Track: Doctoral Dissertation Competition

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the perspective of the Business Operation team and IT team during project team communication and interaction towards an awareness of the critical business processes and systems needed to ensure project success.  For companies to remain competitive, a catalyst for growth through software development projects is required. Impediments to successful software project outcomes include inefficient communication, one-sided team communication, siloed team interaction, lack of business knowledge, lack of information sharing, and insufficient training resources. 

This study was a Convergent Parallel Mixed Methods Design with survey questions for the quantitative component and open-ended questions for the qualitative part.  The mixed methods research study included an in-depth review of the Business Operation teams' and IT teams' perspectives concerning team communication and interaction.  An Independent Sample T-test was conducted to understand the differences between the Business Operation team and IT team regarding General Communication, Team Communication, Team Interaction, and Project Outcomes.  The T-test results indicated a difference in the perspective between the groups with General Communication but no difference in the perspective of Team Communication, Team Interaction, and Project Outcomes.  The themes emerging from the qualitative component indicated an opportunity for training to acquire the knowledge and skills required to understand the underlying business process to facilitate a software project discussion.