Project Management Information System Research Articles

Examining the Benefits of Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification for IS Project Managers and Organizations

The project management professional (PMP) certification has gained a positive reputation among project managers as well as with HR managers and recruiters. However, the organizational benefits are untested. This paper examines the business value of PMP certification. The three questions this study investigates are, What value does certification give project managers? What value does certification give organizations? and How can organizations encourage project managers to pursue certification? Content analysis of transcripts from twenty-five structured interviews identified several reasons businesses should encourage their project managers to pursue PMP certification, but many of the benefits are not easily quantified. INTRODUCTION Project teams have become an essential element for information systems (IS) departments. IS departments rely on project teams to develop new systems and to implement new technologies (Martinez, 1994). As a result, the role of the project manager is increasingly important (Stewart, 1995). More and more companies rely on skilled project managers to meet schedules, budgets, and quality goals. 'Project Manager' has become a recognized job title within the IS field, with a defined career path in many organizations (Fried, 1992; Marken, 1998; Pettersen, 1991). Project managers enjoy a strong and growing profession (Posner, 1987). Since its founding in 1969, the Projecl: Management Institute (www.pmi.org) has grown to become the leading professional organization for project managers. With over 100,000 members worldwide in 2003, the nonprofit PMl is the leading professional association in the area of project management. The PMl establishes project management standards, provides seminars, educational programs and professional certification that more and more organizations desire for their project leaders. Project management is the application of knowledge, tools, and techniques to a broad range of activities in order to meet the requirements of a particular project (Duncan, 1996). Project management helps organizations meet their customers' needs by standardizing routine tasks and reducing the number of tasks that could potentially be forgotiien. In 1984, the PMl began a certification program in project management. PMl's Project Management Professional (PMP) credential is the project management profession's most globally recognized and respected certification. In 1999, the PMl became the first organization in the world to have its certification program attain International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 recognition. To obtain PMP certification, an individual must satisfy education and experience requirements, agree to and adhere to a code of professional conduct, and pass the PMP certification examination (Duncan, et al. 1994). In 2003, there were over 50,000 PMPs who provided project management services in 120 countries. This research investigates the benefits, both to the individual and to the organization, of PMP certification. Many corporations encourage their project managers to pursue PMP certification. They offer rewards for employees who successfully complete the PMP exam and incentives for those who are considering it. Project manajjers see certification as a way to get ahead, to stand out, to earn higher salaries, or to improve their job security (Pierson, et al. 2001). Corporations see certification as a means of achieving higher rates of project success. Many coiporations strongly encourage project managers to become PMP certified; some actually require project managers to hai/e the PMP credential for employment or for advancement within the corporation. However, passing the PMP exam is not easy (Craig, 2002). It is a difficult test, requiring many hours of studying. Thus, project managers may

소규모 프로젝트의 효율적인 공사관리방안

A construction project's period is limited by the order manufacture. And a construction project is requested a specific place, and has the characteristic to be irregular. Today, construction is to be representative high-cost and low-efficiency. This kind of problems appears in small construction projects more often than large construction projects. According to this facts, we recognized necessity of making practical application in methods of construction management. Also, we suggest application and establishment of integrated responsibility management department, PMIS(Project Management Information System) and Data Base. From now on, methods of construction management could be good opportunities for small construction projects and local construction companies. Therefore, small and local construction companies should try to improve their abilities. Likewise, the countries systematize to constitute the relation laws.

Intention and Effect of IS Solutions: Does Risk Management Stifle Creativity?

This paper considers the impact of information systems (IS) solutions on creativity and innovation within organizations and the associated role of risk assessment. It does this through an analysis of the results of two diverse studies. The studies are, respectively, an investigation of the relationship between the intention behind the initiation of an IS project and the post-implementation effect of the system on the organization; and an analysis of tensions that appear to exist between creativity and the norm of software systems. Both studies are empirically based, but take data from very distinct and diverse areas, i.e. large financial and manufacturing organizations, and composers of electroacoustic music, respectively. The final part of the paper argues that better IS project management and risk management in particular has the potential for reducing divergence between intended and actual IS project outcomes evident in the first study, but this may also have adverse effects. Organizations in all walks of life rely on the creativity and innovation of their employees, but risk management is concerned with applying constraints on the nature and implementation of IS solutions. Specifically, results from the second study suggest that conservative IS solutions that may result from rigorous risk management may impede creative activities. Thus, the paper identifies a need for further research into creativity and its implications for IS solutions and their management.

A holistic approach towards the validation and legitimisation of information systems

The research aims to show that validation and legitimisation of an information systems (IS) project need to be treated simultaneously to improve software project management. A starting assumption is that traditional aspects of model validity and legitimisation in operational research can be applicable to the field of IS. However, non‐traditional types of IS are more suitable to be viewed from an interpretive viewpoint. Validation is explored both from hard systems and also from soft systems point of view. Some extensions on the notion of validation for soft systems are provided for that purpose. Issues regarding both validation and legitimisation in IS are illustrated on a case study regarding the management of an academic research management IS project. Issues related both validation and legitimisation in IS are illustrated on a case study regarding the management of an academic research IS project. The latter had eventually to be abandoned. The case study shows how the non‐adherence to the principles of validation and legitimisation lead to that situation.

Information Systems Project Management During Organizational Change

Information systems (IS) fail for numerous reasons. Reasons may include organizational factors outside a project's control. This article describes research in progress, exploring effects of organizational change on the development, implementation, and operation of IS. A human resources system (HRS) project is discussed in detail, examining the link between organizational change and project outcome. It appears as though the collective and cumulative effects of minor organizational changes on IS project outcomes could be as significant as the influence of radical organizational restructuring. It suggests that organizational changes, even minor, seemingly insignificant changes, need to be identified and their potential influence on IS projects assessed as part of any strategy aiming to increase IS success. Implications of these findings for IS project management are discussed.

Strategic implementation of IT/IS projects in construction: a case study

The need for improved implementation of Information Technology (IT) and Information Systems (IS) has been emphasised in both empirical and prescriptive research studies. This problem is magnified in the construction industry, which has been slow to embrace and utilise new technologies with negative consequences on productivity and innovation. This paper presents a strategic implementation framework for IT/IS projects in construction. The framework builds upon recent published works and encompasses well-documented predictors for effective IT/IS implementation. A case study with a large multi-national construction organisation is used to demonstrate the strategic implementation of a Project Management Information System (PMIS) used for the construction of a mobile phone telecommunications network in the South East of Queensland, Australia.

Strategic Planning for Municipal Information Systems

In 1995, the City of St. Louis undertook a major strategic planning effort for its municipal information systems. The project was initiated in the midst of acrimonious debate regarding mainframe bottlenecks, the proliferation of independent computing systems, organizational problems in the delivery of management information systems (MIS) services, and rapidly changing technology. A strategic planning process tailored to this complex environment was developed and executed, engaging individuals at all levels to articulate needs for information, identify problems with existing systems, suggest organizational changes, and define potential MIS projects. As in most governments, organizational issues and managerial processes proved more daunting than technical issues. The implementation of technical recommendations proved much easier than changing the organizational culture to take full advantage of new technologies. To realize fully the benefits of new information technology, more effective ways must be found to facilitate the spanning of formal organizational boundaries.

Software Project Risks and Development Focus

Risks to software projects pose a major dilemma to information systems (IS) project managers. The identification of techniques that may mitigate certain risks can help determine approaches that may be taken during the development process. Based on a survey of Project Management Institute (PMI®) members, the authors identify the major risks to software success and the commonly applied approaches to mitigate the risks. Risks involving the size and complexity of the project were deemed most threatening and were approached with methods to gain more support and provide more training. Certain risks were found to have no common response, and others were found to have inappropriate responses.

The Design and Evolution of a Simulation/Game for Teaching Information Systems Development

This article reflects on the design and evolution of an innovative simulation/game for teaching information systems development from a management perspective. The motivation for the work is presented, and a framework for design from validation theory is discussed. The design of a board game called THE MIS GAME is described in terms of its content and process, and its strengths and weaknesses are analyzed in the light of experience. Next the article describes the game’s redesign as a computer-based simulation/game, INFORMATION SYSTEMS PROJECT MANAGER. The role of strategy in both versions is discussed. The respective contribution of each version, both as teaching resources and research instruments, is assessed. It is concluded that computerization and strategic focus add significant value and that validation theory can inform the design of simulation/games.

Risk Factors in Enterprise-Wide/ERP Projects

The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors in implementing traditional management information systems projects, describe the risk factors associated with enterprise-wide/ERP (enterprise resource planning) projects and identify the risk factors in ERP projects which are unique to these projects. Some of the unique challenges in managing enterprise-wide projects which were highlighted through the findings included the challenge of re-engineering business processes to ‘fit’ the process which the ERP software supports, investment in recruiting and reskilling technology professionals, the challenge of using external consultants and integrating their application-specific knowledge and technical expertise with existing teams, the risk of technological bottlenecks through client-server implementation and the challenge of recruiting and retaining business analysts who combine technology and business skills.

Risk factors in enterprise-wide/ERP projects

The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors in implementing traditional management information systems projects, describe the risk factors associated with enterprise-wide/ERP (enterp...

A comparative analysis of critical issues facing Canadian information systems personnel: a national and global perspective

A survey was conducted of 157 Canadian Information Systems (IS) personnel in organizations throughout Canada using a modified Delphi technique and follow-up interviews to identify the perceived critical issues in IS during the following 5 years. The important issues included: (1) building a responsive IT infrastructure; (2) improving IS project management practices and (3) planning and managing communication networks. Significant differences in the rating of the importance of these issues were reported between IS executives and non-management IS personnel. Qualitative data collected in 35 follow-up interviews provided some interesting insights into the rationale behind the ratings. The top 10 issues were compared to rankings previously reported in Canada and to data collected internationally in a comparable time period. The trend in Canada has been towards technological issues. From a global perspective, Canada currently appears to lead in management issues and lag in technological issues.

Coping with ‘requirements-uncertainty’: the theories-of-action of experienced IS/software project managers

The notion of ‘requirements-uncertainty’ has received a lot of attention in the Information Systems (IS) and Software Engineering literature. As the level of uncertainty of user-requirements increases, this literature advises project managers to move away from the traditional waterfall life-cycle model and towards more ‘experimental’ approaches, such as incremental-delivery and prototyping. But there is evidence from empirical research to show that this advice is not always followed. So, it seems that managing requirements-uncertainty may be a more complicated matter. In this paper, I identify the strategies that experienced IS project managers espouse for coping with requirements-uncertainty. I show that project managers espouse different strategies for coping with different aspects of requirements-uncertainty. I also show that project managers view prototyping and incremental development as ‘broad-spectrum’ strategies that are salient for coping with a wide range of project risk-drivers, including aspects of requirements-uncertainty. Finally, I conjecture that the notion of ‘requirements-uncertainty’ may have been over-abstracted in the literature.

‘Requirements-Uncertainty’: Is it best formulated as a latent, aggregate or profile construct?

This paper identifies the strategies that experienced information systems (IS) project managers say they use to cope with requirements-uncertainty (RU) when managing development projects for external clients. It is shown that project managers (PMs) claim to use different strategies for coping with the different dimensions of requirements-uncertainty, as this notion has been formulated in IS literature. Based on this finding, it is proposed that perhaps requirements-uncertainty should be formulated as a profile construct, and not as a latent or aggregate construct, if it is to have pragmatic validity as a guide to action for project managers.

Power-Based Arbitrary Decisional Actions in the Resolution of MIS Project Issues: A Project Manager's Action Research Perspective

As a management information systems (MIS) project manager and an action researcher, the author examined, over time, the influence on information system development (ISD) of the informal sociopolitical organizational actions. The paper reports two cases of action research findings concerning the effect on ISD project implementation processes of power-based arbitrary decisional actions in bureaucratic environments. The research focused on the relationship of such unilateral actions to the interconnected subprocesses of deliberate and conscious attempts by the ISD project members to define and resolve system implementation issues. A suggested conceptual framework for the issue-resolution processes (IRP's) and obstacle-coping processes (OCP's) is based on the author's IRP/OCP-related behavioral constructs and theoretical models dealing with soft-systems issues, especially appreciative system theory and soft-systems methodology, and innovative flexible, "complementarist" (Sinn, 1998) or pluralist problem-solving approaches.

Risks to different aspects of system success

System success is related to many risks associated with information system (IS) development. A common view considers all risks as contributors to a single aspect of success. This view permits controlled research of development complexity. However, some consider system success to be multidimentional with each dimension possibly impacted differently by the various risks. In a survey of 86 IS project managers, the relationship between risk and success is explored. Four IS success measures were found to relate to different risk factors. Project managers can view achievement of a particular success as requiring control of certain risks.

Project manager's influence tactics and authority

Ever since firms started using computers for processing their business data, researchers and practitioners have been preoccupied by the successful implementation of information systems (IS). Over the years, researchers have studied several aspects of IS implementation, be it measuring success or developing and testing models that explain IS project success or failure. However, up to now, few IS implementation studies have focused on the role played by the project leader. This paper presents the results of a study of 139 IS project managers. The study examined both the tactics adopted by these project managers to influence people, and their level of decision authority. It then attempted to determine if these two characteristics varied along with the project's organizational structure. The findings of the study point to the mediating role played by project managers' level of decision authority in linking organization structures to influence tactics. While influence tactics used do not vary across project structures, they do so across various levels of decision authority. In turn, the level of authority of project leaders varies across structures and steadily increases on the functional-project continuum. Three influence profiles emerged from the study, namely, the humanist, the political and the authoritarian project manager, providing further interpretation to influence tactics and behavior in an IS development context.

The need for life‐cycle integration of project processes

The focus of this paper is on life‐cycle objective‐based project management systems in general, and SPMIS in particular. SPMIS (short for Smart Project Management Information System), has been designed: (a) to facilitate the employment of life‐cycle objective‐based project management approaches; and (b) to support concurrent engineering and construction, thus promoting greater integration of the processes under which projects are proposed and implemented. In order to validate the functions designed for SPMIS the authors undertook a detailed case study of a large capital project. The actual project management functions employed by the project team on the case project were researched and charted using the best current PM practices as the guide. While this field research shed light on the actual needs and requirements, the design of the SPMIS functions was approached from first principles in order to incorporate the basic shift from the traditional objectives of cost, time, and quality to life‐cycle objective functions, such as return on investment, facility operability, and life‐cycle integration. This paper describes the fundamental philosophy and framework for the development of life‐cycle objective function‐based project management systems in general, and contrasts these with the existing PM methods.

Undersizing software systems: third versus fourth generation software development

A critical component of information systems (IS) project management is completing projects on time; however, most software development efforts have completion time overruns. This study examines the prior research in IS project management for assessing the completion time for new software development projects and discusses a project management phenomenon where the expected time for project completion is undersized. At one firm two groups of software development projects are examined: (1) Cobol projects (third generation) and (2) Natural (fourth generation). It was found that both the Cobol and Natural projects experienced similar overruns. Undersizing is posited as the explanation.

Undersizing software systems: third versus fourth generation software development

A critical component of information systems (IS) project management is completing projects on time; however, most software development efforts have completion time overruns. This study examines the prior research in IS project management for assessing the completion time for new software development projects and discusses a project management phenomenon where the expected time for project completion is undersized. At one firm two groups of software development projects are examined: (1) Cobol projects (third generation) and (2) Natural (fourth generation). It was found that both the Cobol and Natural projects experienced similar overruns. Undersizing is posited as the explanation.