The traditional view of project management is beingchallenged by the globalization of markets, mergers ofinternational companies, and the integration of managerial andbusi-ness processes in global corporations. The development ofInformation Technology and the rapid growth of the Internet hascreated an opportunity to utilize global resources, resultingin new and unique problems within project management researchthat need to be addressed. This thesis focuses on problems in project managementexperienced by global system suppliers trying to adapt theirbusinesses to the rapid changes of customers needs. Itespe-cially focuses on geographically dispersed organizationsconsisting of several organizations in different countries,with disparate history and corporate culture, developing anddeliver-ing complex systems under the company's name. In order to identify potential problems faced by globalmulti-organizational companies, especially system supplierswith large research and development (R&D) budgets, aframe-work is suggested. This framework divides the problemsinto three categories: geographi-cal, organizational andcultural. The problems identified in the case studies are thenclassi-fied to these categories. Finally, a description of howthe identified problems can be man-aged is provided when themost important success factors identified in the studies arepresented. / QC 20100512

Six civil engineering and building projects under construction have been observed in order to compare theory and practice, and thus draw conclusions on how Clients and their management teams may control construction effectively. It has been reported and the six studies have shown that during construction as problems occur decisions taken to tackle them result in changes to one or more of the independant variables cost, time and performance. It is therefore argued in this thesis that if these variables are to be controlled to Xhe. Client's benefit:. - clear responsibilities, duties and authority to make decisions should be given to the members of project management teams. -a project control system should be set up which will help the management team to perform those duties. - both the management team and the system should be organized to suit the particular project and Client.

[pt] Esta dissertação propõe uma ferramenta de apoio aos tomadores de decisão das instituições sociais, no processo de seleção e avaliação de seus projetos. O modelo foi construído a partir da necessidade mapeada, no processo de planejamento estratégico de uma organização de cunho social, de se obter indicadores de avaliação objetivos, alinhados com sua Missão e Visão, com vistas a iniciar um processo de gestão estratégica institucional. O modelo proposto, inspirado no Balanced Scorecard, respeita as características de uma instituição de cunho social, que não visa lucro e apresenta outras especificidades se comparada às empresas privadas. Foram utilizados métodos qualitativos e quantitativos para mapear os principais indicadores de avaliação dos projetos da organização, obtendo-se um modelo aderente às necessidades da instituição estudada. Como resultado, foi criada a Matriz de Avaliação de Projetos, que busca alinhar os projetos desenvolvidos à estratégia do negócio, possibilitando a priorização de projetos e o descarte daqueles não alinhados com os objetivos estratégicos da organização. O modelo propicia a padronização da análise de projetos, viabilizando a avaliação dos projetos realizados ou propostos em função do seu desempenho em relação aos indicadores estabelecidos, a realocação de investimentos e a remodelagem dos projetos de acordo com as estratégias corporativas. Os resultados preliminares sugerem que a Matriz proposta se configura útil como instrumento de seleção e avaliação de projetos sócio-culturais, bem como se mostra uma ferramenta apropriada de feedback, de aprendizado organizacional e de alinhamento estratégico. / [en] This paper proposes a tool to support decision-makers of social institutions in the process of selection and evaluation of their projects. The proposed model was created out of necessity mapped in the organization s strategic planning process, to obtain indicators for evaluating objectives aligned with its mission and vision and with aims of starting a institutional strategic management process. The proposed model, inspired by the Balanced Scorecard, respects the characteristics of a social institution, is not-profit and presents other special features when compared to private companies. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to map the key indicators for evaluating the organization s projects, thereby obtaining a model adhering to the needs of the institution studied. As a result, the Matrix Assessment Project was created, which seeks to align developed projects to the business strategy, enabling the prioritization of projects and discarding those not aligned with the organization s strategic goals. The model provides standardization of project analysis, enabling the assessment of projects carried out or proposed on the basis of their performance in relation to the established indicators, the reallocation of investments and redevelopment of projects in accordance with corporate strategies. Preliminary results suggest that the proposed matrix is configured as a useful tool for selection and evaluation of socio-cultural projects, as well as an appropriate feedback tool, organizational learning and strategic alignment.

Este trabalho é sobre gerenciamento de projetos no contexto da área de sistemas de informação, onde há características específicas e relacionamentos entre elementos tais como : tecnologia, processos de negócio, gerenciamento de mudança, comportamento humano e especificação subjetiva do produto . A taxa de fracassos em projetos de sistemas de informação permanece alta em comparação com outros projetos de tecnologia. O principal objetivo desta pesquisa é contribuir para o conhecimento na área de gerenciamento de projetos de sistemas de informação, focando na investigação dos fatores de risco que podem influenciar no sucesso percebido de um projeto. Um dos desafios deste trabalho foi definir conceitos e medidas objetivas para avaliar os eventos associados com gerenciamento do risco e com o sucesso de projetos. Apoiado na revisão da literatura sobre o tema e em outras pesquisas similares, foi construído um instrumento com o qual diversas dimensões de risco e sucesso foram avaliadas em uma amostra de 180 projetos de sistemas de informação. Cada dimensão foi dividida em classes e cada classe foi detalhada em variáveis métricas em sua maioria. Depois da coleta e validação dos dados da amostra, foram aplicadas algumas técnicas estatísticas para analisar o comportamento das dependências entre fatores de risco e fatores de sucesso. A análise da direção e intensidade de influência de cada fator de risco para cada fator de sucesso reproduziu grande parte do conhecimento obtido da revisão da literatura, mas o nível de detalhe proporcionado pelo uso das técnicas estatísticas permitiu desvendar alguns aspectos que não eram facilmente perceptíveis. As conclusões apresentadas neste trabalho podem ser consideradas por gerentes de projeto que trabalham com produtos de tecnologia de informação, mais especificamente aqueles envolvidos com implantação e/ou desenvolvimento e sistemas de informação. Além disso, os resultados obtidos podem ajudar na elaboração de procedimentos práticos para metodologias de gerenciamento de risco, pois a lista de influências e dependências entre risco e sucesso é agora melhor conhecida, permitindo melhorias em políticas de gerenciamento de risco. / This research is about project management, especially in the context of information systems area, where there are specific characteristics and relationships among elements like : technology , business processes, change management, human behavior and subjective product specification. The rate of information system project failure remains high in comparison with other high-tech projects. The main objective of this research is to contribute to the knowledge in the area of project management, focusing in the investigation of risk factors that can influence on the perceived success of the project. One of the challenges was to define concepts and to conceive objective measures to assess the events associated with risk management and project success. Sustained in the literature and other similar researches, it was built a instrument with which several dimensions of risk and success were assessed in a sample of 180 information system projects. Each dimension was divided into classes and each class was detailed by variables composed by metric indicators in its majority. After the gathering and validation of the data sample, some statistical techniques were applied to talk over the behavior of dependencies between risk and success factors. The analysis of direction and intensity of the influence of each risk factor over each success factor has reproduced some knowledge from the literature and other researches, but the level of details that was able to get by the statistical techniques shed some light over some aspects that were unrevealed. The conclusions presented in this research can be considered by project managers who work with information technology products, more specifically those who work with systems information development or deployment . Besides, the analysis achieved in this work can help to create practical procedures for risk management methodologies, since the list of influences and dependencies of risk factor over success factors are better known, allowing improvements in a active risk management policy.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2003 / Refer to document

Thesis (M. Dev.)-- University of Limpopo, 2011. / Sustainability of poverty relief projects: an evaluative case study of Madumeleng community bread making project in Greater Letaba Municipality in Limpopo Province This mini-dissertation was conducted on a community poverty alleviation project that was implemented by government through the Department of Social Development at Madumeleng village. Madumeleng is a village in Bolobedu(Modjadji) under the Greater Letaba Municipality in Mopani District. The Greater Letaba Municipality is one of the rural municipalities in the district of Mopani. The project was identified by the community members as a flagship towards addressing poverty within the village and eventually in the municipal area. The project was initiated by a group of women who started as volunteers. Their objective was to make the project big and viable within the society. The women had wishes also that the project should eventually create more jobs for the community members and thereby contribute in alleviating poverty and unemployment. The above resonates well with the objective of government and in particular the Department of Social Development in funding these projects. The study was ignited by the fact that after all the efforts by government to provide funding and ensure that the project members are capacitated, still the project collapsed. The project could not last longer than it was expected and this was the main reason for the study. The study should contribute in surmounting some factors which might have contributed into the collapse of the project. Government should also be able to draw lessons from the study to improve on the approach when they fund future projects.

Thesis (M.Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2012 / his study investigates the impact of poverty-alleviation projects on women development at Mogalakwena Municipality in Limpopo Province. Focus is on three projects, namely; Malokong, Masipa and Rooiwal poultry projects. The researcher has used the qualitative paradigm in this study, though limited aspects of the quantitative approach were also used. Convenience sampling has been used to collect data from a sample of forty (40) women from all the three identified poultry projects. All the respondents are women beneficiaries of different ages in the above-mentioned poultry projects. The study highlights employment generation and appropriate technology versions of growth with equity theories to justify the necessity of poverty-alleviation projects. It confirms the chief characteristic of the employment version that illustrates the projects’ ability to employ different groups of people, particularly those with very low educational backgrounds. These projects enable them to get income that can be used to pay school fees, buy food and pay medical bills in support of their families, thereby improving the overall wellbeing of women in rural communities The approaches (qualitative and quantitative) advocate for the use of local technologies and labour intensive methods to create more jobs and produce economic spin-offs. Poultry projects were chosen because they are appropriate and relevant to the needs of most communities of the Mogalakwena Municipality who are predominantly rural and poor. The study found out that the projects benefit local residents by providing affordable food security needs in the form of fresh chicken meat. These products are a vital source of protein which is necessary for good health. In addition, members derive both economic and social benefits from poultry projects. Given the threats to sustainability of these projects, the study recommends that the government employ more Agricultural Extension Officers and mobilise financial resources to support the activities of these projects. There is also an increased demand for more training on various aspects of management and production for members to maximise output. The study also identifies the significance of a continuous monitoring and evaluation of projects on a regular basis.

Including small or large project courses is widely recognized as important in preparing computer science students for a professional career. Typical examples are the capstone courses, which often are seen as the jewel in the crown since this is where students will bring their previous knowledge and skills together to show mastery of their craft. These courses are, however, quite complex with often contradictory ideas about how to actually run them in order to reach the learning objectives. This thesis deals with the contrast between students’ experiences and teachers’ expectations of such courses. The research presented in this thesis contributes to the field of knowledge of computer science project courses by investigating processes that are of importance in relation to the desired practices that the students’ should experience. A method is developed, based on the theory of communities of practice and an identification of key features in project work, for evaluating project courses in terms of setting up a learning environment suitable for its learning objectives. The method is focused on capturing the students’ experiences, which then are mapped onto desirable outcomes, as seen from the teachers’ point of view and expressed in terms of communities of practice theory. The result of the analysis is stories capturing the strengths and deficiencies that can be observed in computer science project courses. Key findings are that rewarding learning environments are not automatically created by following the project model; unclear goals and priorities, for example the choice between focusing on the result of the project or the learning process, can confound, or hinder, the learning outcome. Students may experience a difficult choice between using the project course as a way to become more specialized in a particular area or to develop skills that broaden their knowledge. The method developed throughout the thesis is a result in itself, allowing academics and institutions to reason systematically about the aims and learning outcomes of project coursework. The strength of the method lies in the insight gained from combining the concept of communities of practice with a series of studies that identify key features of project courses, in order to reveal and explain why students’ experience processes and learning outcomes in particular ways.

Metateams are both largely unexplored in the IS literature and economically important to major corporations and their IT vendors. Metateams are temporary groups composed of two or more geographically and inter-organisationally dispersed teams, commercially linked by project-specific agreements and enabled by electronic means of communication. Each one of these teams fulfils a particular and measurable objective, enshrined in the team's goal hierarchy and contractual obligations. The combination of efforts from every team in a metateam, contributes to achieving a common distant goal of project implementation. Thus, metateams are temporary teams (or groups) of distributed teams working across distance, firms, and cultures. In metateams, each participant team works with other teams on organisationally heterogeneous collaborative projects. Metateams are new and potentially powerful work structures resulting from the convergence of outsourcing, virtual organisations, and demands for global competitiveness. They promise to build IT solutions of high complexity, by integrating expertise from different fields and organisations. With the assistance of communication technologies, metateams can conquer barriers of time and space, enabling collaborative endeavours across a nation or across the globe. In a global business environment that demands innovation, flexibility, and responsiveness, metateams represent a revolution in the way organisations and practitioners do IT projects. However, as this study found, managing metateams presents unique difficulties due to conflicting demands arising from multiple realities. This dissertation presents an empirical research using a grounded theory approach that studies a major IT project performed by a metateam. The conceptual account emerges from an exploratory study of a major IT development and implementation project in the telecommunication industry. The project involved three key organisations and teams based in Australia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. The core pattern emerging from this study is one of constant conflict discovery and resolution, a process that progressively, and at a cost, allows the project to evolve from its initial incongruence into either a working solution or into project abandonment. This theory-building study presents a theoretical model, grounded on rich empirical data, interrelating key concepts of cost, conflict, communication, and trust, which serves to explain the pattern of actions and to propose a number of practical conclusions and recommendations. This research was guided by two key research objectives: (a) to add theoretical content to the understanding of key processes enacted by metateams in performing IT project work; and (b), to develop a framework that assists researchers and practitioners in predicting, explaining, and evaluating events and process associated with metateams. To the author's best knowledge, this study describes for the first time in the IS literature, the metateam organisation and the significant contextual issues they confront. In doing so, the study develops an understanding, grounded on rich empirical data from the substantive field of metateams. This new understanding contributes to both IS research and practice and provides guidance for future research.

Zugl.: Göttingen, Universiẗat, Habil.-Schr., 2005 u.d.T.: Faust, Heiko: Perspektiven einer integrativen Kulturgeographie. / Zsfassung in engl. Sprache.