In ending my last post on developing a general theory of project management, I introduced the concept of complex adaptive systems (CAS) and posited that projects and their ecosystems fall into this specific category of systems theory. I also posited that it is through the tools of CAS that we will gain insight into the behavior of projects. The purpose is not only to identify commonalities in these systems across what is frequently asserted are irreconcilable across economic market verticals, but to identify regularities and the proper math in determining the behavior of these systems.
(more…)General Theory of Project Management
Talking (Project Systems) Blues: A Foundation for a General Theory
As with those of you who observe the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I find myself suddenly in a state of stasis and, as a result, with feet firmly on the ground, able to write a post. This is preface to pointing out that the last couple of weeks have been both busy and productive in a positive way.
Among the events of the last two weeks was the meeting of project management professionals focused on the discipline of aerospace and defense at the Integrated Program Management Workshop. This vertical, unlike other areas of project management, is characterized by applying a highly structured approach that involves a great deal of standardization. Most often, people involved in this area tend to engage in an area where the public sector plays a strong role in defining the environment in which the market operates. Furthermore, the major suppliers tend to be limited, and so both oligopolistic and monopolistic market competition defines the market space.
(more…)
Life, Project Management, and Everything 