PROJECT MANAGEMENT FACTORS: Difference

between public and private sector implementation

practices in the IT domain
Khurram Waqas Malik Khizra Naeem Saad Bin Saleem
Department of Computer Science Department of Computer Science Department of Computer Science
Forman Christian College Forman Christian College Forman Christian College
Lahore, Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan
kwmalik56@gmail.com khizranaeem2@gmail.com saadsaleem@fccollege.edu.pk

Saba Khalil Toor Nosheen Sabahat

Department of Computer Science Department of Computer Science
Forman Christian College Forman Christian College
Lahore, Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan
sabakhalil@fccollege.edu.pk nosheensabahat@fccollege.edu.pk

Abstract — This study aims at assessing the different I. INTRODUCTION

project management factors in terms of employed practices
and tools as followed by the different departments in both Pakistan is categorized as a low-mid income developing
public and private sectors in Lahore. The prime intent is to country in terms of overall international development [1].
explore effective techniques and tools in project management As analogous to most developing countries, Pakistan ranks
within these sectors, and to compare and contrast the main rather low in terms of its IT modernity from a global
factors that facilitate in achieving desired project goals. In perspective [2]. This is a gloomy snapshot of the current
order to achieve the objectives of this study, a baseline
state of affairs in the IT sector of Pakistan, especially
literature review of success factors for project management
within these sectors was undertaken. A survey instrument was evidenced by low rankings in indices for IT readiness,
then designed based on a purposefully-developed sustainability, development, and absorption of IT & IT
questionnaire, and conducted in software development enabled services [2]. The number of IT companies in
departments within both the aforementioned sectors, Pakistan has grown steadily during the last decade at a
comprising of senior managers therein. A pilot study of 2 healthy rate of 7.4% [3] and has culminated into $560
academics was carried out for confirmation of the data
million IT and IT-based exports during the fiscal year 2015-
collection instrument, and later on applied to the sample from
the desired population. Based on the ensuing analysis of their 16 as per State Bank of Pakistan’s statistics [4]. Other
responses and studying key characteristics of projects as estimates, provided by Pakistan Software Export Board
evidenced through literature review and empirical (PSEB) and Pakistan Software Houses Association
observational studies, the results of the study proved that most (P@SHA), indicate that this figure could be as high as $2.4
factors were followed similarly within both sectors. Parametric billion [5] with the total IT revenue, including exports and
statistical tests showed that there was little difference between
domestic revenues, closer to $ 3.1 billion for the same year
the two sectors with regards to object implementation of
project management factors and practices adopted therein. [6]. Although significant gains have been achieved in the
However, the private sector was deemed more profitable due to ICT domain, yet according to the Global Competitiveness
the nature of the sector, the core focus of the entity and the Index 2018 [2], Pakistan falls behind most of the countries
output valuation therein. It may be concluded that the software in terms of absorption of IT and IT enabled services, ranking
development departments within both sectors placed 127th for ICT adoption.
significant value on similar factors and standards as regards to
Punjab is widely categorized as amongst the most
IT and software development. However, strict adherence of
these factors within the organizational system and domain successful and advanced province of Pakistan in terms of
drew semblances of outputs that may be construed differently technological adoption and assimilation. Lahore stands at
in terms of output productiveness, efficiency and effectiveness. the pinnacle of this advancement paradigm [7]. As
Overall, there may be little to choose between them, and one evidenced by government and independent reports, the IT
may come to the inference that there lies a similar mindset industry therein still faces a tremendous challenges within
therein with regards to accordance of these constructs. Further
its institutions to manage the implementation of various
research entailing multiple organizations, and a much larger
and diverse sample size, may proffer new insights into these planned IT projects in an efficient way, especially given the
dimensions. Furthermore, an objective mechanism to provide miniscule level of both size of the sector and the support
for comparable software development management valuation accorded therein. These projects, especially in the public
may require novel research within both these sectors. sector, are desperately needed to establish a strong
foundation base for a future progressive IT led prosperous
Keywords — Project Management; Project Management
Factors; Public Sector Implementation; Private Sector
economy. In this regard, a number of departmental reports
Implementation; Project Management Practices by PITB and P&D Department point to the rather informal
nature of effective project management practices inherent
therein [8].

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Given this background, this paper scopes the prevalent were to perform better, it would inevitably reflect better on
project management practices in order to investigate both the local and overall economic sectors, hence the
whether there are any differences in their implementation as impetus and core motivation for this research.
employed within private and public sector organizations. The prime intent is to explore effective techniques and
The geographical context of this study is the city of Lahore, tools in project management within these sectors, and to
Punjab, having selected such due to the fact that it is the ICT compare and contrast the main factors that facilitate in
capital of Pakistan, comprising the bulk of the ICT sector achieving desired project goals. IT project management
companies in Pakistan [9]. The core focus is finding out practitioners globally are increasingly using effectual project
whether there evince any differences between the two management tools and techniques to plan and organize
resources to achieve a specified outcome within a given
sectors thereof.
timeframe and a constrained budget. They also try to manage
II. STUDY OBJECTIVES and anticipate risks in a structured manner. Adoption of such
factors and practices ensure that organizations using better IT
Sector service provision comparisons have been a project management exhibit better utilization of resources,
running debate for a long time now, with private sector shorter development times, reduced costs, inter- and intra-
usually recognized as the more productive sector therein [10, departmental co-operation while building synergies across
11, 12]. Studies within the Pakistani context have narrated the organization, and a better focus on results and quality
that “no significant improvement is achieved in performance [15]. Thus, this was my motivation to start research on this
of projects” [13]. It has also been recognized that low project topic to identify critical success factors for IT software
performance, ICT included, has been linked to poor adoption development management.
of project management practices therein [14], and this true
for both the public and private sectors. Thus, it is in this To fulfil the demand as highlighted earlier, IT project
context that the current study endeavour is hence designed. It management development should be taken up as an
is aimed at assessing and identifying critical aspects of important issue in both the public and private sectors [14].
management of IT projects deployment, and seeks to The development of project management practices in public
understand: sector is considered an important field in developed and
developing countries, since it identifies the methodologies
 What factors constitute effective and widely known and actions needed to achieve government strategic goals [].
practices within project management?
It is important to note that each project proceeds through
 Are these factors effectually adopted within IT a typical life cycle from preplanning to post evaluation.
departments in both public and private sector During implementation changes and differences are
organizations? encountered and decisions are bound to be taken so that the
 Whether there is a significant difference in adoption, project can proceed to completion. Management teams are
adaption and implementation thereof with regards to usually grouped from various disciplines and backgrounds
these project management factors in these sectors? reflecting different attitudes and beliefs imposing distant
views and solutions that lead to severe conflicts. The
The aforementioned thus form the study objectives for successful processes of identification, planning,
the current research undertaking. implementation, and completion of projects present an urgent
need that has attracted considerable interest and activity on
There are numerous perceived benefits expected to arise
the part of IT managers.
from assessing of these project management factors and
exploring their effectiveness in both sectors. It is intended Following a global extensive research-based endeavour,
that it will give recognition to application of learning from the Project Management Institute (PMI) has identified 10
project management best practices and key factors. This project management knowledge areas [], as depicted below,
study should lead to identification of deficiencies existing for any effectual project management exercise. These are
within the employment, and give indications to strengthen elaborated upon in the project management bible – the
these practices within various sectors and departments. It Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). These
should also enable them to be effective and leading areas were taken as the basis for this research endeavor, as
institutions for enforcing efficient project management major prevalent components of project management were
practices, and would invariably lead to better contribution to extracted from this framework.
their organizations, and consequently national economy in
the macroeconomic context.
III. LITERATURE REVIEW
This study aims at assessing the different project
management factors in terms of employed practices and tools
as followed by the different departments in both public and
private sectors in Lahore, especially given their potential for
high impact and change therein. There is a close relationship
between economy and the IT infrastructure availability and
also between global economies, nationally and locally [13,
16]. In fact, to ensure the growth of national economy, the IT
and infrastructure development should be targeted sectors,
and ensure that they follow reliable planning, meet the
feasibility conditions for local and national economic
network, and adopt best practices in IT-led innovation and
project management. Thus, if local IT companies perform

©2019 2
 Inline with PMI and the Standard for Project management is an essential process for the successful
Management (PMBOK), strategy, feasibility, HR/team, risks, delivery of IT projects” [5]. Risk management consists of risk
O&M, scoping and requirements, quality, financial planning, management planning, risk identification, qualitative risk
audit, M&E and post-project impact evaluation have been analysis, quantitative risk analysis, risk response planning,
identified as critical project success factors. Thus, we’ve and risk monitoring and control [3].
used variants therein for this instrument. The PMBOK served
7. Operation and maintenance: Maintenance
as a baseline for this research. The major phases and
activities undertaken in each of the 10 knowledge areas management is essentially a preventive management
philosophy and it should be considered as a business function
during the project management cycle guided towards
identification of the most important aspects required for which provides opportunities to retain quality, life and value
of assets and improve cost, risk and productivity concern in
effectual execution of any project from project management
standpoint. The following key factors were identified as a organization [6, 7].
result of a critical literature review: 8. Project team: Group of persons having different
1. Project Strategy: The project management literature capabilities and technical skills are combine together to
achieve any goal are known as project team. Ultimate
regarding project strategy is mostly about defining, aligning
and executing to achieving goals and plans []. In order to objective of the project team is required deliverables defined
in the project plan within time lines and decided cost. The
meet the objectives, goals and successful deliverables in
terms of project achievement, the strategic consideration literature consistently highlights that one of the essential
elements of a team is its focus toward a common goal and a
plays an important role therein. In simple terms, the project
strategy is all about defining base direction to increase the clear purpose [8, 9, 10]. In order to manage project teams
successfully, the project managers should manage
possibility of success of the project. The word ‘direction’ is
used here to elaborate main elements of projects strategy so themselves, be good role models, select the right people with
appropriate skills and experience, and know how to manage
that the direction could be one or a combination of following:
goals, means, methods, tools or any rewards/penalty the people issues [3].
schemes. 9. Dedicated project management office: A dedicated
2. Strategic Alignment: Strategic alignment delineates project management office (PMO) has been linked to
provision of effectual project services and deliverables [].
a strategic vision for aligning the plans, goals, objectives and
optimizing techniques in line with organizational vision. The elements of modern encapsulate such elements so as to
drive projects in a most effective manner.
Every project should be aligned to set the priority inline with
this vision. Furthermore, while defining project priorities, 10. Project requirements: Requirement gathering related
few constraints are to be considered including time to any project is an initial step to produce high quality end
constraints, available resources, impact on revenue and effect product. The goal of RE are to understand the needs and
on existing process. The use of strategic alignment allows an supports to the client and to provide the solution with
organization to contemplate its longevity and to find how methods, techniques and tools. RE is an often underutilized
achievable its visions for the future are []. discipline in software development [11].
3. Feasibility Study: This refers to analysis regarding 11. Project Charter: It usually involves the planning and
the viability of any project. It helps to examine the vital initiative of projects which will follow throughout the project
query “Is it good to put forward the project?” This question life cycle. Fundamentally, the project charter explains the
could be analyzed considering technical feasibility, financial project boundaries, effectual tool of planning, serves as a
feasibility (project delivery with estimated cost and analyzing navigator, anchor and holding the project towards its goals
the profit) and feasibilities of time and scope. Organizations [12]. Once the project charter is being approved by the
often authorize a needs assessment and/or a feasibility study shareholders, one cannot change or modify the actual charter
to decide if it should undertake the project [3]. without the consensus of all the involved parties [13].
4. Impact Assessment: This aspect relates to looking 12. Well-defined job descriptions: For successfully
into aptitude of upcoming changes that a project will bring deliverables, hierarchy is very important in which individuals
and analyzing the modification in existing processes to fulfil having specific roles and designations/job descriptions. There
a change. If impact analysis is properly performed, then it must be a project manager to manage, coordinate, and
makes possible to identify a possible plans in case of any supervise the construction process from the conceptual
unexpected results which could impact the sector. development stage through final construction on a timely and
Organization often authorize a needs assessment and/or a economical basis [3].
feasibility study to decide if it should undertake the project.
[3]. 13. Well-defined project implementation plan: A key
factor towards project success is planning. Project
5. Sustainability: Sustainability predicts that the Management Institute (PMI) strongly advocates the
project is going to be implemented will meet the current contribution of project planning to project success [14]. “In
necessities and will not have any consequences or ripple fact, although planning does not guarantee project success,
effect. By process sustainability, we refer to the long-term lack of planning will probably guarantee failure” [15]. Thus,
effectiveness of a business utilizing efficient processes, plan should be well-defined which will cover each and every
measurable through the number of strategies that a business factor of the project to meet project success.
is able to enact. [4].
14. Detailed financial plan: Preparing financial detailed
6. Project Risk: Risk analysis refers to identifying the plan with the costs required including investments, resources
project results in case of any unwanted event occur. Each etc. by setting the objectives during the implementation
objective of the project is put into consideration while doing phases to achieve the goal and the estimated profit.
risk analysis or risk management, so that consequences of Furthermore, the processes are required to ensure that the
each objective can be aptly identified and analyzed. “Risk project is completed within the approved budget, given

©2019 3
resource planning, cost estimating, cost budgeting, and cost Project risk Project quality plan
control [3]. implementation
Operation and maintenance
15. Project quality targets: Quality targets could be Project closure
defined by fulfilling all the requirements related to the Qualified project team
project including efficiency of project, reliability, Project audit
Dedicated project office
deliverables on time, technical specifications, safety and Lessons learned from the
maintenance of the project. It describes the processes Elaborate project project
required to ensure that the project will satisfy the needs for requirements
which it was undertaken, and consists of quality planning, Post project impact
Project Charter evaluation
quality assurance, and quality control [3].
16. Project quality plan implementation: Building
IV. RESEARCH QUESTION AND HYPOTHESES
implementation process is complex, usually requiring
simultaneous attention to a wide variety of human, budgetary In light of the aforementioned discussion, by way of this
and technical variables [3]. It’s usually include all list of paper, we intend to find out:
tasks, task assignment, status of tasks, priority tasks and “Are there any differences between project management
deadlines, etc. Programs Evaluation and Review Technique factors employed in public and private sector IT
(PERT) and the Critical Path Method (CPM), The Bar and organizations? Which broad areas proffer the greatest
Gantt charts used in scheduling, tracking, resource smoothing deficiencies therein, or have the greatest differences
and performing time and cost-trade-offs at the execution and therein?”
termination stages are the best tools for project planning and
control in this context [3]. Our research hypotheses are stated hereunder:
17. Project Closure: Closure is the last step in project H1a: There is no difference between the project
life cycle. The Project will be terminated when everything is management practices in both sectors
carried out by the contractor and accepted by the client. The H1b: There is a difference between the project
project executive manager prepares a pre-closure report and management practices in both sectors
sends it to the board of managers as well as the financial
H2a: There is no deficiency in project management
manager [16]. Effective closure is desired for continued
factors applied by the public sector
project and organizational repute and client liaison.
H2b: There is a deficiency in project management factors
18. Project Audit: A project management audit is an applied by the public sector
examination designed to determine the true status of work
H3a: There is no deficiency in project management
performed on a project and its conformance with the project
factors applied by the private sector
statement of work, including schedule and budget constraints
H3b: There is a deficiency in project management factors
[17].
applied by the private sector
19. Lessons learned from the project: When a project is
terminated, documentation of lessons learned is made to V. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
make sure that the experiences drawn from the project can be The philosophical position that this study ascribed to was
used in future projects [18]. positivism, which is an “approach to the study of society that
20. Post-project impact evaluation: Post-program relies specifically on scientific evidence, such as experiments
impact evaluation can identify the techniques and planning and statistics, to reveal a true nature of how society operates
that has worked and could be used in the future. Furthermore, [].” Thus, since the study relies on seeking insights from
the lessons learned can be placed in a repository, building up different sectors for their confluence of project management
the organizational tacit/explicit knowledge, developed into practices, it is necessary to seek views from the target society
the organizational knowledge management system. to reveal their employment of project management practices
in IT projects.
The benefits of assessing of these project management
factors and exploring their effectiveness in both sectors will Given the nature and scope of the subject, this study was
enable to apply the learning, find deficiencies and strengthen intended as a pilot study was undertaken to assess
these practices within the various sectors/departments to preliminary analyses thereof, and inform perspectives for
enable them to be leading institutions for enforcing effective future research. Thus, this study is designed and conducted as
project management practices in their organization and a broad-based scoping study, and is a prelude to a much
contribute better to their organizations and consequently the detailed investigation to be conducted later on basis of this
economy. study.

Thus, in light of this extant literature research, following In order to achieve the objectives of this study, a baseline
broad project management factors were identified and literature review of success factors for project management
considered for the study: within these sectors was undertaken (please refer to § III). A
survey instrument was then designed as a purposefully-
Well-defined project Well-defined job developed questionnaire, taking into cognizance these
strategy descriptions success factors as research study components or factors.
Survey was chosen as the choice for the research instrument
Strategic alignment Well-defined project given its special match with the requirements of the current
implementation plan study. It tries to answer the ‘what’ and ‘how much’ questions,
Feasibility Study
Elaborate financial plan elicits answers from the subjects of the study without
Impact assessment influencing them in any form, and there is a concerted focus
Project quality targets on contemporary practices. As suggested by Yin (illustrated
Sustainability

©2019 4
 Average Project Management Factor Scores
3.50
3.00
in the figure below []), survey is the best approach to use in 2.50
this given scenario. The survey questionnaire instrument was 2.00
1.50
based on the study literature, and included key project 1.00
management factors as evidenced from empirical literature. 0.50
The questionnaire was designed comprising of closed-end, -

Strategic align

Impact asses
Project Strategy

Feasibility Study

Quality Imple
O&M

Imple Plan

Impact eval
Project reqs

Quality Targets

Lessons
Project risk

Project team

Job desc
Sustainability

PMO

Project Charter

Closure
Audit
Financial Plan
Likert scale (1–5) questions, developed to assess PM
practices’ prevalence in IT projects by both private and
public sector companies. The questions endeavoured to
codify the different factors, keeping into cognizance the
Public Sector Private Sector
project cycle ordering and applicability considerations.

We can see that apparently there does not appear a major

difference in the overall form, however there are noticeable
differences in individual components thereof. This is further
looked at through concerted inferential statistical analyses.
Inferential statistical techniques were applied for the purpose
of analysis herein. Paired t-test and ANOVA were employed
to assess overall sectorial differences given that the data
comprised of ordinal scale. Pairwise Chi-Square was applied
VI. DATA COLLECTION to find out intergroup differences on a factor-to-factor basis.
The first step was selection of an appropriate study The first step in this analytical endeavour was to test the
sample for the survey. The study population consisted of all reliability of the survey instrument, as this would invariably
management personnel within IT service companies in provide credibility to this entire research process. The
Lahore, both within private and public sectors. Given the reliability of the survey instrument in this research endeavour
scope of the study, it was intended that a small subset of was computed using the statistically advanced Cronbach’s
personnel be selected from these firms. Accordingly, 4 Alpha parameter. The output is as follows, wherein it can be
organizations were selected – 2 from each sector – at seen that the metric value isCronbach’s
0.75: Alpha
random, to keep a balanced respondent level. k 21
Prior to conduct of the survey, a pilot study of 2 Σvar 0.01
academics was carried out for confirmation and review of the var 0.038325617
study and the associated data collection instrument. They α 0.75
reviewed the study, its imperatives and proposed refinements
therein. These were later on incorporated into the study and
Thus, given that the value of this metric is greater than
questionnaire, and was then applied to the sample from the
0.6 (commonly accepted norm), we can conclude that the
desired population as noted above.
data collection instrument is reliable, given the collection
The survey was thereafter conducted in the software exercise.
development departments within the preselected companies,
The next step was assessing normality of the dataset, as
comprising of senior and middle managers therein. Around
this would determine the category of inferential statistical
40 participants, equally distributed between the 2 sectors,
tests that could be undertaken for further analyses, as
constituted the sample for the study. The survey
normality is a pre-requisite for all parametric statistical tests.
questionnaire was carried out in person, with additional
The normalized probability plot of the differences between
commentary noted for any of the responses, wherever
the sectors was computed at 95% confidence interval and is
voluntarily provided thus by the respondents.
highlighted below.
VII. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The 10 project management knowledge areas as
delineated by PMI comprised the basis for final evaluation of
the project as study components entailed different aspects of
project management employed during the course of the
project.
Based on preliminary descriptive statistics, a cumulative
side-by-side bar graph of all included project management
factors as rated by companies within both sectors is
represented below:

The p-value obtained is greater than 0.05; therefore, we

can conclude on the basis of this test that the difference may
come from a normal distribution as shown above. Thus, this
provides us with the allowance of employing parametric
category of statistical test on our dataset for further analysis.

©2019 5
 First to evaluate our research hypotheses, we employed are narrated hereunder in line with the study components are
the paired t-test therein, comparing means of overall scores delineated earlier, with cognizance to brevity:
between the two sectors at 95% confidence interval, to test
our first hypothesis H1. The paired 2-sample t-test output is  The initial questions related to strategic development and
displayed below: deployment. It was found that the projects are usually
Public Private
aligned with organizational and departmental strategies
Mean 2.615 2.6875
within both sectors.
Variance 0.101868421 0.055098684
Observations 20 20  Results show that the feasibility study is mostly not
Pearson Correlation 0.713492448 conducted at the start of the project in the private sector.
Hypothesized Mean Difference 0 Given the nature and binding requirements of PC-1
df 19 project planning framework, a basic study was usually
t Stat -1.449142209 undertaken in the public sector.
P(T<=t) one-tail 0.081801375  The impact assessment response illustrated the fact that it
t Critical one-tail 1.729132812 usually not conducted, save few very large projects in
P(T<=t) two-tail 0.163602751 the public sector where it is necessitated for approval
t Critical two-tail 2.093024054 and closure.
 The response to sustainability question shows it is not
usually regarded as a major concern. An individualistic,
per-project-basis approach is adopted therein.
Thus, taking the significance level (alpha) to be 0.05 and
df = 19, we can see that the rejection region lies with the  Project risk is little recognized and catered for by both
p-value greater than 0.05. Solving via Excel, we get that the sectors.
p-value of 0.16 for the 2-tailed test (t-value = 2.09) does not  Operation and maintenance is carried out, but to a little
lie in the rejection region, as it is greater than the threshold extent. Usual exceptions to this relate to a contract
value of 0.05. Thus, we can safely say that the research agreement requiring such roles to be performed as part
hypothesis H1a cannot be rejected therein. Given this output, of the developmental project.
we can safely conclude that there is no significant difference
between the two groups in terms of employment of project  There is a usually dedicated project team for the project
management practices therein. in overwhelmingly large cases, although the practice is
slightly less prevalent within the public sector.
Confirmation of H1a was also sought through one-factor
means analysis using ANOVA among both the groups,  There is a dedicated project management office, more so
public and private. The ANOVA test output, computed at in the public sector where there is no dearth of physical
95%SUMMARY
confidence interval, is as follows: infrastructural resources.
Groups Count Sum Average Variance
Row 1 20 52.3 2.615 0.101868421  The project requirements are usually studied, but not
Row 2 20 53.75 2.6875 0.055098684 many managers record or study it very carefully. Thus,
this inevitably, and superfluously, require iterations
ANOVA thereof and multiple redundant client interactions to
Source of Variation
Between Groups
SS
0.0525625
df
1
MS F P-value F crit
0.0525625 0.669726309 0.418249538 4.098171731
clarify the same.
Within Groups 2.982375 38 0.078483553
 The project charter is not usually self-defined, and require
Total 3.0349375 39 considerable client support for it. This aspect becomes
more of a nuisance in the public sector, where it forms
part of the PC-1 and becomes a legally binding
agreement, mandating them to carry out all defined tasks
We can see from the above structure that the resulting even if they are not of much significance and use to the
p-value, being greater than 0.05, and F-critical value as stated purpose of the project.
above fall beyond the designated rejection regions using the
between-group criterion. Thus, this is further confirmation  There are well-defined job descriptions for teams present
that we cannot reject our stated null hypothesis H1a given in both sectors, as is usually a client requirement prior to
this scenario. project approval.
In light of the aforementioned analyses, we are inclined  There is a well-defined project implementation plan in
to accept the null hypothesis that there is no difference most cases, although it may be sufficiently detailed
between the two sectors. enough to clearly follow through and requires iterations
in refinement thereof.
Furthermore, we also inferred that the despite low score
on a few factors, and that there is deficiency inherent, there is  There is a detailed financial plan in almost all cases,
little difference therein to reject the hypotheses H2 and H3; although this is usually inflated and necessitates,
thus we accept them based on this data. Probably, more data sometimes unpleasant, client intervention to seek real
may provide different and/or more interesting insights. rates.
In terms of factor analyses for each study component, we  Project quality targets are usually the deliverable-based
employed Chi Square tests on each pair of questions and targets, and achieving them translates thence. This
sectors, as the data themselves were both nominal and received the highest ‘yes’ in the survey, from both
ordinal in nature. Quite interesting results were obtained as a sectors.
result, and also instigate the research to undertake further
research in these aspects. Key insights from these analyses

©2019 6
 There is lesser of project quality plan implementation more profitable due to the nature of the sector, the core focus
done aptly, and requires various discussions and of the entity and the output valuation therein.
iterations with clients for effectual completion thereof.
From the very outset, it was established this to be an
 The project closure is usually good, given no money is initial scoping study on the subject. Thus, there remain
expressed for later work, but sometimes scope creep several avenues for improvement and further investigation
does incur over project deliverables and consequently therein. Firstly, as the current study confirmed our research
causes scope, time and cost overruns at the expense of intents and significance thereof, this is thus an impetus for
the company. This is usually catered in accordance with further detailed research investigation to be undertaken into
the project charter, PC-1 (in case of the public sector) these and addition project management constructs with
and other legally binding documents and contract regards to their employment in both private and public
agreements. sectors. Secondly, further research entailing multiple
organizations, and a much larger and diverse sample size
 The project audit is usually undertaken in an therein, may proffer new insights into these dimensions.
overwhelmingly majority of cases, but in most cases, it Being a quasi-experimental research, it would be useful –
is mere coverage of a rudimentary checklist without with a view towards generalizability – that random sampling
detailed quality assessment therein. be employed during the data collection process. Furthermore,
 The lessons learned from the project, and from project an objective mechanism to provide for comparable software
history, are usually myopic, and not really translated in development management valuation may require novel
knowledge-based products for organization research within both these sectors. Finally, it would be
development. Furthermore, lessons learned are extremely useful to take cognizance of IT project
sometimes not available, referred to or taken cognizance implementation nuances existing within both sectors, and
of during planning, design and implementation of new more so to study the lessons and experiences arising from
IT projects. post project evaluation and learning.

 There is mixed post project impact evaluation carried out, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

and the same is true in both sectors. In very few case, it We would like to thank Dr Aasia Khanum (Chairperson,
is carried out in detail; otherwise, in an overwhelming Department of Computer Science, Forman Christian College
majority of cases, this is resorted to a generic project (A Chartered University) (FCC)) and Dr Mubashar Mushtaq
completion report, with very few meaningful insights (PG Coordinator, Department of Computer Science, FCC)
available to dwell upon, build expertise therein or cater for their wonderful guidance and support over the tenure of
for deficiencies arising during the course of the project. this study endeavour, and for providing continued motivation
The implication of the aforementioned results dictate that therein thus enabling us to pursue this work in a concerted
there is no difference between project management factors timely manner in the true spirit of extending our
adoption and implementation thereof between the public and understanding within this domain.
private sectors, despite minor differences in detailed REFERENCES
components. Both the sector perform rather similarly in the
local context. However, there are a few differences as can be
observed given more formalization in the public sector and
more profit/financial orientation of the private sector thereof.
However, there is a general lack amongst both sectors viz-a-
viz performance with respect to the strategic level factors,
which needs to be addressed at both local and trans-regional
levels.
VIII.CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK
On the basis of the aforementioned discussion, it may be
concluded that the software development departments within
both sectors place significant value on similar factors and
standards as regards to IT and software development.
However, strict adherence of these factors within the
organizational systems and domains drew semblances of
outputs that may be construed differently in terms of output
productiveness, efficiency and effectiveness. Overall, there
may be little to choose between them, and one may come to
the inference that there lies a similar mind-set therein with
regards to accordance of these constructs in both sectors.
Based on the above analysis of their responses and
studying key characteristics of projects as evidenced through
literature review and empirical observational studies, the
results of the study proved that most of the factors were
similarly followed within both sectors. The parametric
statistical tests showed that there was little difference
between the two sectors with regards to object
implementation of project management factors and practices
adopted therein. However, the private sector was deemed

©2019 7
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[4] State Bank of Pakistan, "Annual Report 2015-2016
(State of the Economy)," State Bank of Pakistan, 2016. Malik, K. W. received his undergraduate education from
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http://www.sbp.org.pk/reports/annual/. [Accessed 20 followed by postgraduate education at the University of
March 2019]. Cambridge, Harvard University, Carnegie Mellon
[5] P@SHA, "P@SHA IT Industry Report," P@SHA, University and the University of the Punjab. He is currently
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https://pasha.org.pk/publication/. [Accessed 20 March at FCC. He is an active member of IEEE (and the founding
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Software Export Board, 2017. [Online]. Available: several standing committees at the Lahore Chamber of
https://www.pseb.org.pk/media-room2/newsletters. Commerce & Industry, and is a member of the board at UET
[Accessed 20 March 2019]. EE Department and at a local Rotary Club, where has also
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Punjab," Punjab Information Technology Board,
Government of the Punjab, 2019. [Online]. Available: Naeem, K. received her undergraduate education from the
https://www.pitb.gov.pk/digital_punjab. [Accessed 20 prestigious Government College University, Lahore. She is
March 2019]. currently enrolled in the postgraduate programme in
computer science at FCC. She is an active member of IEEE
[8] Planning and Development Department, Government
and is among the founding members of FCC-IEEE Student
of the Punjab, "Punjab Growth Strategy 2018:
Chapter, where she has served as its Director, Knowledge
Accelerating Economic Growth And Improving Social
Management.
Outcomes," Planning & Development Department,
March 2015. [Online]. Available:
Saleem, S. B. is an Assistant Professor at the Department of
http://www.pndpunjab.gov.pk/system/files/Punjab_Gro
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Maintenance from The Open University, UK, and an MS in
[9] P@SHA, "P@SHA Knowledge Center," P@SHA, Software Engineering from the Blekinge Institute of
2019. [Online]. Available: Technology, Sweden. Previously, he was Visiting Research
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March 2019]. Communications at the Open University, UK. He has also
[10] N. Bloom, R. Lemos and D. Scur, "Are Poor worked as a guest lecturer at the University of East London,
Management Practices Holding Back Middle-Income UK and as a System Developer at Skan-Norge AS, Norway.
Countries: New Evidence from the Private and Public He has published a highly-cited paper in the field of
Sector in India," IGC, November 2012. [Online]. software release planning in the Journal of Information and
Available: https://www.theigc.org/wp- Software Technology, a book chapter in the Springer book
content/uploads/2015/04/Bloom-Et-Al-2012-Policy- on aspect oriented requirements engineering and two
Brief.pdf. [Accessed 20 March 2019]. technical reports relevant to the planning of security
[11] G. Battisti, A. Iona and X. Fu, "The diffusion of requirements/bug fixes. He was also a member of the British
innovative practices in the Service sector: Evidence Computer Society and Requirements Specialist group for
from U.K establishments," in 8th Global Conference 2012-13 and a member of the SECRET (Security
on Business & Economics, Florence, Italy, 2008. Requirements Talks) group at the Open University, UK. He
[12] UNDP Global Centre for Public Service Excellence, has participated in the 11th CREST open workshop on
"Is the Private Sector more Efficient? : A cautionary Search based Software Engineering at the University
tale," UNDP, 2015. [Online]. Available: College London, UK, and several workshops and
https://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/capaci conferences at the Open University, UK. He has tested the
ty-development/English/Singapore ReleasePlanner® tool of the Expert Decisions Inc., Canada

©2019 8
for developing release plans and had an understanding with
the company to use the tool for research projects.

Toor, S. K. is an Assistant Professor at the Department of

Computer Science, FCC. She received her PhD degree in
Computer Science from Warwick University, UK. Dr Saba
has more than 21 years of working experience, with 6 year
in software development industry and 15 years in academia.
In the software industry, she worked at leading software
houses of the country such as CresSoft (Pvt.) and Vroom
(Pvt). In academia, Dr Saba worked at Virtual university of
Pakistan for more than 14 years as Assistant Professor and
Head of Computer Science Department. There she was also
Co-director for Center of Education and Technology and
conducted research on several educational
tools/technologies. She has also been Director, Center for
Learning and Software Development at Imperial College of
Business studies and worked to establish this center.

Sabahat, N. is an Assistant Professor at the Department of

Computer Science, FCC. She received her PhD degree in
Computer Software Engineering from National University
of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan,
and was a recipient of the Pakistan’s Higher Education
Commission Indigenous Scholarship for the MS degree
leading to the PhD. She has authored a number of research
publications in international reputed journals and
International conferences.

©2019 9