Despite the continuous need to enhance the value of public services, information systems projects in the public sector still underperform due to their high velocity of change and strategic ambiguity. Diverse studies have been carried out examining ‘project capabilities’ to contribute to the efficiency of information systems project management. However, most studies of project capabilities focus heavily on the project execution that aims for successful implementation of systems. This supplier-oriented approach leads to overlooking the significance of a project owner’s benefits realisation after implementing the information systems. Moreover, this formulation of project capabilities also does not distinguish between dynamic capabilities for benefits realisation and operational capabilities for project execution. For these reasons, the realisation of a project owner’s information systems benefits has still been far from satisfactory, in addition to having a poor rate of project success. In order to address this issue, this thesis develops a more nuanced perspective on project capabilities by distinguishing the dynamic capabilities of owners from the operational capabilities of suppliers and by developing the concept of owner dynamic capabilities. This is followed by analysis of the importance of benefits management as an owner dynamic capability. The aim of this study is to contribute to a deeper understanding of why public sector information systems projects are so challenging and how the project owner’s information systems benefits can be accelerated. A content analysis method was adopted, and 10 years of National Audit Office Value-for-Money reports were analysed covering 31 information systems projects. Theoretically the concept of ‘owner dynamic capabilities’ is introduced, and the experience of UK central government information systems projects is empirically reviewed. The results bring a key implication by showing the significance of benefits management as a distinctive ‘project back-end’ owner dynamic capability. This thesis makes three main contributions to the current literature in information systems project and benefits management. First, the concept of owner dynamic capability is introduced and theorised based on a unique data set of major public sector information systems projects. Second, the importance of project back-end capability is revealed as a distinctive dynamic capability, which owners require to move their information systems investment from practical completion (the system works as expected) to beneficial use (the system delivers the expected business benefits). Third, the key findings provide the future research agenda for project management disciplines.

L’investissement en matière de systèmes d’information (SI) constitue un enjeu fondamental de développement des organisations mais également un risque considérable, compte tenu des probabilités d’échecs de ce type de projet. La prise en compte du facteur humain est une composante essentielle de la réussite d’un projet SI, devant être considérée comme partie intégrante du processus d’innovation. Appliqué au domaine des Systèmes de Transport Intelligents (ITS), ce travail de recherche s’est évertué à proposer une démarche intégrant l’activité humaine et ses transformations au cœur du processus de conduite de projet SI. Son objectif était de fournir à l’association ITS Bretagne un canevas d’intervention permettant de poser un diagnostic complet des besoins d’accompagnement d’une organisation, souhaitant intégrer un ITS, et de construire, à partir des résultats de ce diagnostic, un dispositif de conduite de changement adapté. Fondamentalement intégrative, la démarche élaborée s’appuie sur une opérationnalisation du processus de genèse instrumentale (Rabardel, 1995) – c’est-à-dire la transformation mutuelle des composantes techniques et humaines d’un instrument – à des niveaux d’activités organisationnels, collectifs et individuels. Elle s’inscrit de manière transversale et continue au sein des trois temps d’analyse des usages : l’acceptabilité, l’acceptation et l’appropriation. Sa mise en œuvre dans le cadre d’un projet pilote, au sein de la chaîne logistique d’un industriel français, a permis d’en démontrer sa faisabilité et sa pertinence, tout en ouvrant des champs de recherche quant à ses applications et développements futurs / Information System (IS) investment is a major issue for the development of organizations although it also represents a significant risk, regarding the failure probability of these kinds of projects. The Human Factor is a key component of successful IS projects, and must be considered as part of the innovation process. Applied to the field of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), this research work does its utmost to put forward an approach to integrate human activity and its transformation at the heart of IS project management processes. The goal of this research was to provide ITS Bretagne with an intervention framework, which would enable it to diagnosis what support would be needed by an organization which is planning to integrate an ITS. The results of this diagnosis would then be used to propose an appropriate change management procedure. Intrinsically integrative, the approach created in this research is based on the operationalization of the instrumental genesis process (Rabardel, 1995) – i.e. the mutual transformation of human and technical components of an instrument – at organizational, collective and individual activity levels. It works in a transversal and continuous way, throughout the three usage analysis stages: acceptability, acceptance and appropriation. The use of this intervention framework for an experimental project, within the logistic chain of a French manufacturer, enabled us to prove its feasibility and relevance, as well as opening up new fields of research concerning its future applications and development

Project Management Information Systems (PMIS) play a critical role in supporting project outcome. However, little attention has been paid to the impact of having multiple PMIS while governing projects within organizations. This thesis explores the effects of the presence of multiple PMIS at a large manufacturing organization. The study used a qualitative approach, including interviews with Managers, IT Department and Senior Management as well as observations and an analysis of organizational documents. The data collected was analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. The findings revealed that the presence of multiple PMIS within the organization resulted in several challenges, including data inconsistency, duplication of effort, detrimental effects on the user experience and difficulty in managing the complexity of the PMIS landscape. However, the study also identified several potential benefits of having multiple PMIS, such as improved functional flexibility, customizability and enhanced project monitoring. The study recommends that organizations carefully consider their PMIS strategy, including the integration of different PMIS and the training of project teams on their proper use, to ensure that the effects of utilizing multiple PMIS are adequately addressed. Nevertheless, the study also recommends several areas for future research, including the exploration of the role of PMIS in project governance, the impact of emerging technologies on PMIS, and the examination of the impact of PMIS on organizational culture and behavior. Overall, this study highlights the importance of carefully managing the PMIS landscape within an organization to ensure its effectiveness in supporting project outcome and organizational efficiency. / Projektledningsinformationsystem (PMIS) har en avgörande roll för att främja projektslutresultat. Trots detta har det ägnats väldigt lite uppmärksamhet åt betydelsen av att tillämpa flera PMIS inom en organisation. Denna avhandling utforskar effekterna som uppstår av att flera PMIS är närvarande inom ett stort tillverkningsföretag. Studien har tillämpat en kvalitativ metodik som omfattar intervjuer med chefer, IT-avdelningen och högsta ledningen, samt observationer och en analys av utvalda interna dokument. Den insamlade datan analyserades med hjälp av tematisk analys. Resultaten av studien påvisade att närvaron av flera PMIS inom organisationen ledde till ett flertal utmaningar, såsom inkonsekvent data, dubbelarbete, negativ påverkan på användarupplevelsen och svårigheter att hantera komplexiteten av PMIS-systemen. Studien identifierade även flera potentiella fördelar som PMIS bidrog med, såsom ökad funktionell flexibilitet, anpassningsbarhet och förbättrad övervakning av projektens framsteg. Studien rekommenderar att organisationer noggrant överväger sin PMIS-strategi med avseende på integrationen av olika PMIS, samt utbildningen av projektteam för korrekt användning av systemen. Studien rekommenderar även flera områden för framtida forskning, inklusive utforskning av rollen som PMIS har inom projektstyrning, konsekvenserna av framväxande teknologier för PMIS samt undersökning av påverkan som PMIS har på organisationskultur och beteende. Sammantaget betonar denna studie vikten av att noggrant hantera PMIS-landskapet inom en organisation för att kunna säkerställa systemens effektivitet i att stödja projektslutresultat och organisationers effektivitet.

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