Enhancing software development through project-based learning and the quality of planning

Abstract

R&D plays a crucial role in developing new products, the commercialisation of which can drive corporate growth. Over three decades, research has focused the new product develop-ment (NPD) process and it is known that developing new products is a knowledge-intensive, risky activity. Since industry surveys show that many NPD projects, particularly software-based ones, fail to meet their schedules and objectives. Consequently, today’s R&D man-agers still need ways to plan and conduct NPD more effectively. Project-based Learning (PBL) – the generation of specific technical and process knowledge during and after a pro-ject – is a potential way to improve NPD. Therefore, this paper investigated the research question: Does PBL enhance the quality of planning in subsequent software development projects? The study used a sample of 47 software development projects at three multina-tional organisations. Significantly, the findings show that PBL does enhance the quality of planning of subsequent software development projects. In particular, the quality of plan-ning is increased in projects with high levels of uncertainty; where team members work in a project-based structure with strong collaboration; and when the pressure to deliver projects is high. The contribution of the research at a theoretical level is that it identified an important link between learning and the quality of planning in subsequent NPD projects. At a practical level, the study identifies specific steps R&D managers can take to improve the performance of software development projects, with all their associated challenges Show more