A Hybrid (Soft and Hard) Systems Approach to Project Management

International Journal of Industrial Engineering

© 2017 by SSRG - IJIE Journal

Volume 4 Issue 3

Year of Publication : 2017

Authors : R.Siriram

10.14445/23499362/IJIE-V4I6P101

How to Cite?

R.Siriram, "A Hybrid (Soft and Hard) Systems Approach to Project Management," SSRG International Journal of Industrial Engineering, vol. 4,  no. 3, pp. 1-16, 2017. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23499362/IJIE-V4I6P101

Abstract:

many firms face out of control projects and many report huge losses. Firms are hampered with many failures in project management, and the causes for these failures vary e.g. embedding of project management initiatives, poor quality, cost and schedule slippage, immature processes, adherence to processes, coordination of information flow, knowledge transfer, trust in project relationships, and, etc. This paper makes a contribution to knowledge by proposing a hybrid (soft and hard) systems approach to project management leads to successful project performance. Two case studies in the Information and Communications technology (ICT) industry are presented showing challengers in project management and the benefits which may be realized from adopting a (soft and hard) systems approach. Important lessons for managers and project management practitioners are provided.

Keywords:

Systems Thinking, Holistic Approaches, Human Activity System and Project Management.

References:

[1] Ackoff, R.L. 1971. ―Towards a system of system concepts, Management Science, 17, pp. 661-671.
[2] Ahlemann, F., Teuteberg, F. Vogeslang, K. (2009), ―Project management standards – diffusion and application in Germany and Switzerland, International Journal of Project Management, 27, pp. 292-303.
[3] Andersen, E.S & Jessen, S. A. 2003. ―Project maturity in organizations, International Journal of Project Management, 21, pp.457-461.
[4] Aubry, M., Muller, R., Hobb, B. & Blomquist, T. 2010. ―Project management offices in transition, International Journal of Project Management, 28, pp.766-778.
[5] Atkinson, R. 1999. ―Project management: cost, time and quality, two best guesses and a phenomenon, it‘s time to accept other success criteria, International Journal of Project Management, 17 (6), pp.337-342.
[6] Atkinson, R., Crawford, L. & Ward, S. 2006. ―Fundamental uncertainties in projects and the scope of project management, International Journal of Project Management, 24 (8), pp.687-698.
[7] Bertalanffy, L. 1968. General Systems Theory Foundations, Development, Applications, New York, George Braziller.
[8] Brem, A. & Voight. K. 2009. ―Integration of market pull and technology push in the corporate front end and innovation management-insights from the German Software Industry, Technovation, 29, pp. 351-367.
[9] Brown, T. 2008. ―Design thinking, Harvard Business Review, June, 85-92.
[10] Burnell, D. 2015. ―Systems thinking orientation assessment Framework (STOAF): Towards Identifying the Key characteristics of the systems thinker and understanding their prevalence in the layperson, Systems Research and Behavioral Science.
[11] Canonico, P. & Sonderlund, J. 2010. ―Getting control of multi-project organizations: combining contingent control mechanisms, International Journal of Project Management, 28, pp. 796-806.
[12] Checkland, P. 1981. ―Rethinking a systems approach, Journal of Applied Systems Analysis, 8, pp.3-14.
[13] Checkland, P. 1999. Systems Thinking, Systems Practice, John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
[14] Cicmil, S., Williams, T., Thomas, J. & Hodgson, D. 2006. ―Rethinking project management: researching the actuality of projects, International Journal of Project Management, 24, pp. 675-686.
[15] Crawford, L., Pollack, J. 2004. ―Hard and soft projects a Framework for Analysis, International Journal of project management, 22, pp. 645-653.
[16] Davies, K. 2014. ―Different stakeholder groups and their perceptions of project success, International Journal of Project Management, 32, pp. 189-201.
[17] Fernandes, G., Ward, S., Araújo, M. 2015. ―Improving and embedding project management practice in organizations–A qualitative study, International Journal of Project Management, 33, pp. 1052-1067.
[18] Francois, C. 2006. ―Transdisciplinary unified theory, Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 23, pp. pp. 617- 624.
[19] Fortune, J. & White, D. 2006. ―Framing of project critical success factors by a systems model, International Journal of Project Management, 24, pp. 53-65.
[20] Fringsdorf, O., Zuo, J. & Zia, B. 2014. ―Critical success factors for project success in a defense environment, International Journal of Project Management, 32, pp. 803- 814.
[21] Goloni, R., Kalchschmidt, M. & Landoni, P. 2015. ―Adoption of project management practices: The impact on international development projects of non-governmental projects, International Journal of Project Management, 33, pp. 650-663.
[22] Hyväri, I. 2006. ―Project management effectiveness in project-oriented business organizations, International Journal of Project Management, 24 (3), pp. 216-225.
[23] Ika, L. A., Diallo, A., Thuillier, D. 2012. ―Critical success factors for work bank projects: An empirical investigation, International Journal of Project Management, 30, pp. 105- 116.
[24] Jaafari, A. 2007. ―Project and program diagnostics: A systemic approach, International Journal of Project Management, 25 (8), pp. 781-790.
[25] Kadefors, A. 2004. ―Trust in project relationships – inside the black box, International Journal of Project Management, 22 (3), pp. 175-182.
[26] Kelly, J., Male, S. & Graham, D. 2004. Value Management of Construction Projects, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.
[27] Kollveit, B.J., Karlsen, J.T. & Grønhaug K. 2007. ―Perspectives on project management, International Journal of Project Management, 25, pp. 3-9.
[28] Kujala, S., Artto, K., Aaltonen, P., Turkulainen, V. 2010. ―Business models in project-based firms – Towards a typology of solution-specific business models, International Journal of Project Management, 28, pp. 96-106.
[29] La Vigne, A., Andersen, J., Stuntz, L. 2013. ―Teaching Characteristics of Complex Systems in K-12 education, Lessons Learned, In Proceedings of the 31st International Systems Dynamics Society Conference, Cambridge, MA, USA.
[30] Maylor, H., Turner, N., Murray-Webster, R. 2015. ―It worked for manufacturing …! Operations strategy in project-based operations, International Journal of Project Management, 33, pp. 103-115.
[31] Merrow, E., McDonnell, L. & Arguden, L. 1988. Understanding the Outcomes of Megaprojects: A Quantitative Analysis of Very Large Civilian Projects, The Rand Corporation Publication Series.
[32] Mingers, J. 2015. ―Helping business schools engage with real problems: the contribution of critical realism and systems thinking, European Journal of Operational Research, 242, pp.316-331.
[33] Mir, F. A., Pinnington, A.H. 2014. ―Exploring the value of project management: Linking project management performance and project success, International Journal of Project Management, 32, pp. 202-217.
[34] Morris, P. & Hough, G. 1987. The Anatomy of Major Projects: A Study of the Reality of Project Management, Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
[35] Neal, N.A. 1995. ―Project definition: Soft-systems approach, International Journal of Project Management, 13, pp.5-9.
[36] O‘ Connor, J. 1977. The Art of Systems Thinking: Essential Skills for Creativity and Problem Solving, London: Thorsons, an Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers.
[37] Os Van A., Berkel Van F., Gilder De D., Dyck, Van C., Groenewegen, P. 2015. ―Project risk as an identity threat: explaining the development and consequence of risk discourse in an infrastructure project, International Journal of Project management, 33, pp. 877-888.
[38] Pinto, J. 2014. ―Project management governance and the normalization of deviance, International Journal of Project Management, 32, pp. 376-387.
[39] Pourdehnand, J., Hebb, A. 2002. ―Redesigning the academy of vocal arts (AVA), Systems Research and Behavioural Science, 19, pp. 331-338.
[40] Qureshi, T.M., Warraich, A.S., & Hijazi, S.T. 2009. ―Significance of project management performance assessment (PMPA) model, International Journal of Project Management, 27(4), pp. 378-388.
[41] Rousseau, D., Wilby, J. 2014. ―Moving from disciplinarity to transdisciplinarity in the service of thrivable systems, Systems Research and Behavioural Science, 31, pp.666-667.
[42] Shehu, Z., Endut, I. R., Akintoye, A. & Holt G. D. 2014. ―Cost overrun in Malaysian construction projects: A deeper insight, International Journal of Project Management, 32, pp. 1471-1480.
[43] Senge, P.M & Stermann, J. D. 1992. ―Systems thinking and organizational learning. Acting locally and thinking globally in the organization of the future, European Journal of Operations Research, 59, pp. 137-150.
[44] Shi , Q. 2011. ―Rethinking the implementation of project management: A value adding path map approach, International Journal of Project management, 29(3), pp. 295- 302.
[45] Siggelkow, N. 2007. ―Persuasion with case studies, Academy of Management Journal, 50, pp.10-24.
[46] Siriram, R. 2007. ―Complexities in modern organizations, In conference proceedings on industrial engineering and engineering management, Institute of electrical and electronics engineers.
[47] Siriram, R. 2012. ―A soft and hard systems approach to business process management, Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 29, pp. 87-100.
[48] Smuts, J.C. 1927. Holism and Evolution, Macmillain and Co. London, pp. 1-398.
[49] Snowden, D.F. & Boone, M.E. 2007. ―A leader‘s framework for decision making, Harvard Business Review, November, 69-76.
[50] Srivannaboon, S. & Milosevic, D.Z. 2006. ―A two-way influence between business strategy and project management, International Journal of Project Management, 24 (3), pp. 493-505.
[51] Stephen, S.M. & Singer S.J. 2008. ―Improving patient safety by taking systems seriously, The Journal of American Medical Association, 299, pp. 445-447.
[52] Sterman, J. 2001. ―Systems dynamics modeling: Tools for learning in a complex world, California Management Review, 43, pp. 8-25.
[53] Thiry, M. 2002. ―Combining value and project management into an effective program management model, International Journal of Project Management, 20, pp. 221-227.
[54] Thiry, M. & Deguire. 2007. ―Recent developments in project-based organisations, International Journal of Project Management, 25(7), pp. 649-658.
[55] Van Ackere, A., Larsen, E.R. & Morecroft, J.D.W. 1993. ―Systems thinking and business process redesign: An application to the beer game, European Management Journal, 11, 412-423.
[56] Wikstroöm, K., Artto, K., Kujala, J., Söderlund, J. 2010. ―Business models in project business, International Journal of Project management, 28, pp. 832-841.
[57] Winter, M., Smith, C., Morris, P. & Cicmil, S. 2006. ―Directions for future research in project management: the main findings of a UK government-funded research network, International Journal of Project Management, 24, pp. 638- 649.
[58] Winter, M. & Sczepanek, T. 2008. ―Projects and programmes as value creation processes: a new perspective and some social implications, International Journal of Project Management, 20, pp. 401-411.
[59] Yang, L., Huang, C. & Wu, K. 2011. ―The association among project manager‘s leadership style, teamwork and project success, International Journal of Project Management, 29(3), pp. 258-267.
[60] Young, R., Young, M., Jordaan, E. & O‘ Connor, P. 2012. ―Is strategy being implemented through projects? Contrary evidence from a new leader in public management, International Journal of Project Management, 30, pp. 887- 900.
[61] Young, R. & Grant J. 2015. ―Is strategy being implemented through projects? Disturbing evidence in the state of NSW, International Journal of Project Management, 33, pp. 15-28.