Abstract:

In Pakistan, Software industry is progressing at a steady pace. CMM (Capability Maturity Model) is becoming a leading standard and organizations are beginning to understand the importance of Project Planning (PP) as well as other aspects of project management. PP is a key process area of CMM at level 2 to provide a framework that enables a project manager to make reasonable estimates of resources, costs, and schedule at the beginning of a project and revise them as necessary as the project progresses.  In the current research, we survey the software industry in Pakistan and identify areas where companies are predominantly weaker or stronger, and present our analysis. Our study shows that only about half the organizations follow any accepted national or international standards. These organizations appear to be good at defining life cycle models, agreeing on development paradigms, establishing budgets and schedules, planning for resources and establishing project plans. However, they are generally weaker in planning stakeholders’ involvement, identifying risks, planning for data management activities as well as review and documentation. In the paper, we highlight the elements of good practice and discuss reasons for companies’ failing and limitations.