This thesis investigates project risk management issues in smaller software teams. Certain gaps in the literature are identified. There is limited literature on what risk management techniques software practitioners use. The studies that are published tend to focus on large software teams. This thesis investigates what risks these smaller teams consider to be important. It also investigates what techniques are perceived to address these risks and how effective those techniques are considered to be. One of those risks is found to be of primary importance, yet this risk is not suggested by the project management literature. This thesis goes on to conduct a more in-depth exploration of that specific risk in the context of these smaller teams Interviews were selected as the most appropriate method to achieve the objectives of the thesis. Nineteen interviews in eight software organisations are conducted to collect data for this thesis. Three different perspectives on project risk were investigated. Those were the perspectives of the; service managers, project managers and developers. Hence a large store of rich information is collated. The results are analysed and a rich set of information is presented in this thesis. As a result of this research it is suggested that smaller software teams may find it useful to consider the 16 risks discussed in this research and how applicable those risks are to their individual organisation. Service managers may need to do more to raise the awareness of the importance of risks associated with ‘customer relationship issues’ within their own organisations. Three risks stood out as areas where future research might be most fruitful. They were; customer relationship issues, introduction of new technology and unrealistic schedules and budgets. Risks related to customer relationship issues were of particular significance and have tended to be over looked in the project management literature. It is submitted that research into standard project risk management approaches may need to be combined with business risk management approaches to gain a full understanding of the risks faced and addressed by these smaller teams.

Software engineering techniques have been employed for many years to guide software product creation. In the last decade the appropriateness of many techniques has been questioned, given unacceptably high rates of software project failure. In light of this, there have emerged a new set of agile software development methodologies aimed at reducing software projects risks, on the basis that this will improve the likelihood of achieving software project success. Recent studies show that agile methods have been gaining increasing industry attention. However, while the practices recommended by agile methodologies are said to reduce risks, there exists little evidence to verify this position. In addition, it is posited that the very processes recommended by agile methodologies may themselves introduce other risks. Consequently, this study addresses the risks inherent in the human collaboration practices that are central to agile methods. An analysis of the risk management literature reveals that personality conflicts and customer-developer disagreements are social risks that occur through human collaboration. These risks negatively affect team cohesion and software project success. Personality conflicts are said to be mostly influenced through poor team formation, whereas customer-developer disagreements are induced through excessive customer direct interaction. However, these risks are not adequately addressed by standard risk management theories. Furthermore, an evaluation reveals that these risks are also not considered by existing software tools.This study therefore designs and implements a web-based solution to lessen the social risks that may arise in agile projects. The Agile Social-Risk Mitigation Tool (ASRMT) offers support for personnel capability assessment and management and for remote customer feature management, extending the customer's access through an interface. Using software engineering experts to evaluate ASRMT, the tool is shown to effectively address social risk management theories, and is considered likely to assist agile developers in their handling of social risks. In addition, above and beyond its intended purpose, ASRMT is also likely to assist agile teams with general project management. The findings of the ASRMT user evaluations demonstrate sufficient proof of concept to suggest that such a tool could have value in live software projects.

The last twenty years has seen a tremendous change in the way companies do business. Much of this change can be attributed to the so-called information revolution. The integrated interaction between Information Technology (IT) and business processes has changed from its initial function of automating clerical tasks (e.g. payroll, inventory) to providing pertinent information for operational, managerial and executive groups within the organisation. In more recent times, IT has enabled some organisations, including those in the construction industry, to transform or re-engineer their business processes in the face of the rapidly changing business environment. As international competition continues to intensify, significant numbers of construction organisations are investing large amounts of resources into IT as they seek to gain competitive advantage. IT is increasingly being implemented for strategic reasons, so as to enable improved efficiency, better control and enhanced productivity of internal processes. The failure of realising expected IT-induced benefits has led to a growing number of senior executives to question the value of IT investments. Thus, questions like the following are typical: Are we getting our money's worth from our IT investment? ; Are we spending too much or too little on IT? ; What IT projects make the best use of our resources? ; How can we improve the return on our IT investments? This Ph.D. research study was inspired by the perceived lack of a structured framework for the selection, implementation and performance evaluation of IT projects in construction. The development of such a generic framework that could capture the IT project lifecycle management process, and the associated guidelines and procedures for its effective implementation, is a young field of research, still struggling to define its place within the large family of academic disciplines. Being a young branch of science, it might be argued that IT in construction lacks a solid methodological foundation. An IT project lifecycle management process is an integrated approach that provides for the continuous identification, selection, implementation, monitoring and performance evaluation of IT projects. This structured process should provide a systematic method for construction organisations to minimise risks while maximising returns on IT investments. To effectively employ IT in construction, the IT project lifecycle management process should have elements of three essential phases: (1) IT project(s) selection; (2) strategic IT implementation and monitoring; and (3) IT performance evaluation. However, each phase should not be viewed as a separate step. Rather, each is conducted as part of a continuous, interdependent management effort. Information gained from one phase is used to support activities in each of the other two phases. With this in mind, this research study aimed to develop an appropriate framework and associated tools for each phase of the IT project lifecycle. The developed three frameworks are detailed individually in the following paragraphs. The developed IT project(s) selection framework utilised information economics theory to encompass the full spectrum of direct and indirect costs, tangible and intangible expected benefits and the intangible risks associated with IT project proposals, considered for funding by the organisation. To incorporate the uncertainty that normally surrounds quantifying costs, benefits and risks, the framework employed a simple but powerful fuzzy logic technique to integrate all the monetary and non-monetary factors into a form that enabled the ranking of proposals. A case study was undertaken with a large international project management and development organisation to demonstrate the framework's applicability. The case study illustrated the effectiveness of the proposed approach for ranking IT project proposals. Once a portfolio of IT projects is selected for funding by the organisation, it needs to be strategically implemented and monitored over its lifecycle. A strategic IT implementation and monitoring framework was developed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of this phase. The framework is premised on a hybrid analysis utilising the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and SWOT analysis. A case study was undertaken to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed framework in the strategic implementation and monitoring of a Project Management Information System (PMIS) by a large Australian construction-contracting organisation. The framework application proved to be successful in helping the organisation to develop appropriate strategies for the effective and efficient implementation of the PMIS. An IT performance evaluation framework and method was then developed for the final phase of the lifecycle. This framework was the primary focus of this Ph.D. research study and was structured using the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) principles adapted to the specific requirements of the construction industry. The framework was structured using a hierarchy of IT performance perspectives, indicators and measures. Five definable perspectives were conceptually developed through analysis and synthesis of the 'IT business value' evaluation literature. These are: operational, benefits, technology/system, strategic competitiveness and user orientation. Indicators and measures were extracted from the mainstream IT literature and construction management literature, as well as the emerging literature on information economics. The preliminary list of indicators was initially screened through consultation with construction professionals and conceptual cause-and-effect mapping. The screened list of project-tier indicators was further refined through questionnaire dissemination. The questionnaire was sent to 322 construction project participants from large construction-contracting and project management organisations located within Australia. The five framework perspectives were statistically validated through the principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation. Each perspective and indicator's relative weight was numerically established using the questionnaire survey results as input to the recently developed Performance Measurement Process Framework (PMPF). The reason that the performance measures were not justified through a quantitative analysis was due to their dynamic nature. Most performance measures change, and will continue to change, with new technology. The developed perspectives, indicators and measures were all compiled into a generic 'Construct IT' BSC that can serve as a template for application at other decision-making tiers of a construction organisation. The problem of combining performance measures, with varying metrics, into commensurable units (utiles) was achieved by applying utility theory. Finally, the developed 'Construct IT' BSC was utilised for a project-tier survey to test the interrelationship between framework indicators and perspectives. Using information collected from 82 project professionals, from large construction-contracting and project management organisations, correlation and independent sample t-tests (one-tailed) provided support for the 'Construct IT' BSC. Specifically, findings suggest that the 'Construct IT' BSC can be used as a tool for monitoring the IT-induced value creation process. In addition, it appears that the proposed 'Construct IT' BSC framework and associated performance evaluation method is both flexible in design and can be modified to suit the needs of individual organisations. These characteristics make the framework continuously relevant to the dynamic nature of IT projects. In summary, the proposed IT project lifecycle management process, and its associated frameworks, provides a holistic view of IT implementation in construction and offers significant contributions to current body of knowledge on IT in construction.

Oral communication processes in organisations are complex. Verbal interactions, social contexts including cross-functional organisational culture, and emerging information systems projects, present staff with bewildering issues to deal with through communication processes. To explore communication in this rich setting, the research reported in this thesis applied a social perspective to the functions of oral communication processes, drawing on ideas from two appropriate systems for model development, to construct a generic interpretive methodological model for participatory soft systems methodology in action research. The model aims to examine organisational social contexts through the eyes of front line staff, and attempts to construct new perspectives through actively participating and communicating with stakeholders on various levels. The situated inquiry is concerned with communication practices and behaviours in the context of implementing information systems modules in public sector, higher education institutions.The research closely examines the established communication processes and behaviours between stakeholders of the information systems enveloped within the organisation’s culture to ascertain certain issues, reasons and solutions to overcome current problems suffered by the ‘human element’ as a whole when attempting to implement a quality information systems module to meet both direct, and indirect stakeholders expectations. Using Grounded Theory, an innovative methodological framework emerged as a result of conducting the research within the selected situated inquiry. The Progressive Learning Process model was implemented to further enhance stakeholder’s communicative behaviours and practices. This multifaceted model is comprised of interlinked, and overlapping phases; those are: (a) co-operative inquiry methods, to determine social context and culture, which included purposeful recruitment of participants, and used an assortment of methods; (b) reflections and discourse analysis, which included various processes, and counselling approach to constructing new realities and jump starting change through collaboration and open dialogue; (c) purposeful action, which included putting ideas and theory into practice to create further ideas and theory. Applying the selected methodology to the situated inquiry appears to preserve complexities of communication in organisational setting, and enhance individuals capabilities that are required when managing expectations of Senior Management. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This Exegesis and the Portfolio document referred to herein report on the outcomes of my research towards a PhD in education (by Project) between mid 2001 and July 2005. The Portfolio contains a collection of ten papers written during the research and also a summary of the key tools and processes resulting from the research. This Exegesis contains the major theoretical arguments leading to the development of the research outcomes, the methodology employed and a description of the organisational context operating during the study. It also draws links between the various data sets as presented in the Portfolio. The research began with a consideration of a major change project at RMIT University: the Implementation of the Distributed Learning System (DLS). The problems associated with this project highlighted the need for holistic organisational approaches to change and the uncertain nature of radical change projects. This led into a consideration of broader questions to do with organisational change and managing uncertainty. The generalisability of the research findings was enhanced by the wide ranging literature review and data from a range of stakeholders. This ultimately led to the development of a

This thesis suggests improvements, from a strategic perspective, to the practice of scoring projects in public sector organisations. It is argues that current approaches, notably project portfolio managing (PPM), are inadequate for many such organisations, and in fact prone to problems and failure. In particular, present scoring/prioritization approaches in such contexts, largely tend to focus on financial risk/return logic. It is argued that the end result of such a ranking approach is often a non-strategic portfolio project. To address these problems, the candidate proposed the refinement of the scoring approach for project portfolios via the incorporation of Kaplan & Norton's ideas in their Balanced Scorecard (BSC). BSC introduces, apart from purely financial considerations, other 'softer' perspectives (customer, internal business processes, learning and growth) which in combination place a more inclusive emphasis on the vision and strategy of the organisation. In this thesis, it is proposed that the combined PPM and BSC scoring approach amounts to more strategic project selection. Several case studies are conducted to illustrate the merits of the combined PPM/BSC logic. These include case studies in both private and public sector organisations.

Successful projects may be defined by criteria set prior to a project being commenced. The project success criteria may include time, budget and performance. A description of a successful project is often one that has been achieved

<p>In a competitive environment which needs constant strategic adaptation, the companies look for the best way to stick to markets’ trends. The way the company is organized can optimize both the required strategic adaptation and the performance of the human capital by enhancing the flow of information for instance.</p><p>Some companies are organised in a very special way and adopt a project-structure. We therefore have inquired about these project-structures and their ability to favour communication in order to enable better performance. Then comes the reason for our work, we wonder: How is information flow processed in project-based companies compared to others and how it affects strategic drift?</p><p>Existing theories concerning strategy, communication and organisation has been confronted in order to create an original lens through which we look at companies. Based on this lens are qualitative interviews led to collect empirical data from two hierarchical levels in four companies with very different businesses.</p><p>After analysis, the study shows that the strategic drift is well known by companies. Good communication is recognised as a way to tackle this strategic drift and is high on companies’ agenda. The project-structure owns several assets (like customization, size and resilience) which make it better to process information flow and which eventually reduce or eliminate the strategic drift. Yet, classical organisations and project-structures seem to create synergy for a company which uses adequately both, regarding the type of business.</p>

<p>The study of the cultures has been a primary focus of sociology, psychology and anthropology since their inception. Increasing globalization has brought the attention of academics and practitioners to the study of national cultures and their differences into the management area. Likewise, the parallel trend towards running some business through projects has brought broader perspectives such as national cultures into the project management field. Recent academic literature demonstrated that national culture has a major impact on management practices. However, the element of national culture is elusively described in the project management field. No extensive tests were found on the comparison of the project planning among countries, which could help to establish relationship between national cultures and project planning capabilities. Using GLOBE study to capture national cultures and Project Management Planning Quality (PMPQ) model to capture project planning approach and organizational planning support, this paper addresses this gap by comparing national culture, project planning and organizational project planning support across four different countries: Malaysia, Japan, Sweden and Israel. The findings of this thesis are that there are both similarities and differences in project planning between different countries. In organizational project planning support practices, two clusters were identified. It attempts to answer questions about the relevance of culture to project planning and concludes with implications to project managers.</p>

<p><strong>This thesis presents a generic framework for project managers and/or other stakeholders to assist them in qualitatively assessing and evaluating project risks. The main structure of this framework is constructed based on risk management area in PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) standard. Additionally, different best practices and methods in the field of risk management and decision making are studied and embedded in the framework. In spite of being theoretical in nature, the framework can contribute to the project risk management area developed by PMBOK, opening the possibility of further research for its verification.</strong></p>