Measuring Agile Software Project success in Agile Digital Transformations

You are invited to participate in a survey conducted by Mongezi Cynthwell Plaatjies under the supervision of Luca Khoza, a Professor in the Department of Information Systems, towards a Master of Science in Computing at the University of South Africa.

The survey has been designed to study how agile software project success is measured in agile digital transformation contexts. You were selected to participate because you are an adult professional with experience in agile software projects, agile teams, software development, project delivery, product management, or digital transformation initiatives. You will not be eligible to complete the survey if you are younger than 18 years or if you do not have experience with agile software projects or agile digital transformation.

By completing this survey, you agree that the anonymous information you provide may be used for research purposes, including a research report, conference proceedings, and academic presentations.

It is anticipated that the information gained from this survey will help to identify relevant measures of agile software project success during digital transformation, including delivery outcomes, business value, stakeholder satisfaction, product quality, team performance, adaptability, and benefits realization.

You are under no obligation to complete the survey, and you may withdraw from the study before submitting the survey by closing the questionnaire. Because this would be an anonymous survey with a high likelihood that even if some of the respondents could be identified after completing the survey (because it is in their interests to keep track), there are no possible repercussions for them other than having spent up to 10 to 15 minutes taking the survey and not personally benefiting from participating.

However, it is envisioned that the findings may benefit agile practitioners, organisations, and the academic community by improving understanding of how agile software success can be measured in digital transformation environments.

The study is considered low risk. The main inconvenience is the time required to complete the survey. Some participants may experience minor discomfort when reflecting on workplace experiences, project challenges, or organizational practices. To reduce these risks, participation is voluntary, no directly identifying information will be collected, demographic questions will use broad categories only, and findings will be reported from the perspective of the participating group rather than from the perspective of any individual.

The researcher undertakes to keep the information provided confidential, to store it securely, and to report the findings only in aggregated and anonymized form. No employers, managers, participating organisations, or unauthorized third parties will have access to the raw survey responses. The records will be kept for a minimum period of five years for audit and academic purposes, after which they will be permanently destroyed. Any hard-copy records, if generated, will be shredded. Electronic records will be permanently deleted from the password-protected computer and/or approved institutional storage platform.

You will not be reimbursed or receive any payment, reward, or incentive for participating in the survey.

The research was reviewed and approved by the School of Computing Research Ethics Committee. The primary researcher, Mongezi Cynthwell Plaatjies, can be contacted during office hours at 42750415@mylife.unisa.ac.za. The study supervisor, Professor Lucas Khoza, can be contacted during office hours at khozalt@unisa.ac.za. Should you have any questions regarding the ethical aspects of the study, you may contact the chairperson of the School of Computing Research Ethics Committee at motsil@unisa.ac.za. Alternatively, you may report any serious unethical behavior at the University’s Toll-Free Hotline: 0800 86 96 93.