A visão do produto sempre foi identificada como fator fundamental para o sucesso de projetos de desenvolvimento. O surgimento da abordagem denominada gerenciamento ágil de projetos, veio recuperar a importância do tema. Os autores da área propõem práticas e modelos para a criação e representação da visão do produto, e sugerem que defini-la seria uma forma de simplificar a etapa de iniciação. Ao analisá-los, percebe-se, porém, que são melhor adaptados ao desenvolvimento de software, não diferem significativamente da prática de GP tradicional e que os autores não consideraram o uso dos modelos de representação de produtos, presentes na literatura de gestão de desenvolvimento de produto, para concebê-los. O presente trabalho apresenta uma compilação dos modelos de representação existentes e, como objetivo principal, propõe um método para apoiar a criação e registro da visão do produto no gerenciamento ágil de projetos. Foram analisadas as áreas de gestão de projetos, planejamento estratégico, gerenciamento ágil de projetos, gestão de desenvolvimento de produtos e metodologia de projeto, de forma a considerar a contribuição da literatura de desenvolvimento de produtos. O pesquisador propôs um método, (procedimento) inicial, por meio da síntese da literatura, avaliou-o e aprimorou-o por meio de tentativas sucessivas de uso em exemplos teóricos. Uma vez estabelecido, procedeu-se a uma primeira verificação em caso de aplicação em laboratório, configurando-se como pesquisa de campo do tipo participante observador. Por fim, apresenta-se o resultado da aplicação do método, relatando sua viabilidade quando comparada a forma tradicional de declaração da visão. Essa demonstração indica que o método proposto conseguiu unir potencialidades dos modelos de representação pesquisados e que ainda abrange aspectos positivos como simplificação e desburocratização do processo. Apontam-se também necessidades de melhoria e temas para pesquisas futuras. / The product vision has always been considered as critical factor to product development projects. The emergence of the approach known as agile project management came to recover the importance of this subject. The authors from this field propose practices and models for creating an represent the product vision and suggest that this description would be a way to simplify the initiation phase. The analysis of the agile vision methods demonstrates that they are better suited to software development, do not differ significantly from the traditional practice of PM and the authors did not consider the use of models for representation of products, presented at the product develop management literature. The text presents a compilation of existing models of representation and, as main objective, it proposes a method to support the creation and registration of the product vision in the agile project management. We analyzed project management, strategic planning, agile project management, product development and design methodology fields in order to consider the contribution of literature from the product development. The proposed method (procedure) was developed by the literature synthesis and was improved by successive attempts, using theoretical examples and action research practices. The method was evaluated from a case study perspective, a first check, using an application in a laboratory case and the participant as observer research method. Finally, the document brings results from the method application, reporting its when compared to traditional way of the vision statement. The results indicates that the proposed method has potential of uniting models representation search and still covers the positive aspects as simplifying the process and diminished bureaucracy. It also highlights needs for improvement and issues for future research.

The present work is focused on project management and the relationship of this discipline to agile approaches. The aim was to design a generic agile project management methodolo-gy, which is based on Agile values and attitudes. Although the proposed methodology is mainly based on agile software development methodologies, it is also applicable to any type of project. The secondary objective was to propose possible ways of using this generic agile project management methodology in teaching 4IT414 - ICT Project Management, including the creation of documents to support this application. The work is divided into theoretical and practical. First the author defined the basic terms and knowledge of project management and subsequent-them, then also agile approaches and methodologies. In the practical part was introduced generic methodology for agile pro-ject management and proposed a possible way of involving the teaching methodology, including the design documents to serve. The objectives were met. Work can serve students agile approaches and project management, their teachers and the general public. The proposed methodology may be used for studies and real environments in various companies and institutions.

This thesis deals with the topic of process management as a part of IT Governance. Cobit is the standard for the IT Governance. For the purpose of the thesis we use Cobit 5, the latest Cobit version published in 2012. Next part of the thesis is focused on describing the principles of process management and analyzing differences between line and process management. To be able to choose the appropriate modeling notation, the work uses the most common notation of process modeling -- BPMN, EPC and UML. The second part of the thesis analyses the current status of process management in an international bank using methods of questionnaire, document analysis and observation. Following the analysis, new concept of process management is created and applied to two specific processes.

The thesis is focused on ECM and its representation in the reference model of IT management MBI. The main objective is to extend the aforementioned model with objects associated with the ECM - factors describing the structure of solutions, tasks defining the procedure for its implementation and the links between them and existing objects. The thesis analyzes in detail the benefits, but also the risks and problems associated with solution implementation. The methodology provides a set of best practices for the implementation of ECM.

This master's thesis deals with the area of risk management in project management. The aim is to create a complex risk management methodology and a functional prototype of the system that complements and supports it. The methodology is based on the fundamental principles of these areas and the analysis of currently used project and risk management approaches in practice. Selected were PRINCE2, Agile Approach and ITIL. The advantages of the methodology are its complexity, no bound to any standard but based on methodology's positive  features. Based on the methodology, a web application for management and visualization of projects and risks has been developed and supports work with it.

Startups indeed play a pivotal role in society as agents of innovation and generators of employment. Despite this, a large proportion of startups fail. As a substantial amount of these temporary project-like companies called startups engage in software development and as application of project management has been correlated with project success, this research exploits a gap in the literature concerned with best practices as it pertains to project management methodologies for software development in startups. Given that a significant number of academic studies have already been conducted in the area of software development practices in startups spanning project management methodologies and software development methodologies, this research applies a strategy of systematic review as along with the application of thematic synthesis is appropriate for ascertaining the current state of knowledge and the search for some consensus. Consequently, this has been deemed to be an appropriate strategy for answering the research question: What are the best practices in applying Project Management Methodologies for software development projects in startups? The scope of the systematic review is the last decade (from 2012 to 2022) and the PRISMA framework has been used to facilitate the identification and screening of records. As a result, 17 studies with varying methods were deemed eligible and of high quality according to the quality assessment guidelines by Garousi et al. The main findings of this study identify three high-order themes for best practices in applying project management methodologies for software development in startups: Agility & Maturity, Empower & Value People, Tool Usage & Support.

The aim of this study is to investigate whether a combination of agile system development methodologies (ASDMs) and project management methodologies (PMMs) can be used to develop a hybrid APMM that will have the ability to deliver information technology (IT) projects successfully in a constantly changing business and project environment. To achieve this objective, a literature review was conducted on the relatively well–established ASDMs by firstly defining a SDM and an ASDM. Each ASDM and its effectiveness are described, after which ASDMs in general are evaluated by considering their area of application, advantages and disadvantages. A comparison is then done of the seven different ASDMs using the four elements of an SDM (Huisman & Iivari, 2006:32) to emphasise some of the main similarities and differences amongst the different ASDMs. The seven ASDMs investigated in this study are Dynamic System Development Methodology, Scrum, Extreme Programming, Feature Driven Development, Crystal ASDMs ? Crystal Clear and Crystal Orange in particular, Adaptive Software Development and Lean Development. A literature review was also conducted on two structured and relatively well–established PMMs, PMBOK and PRINCE2, and a relatively new PMM called Agile Project Management. Each PMM is evaluated by considering their area of application, advantages, disadvantages and integration with other methodologies, after which a comparison is made of the different PMMs. The research was conducted by following a mixed methods research plan, which included the mixed methods research paradigm (combination of the interpretive research paradigm and the positivistic research paradigm), research methods (design science, case study and survey), quantitative and qualitative data–collection techniques (interviews and questionnaires), and dataanalysis techniques (cross–case and statistical). The reasons that projects fail and critical project success factors were studied and summarised to form the critical project success criteria, which were used to create the agile project success criteria. The ASDM best practice and PMM best practice frameworks were created by identifying whether a certain ASDM or PMM would satisfy a specific agile project success factor (APSF) of the agile project success criteria. The findings of each APSF in the respective frameworks were used as a foundation to develop a hybrid APMM (ver. 0) that would address the agile project success criteria. The hybrid APMM (ver. 0) was developed interpretively using design science (research approach) and constructivism by combining the strengths, addressing the weaknesses and bridging the gaps identified in the frameworks. The hybrid APMM (ver. 0) was then evaluated and improved by conducting an interpretive case study, which entailed interviewing participants from large and small organisations. Once the qualitative data collected had been analysed using cross–case analysis, the findings were incorporated in order to create an improved hybrid APMM (ver. 1). The hybrid APMM (ver. 1) too was evaluated and improved by conducting a survey, which entailed administering questionnaires to various respondents in order to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The findings of the statistical analysis of the data were also used to improve the hybrid APMM (ver. 1), resulting in the final hybrid APMM (ver. 2). This study demonstrates that a combination of ASDMs and PMMs can be used to develop a hybrid APMM with the ability to deliver IT projects in a constantly changing project and business environment. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The aim of this study is to investigate whether a combination of agile system development methodologies (ASDMs) and project management methodologies (PMMs) can be used to develop a hybrid APMM that will have the ability to deliver information technology (IT) projects successfully in a constantly changing business and project environment. To achieve this objective, a literature review was conducted on the relatively well–established ASDMs by firstly defining a SDM and an ASDM. Each ASDM and its effectiveness are described, after which ASDMs in general are evaluated by considering their area of application, advantages and disadvantages. A comparison is then done of the seven different ASDMs using the four elements of an SDM (Huisman & Iivari, 2006:32) to emphasise some of the main similarities and differences amongst the different ASDMs. The seven ASDMs investigated in this study are Dynamic System Development Methodology, Scrum, Extreme Programming, Feature Driven Development, Crystal ASDMs ? Crystal Clear and Crystal Orange in particular, Adaptive Software Development and Lean Development. A literature review was also conducted on two structured and relatively well–established PMMs, PMBOK and PRINCE2, and a relatively new PMM called Agile Project Management. Each PMM is evaluated by considering their area of application, advantages, disadvantages and integration with other methodologies, after which a comparison is made of the different PMMs. The research was conducted by following a mixed methods research plan, which included the mixed methods research paradigm (combination of the interpretive research paradigm and the positivistic research paradigm), research methods (design science, case study and survey), quantitative and qualitative data–collection techniques (interviews and questionnaires), and dataanalysis techniques (cross–case and statistical). The reasons that projects fail and critical project success factors were studied and summarised to form the critical project success criteria, which were used to create the agile project success criteria. The ASDM best practice and PMM best practice frameworks were created by identifying whether a certain ASDM or PMM would satisfy a specific agile project success factor (APSF) of the agile project success criteria. The findings of each APSF in the respective frameworks were used as a foundation to develop a hybrid APMM (ver. 0) that would address the agile project success criteria. The hybrid APMM (ver. 0) was developed interpretively using design science (research approach) and constructivism by combining the strengths, addressing the weaknesses and bridging the gaps identified in the frameworks. The hybrid APMM (ver. 0) was then evaluated and improved by conducting an interpretive case study, which entailed interviewing participants from large and small organisations. Once the qualitative data collected had been analysed using cross–case analysis, the findings were incorporated in order to create an improved hybrid APMM (ver. 1). The hybrid APMM (ver. 1) too was evaluated and improved by conducting a survey, which entailed administering questionnaires to various respondents in order to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The findings of the statistical analysis of the data were also used to improve the hybrid APMM (ver. 1), resulting in the final hybrid APMM (ver. 2). This study demonstrates that a combination of ASDMs and PMMs can be used to develop a hybrid APMM with the ability to deliver IT projects in a constantly changing project and business environment. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Corn production is scattered geographically over various continents, but most of it is grown in the United States. As such, the world price of corn futures contracts is largely dominated by North American corn prices as traded on the Chicago Board of Trade. In recent years, this market has been characterised by an increase in price volatility and magnitude of price movement as a result of decreasing stock levels. The development and implementation of an effective and successful derivative price risk management strategy based on the Chicago Board of Trade corn futures contract will therefore be of inestimable value to market stakeholders worldwide. The research focused on the efficient market hypothesis and the possibility of contesting this phenomenon through an application of a derivative price risk management methodology. The methodology is based on a combination of an analysis of market trends and technical oscillators with the objective of generating returns superior to that of a market benchmark. The study found that market participants are currently unable to exploit price movement in a manner which results in returns that contest the notion of efficient markets. The methodology proposed, however, does allow the user to consistently achieve returns superior to that of a predetermined market benchmark. The benchmark price for the purposes of this study was the average price offered by the market over the contract lifetime, and such, the efficient market hypothesis was successfully contested. / Business Management / D. Com. (Business Management)

The Diploma thesis is engaged in the modelling of business processes, focusing on their design. Especially processes in area of providing support and customer care. The main goal of the thesis is application modelling method for selected business processes in a particular company engaged in telecommunications services. The theoretical part is focused on processes, process management and standards for the business process modelling. In the practical part are then described selected processes related to ABC satellite television services. These processes are designed by selected methodology. Under the proposed processes that take place after activation are calculated costs of operation the process (financial, human resources). These costs are calculated to the time when it is expected to 200,000 customers of ABC satellite television. Summary of costs is in evaluating the proposal.