Incorporating sustainability into software projects: a conceptual framework

Abstract

PurposeThe paper aims to present a conceptual framework that helps in incorporating sustainability into software projects, highlights the importance of project sustainability and provides an extensive review of recent relevant contributions across various fields.Design/methodology/approachThe authors carried out a systematic bibliographic search on relevant published materials to analyse links between the two disciplines (sustainability and software projects). Furthermore, content analysis was applied to the final selected publications to identify and classify relevant triple bottom line (TBL) aspects to develop the framework.FindingsThe inclusion of TBL-related aspects is the most efficient and effective method used to incorporate sustainability into projects. Most of the relevant contributions in the software literature have focussed on either project product or project process or on one or two dimensions of sustainability rather than the three dimensions of the TBL theory. This study contributes by proposing a conceptual framework that encompasses TBL-related aspects for incorporating sustainability into processes and products of software projects.Research limitations/implicationsValidating the proposed framework empirically could be an interesting research issue. In addition, future works may focus on different types of industries, such as information systems, telecommunications and service sectors, which have seldom been studied in the literature.Practical implicationsSoftware companies – or other relevant organisations – may use the proposed framework as a measurement tool to evaluate the environmental and social impacts of their current products and project management practices. Consequently, these organisations may pay more attention to incorporating sustainability into their project management practices.Originality/valueThe proposed framework may contribute towards a more sustainable orientation by providing a unique combination of TBL-related aspects that gives academics and practitioners a better understanding of how software projects can be managed sustainably.