Integrating Sustainability Metrics into Project and Portfolio Performance Assessment in Agile Software Development: A Data-Driven Scoring Model

Abstract

In today’s rapidly evolving information technology sectors, agile methodologies have been employed by software development organizations to facilitate the large-scale, efficient, and swift development of digital products. Notably, it is a widely accepted principle that an increase in project delivery predictability results from more effective portfolio management. Despite the abundant resources within software engineering that address project management and agile development performance, the measurement of portfolio delivery performance integrating sustainability principles is under-researched. This paper aims to underline a solution to bridge this gap by proposing a data-driven scoring model explicitly designed for software firms to integrate sustainability metrics into their project and portfolio performance assessment. The model is primarily aimed at monitoring and enhancing delivery performance while also reinforcing the sustainability of the software development lifecycle. A thorough literature review was conducted to discern gaps in existing practices, followed by development of a scoring model melded with delivery and sustainability metrics seamlessly. Validated through a case study, the findings reveal that the model influences the performance and sustainability dynamics within software development entities. The insights gained from this study underscore the pivotal role of a harmonized delivery and sustainability metrics system in enhancing the sustainability and efficiency of software development undertakings.