Critical Success Factors in Global Software Development: A Systematic Literature Review

Mapping Lean Construction Research: A Scoping Review Based on Scopus Data

Lean Construction (LC) has evolved from an emerging adaptation of production principles into a mature academic domain, yet a comprehensive assessment of its global structure and development remains needed. This study presents a rigorous bibliometric and scoping review of LC research using a sample of 484 highly refined, peer-reviewed documents retrieved from the Scopus database up to 2025. Following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines and utilizing VOSviewer, the co-occurrence networks of keywords, countries, and co-authorships were systematically analyzed. The results reveal a structurally centralized research landscape historically led by the United States and the United Kingdom, though accompanied by an increasing globalization driven by emerging clusters in Asia and South America. Keyword analysis indicates growing research attention to Building Information Modeling (BIM), information management, agile approaches, and environmental sustainability within the analyzed Lean Construction literature alongside traditional operational and planning concerns. However, the literature exhibits persistent fragmentation, with over 70% of identified journals publishing two or fewer articles on the subject within specialized thematic niches. This study concludes that opportunities exist to further explore the relationship between Lean Construction and emerging digital technologies while strengthening cross-regional and interdisciplinary collaborations. These efforts may contribute to a more cohesive and globally representative understanding of the discipline and its role in improving efficiency and sustainability within the built environment.

Critical success factors in the digital transformation of firms: A proposed model

The findings indicate that leadership commitment and strategic alignment are the most consistently cited critical success factors for successful digital transformation and the Comprehensive digital transformation Success Model (CDTSM) is proposed, which integrates these CSFs into a structured framework encompassing the initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and sustainability phases of digital transformation.

Understanding IT project failure in the digital age: A systematic literature review and taxonomy of contemporary failure factors

This study aims to identify and systematize contemporary factors associated with IT project failure and examine their relationship with factors established in earlier literature. A systematic literature review covering publications from January 1, 2021, to September 30, 2025, was conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 and PRISMA-S guidelines. Fifteen studies were included in the qualitative synthesis, while 12 studies were used for factor and frequency analysis. Data extraction yielded 86 coded findings, which were standardized into 76 distinct factors and grouped into seven dimensions. Project management and governance was the most prevalent dimension, appearing in 75.0% of the studies, while inadequate planning was the most frequently identified individual factor. Comparison with literature published up to 2020 showed that 65.8% of the factors were traditional or persistent, 27.6% were evolving, and 6.6% were contemporary. Contemporary factors were primarily associated with AI/ML projects and risks related to data, privacy, and model maintenance. The findings indicate that the digital era has not eliminated traditional causes of IT project failure, but has increased their complexity and interdependence.

Critical success factors in digital transformation of firms: A proposed model

BIM-Driven Software Productization in Architectural Practice: A Systematic Literature Review

Software productization—the structured transformation of domain-specific internal tools into scalable, commercially viable solutions—has become a strategic imperative in architectural practice. Yet existing literature conflates productization with generic Building Information Modeling (BIM) adoption, leaving the product-development lifecycle, licensing architectures, and interoperability engineering underexplored. This systematic literature review synthesizes fifty-two peer-reviewed studies, industry surveys, and technical reports published between 2009 and 2025, retrieved from ScienceDirect, Web of Science, MDPI, and authoritative industry sources. The review applies the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) frameworks to map the market adoption of BIM-based software across five domains: market foundation, technical implementation, user adoption, productivity results, and the barriers. Large architectural firms implement BIM technologies more successfully than SMEs owing to economies of scale, procurement mandate thresholds, greater IT infrastructure capacity, and the ability to absorb transitional productivity losses—factors that compound the capital and training differentials. Results measured quantitatively include such improvements as reduction in the number of coordination mistakes, faster project deliveries, and energy performance due to simulations provided by the application. Barriers include lack of semantic interoperability, security threats in the collaborative cloud-based systems, and organizational barrier. Furthermore, a structural gap has been identified in the existing literature regarding this issue. A comprehensive mapping of the complete productization lifecycle—from internal prototype through licensed commercial deployment—is absent from the synthesized literature on architectural practice. Policy and standardization implications are discussed, with recommendations for open-standard mandates and SME-targeted digitalization programs.

Agile Software Development Challenges: Identification, Validation, and Prioritization Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process

Context: The Agile methodology has been prevalent in the software industry for more than two decades, marking a shift from plan-driven to market-driven approaches and introducing various challenges. While the literature identifies numerous challenges in Agile development, little attention has been given to their ranking and prioritization, which are critical for effective project management and decision making. This study fills this gap by combining empirical evidence from the literature and practitioners. Objectives: This study aims to identify and hierarchically prioritize the most recent challenges faced by Agile practitioners during product development. To achieve this, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted using 115 published studies between 2010 and 2025 followed by empirical data collection from 30 Agile experts through semi-structured interviews conducted with practitioners from Agile companies and an online survey. This study applies Cumulative Voting (100-Dollar Test) and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques to rank and prioritize these challenges. Results: The SLR identifies several recurring Agile challenges; however, limited research has focused on their ranking and prioritization. The present study reveals new challenges, such as user interface complexities, lack of pre-development and pre-operational cost information, and lack of cost scalability at the module and feature levels. The current study identifies Inadequate Architecture (22%), Lack of Standardized Framework (18%), Communication and Coordination (16%), Poor Requirement Verification (13%), and Minimum Documentation (8%) as the most significant challenges. Conclusions: This study provides valuable insight for Agile practitioners and organizations, enabling more informed project planning, resource allocation, and strategic decision making. By focusing on the most critical challenges, teams can enhance software quality, streamline processes, and improve overall productivity in Agile environments.