and 40 years (an average of 20 years), while the time of experience in cloud projects was between 6 months and 12 years (an average of 4 years).
Of the interviewees, 5 worked for national companies and 18 for multinationals. Companies were divided into sectors: technology services (13), business process outsourcing (BPO) (4), transport (3), telecommunications (2) and insurance (1). Most of these companies had more than 2,000 employees. The experience of organizations whose interviewees provide services to (customer companies) is relatively new to cloud projects, ranging from two to five years (an average of four years). Throughout this document, interviewees (characterized in Table 3) are called I01 to I23 for confidentiality reasons.
The interviews were transcribed for later analysis, which was carried out through CA (Bardin, 1977Bardin, L. (1977). Análise de conteúdo, (p. 70), Lisboa: Edições.; Silva & Russo, 2019Silva, L. F., & Russo, R. (2019). Aplicação de entrevistas em pesquisa qualitativa. Revista de Gestão e Projetos, 10(1), 1–6. doi: 10.5585/gep.v10i1.13285.
https://doi.org/10.5585/gep.v10i1.13285...
) by one of the researchers. The phases of CA are divided into pre-analysis, exploration of the material and analysis and treatment of the results. In the pre-analysis phase, the corpus of the research is constituted. In this work, it consisted of the transcription of 23 interviews with 24 questions per interviewee, totaling 552 answers. In the exploration phase, the recording and context units are constituted. In the case of this article, 18 CSFs and their strengths (positive view from the interviewee) and weaknesses (negative/doubtful view from the interviewee) were explored. In the last phase of CA, data were categorized and analyzed with inferences and interpretation.
In this study, the categories were separated by CSF. After that, strengths/weaknesses in the interviewees’ statements that characterized the relevance of the HR were evaluated. Thus, each HR was interpreted individually.
No specific software was used to support analysis; instead, a Word document was produced observing each CSF for each of the interviewees and determining the importance and prominence of the CSF in their responses.
5.Results
5.1Analysis of critical success factors in cloud projects
According to the interviewees, several CSFs mentioned have some or total influence on the success of cloud projects, whereas others do not. The CSFs of this study are addressed according to their dimensions, namely, Organizational, People, Processes, Technique, Project, Contract management, Change and risk management and Communication management, as available in a complementary file (Supplementary materials).
5.2Summary of critical success factor analysis in cloud projects
In addition to the CA of the questions addressed in the interviews, the objective questions sought to consider the degree of influence that each CSF considered in this study has on the success of the cloud project (on a scale of 1–5, ranging from no influence to total influence, respectively). These questions allowed an overview of this matter, in addition to minimizing any bias in the inference of the qualitative analyzes summarized in Table 4. Although the number of responses is too small to make statistical inferences or reflect the reality of this article’s analysis effectively, it corroborates the interviews’ CA. It is worth noting that the objective of these closed questions is to compare the CSFs based on the interviewees’ responses and corroborate with the analyses and inferences previously made. Table 4 shows the results obtained from the objective questions.
It is noteworthy that several CSFs had a median of 5.0, which means that among the interviewees, more than half of them attributed these CSFs as having total influence on the success of cloud projects.
It is also noteworthy that the contract items factor, suggested in this work for the context of cloud IT projects, seems to have become more relevant over the years as the company becomes more experienced in using cloud technology [1 1. The complete instrument used for the calculations is available upon request. ]. From this, there is space for future research to address the influence of cloud maturity on the CSFs of projects conducted in such an environment.
5.3General analysis of propositions and discussions
Based on the analysis of the collected data, it is possible to present the confirmation of the propositions (Table 5). In addition, the most relevant points analyzed in the CSF proposition stand out. In the table, “yes” means that the proposition was confirmed because responses that attest to the relevance of the CSF (positive mentions, agreement) were found in most of the interviews. In addition, when observing the closed answers that deal with the CSFs, the average of the interviewees corroborates this inference. On the other hand, “Not necessarily” represents that, despite being mentioned by the interviewees, no great relevance was found on the proposition (doubt, partial agreement), in addition to not being confirmed by the interviewees in the closed questions whose average was equal to or below 4.0.
Propositions P1 and P2 were not confirmed as CSFs for agile projects, according to Chow and Cao (2008)Chow, T., & Cao, D. B. (2008). A survey study of critical factors in agile software projects. Journal of Systems and Software, 81(6), 961–971. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.020.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.02...
; however, they are essential for projects conducted in the cloud, according to the interviewees of this study. Propositions P3, P4, P5, P6 and P8 were confirmed by Chow and Cao (2008)Chow, T., & Cao, D. B. (2008). A survey study of critical factors in agile software projects. Journal of Systems and Software, 81(6), 961–971. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.020.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.02...
and by our interviews. On the other hand, Propositions P9 and P10 were confirmed only by Chow and Cao (2008)Chow, T., & Cao, D. B. (2008). A survey study of critical factors in agile software projects. Journal of Systems and Software, 81(6), 961–971. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.020.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.02...
, while Propositions P11, P12 and P13 were neither confirmed in this study nor by Chow and Cao (2008)Chow, T., & Cao, D. B. (2008). A survey study of critical factors in agile software projects. Journal of Systems and Software, 81(6), 961–971. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.020.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.02...
. Propositions P7, P14, P16, P17 and P18 that emerge from the theoretical framework for the cloud were confirmed, but Proposition P15 was not confirmed.
We noticed that, in the cloud environment, a new CSF dealing with contract items has now arisen after not being previously evidenced. It is suggested that this factor arises as a result of the management of the cloud environment through contracts (Wang et al., 2016Wang, C., Wood, L. C., Abdul-Rahman, H., & Lee, Y. T. (2016). When traditional information technology project managers encounter the cloud: Opportunities and dilemmas in the transition to cloud services. International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), 371–388. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.11.006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015....
). On the other hand, the CSFs change management (P17), risk management (P16), conflict of interest management (P7) and communication (P18) are not evidenced in the work of Chow and Cao (2008)Chow, T., & Cao, D. B. (2008). A survey study of critical factors in agile software projects. Journal of Systems and Software, 81(6), 961–971. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.020.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.02...
but are present in the CSF literature in Fortune and White (2006)Fortune, J., & White, D. (2006). Framing of project critical success factors by a systems model. International Journal of Project Management, 24(1), 53–65. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2005.07.004.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2005....
, Martins Muller and Dal Forno (2017)Martins Muller, F., & Dal Forno, G. B. (2017). Construção e validação de um instrumento de avaliação dos Fatores Críti em Projetos de software. Brazilian Journal of Management/Revista de Administração da UFSM, 5(4). and Stevenson and Starkweather (2017)Stevenson, D., & Starkweather, J. A. (2017). IT project success: The evaluation of 142 success factors by IT PM professionals. International Journal of Information Technology Project Management (IJITPM), 8(3), 1–21. doi: 10.4018/IJITPM.2017070101.
https://doi.org/10.4018/IJITPM.201707010...
. It is also noteworthy that the dimension that encompasses CSFs related to projects loses importance for cloud projects [which differs from what was found by Chow and Cao (2008)Chow, T., & Cao, D. B. (2008). A survey study of critical factors in agile software projects. Journal of Systems and Software, 81(6), 961–971. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.020.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.02...
], whereas the dimensions team management, organizational and people stand out. The dimensions contract, changes, risks and communication are not addressed by Chow and Cao (2008)Chow, T., & Cao, D. B. (2008). A survey study of critical factors in agile software projects. Journal of Systems and Software, 81(6), 961–971. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.020.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2007.08.02...
but are evidenced as significant for cloud projects.
Based on the general analysis of the research, we developed a framework with the results and relationships between the CSFs in cloud computing projects, as shown in Figure 1.
Thus, it is possible to note the relevance of the People and Organizational dimensions, which have a more significant set of CSFs with a strong relationship, and the low relevance of the technical and project dimensions that have a more significant set of CSFs with a weak relationship in the success of cloud computing project management.
6.Final considerations
The list of CSFs in cloud projects proposed in this study fills a gap in related studies because this work deals with CSFs in the context of cloud as an architecture of IT projects. In addition, the contract items for the cloud context, which have not been addressed until now, are added to the CSF literature in IT projects, suggesting the relevance/originality of the theme. Contract items need to be part of the PM’s planning review in the early phases of the project as they can be limiting. Another relevant factor is that cloud projects need technical teams with experience, something not so relevant in the CSF analysis of other IT projects. Thus, this study’s theoretical contribution stands out for presenting significant variables for the success of projects in cloud architecture environments and expanding the theoretical framework on the subject. As a social implication, it is possible to minimize the PMs’ personal stress regarding the risk of failure of the projects they manage.
In terms of contributions to the practice of IT cloud project management, the set of CSFs proposed in this study can be helpful in guiding PMs and IT on aspects that need to be appropriately managed, so that cloud projects have a greater chance of success. Furthermore, attention to the proposed CSFs can contribute to the realization of diagnosis and improvement plans in the context of cloud projects.
This study has some limitations. First, the sample included only Brazilian experts, so the findings may differ from other populations. Second, the CSF ratio for cloud computing projects may vary depending on the company’s maturity in projects of this nature. Finally, the selected interviewees were directly managing the cloud projects, so experts from the project teams were not heard, which may represent a variation in the CSFs. These limitations may also suggest that future studies investigate each of these aspects.
Future studies can be conducted to evaluate CSFs quantitatively in a sample of professionals and companies working with cloud projects. Quantitatively evaluating the propositions of this work can confirm the CSFs found for the cloud and confirm the cloud CSF’s influence when compared to on-premise projects. A quantitative study may also cover a more extensive sample regarding location and diversity. In addition, there is room for elaborating a specific CSF scale for cloud computing projects.
Note
-
1.
The complete instrument used for the calculations is available upon request.
This research had financial support from CNPq – National Council for Scientific and Technological Development and FAP/UNINOVE – Research Support Fund. In addition, the authors would like to thank the reviewers and the editors for the helpful and constructive comments that greatly contributed to improving the final version of this paper.
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» www.projectsmart.co.uk/docs/chaos-report.pdf
Supplementary material
The supplementary material for this article can be found online.
Edited by
Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
27 Mar 2023 -
Date of issue
Jan-Mar 2023
History
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Received
19 June 2021 -
Reviewed
25 Nov 2021 -
Reviewed
08 Mar 2022 -
Reviewed
09 Sept 2022 -
Reviewed
10 Oct 2022 -
Accepted
24 Oct 2022