Title: A framework for agile project management for the water industry in developing economies

Authors: Obby Akani Masia; John Andrew Van Der Poll

Addresses: Graduate School of Business Leadership (SBL) Midrand, University of South Africa (Unisa), P.O. Box 392, Pretoria, 0003, South Africa ' Graduate School of Business Leadership (SBL) Midrand, University of South Africa (Unisa), P.O. Box 392, Pretoria, 0003, South Africa

Abstract: Water project management in developing economies such as South Africa is subject to a number of challenges owing to not only water scarcity but also top-down bureaucracies; challenged information and communication technologies (ICTs); lack of agility; lack of top management support; lack of smart water management as embedded in the 4th Industrial Revolution; lack of customer education; and lack of general sustainability and competitive advantage. The researchers conducted a comprehensive literature review on water industry challenges aimed at eliciting how principles of agile software development may be adopted in the water industry of developing economies. A number of propositions were formulated from scholarly literature and a conceptual framework was developed on the strength of the propositions. The framework is analysed and validated theoretically. The paper concludes with directions for future research in this area.

Keywords: APM; agile project management; conceptual framework; developing economy; propositions; sustainable development; water industry.

DOI: 10.1504/JGBA.2021.114320

Journal for Global Business Advancement, 2021 Vol.14 No.1, pp.70 - 92

Received: 12 Jan 2021
Accepted: 15 Jan 2021
Published online: 16 Apr 2021 *

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