Systems thinking is holistic, that is it deals with wholes rather
than parts and is relevant to tackling ill‐structured
“messy” problems. Reviews the literature on risk to identify
the techniques and concepts used in the management of risk and the
identification of potential failures. The majority of the concepts
identified are found to be systematic and reductionist. Also identifies
related concepts not used in the techniques which are found to be more
holistic. Classifies the concepts according to their use and holistic
qualities. Briefly describes a systems approach to failures. As risk is
associated with uncertainty and ill‐structured problems, suggests that
systems thinking could be a valuable aid to risk management.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a survey designed to: capture the “real world” experiences of people active in project management (PM) in Australia, Canada and the UK; determine the extent to which those involved in the management of projects make use of the methods and techniques that are available; and discover how effective the methods and techniques are felt to be.
Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire comprising 24 questions with a mixture of yes/no, Likert-scale, multiple choice and open questions was developed. These were designed so that the data gathered could be compared with the results of a similar survey conducted in the UK a decade ago. Professional networks and direct e-mails were used to distribute the survey electronically to potential respondents who were actively involved in PM in the three countries. A total of 150 responses are used in the analysis, 50 from each country.
Findings – The results show that there are many areas where the experiences, practices and views are similar across all three countries and are comparable to the earlier UK survey. However, as is often the case, it is perhaps the differences that are of most interest and these are commented upon throughout the paper.
Originality/value – This paper sheds light on current practice across three countries and presents a useful historical perspective on PM trends in practice and rates of credentialization of those surveyed. It also provides useful quantitative results that can be used to more broadly speculate and make sense of other qualitative studies
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between project delivery success factors, project management tools, software, and methods. Design/methodology/approach -A statistical analysis was undertaken using data from a survey from a purposive sample of 150 participants across three countries (Australia, Canada and the UK). The findings were used to consider the relationships between project success factors, project management tools, software, and methods. Findings -The findings reveal certain insights in the use of tools and methodologies. Of all the variables measured, the number of project management tools used and the number of risk tools used showed the highest direct correlation. It was therefore surmised that the use of tools from one of these categories is often coincident with the use of tools from the other category. Also, the use of project management tools exhibited less variability as compared to use of information communication technology support tools and risk management tools. In addition, use of formal project management methods exhibited less variability than use of formal decision-making methods. Therefore, it is suggested that use of project management tools and methods is more consistent across the organizations studied, as compared to other tools and methods. Originality/value -This paper extends the survey findings of an international 2011 study and sheds light on the use of project management and related tools and methods.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.