PROJECT INITIATION CAPABILITIES AND SOFTWARE PROJECT SUCCESS: A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF SOFTWARE HOUSES IN LAHORE

Abstract

Grounded in Information Processing Theory, this study examines how proposal quality and client communication during project initiation influence software project success, with scope clarity as a mediator and project complexity as a moderator. A quantitative cross-sectional survey produced 250 usable responses from professionals working in Lahore's software industry. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4 was used to assess the measurement and structural models. The final model explained 36.1% of the variance in scope clarity and 53.1% of the variance in software project success. Client communication was the strongest direct predictor of project success (beta = 0.528, p < .001). Proposal quality had no significant direct effect (beta = -0.008, p = .872) but influenced success indirectly through scope clarity (beta = 0.081, p = .003). Client communication also had a significant indirect effect through scope clarity (beta = 0.124, p < .001), indicating complementary partial mediation. Project complexity did not significantly moderate the focal relationships. The findings show that initiation capabilities operate through distinct information-processing pathways and support structured client communication, scope governance, and proposal-to-scope alignment as practical priorities for software firms.