Software project management tools in practice in IT industry of Bangladesh

The implementation of Software Project Management (SPM) has revolutionized the software development industry. For many years, Software Project Management Tools (SPMTs) have been widely adopted by software companies globally. Although the adoption of SPMTs has been slow in Bangladesh over the past few decades, there has been a growing trend of companies turning towards it. As Bangladesh strives to keep up with the rest of the world, it is important to understand how software development is managed in the country. The adoption of SPMTs has been investigated from two perspectives, which made this work being conducted in two parts. In the first part, a systematic literature review attempts to explore the use of SPM and SPMTs from a global perspective, a country-specific perspective, and finally, a Bangladeshi perspective. The second part investigates the actual use of SPMTs in the real field through conducting a comprehensive survey, comprising 52 questions, on software companies. The analysis was based on 87 responses from participant companies. The key findings reveal that nearly 50 % of the companies employ SPMTs for project management, with Jira emerging as the most popular tool, holding the largest market share at about 45 %. Our study identified 10 frequently used SPMT functionalities. Users reported that lack of knowledge, cost, and perceived necessity hampered SPMT adoption. The insights gained can benefit researchers and policymakers in enhancing the use of these tools further and fostering improved practices in the sector for sustainable growth.