The development of an instrument to measure software project risk

To reduce the high failure rate of software projects, managers need better tools to assess and manage the risk associated with a software development effort. However, before such tools can be developed, a better understanding of the dimensions of software development risk is required. A need exists for research that rigorously and extensively identifies the potential risk factors that plague software development projects. The first objective of this research is to clarify and define the software development risk construct by identifying its many dimensions. The second objective involves the grounded development and validation of an instrument to enable the identification of the risk factors that are associated with a given software development effort. The resulting instrument can serve as a foundation for further research on software development risk. Practicing project managers can use the instrument to identify possible threats to the successful completion of a software development project.