Critical chain project management : a case study in the software industry

Abstract

Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) has been a controversial topic with extreme opinions on its merits.

This is in turn partly due to dominance of theoretical debates in CCPM literature as opposed to empirical evidence and cases studies. This paper presents the findings of a case study research in software industry. Multiple semi-structured interviews and project documents were used. The paper provides insight into pre-requisites and practicalities of CCPM application such as accommodating iterative loops and reciprocal dependencies. The findings also provide some perspectives into current debates in CCPM literature concerning uncertainty, buffer sizing and dealing with large projects.