M. Tech. Business Information Systems / Information Technology projects can fail for any number of reasons and in some cases can result in considerable financial losses for the organisations that undertake them. One pattern of failure that has been observed but seldom studied is the IT project that seems to take on a life of its own, continuing to absorb valuable resources without reaching its objective. The research study investigated the different challenges and failures of IT projects and looked at the root causes of these failures and how to overcome them. This research study was informed by the use of a case study of Liberty Life, one of the largest financial service providers in South Africa. The primary research question that informs this research study is: How mature is the organisation in implementing Information Technology projects.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Despite the growth and adoption of project management expertise and techniques, the increase in organisational project-maturity and the emergence of the Web, project success remains a challenge. A key factor leading to the continued failure in IT projects is the lack of identification and appreciation for the key factors that influence the success of project management success. Therefore the researcher embarked on this study to determine the top five critical success factors of project management in the South African ICT environment. The researcher also determined during which phases of the project life cycle these critical success factors occur. In order to determine these objectives, qualitative research was conducted that included a study of literature, available material, views from experts as well as a content analysis from sample interviews. South African ICT companies do not directly focus on any critical success factors, but indirectly they do focus on certain areas that will increase the probability of project management success. The research identified the top five critical success factors as a comprehensive project management plan, well defined scope, skilled and experienced project managers, user / customer involvement and top management support. The research also identified that the focusing on the project planning and project execution and monitoring phases of the project life cycle are the most crucial for project management success. In addition the research identified that project managers who have a strong technical background understand the complexities of the product better and do tend to manage the deferent component of the projects more effectively. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ten spyte van die groei en toename in projekbestuurkundigheid en -tegnieke, die toename in organisatoriese projek volwassenheid en die uitbreiding van die Web, bly projeksukses ‘n uitdaging. Om die rede het die navorser die studie onderneem om die vyf top kritiese suksesfaktore van projekbestuur in die Suid-Afrikaanse ICT omgewing te bepaal. Om hierdie doelwit te bepaal is kwalitatiewe navorsing onderneem wat ‘n literatuurstudie, beskikbare materiaal, opinies van kundiges sowel as inhoudsanalise van onderhoude gevoer insluit. Suid-Afrikaanse ICT maatskappye fokus nie direk op enige kritiese suksesfaktore nie, maar indirek fokus hulle wel op sekere areas wat die waarskynlikheid van projekbestuur sukses sal laat toeneem. Die navorsing identifiseer die vyf kritiese suksesfaktore as ‘n samevattende projekbestuursplan, goed gedefinieerde omvang, kundige en ervare projekbestuurders, gebruiker/kliënt betrokkenheid en topbestuur ondersteuning. Die navorsing het ook identifiseer dat die fokus op projekbestuursbeplanning, en projekuitvoering en monitering fases van die projeklewensiklus die mees kritiese is vir projeksukses. Die navorsing het ook identifiseer dat projekbestuurders wat ‘n sterk tegniese agtergrond het die ingewikkeldheid van die eindproduk beter verstaan asook die verskillende komponente van die projek meer effektief bestuur.

Title from title page of PDF (University of Missouri--St. Louis, viewed February 22, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-95).

Despite advances in technology, software and planning tools that are available to project managers, information systems (IS) projects continue to fail. Storm (2005, pg 1) has suggested that management issues are a central theme in these failures, recommending more thorough training for project managers and improved management overall. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementations, arguably the most complex of IS projects, are particularly costly, high risk endeavors (Davenport, 1998, pg 7). When multiple locations are involved, the projects are even more challenging (Boudreau and Robey, 1999, pg 294; Markus et al, 2000, pg 46). This remains true even when a company has completed the strategic planning, the software configuration and the required infrastructural support, as experience shows companies may still face considerable complexity in getting from the capability to the reality. Due to a configuration knowledge barrier (Robey et al, 2002, pg 40), extensive use is often made of external consultants whose services add considerably to project cost (Haines and Goodhue, 2003, pg 24). By internalising and realising the benefits of a learning process within the business, implementation teams will become more self-reliant as their experience grows, increasing the possibility of success in subsequent implementations (Chang, 2004, pg 7). The challenge is how to achieve this learning effectively and efficiently (Esteves et al, 2002, pg 3). This dissertation proposes that an action learning approach may hold the key to reducing the variability of success in successive projects. This research has benefit for all practitioners, and particularly Project and Programme Managers working in Information System projects. It shows how incorporating an action learning approach to projects results in savings through doing things cheaper, quicker and better. It further proposes a practical, workable methodology for ensuring how action learning should take place as part of standard project methodologies. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

Thesis (DTech (Informatics))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2015. / Governments of the developing world, including South Africa, have a strong commitment and resolve to accelerate the rollout of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to achieve developmental benefits in communities. Consequently both government and the private sector are delivering a number of interventions in South Africa based on Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D). Hard evidence regarding the development benefits of ICT4D interventions is lacking and there is little agreement on measures to evaluate the benefits of such projects. One possible reason for this is that there are no established evaluation frameworks to assess the benefits. Frameworks used in ICT4D evaluation are investigated in this study to ascertain their usefulness to identify benefits of ICT4D initiatives. Sen’s Capability Approach defines development as freedom. An example of such development can be the process of providing opportunities through ICT and meaningful ways to use these opportunities to realise various benefits. Tangible benefits are simple to identify (e.g. number of people using the public access centre, or number of people finding employment). Intangible benefits include the real ‘wins’—capabilities garnered through access and meaningful use of ICT, leading to the recognition of new opportunities for the users of the public access centres. Sen’s Capability Approach is operationalised, demonstrating the inclusion of a person’s agency and conversion factors that inhibit or enhance utilisation of opportunities and choices in realising benefits. The SmartCape initiative is a 2002 ICT4D intervention established in the libraries of Cape Town, South Africa, and is used as a case in this research study. The libraries act as public access centres that provide free ICT and Internet access to library members in the community. Surveys completed by users of these centres provided useful quantitative data. A broad spectrum of qualitative data was gleaned from interviews and focus groups with users of the ICT centre at a recently established library and with focus groups from other centres in two underserved areas of Cape Town. Quantitative data analysis techniques applied to qualitative content data was used to investigate users’ diverse perceptions. An initial framework guided the analysis of data to identify the benefits realised by the users of the public access centre. Perceptions of a changed life, aspirations for a better life, and ‘hope’ emerged as intangible benefits. On the intangible side, the effect of keyboard proficiency, greater ease in finding information, and a preference for accessing the Internet at a public access centre emerged as having a significant effect on the hopefulness of PAC users. Two theme-groups were identified through using co- occurrences of themes and the statistical techniques of cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling. The Benefits-framework, produced by this study, based on Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach, represents the relationship between all the themes, includes emergent intangible benefits and can be used to identify the benefits of ICT4D interventions in public access centres. This study also produces empirical evidence of the developmental impact of the SmartCape ICT4D programme in Cape Town and thus provides evidence of its value.

The research shows the critical success factors when implementing information security projects. Many Information security projects in the past have not been successful because these factors were not identified and emphasised effectively. By identifying these factors the research basically presents a model by which information security projects can be executed with guaranteed success. The factors identified during the study cover the following streams: top management commitment as a factor of success; accountability as a factor of success; responsibility as a factor of success; awareness as a factor of success and an information security policy as a factor of success. For the empirical study, a physical questionnaire was administrated to a pool of experts in project management and information security. The study consisted of 60 participants who were verified to have minimum requirements core for questionnaire completion. The questionnaire requested for biological information of the participants and their perceived relations (based on their experience) between project success versus accountability, information security project success versus responsibilities, information security project success versus training & awareness, information security project success versus top management commitment and information security project success versus information security policy. The participants’ responses were structured according to a Likert-type scale. Participants had to indicate the extent to which they agreed with each of the statements in the questionnaire. The responses obtained from the survey were presented and analysed. The researcher observed in this study that information security projects are so specific that critical success factors need to be emphasised from project inception. With the identified critical success factors, the researcher recommends that a project methodology be structured to include these factors so that there is a standard in running information security projects successfully. The researcher also identified that amongst the critical success factors identified, there are some that need to be emphasised more than the others due to their level of importance in such projects.

This research focuses on the role that polychronic Communication (PC) plays in the productivity and project success of Information Technology (IT) Project Managers (PMs). PC refers to a communication style where the communicator switches rapidly between several conversations, irrespective of topic similarity, instead of completing one conversation before starting another. An online questionnaire collected data from Information Technology workers in multiple industries across the globe. The data consisted out of two distinct groups: IT PMs (n = 202) and IT project team members (n = 122). Statistical analysis on the dataset considered the perspectives of both participant groups, first separately and then combined. The results showed relationships between: 1. IT PMs’ individual polychronicity and their PC. 2. IT PMs’ PC and their opinion of the influence of PC on the success of the projects that they are managing. 3. IT PMs’ PC and their opinion of the influence of PC on their productivity. 4. IT PMs’ PC and the corporate polychronicity of their employers. In addition, when IT PMs rate their PC, the rating is lower than when other IT project team members rate the IT PMs’ PC. By contrast, there was no difference between IT PMs rating the influence of their PC on their project success and productivity versus IT project teams rating the influence of the IT PMs’ PC on their project success and productivity. These findings contribute to the factors that a corporation has to consider in hiring new IT PMs or training their current IT PMs. / Information Science / M. Sc. (Information Systems)

Proposta – Este trabalho tem por objetivo avaliar a influência das melhores práticas de gestão na performance da qualidade da informação em projetos de Tecnologia da Informação (TI), em condições de restrições. O estudo foi baseado na experiência brasileira. Metodologia – A pesquisa tem lastro em um modelo conceitual, composto por variáveis independentes, variáveis moderadoras e variáveis dependentes, sendo estas as melhores práticas de gestão de projetos, critérios de avaliação da qualidade da informação e performance da qualidade da informação. Para verificar o modelo conceitual, em um primeiro momento a pesquisa foi elaborada à luz da literatura especializada. Esta fase está estruturada em três etapas: 1 – Fundamentos da gestão de projetos de TI; 2 – Levantamento das melhores práticas em gestão de projetos; 3 – Identificação dos critérios de avaliação da qualidade da informação e perspectivas da performance da qualidade da informação. Em um segundo momento, foi realizado o agrupamento das melhores práticas de gestão de projetos identificadas na etapa 2, utilizando para isso a técnica estatística análise de cluster. Em seguida, realizou-se uma consulta junto a especialistas para confirmar as variáveis do modelo conceitual, bem como apresentar os principais efeitos (influências) das melhores práticas na performance da qualidade da informação, condicionadas às variáveis moderadoras, ou seja, aos critérios de avaliação da qualidade da informação. Foram selecionados, por meio de critérios técnicos e científicos, especialistas com conhecimento e experiência sobre o objeto investigado. Desta forma, foram selecionados 303 especialistas com formações em diversas Áreas do Conhecimento (Tecnologia da Informação; Sistemas de Informação, Qualidade da Informação, Administração, entre outras), porém estas, com foco em Tecnologia da Informação. O estudo foi baseado na experiência brasileira em projetos de TI. Os dados foram coletados por meio de um questionário do tipo escalar (Likert) de 1 (menor intensidade) a 5 (maior intensidade), com algumas perguntas abertas. E para reduzir a subjetividade nos resultados alcançados foram aplicadas técnicas estatísticas como o teste de Duncan, para comparação das médias, e a correlação de Spearman, para análise da influência investigada. Limitações da pesquisa – O estudo está direcionado à experiência brasileira, desse modo, recomendam-se aplicações do estudo em outros países. Originalidade/valor – Este estudo parte de um gap nos recortes teóricos sobre influência das melhores práticas na performance da qualidade da informação em projetos de TI, sobretudo em condições de restrições. Implicações para a prática da gestão – Espera-se que este estudo possa apoiar gestores em seus processos de decisão em projetos de TI em contextos dinâmicos e contingenciais. Acredita-se ainda que este represente incremento de valor aos negócios de empreendimentos. / Proposal – This study aims to assess the influence of best management practices in information quality performance in projects of Information Technology (IT) in restrictions conditions. The study was based on the brazilian experience. Methodology – The survey is backed by a conceptual model, composed of independent variables, moderating variables and dependent variables, which are the best project management practices, criteria for evaluating the quality of information and performance of information quality. To check the conceptual model, at first moment, the search was made in light of the literature. This phase is structured in three stages: 1 - Fundamentals of management of IT projects; 2 - Survey of best practices in project management; 3 - Identification of criteria for evaluating the quality of information and perspectives of information quality performance. In a second step, it was carried out by the group of the best project management practices identified in stage 2, using the statistical method of cluster analysis. Then, a consultation was held with experts to confirm the variables of the conceptual model, as well as presenting the main effects (influences) of best practices in information quality performance, conditioned to moderating variables, namely the criteria for assessing the quality of information. They were selected through technical and scientific criteria, experts with knowledge and experience of the investigated object. Thus, initially they were selected 303 experts with diverse backgrounds Knowledge Areas (Information Technology, Information Systems, Quality of Information, Administration), among others, but these, focusing on Information Technology. The study was based on the brazilian experience in IT projects. Data were collected through a questionnaire of scalar type (Likert) from 1 (lowest intensity) to 5 (highest intensity), with some open questions. And to reduce the subjectivity of the results achieved were applied statistical methods such as the Duncan test, to compare the means, and the Spearman correlation for analysis the influence investigated. Search limitations – The study is aimed at the brazilian experience, therefore, it is recommended applications of the study in other countries. Originality / value – This study stems from a gap in the theoretical clippings about influence best practice in information quality performance in IT projects, particularly in restrictions conditions. Implications for practice management – It is expected that this study will support managers in their decision-making processes in IT projects in dynamic and contingent contexts. It is believed that this represents an increase of value to business ventures.

Project success is vitally important for companies to execute and achieve their strate-gies, as well as carry out their visions. Today, more than ever before, companies oper-ate under tremendous strain to deliver results rapidly and, at the same time, remain viable and adaptable. Many organisations face multiple constraints in the process of implementing successful governance structures, especially where meaningful information technology (IT) deals are involved. Every organisation is confronted by problems exclusive to itself as each organization’s ecological, political, geographical, economic and social issues are unique. Research has indicated that IT projects are likely to fail where governance is lacking due to organizational limitations. Each of the mentioned challenges is capable of giving rise to difficulties that make the provision of effectual governance impossible, or challenging. Investments by financial institutions in South Africa in IT projects can conservatively be estimated at billions of rands. Given such colossal investment amounts, there is concern as to why there is still a lack of cooperation between various banking institutions in developing unified standards and procedures which result in successful management of IT projects. The unified standards would ensure that the investments in IT generate business value and mitigate the risks associated with IT, an integral part of the overall business delivery. IT governance is an integral part of corporate governance and en-sures that IT goals are met, and attendant risks are mitigated. IT governance powers ensures alignment between IT investment and programme delivery, and must justly measure accomplishments. This study was undertaken to evaluate and establish the reasons why IT project man-agement and IT regulatory governance fail within the South African banking industry. The objectives of the study were to find ways of addressing the way in which IT project management and regulatory governance are implemented so as to address project fail-ures. Another objective was to recommend frameworks which would usher in positive impacts on IT project implementation and develop effective IT regulatory standards for the South African banking sector. The findings of the study reflected that IT projects should be directed from the very top of organisations. The boards of directors and senior management should take owner-ship of IT projects and governance issues. The findings also revealed that there is a need for supervision by the boards of directors. This ensures that investments made in IT systems produce reasonable returns for the institutions. Regular checks of IT systems and governance compliance are essential to ensure enforcement. The research results were explained and equated to the studied information. / School of Computing / M. Tech. (Information Technology)

This research focuses on the role that polychronic Communication (PC) plays in the productivity and project success of Information Technology (IT) Project Managers (PMs). PC refers to a communication style where the communicator switches rapidly between several conversations, irrespective of topic similarity, instead of completing one conversation before starting another. An online questionnaire collected data from Information Technology workers in multiple industries across the globe. The data consisted out of two distinct groups: IT PMs (n = 202) and IT project team members (n = 122). Statistical analysis on the dataset considered the perspectives of both participant groups, first separately and then combined. The results showed relationships between: 1. IT PMs’ individual polychronicity and their PC. 2. IT PMs’ PC and their opinion of the influence of PC on the success of the projects that they are managing. 3. IT PMs’ PC and their opinion of the influence of PC on their productivity. 4. IT PMs’ PC and the corporate polychronicity of their employers. In addition, when IT PMs rate their PC, the rating is lower than when other IT project team members rate the IT PMs’ PC. By contrast, there was no difference between IT PMs rating the influence of their PC on their project success and productivity versus IT project teams rating the influence of the IT PMs’ PC on their project success and productivity. These findings contribute to the factors that a corporation has to consider in hiring new IT PMs or training their current IT PMs. / Information Science / M. Sc. (Information Systems)