Browsing by Author "Van Heerden, Johan P."
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- ItemReducing risks in large scale projects : investigating the integration of systems engineering principles into project management(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-03) Van Heerden, Johan P.; Fourie, C. J.; Von Leipzig, Konrad; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Project management (PM) is a very important field in engineering as a whole. The management of most projects has become more complex in recent times, due to greater technical complexity and the requirement of diversified skills. The management of risks is a very important process to improve the performance of a project. This is due to the link between project risks and objectives. However, this aspect of PM becomes increasingly more difficult to manage with increasing project complexity. For these reasons a need exists for more efficient PM methods. This thesis had three objectives. The first was to understand the processes and principles of PM, systems engineering (SE) and risk management. This was achieved by doing a literature study on the three fields. The second objective was to identify areas of greater risk within the management of projects. The final objective was to develop an effective generic model that illustrates the integration of SE principles into PM, with the goal to reduce the identified risks. Five risks were identified during this research. They were considered to be the most important in project management. This was accomplished by means of a questionnaire that was sent out to experts in the industry. It was established from this investigation that the following five risks, in order of importance, pose the biggest threat to the success of a project: 1. Poorly defined requirements; 2. Poor communication; 3. Poor risk management; 4. Lack of customer involvement; and 5. Inaccurate estimates. These risks were addressed by integrating the principles of SE into PM. SE is an iterative process that needs a diverse set of people, with a variety of skills, to achieve customer requirements. Various SE approaches and strategies were developed throughout the years. They were investigated to obtain insight into which of them can be used to improve PM. The top-down iterative development principles of SE offer a great advantage, and therefore it was appropriate to integrate these principles into PM. A model was developed as part of this thesis to illustrate the integration of SE principles into PM, and the importance of risk management. The model was named “Project Management Integrated with Systems Engineering Principles Model”. This tool can be used by engineers and their project teams to enhance the management of projects. It is also a generic tool that can be used for any project. The final step of this research was the validation of the model. This was done by means of expert evaluation. The purpose of this validation was to test whether the objectives of the research were met, and if the model was valid in the sense of ease of use and usefulness. The final objective of the validation process was to determine if the integration of systems engineering (SE) principles into project management (PM) were successful, and if it will reduce risks in large scale projects. It was concluded from this evaluation that its objectives were met and that the model successfully demonstrated the integration of SE into PM to reduce risks in large scale projects. Several recommendations were made that may enhance this study. They main recommendations are: 1. Researching the impact of communication on projects, by using case studies. 2. SE principles are mainly used in the first two phases of the model. Further investigation of using SE principles in phase three may be researched. 3. Customer involvement may be used during changes in the project. For this reason it is recommended that future studies may include investigation of the impact the customer has on project changes and the change management process. 4. The model could be tested in the industry on an active project. This will greatly improve the validity of the model.