Role of knowledge management in project management of complex systems organizations

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Role of knowledge management in project
management of complex systems organizations

• NASA JSC Conference
• By Arvind Gudi
• Advisor Dr. Irma Becerra-Fernandez
• March 2-3, 2006

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Outline

• Introduction
• Project management
• Research challenges
• Research objective
• Preliminary observations
• Research contributions

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Outline

• Introduction
• Project management
• Research challenges
• Research objective
• Preliminary observations
• Research contributions

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Introduction

• As our technology develops and expands in its
  applicability, our experience shows that we
  create systems and organizations that are
  increasingly risk-prone
• At one extreme we have systems that can pose
  severe danger such as nuclear power plants, space
  missions, airways systems, and others
• Some examples are the core meltdown at Three Mile
  Island Unit 2 nuclear plant near Harrisburg
  Pennsylvania on March 28, 1978, and the NASA
  space shuttle Columbia accident on February 1,
  2003.
• There are also many other systems, that may not
  have catastrophic failures, but nonetheless can
  be risky and cause economic damage

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Introduction

• What can be done?
• Conclusions by investigative reports usually
  determine that the mistakes were not isolated
  failures, the conditions that caused the accident
  existed prior to the failures
• The good news is If we are able to understand
  the nature of risky systems better, we may be
  able to reduce or remove the risk of failure
• This research is driven by the motivation to
  reduce risk and preventing failures during the
  development of such systems, the focus being on
  the dynamic aspects of project management

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Outline

• Introduction
• Project management
• Research challenges
• Research objective
• Preliminary observations
• Research contributions

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Project management

• The project management function in large
  organizations is typically the key organizational
  function -- it is the nexus around which the
  project requirements are conceptualized and
  eventually implemented
• Projects are undertakings which are large,
  unique, expensive, and often involve risk
• Project management differs with environmental
  characteristics Process-based or project-based

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Project management

• It is not sufficient for the project management
  function (including the architecture of support
  people, communication and information
  technologies, and collaboration practices) to be
  designed only for consistency of processes
• Instead, in a dynamic multi-project environment,
  project management needs to hinge around the key
  ingredient of agility (also adaptive)

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Project management of complex systems

• Prior research has pointed out that there is a
  growing need to manage the increasing complexity
  of projects
• need to identify the dependencies related to the
  development of innovative products
• As project complexity increases, it becomes
  important to find the means to manage
• inter-relatedness of sub-projects
• along with related activities and events
• Increased project complexity implies that no one
  individual or team can at a given time comprehend
  the entire system that is being developed

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Project management of complex systems

• Projects in RD environments can be considered
  one example of complex systems
• Limitations of basic human capabilities and hence
  we cannot depend on sheer ability for such
  undertakings
• We can construct tools and design processes for
  managing this complexity
• Knowledge management?
• Mechanisms and technologies

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Outline

• Introduction
• Project management
• Research challenges
• Research objective
• Preliminary observations
• Research contributions

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Project management in RD organizations

• Projects in RD environments can be more
  challenging than multi-project environments
• Long duration of projects
• Many interacting components may be in design
  stage simultaneously
• Potential loss of knowledge of key personnel
• Degree of innovation
• Need to keep up with frequent advancements of
  science and technology
• Sources of new data and information are diverse
• Challenge for resource integration, analysis and
  decision making

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Project management in RD organizations

• Projects in RD environments can be more
  challenging than multi-project environments
• The need to take more aspects into account
• interoperability, industrial design,
  environmental, manufacturability
• The demand to cooperate and interact with more
  actors outside the traditional RD
• Increased uncertainty
• Requirements, environmental, political

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Research challenges

• It appears that the outcome of current system
  engineering practice is complexity
• especially development of large-scale systems
• If the systems being developed are complexly
  interactive and tightly coupled, by nature they
  are risky and prone to failure (Perrow)
• The main problem is complexity itself
• This creates space for effective project
  management practices facilitated by knowledge
  management mechanisms technologies

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Outline

• Introduction
• Project management
• Research challenges
• System accident theory
• Research objective
• Preliminary observations
• Research contributions

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System accident theory

• The Normal Accident theory or System Accident
  theory was proposed by Charles Perrow in an
  attempt to explain failures and accidents by
  trying to understand the nature of the systems
  themselves
• System accidents involve the unanticipated
  interaction of multiple failures
• Attention is not on individual components or
  isolated incidents that led to the failure
• To analyze the nature of systems in the context
  of accidents, Perrow uses two concepts, and
  mutually exclusive dimensions
• Complexity and Coupling

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Complex interactions

• One component can interact with one or more other
  components outside the normal production sequence
• By design (intended), or not by design (not
  intended)
• Even if intended, they may be unfamiliar
• Interactions may not always be visible
• May not be immediately comprehensible
• Can confuse the user, operator
• Emphasis on the understanding and awareness of
  the connections and dependencies between the
  parts and sub-systems

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Tight/ loose coupling

• Tightly coupled systems
• Have more time-dependent processes
• The sequences are more invariant
• What happens in one part directly affects what
  happens in the other (little slack or buffer)
• Loosely coupled systems
• Buffers and redundancies can be found, even
  though they were not planned ahead of time
• Can incorporate shocks and failures without
  destabilization

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Interaction Coupling chart
INTERACTIONS Linear Complex
T i g h t
COUPL I NG
L o o s e


Figure 1 Interaction/ Coupling Chart
(adapted from Perrow, 1999 p. 97)
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Outline

• Introduction
• Project management
• Research challenges
• System accident theory
• Research objective
• Preliminary observations
• Research contributions

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Research objectives

• The aim of this research is to refine our
  understanding of how projects are impacted by
  complex interactivity, coupling and innovation,
  and explore the relationships between team
  adaptivity and the reduction of risk of failure
  in the system
• Further, the intent is to identify knowledge
  management strategies which organizations could
  institute in project management practices in the
  organization.

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Research objectives

• Interactive complexity Property of
  interactiveness between parts of the system
  (planned or unplanned interactions)
• Coupling Property based on how rigid the design
  is with regard to the sequence and timing of
  processes in order to reach the end goal
• Degree of innovation The use of creative and
  novel ideas in the system
• Risk of failure depends on the probability of an
  undesirable event and the severity of the
  consequences of that event
• Team adaptivity a change in team performance, in
  response to a salient cue or cue stream, which
  leads to a functional outcome for the entire team

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Research questions

• 1) How does project management deal with issues
  related to the complex interactivity, coupling,
  and innovation that are inherent in systems being
  designed and developed?
• a) How do complex interactivity and coupling
  affect the risk of the system?
• b) What kind of impact does the factor of
  innovation have on complexity?
• c) What kind of impact does the factor of team
  adaptability have on risk of failure of
  projects?
• 2) What role can KM play in domains that are
  increasingly being characterized by
  organizational, design, and interactive
  complexity?
• a) Which elements of KM can be applied for
  preventing failures, or reducing the risk of
  failures during management of projects in such
  domains?
• b) How can these elements be operationalized?

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Outline

• Introduction
• Project management
• Research challenges
• System accident theory
• Research objective
• Preliminary approach
• Research contributions

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Preliminary approach

• In this study, it is assumed that the term
  "system" is meant to indicate the result of the
  project work undertaken by the organization
• Project management While this function will
  touch upon a multitude of activities and
  accountabilities in the organization, for the
  purpose of this study we consider team
  adaptability as the most relevant aspect and how
  the project management can mediate the potential
  of risk
• KM is the underlying theme for this study, and
  the research interest is generated by tying
  certain KM mechanisms, processes, and
  technologies which would be appropriate for the
  project management requirements

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Conceptual Model
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Outline

• Introduction
• Project management
• Research challenges
• System accident theory
• Research objective
• Preliminary approach
• Research contributions

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Research contributions

• Extend the Normal Accident theory proposed by
  Perrow to include other factors besides
  complexity and coupling such as degree of
  innovation. Also the two dimensions of
  complexity and coupling will each be used for two
  perspectives the technological system and the
  corresponding organizational structure.
• Recommend a KM framework (Liebowitz Megbolugbe,
  2003) which will be useful to project and program
  managers in conceptualizing, developing, and
  implementing KM initiatives, which can be further
  generalized for other organizations.

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Research contributions

• We anticipate that this research will allow us
  contribute and offer insights towards improved
  and more effective performance in the context of
  enterprise governance
• We expect that this work will provide useful
  insights and guidelines for project managers
  responsible for making crucial decisions in risky
  environments. We hope to provide them with a
  methodology to evaluate their options, so that
  the choices they make are proactive, informed and
  deliberate, rather than simple enactments of past
  experiences.