Applying system dynamics approach in software and information system projects: A mapping study

Context Software and information system are everywhere and the projects involving them are becoming more complex. However, these projects performance patterns are not showing improvement or convergence over time. Additionally, there is a growing interest in modeling the complexities involved in such projects for evaluating long-term impacts, especially the dynamic dimension. Objective This study aims to analyze how the system dynamics approach has been used in the scientific literature to model complexity in software and information system projects. Method The research approach used was a mapping study that combined bibliometrics and content analysis to draw the scenario of the research literature related to software and information system projects, identifying patterns, evolution trends, and research gaps. Results The results show the focus of the studies analyzed regarding the step of policy design and evaluation in the modeling process (46%), besides investigating software development projects (34%). This study also reveals that the most employed tools are simulations (78%) and the causal loop diagram (61%), but only 37% presented model equations. As for the software and information system projects success dimension, system quality has prevailed (73%). Conclusion The mapping showed that there is a gap of studies exploring the implementation and post implementation phases of software and information systems. Few studies explored the social components; the majority of the studies focused on technical aspects and did not report the complete steps of system dynamics modeling development process. This lack of information hinders the reproduction of past results for expanding and developing new studies.