Abstract
The concept of sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the face of dwindling resources and increasing demand, boding ill for future generations. Despite this, there are still many industries and disciplines in which sustainability is not actively addressed. The ability to meet current and future needs is not an issue from which IT projects are exempt. Ensuring sustainability requires managing sustainability in all activities. The field of IT and sustainability is one in which literature is appearing, albeit at a slow pace and this leaves many unanswered questions on, among other things, the state of sustainability in IT projects and the commitment of IT project managers to sustainability. In not knowing what the state of sustainability is, potential shortcomings remain unknown, and corrective action cannot be taken.
This research focused on assessing the commitment of IT project managers to sustainability and, by extension, the state of sustainability in IT projects.
The quantitative research methodology was followed through the use of a survey in the form of a structured questionnaire. This research was cross-sectional as the focus was to assess the state of sustainability at a single point in time. IT project managers were randomly sampled to get an objective view of how committed they are to sustainability. This research made use of a project management sustainability maturity model to measure the extent to which sustainability is addressed in IT projects. Furthermore, the underlying structure of sustainability in project management was assessed through the use of factor analysis in order to determine if it differed for IT projects.
This research found that IT project managers are not committed to sustainability. While the economic dimension showed the best results, they were not ideal; it is, however, the social and environmental dimensions that require the most attention. This poor performance is not limited to select aspects within each dimension as each dimension’s aspects are in a similarly poor state. The results also indicate that the structure of sustainability in projects may not be static and may differ between projects of different types.
This research suggests that sustainability needs to become a focus for IT project managers. However, for this to happen, they need to recognise the importance of sustainability and acquire the relevant knowledge. This research shows that as a means to address sustainability, projects can be broken down into aspects according to the three dimensions of sustainability. Each aspect can then be assessed to determine how the project is performing with regard to sustainability, resulting in an actionable base from which to address sustainability.
Keywords: Sustainability, project management, IT project management, sustainability maturity...
M.Com. (Information Technology Management)