Application of systems engineering and systems thinking to project management

The management of technology and engineering projects within an organizational context continues to fall short on a number of levels, especially when considering that projects and programs undertaken across different industries do not always achieve the required project outputs satisfactorily. Moreover, there is also an apparent disconnect between technical activities and project management processes as well as difficulties caused by inadequate project planning. In order to address these issues, engineering systems thinking has been found to contribute to a number of favourable project management features. Consequently, this chapter will identify approaches for improving the project management process through exploring the application of systems engineering and systems thinking to the management of projects. This will be undertaken through an extensive literature review of supporting material and conceptual analysis of how systems engineering and systems thinking can be applied to project planning. Through building on this analysis and from work in the literature, a new model for project management has been developed that is based on four systems-based levers, which are: multidisciplinary and holistic; requirements-driven; project interdependencies; and systems techniques. The utility and flexibility of this innovative management framework has been explored through an initial application to a case study involving a technology project on the development of composite materials for aerospace applications. This case study revealed that there are a range of systems methodologies that can be deployed in order to improve the project planning process and ultimately contribute to project success.