Project dynamics: An analysis of the purpose and value of system dynamics applied to information technology project management

Project failure in the Information Technology (IT) sector is well documented in the literature; project managers miss their target budgets and schedules more than twice as often as they meet them. Traditional project management methodologies initially developed for the large-scale engineering projects of the 1950’s, while still relevant and useful, are reductionist in nature and are therefore missing a systems approach that concentrates on knowledge creation before, during and after a project. The research presented herein will demonstrate the role of system dynamics in augmenting a project’s control processes, as well as the skill set used by the project manager. Research from a wide variety of projects within the information technology sector will be synthesized, some using system dynamics methodologies, and will serve as the basis to comparatively analyze the value added using this novel project management approach. The project dynamics and lessons learned within will illustrate the complex interactions and feedback structures inherent in all projects, as well as seek to educate project managers on their cause-effect relationships. Furthermore, the research will illustrate problematic project dynamics, using various conceptual models, and suggest the need to integrate system dynamics methodologies for project management into traditional project management processes and bodies of knowledge instead of solely relying on them as a post-mortem tool for project analysis