Concern for project failures and successes have posed a controversial and much debated topic amongst scholars and practitioners alike. IT projects are no exceptions and they too suffer from a high rate of failure. This research aims to explore the reasons why certain IT projects succeed). Besides its academic importance, the research intends to assess the implications for successful implementation of current and future IT projects. The review of the extant literature reveals the enormity of the challenges involved in minimising or avoiding project failures. Present work is contextualizing these issues in a large national organisation with branches throughout the KSA. The Saudi Arabia constitutes the case study for this research. Qualitative methodology was adopted to generate and collect adequate and relevant data. Main instruments were; Semi-structured interviews involving senior managers in five geographical areas who were involved in the management of the IT projects and selected project documents. Thematic analysis was used and led to emergence of seven main ‘themes’, 19 major ‘issues’, and the construction of the first time generic model for success of IT projects. The core issues identified in the model are: Quality, Time and Cost at three levels; individual, organisation and environment with specific order of importance. The implications of the findings for the theory and practice have been identified. It is also recommended that there is a need for further research into individual and contextual factors that influence both managers as well as the circumstances under which IT projects are implemented.

Although there has been rich research conducted into the interrelated issues and factors among change management (ChM), knowledge management (KM) and project management (PM), most existing studies attempt to understand the role of KM in ChM and PM in general. Given the fundamental role played by KM in supporting IT project-oriented change management, the topics of knowledge networks and mobilisation across knowledge boundaries are relatively unexplored. Recent developments in KM have heightened the need for more understanding on four main issues: 1) insufficient knowledge traceability based on the relationships between knowledge elements and key factors; 2) most decision issues in PM are related to uncertainty, complexity and implicit ambiguity, particularly with regard to systematics and interrelatedness within project decisions; 3) lack of procedural knowledge to provide strategic direction for managing multiple IT projects; 4) lack of ‘lessons learnt’ documentation in knowledge bases. To address these issues, this research attempts to analyse KM, ChM and IT project management from a more integrated perspective, and investigates the development of a change management knowledge network model (CMKNM) in IT projects to facilitate knowledge mobilisation across organizational boundaries. The study employs a practice-based perspective by adopting both deductive and inductive approaches using an exploratory case study strategy. Empirical data were collected from semistructured interviews and company documents. A combination of thematic analysis and comparative analysis has been employed to analyse the data collected across seven public organisations, private organisations, and international companies. Results are obtained from the empirical study on the key factors influencing knowledge mobilisation in IT projectoriented change management, knowledge networks and connections. The results identified organisational factors and their influence on knowledge channels and knowledge networks. The CMKNM allows key knowledge mobilisation factors to be aligned with each other. Connections between knowledge networks allow knowledge to be mobilised by tracing knowledge channels to support ChM decisions. The study contributes to organisational and KM theories regarding organizational strategy, organisational culture, organizational capacity, knowledge network externalities, knowledge network intermediaries, and knowledge network infrastructure.

This thesis "Influence of changes in the environment of a company on IT projects during the economic crisis" deals with the impact of outside influences and changes in the environment on the course and management of IT projects in a selected organization. The work is conceived as a case study in which three projects are analyzed. In the first two projects, not only the course of the projects is examined, but also the management of individual phases. The shortcomings and errors are then reflected in the proposed procedures of the third project. All stages are compared not only with theory, but also with best practice and the general modern trends in IT. In all three projects there are described in detail the activities in the project life-cycle phases and there are highlighted both good and bad decisions of the project managers. The thesis deals also with the impact of changes on the projects: with the reasons of the changes and the consequences for the projects. To achieve all the objectives, various analytical methods are used, such as observation -- from the point of view of a participant in the projects was evaluated their progress, practical interaction -- engaging in projects and mutual cooperation with the other players, analysis of documents -- from internal documentation to technical papers describing modern trends and, finally, socio-metric survey -- to reveal the impact of the changes on the end users of IS / IT. The contribution of the thesis should include, in the first place, a critical evaluation of the projects and suggestions of better solutions, application of theoretical knowledge in project management, comparison with best practice and latest trends, their discussion, and own research and interpretation of the impact of changes on end users.

Hoy en día las instituciones financieras consideran al área de TI como una unidad estratégica, ya no sólo como un área de soporte, sino como la aliada para cumplir los objetivos estratégicos y otorgar beneficios cualitativos y cuantitativos al negocio. Esta contribución se origina, a partir del desarrollo de proyectos que se forman en base a las iniciativas de las diferentes áreas del negocio, los cuales deben formar parte de un Portafolio de Proyectos. A pesar de la importancia que tiene el Portafolio de Proyectos de TI para la institución, ésta no cuenta con un proceso de Gestión de Portafolio de Proyectos que se encuentre correctamente formalizado e impulsado por la Alta Dirección; trayendo como consecuencia el uso de criterios subjetivos para filtrar, priorizar, seleccionar, ejecutar y optimizar los proyectos, dificultando que se incluyan los que generan mayores beneficios y se logren los objetivos organizacionales de forma óptima. Por esta razón, la institución tiene la necesidad de adoptar un Modelo de Gestión de Portafolio de Proyectos de TI basado en una serie de buenas prácticas reconocidas en la industria. El presente trabajo de investigación lleva por título “Propuesta de Modelo de Gestión de portafolio de Proyectos de TI en una Institución Financiera” está desarrollado en 4 capítulos principales. El capítulo 1 muestra el marco teórico, que contiene la situación del sector financiero, así como las bases conceptuales de la Gestión de Portafolio de Proyectos. El capítulo 2 describe el análisis de la situación actual, problemática y la justificación cualitativa y cuantitativa. El capítulo 3 describe la propuesta del modelo, el cual consta de 3 etapas para el ciclo de vida del Portafolio: Formulación del Portafolio, Gestión de la Demanda y, Monitoreo y Control; y de 6 componentes transversales a las etapas del ciclo de vida: Gestión Estratégica, Gobierno del Portafolio, Gestión del Cambio Organizacional, Gestión del Valor, Gestión de la Capacidad y Competencias, y Gestión de Riesgos. Esto conlleva a obtener los factores claves de éxito, así como los beneficios del modelo propuesto. Por último, el capítulo 4 muestra las conclusiones y recomendaciones dadas para dicha propuesta. / Today, financial institutions consider the IT area as a strategic unit, not only as a support area, but also as the ally to fulfill the strategic objectives and grant qualitative and quantitative benefits to the business. This contribution originates, from the development of projects that are formed based on the initiatives of the different business areas, which must be part of a Project Portfolio. Despite the importance of the IT Project Portfolio for the institution, it does not have a Project Portfolio Management process that is correctly formalized and promoted by Senior Management; resulting in the use of subjective criteria to filter, prioritize, select, execute and optimize projects, making it difficult to include those that generate the greatest benefits and achieve organizational objectives in an optimal way. For this reason, the institution has the need to adopt an IT Project Portfolio Management Model based on a series of good practices recognized in the industry. This research work is entitled "Proposal of a Management Model of IT Project Portfolio in a Financial Institution" is developed in 4 main chapters. Chapter 1 shows the theoretical framework, which contains the situation of the financial sector, as well as the conceptual basis of Project Portfolio Management. Chapter 2 describes the analysis of the current, problematic situation and the qualitative and quantitative justification. Chapter 3 describes the proposal of the model, which consists of 3 stages for the Portfolio life cycle: Portfolio Formulation, Demand Management and, Monitoring and Control; and of 6 transversal components to the life cycle stages: Strategic Management, Portfolio Management, Organizational Change Management, Value Management, Capacity and Skills Management, and Risk Management. This leads to obtaining the key success factors, as well as the benefits of the proposed model. Finally, chapter 4 shows the conclusions and recommendations given for that proposal. / Trabajo de investigación

There has been a significant shift towards remote work in recent years, and this trend has only accelerated with the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, IT project management in a remote work environment has become an increasingly relevant topic. This study explored the benefits and challenges of managing IT projects remotely and provided strategies and best practices for overcoming them. While there has been some research on remote work and its impact on the different areas of work, there needs to be more literature on the specific implications of remote work on IT projects. This research addressed how IT project managers have responded to the massive increase in remote work by answering the research questions "How has the increase in remote work impacted IT projects? and How have project managers responded to the increase in remote work?". The research questions were answered by conducting an exploratory case study where data was collected from a semi-structured interview with IT project managers. By addressing the research question through qualitative research using thematic analysis in analyzing the data, the researcher provides new insights and contributes to existing studies. Five themes emerged from the data analysis: communication and collaboration, technological proficiency and infrastructure, team performance and cultural awareness, adaptation and flexibility, and leadership and management. The findings of this study will be helpful for organizations transitioning to a remote work environment and IT project managers looking to improve their skills in managing projects remotely.

Successful Supply Chain Management (SCM) depends on how well an organization performs internal and external communications with trading partners, executes the logistics component, and understands/monitors related costs of conducting its business. The use of information technology (IT) is considered a prerequisite for the effective control of today's complex supply chains. Increased communication technology has redefined how businesses work together, raised customer expectations, and placed new demands on supply chain performance. IT components with proven and rapid return-on-investment are favored to support critical supply chain processes such as leaner manufacturing processes, consumer-driven supply chains, and customer responsiveness. The use of IT in the digital era has become critical and it is treated as a major competitive tool for success. Complex and comprehensive IT infrastructures support the firm's communications network, databases, and operating systems. Information technology facilitates the creation of value. However, the creation of value is defined by the different groups of stakeholders. Therefore, stakeholders must be integrated into this process of change management that uses IT as the enabler. Supply chains are due to change when higher levels of performance and/or adaptation are required as mandated by changes in the business structure and/or benchmarking and/or regulations. One of the major problems for any supply chain executive is to understand and manage these changes. These changes usually require the implementation of an IT project. Therefore, the successful design, execution, and completion of these IT projects are important for the supply chain. SCM is now a strategic function addressed at the highest levels of the organization in concert with multiple stakeholders on both the supplier and customer side of the table. The aim of this dissertation is to develop a value mapping framework involving stakeholders to improve supply chain performance when implementing IT projects. The framework has components that help define the supply chain, measure the size of the issues, identify necessary changes in the metrics to improve performance, measure the organizational consequences of these changes, and develop and follow a plan to implement IT projects to achieve the new goals of performance. Through this new framework, these IT projects will be able to bring the supply chain from a current state "As is" to a future state "To be"; capturing the existing and desired states of the proposed changes which are aligned with the objectives and goals of the organization. Therefore, the IT project can be designed, executed, and completed. One unique component of this framework is the inclusion of the stakeholders at different stages. This framework identifies the group of stakeholders to be taken into consideration in order to define the future "To be" state. In addition, the framework identifies the value creation of the "To be" system as seen by the stakeholders.

Concern for project failures and successes have posed a controversial and much debated topic amongst scholars and practitioners alike. IT projects are no exceptions and they too suffer from a high rate of failure. This research aims to explore the reasons why certain IT projects succeed). Besides its academic importance, the research intends to assess the implications for successful implementation of current and future IT projects. The review of the extant literature reveals the enormity of the challenges involved in minimising or avoiding project failures. Present work is contextualizing these issues in a large national organisation with branches throughout the KSA. The Saudi Arabia constitutes the case study for this research. Qualitative methodology was adopted to generate and collect adequate and relevant data. Main instruments were; Semi-structured interviews involving senior managers in five geographical areas who were involved in the management of the IT projects and selected project documents. Thematic analysis was used and led to emergence of seven main ‘themes’, 19 major ‘issues’, and the construction of the first time generic model for success of IT projects. The core issues identified in the model are: Quality, Time and Cost at three levels; individual, organisation and environment with specific order of importance. The implications of the findings for the theory and practice have been identified. It is also recommended that there is a need for further research into individual and contextual factors that influence both managers as well as the circumstances under which IT projects are implemented. / Ministry of Education, KSA

The dissemination of project management practices is consolidating project as a great mean of achieving an organization's strategic plan (PMI, 2008, p. 10). But there are no resources and funds available to all, and competition among alternative projects is increasing. Funding institutions, government agencies, and credit rating organizations started considering project risk in project evaluation, instead of only using financial metrics such as ROI (Return on Investment) or NPV (Net Present Value). In order to obtain resources needed to implement projects, and thus contribute to an organization's objectives, it is necessary to identify the risks that have greater influence on project approval. This study applied the Importance-Performance Analysis (Martilla & James, 1977) to identify the main risk identification deficiencies for Information Technology (IT) project managers who apply for resources or funding approval. The identification was made possible by measuring IT project managers' perceptions of (1) the level of importance, or positive influence, which different risk categories have in project approval; (2) the level of performance they believe to have in the identification of these risks, meaning prior detection and registering; and (3) the gap between the measured levels of importance and performance. A survey listing 28 risk categories belonging to a validated risk taxonomy and 5-point Likert scales with different levels of importance and performance were presented to IT project managers from the central Illinois area. A total of 38 professionals answered the survey instrument, and verification of exclusion criteria resulted in an adjusted sample of 32 subjects. Descriptive statistics were used to compare mean values for each category, determining the gap between importance and performance levels for every category. The risk categories that presented the top three scores for importance were Scope uncertainty, Legal/regulatory, and Financial. The risk categories that represented the three greatest deficiencies or gaps (importance versus performance) for IT project approval were Contractual, Complexity, and Scope uncertainty.

Submitted by Henrique Pontes (henrique.pontes@uol.com.br) on 2017-03-21T00:46:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Henrique Pontes.pdf: 3935453 bytes, checksum: 7700a20560f29b2b18636236872fa621 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Pamela Beltran Tonsa (pamela.tonsa@fgv.br) on 2017-03-21T15:06:29Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Henrique Pontes.pdf: 3935453 bytes, checksum: 7700a20560f29b2b18636236872fa621 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-21T15:50:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Henrique Pontes.pdf: 3935453 bytes, checksum: 7700a20560f29b2b18636236872fa621 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-24 / With the advancement of technological solutions and a business environment increasingly agile and competitive, the Information Technology area has, growingly, assumed an essential part in organizations. As a result, the number of IT demands has increased significantly, making the usage of project management practices a fundamental component in meeting these demands. In Information Technology projects the generation and flow of information, as well the interaction between the areas associated with the projects, is significantly high, requiring adequate communication procedures, which are the most sensitive and extremely associated to the success or failure of the project. This research explored, through a multiple case study, the influence of information symmetry, that is, the adequate distribution of project information among its stakeholders through cooperation actions in the projects’ success. After an extensive review of the literature on IT projects, project management, information symmetry and cooperation, three propositions were developed in order to answer the research question. The first proposes that the symmetry of information in IT projects facilitates cooperation actions; the second, that cooperation actions influence the success of IT projects, and the third, that efficient communication and symmetry of information, referring to IT projects, through cooperation actions, are essential factors for the success of the project. The research data collection stage was carried out in two large multinational companies, in the retail sector, in the food and garments segments and, in each of them, qualitatively analyzed a strategic project for the company. In the two analyzed projects, it was verified that did not obtain satisfactory results, although their products were delivered. The main factors pointed out were problems in the communication process, mainly the information symmetry. It was still verified that the inefficiency in the communication directly harms the cooperation actions and proved that the inadequate distribution of information is a preponderant factor for the generation of conflicts and, consequently, the failure of the project. However, it was pointed out by all interviewees, in both projects, that information symmetry influences cooperation actions between teams and, it is essential to achieve the success of IT projects. / Com o avanço das soluções tecnológicas e um contexto de negócios cada vez mais ágil e competitivo, a área de Tecnologia da Informação vem assumindo um papel essencial nas organizações. Com isso, a quantidade de demandas junto à área de TI aumentou significativamente, tornando a utilização de práticas de gerenciamento de projetos um componente fundamental no atendimento dessas demandas. Em projetos de Tecnologia da Informação a geração e o fluxo de informação, bem como a interação entre as áreas associadas aos projetos, é significativamente elevada, exigindo procedimentos adequados de comunicação, mais sensíveis e extremamente associados ao sucesso ou fracasso do projeto. Este trabalho pesquisou, a partir de um estudo de caso múltiplo, a influência da simetria da informação, ou seja, a adequada distribuição das informações do projeto entre seus envolvidos por meio das ações de cooperação no sucesso dos projetos. Após extensa revisão bibliográfica sobre projetos de TI, gerenciamento de projetos, simetria de informação e cooperação, três proposições foram elaboradas a fim de responder à questão de pesquisa. A primeira propõe que a simetria das informações em projetos de TI facilita as ações de cooperação; a segunda, que as ações de cooperação influenciam no sucesso de projetos de TI, e a terceira, que a comunicação eficiente e a simetria de informações referentes aos projetos de TI, por meio das ações de cooperação, são fatores essenciais para o sucesso do projeto. A etapa de coleta de dados da pesquisa foi realizada em duas empresas multinacionais de grande porte, no ramo do varejo, nos segmentos de alimentação e vestuário e, em cada uma delas, analisados qualitativamente um projeto estratégico para a empresa. Nos dois projetos analisados, foi constatado que não obtiveram resultados satisfatórios, apesar de seus produtos terem sido entregues. Os principais causadores da insatisfação foram problemas no processo de comunicação, principalmente a simetria da informação. Foi verificado ainda que a ineficiência na comunicação prejudica diretamente as ações de cooperação e comprovado que a inadequada distribuição de informações é fator preponderante para a geração de conflitos e, consequentemente, o fracasso do projeto. Por outro lado, todos os entrevistados apontaram, nos dois projetos, que a simetria de informação influencia as ações de cooperação entre as equipes e, é essencial para atingir o sucesso dos projetos de TI.

<p>The Thesis purpose is in the context of system development validate the Scrum Methodology. Projects concerning information technology are difficult to manage and tend to fail in quality, time or costs. Scrum presents a new view of the system development. Better cooperation between customers and developers, continuous follow-up on daily basis and extensive communication in the development team are all characteristics of Scrum. Scrum is described as a new paradigm by its founders but has been criticized by experts of system development too. This Thesis discuss if Scrum is a better way to develop software than older models like the Rational Unified Process and the Spiral Model with focus in five factors. The result of the study is that Scrum has given system development new ways to manage requirements and methods to push the project forward. Lack of management commitment and user involvement can be better with Scrum if the model is used in the right way. Answers concerning coding and testing differ between the respondents in the study which makes it different to make conclusions regarding this factor.</p> / <p>Syftet med uppsatsen är att i en systemutvecklingskontext beskriva de problem som gör att IT-projekt misslyckas och utvärdera om användningen av den agila utvecklingsmodellen Scrum reducerar problemen. IT-projekt tenderar att misslyckas och de bakomliggande orsakerna är flera. Uppsatsen grupperar misslyckande av IT-projekt i fem faktorer. Ledningsstöd, användarmedverkan, projektstyrning, kravhantering samt kodning och test. Scrum är en agil systemutvecklingsmodell som av sina skapare beskrivits som ett paradigmskifte inom systemutvecklingen. Korta tidsintervaller, självgående systemutvecklare, daglig uppföljning är några av Scrums kännetecken. För att besvara syftet har en kvalitativ datainsamlingsmetod använts. En intervjuserie med tio intervjuer och en observation ligger till grund för undersökningens resultat. All insamlad data är insamlad på fallföretaget Banverket Verksamhetsstöd IT. Undersökningen har visat att Scrum ger en del nya angreppssätt främst avseende projektstyrning och kravhantering. Scrum innehåller möjligheter för ökad användarmedverkan och ledningsstöd men det krävs konkreta åtgärder från projektorganisationen om det ska lyckas fullt ut. Uppfattningar kring kodning och test skiljer sig åt beroende på vilken respondent som frågas. Det tyder på att det saknas tydliga rutiner i det här avseendet. Slutsatsen blir därmed att Scrum reducerar några av de problem som finns i IT-projekt och därmed med fördel kan användas som en best practice.</p>