Modelling the critical success factors of software development freelancing using an intuitionistic fuzzy DEMATEL approach

This paper investigates the critical success factors of software development freelancing in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper adopts the intuitionistic fuzzy decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (IF-DEMATEL), which is a causal modelling approach based on multiple criteria decision making and intuitionistic fuzzy set theory. As a result, the study was able to derive 26 critical success factors for software development freelancing. The study finds significant cause groups and effect groups among the critical success factors. In particular, results suggest that the cause groups are highly associated with the management-side of the project than any other factor. The results of this study would be significant to the literature in many ways. For one, it is the first to investigate the critical success factors of software development freelancing. For another, it is the first to model the dynamics of these critical success factors under a causal modelling framework. Copyright © 2024 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.