Abstract
M.Ing. (Engineering Management)
Organizations sometimes invest in expensive and extensive operational software systems or
packages in order to improve certain aspects of the organization. Change from one system to
another is predominantly brought about by some sort of perceived added value. This added
value is identified by a few individuals in an organization and must then be demonstrated and
marketed to management as well as the system end-users, in order to obtain buy-in.
Although software systems have become a prominent fixture in organizations, the success rates
for software implementation projects remain reportedly quite poor. Researchers noted that 56%
- 90% of software implementation projects are late or over budget and only 30% are successful.
Potentially, the process of changing software systems is inherently fraught with resistance. This
resistance towards this change and the management thereof can prove to be the deciding factor
in the success or failure of the new software system. Presumably, there is a role for change
management in software implementation projects.
In order to understand the role of change management in software implementation projects, the
current research aims to carry out an extensive literature review on change management and
software implementation project challenges.
Software implementation projects are often executed in a project management framework.
Consequently, the literature review firstly investigates project management principles, standards
and methodologies. Secondly, the literature review peers into several critical success factors
that research has identified for software implementation projects. Lastly, the intricacies of
change management psychology and organizational resistance are researched.
The findings of the research indicate that change management plays a pivotal role in the
success of software implementation projects. The role of change management in software
implementation projects is to manage the individuals’ and organizational resistance such that
the adoption of the new software or system is facilitated.Despite the availability of information regarding change management, the research indicates
that a lot of software implementation projects fail because the required change management
effort is underestimated by the organization. The current research raises questions regarding
the level of change management awareness and proficiency amongst project managers and the
suitability of project management standards and methodologies for software implementation
projects.