Managing Complex Development Projects: A Case Study of the Use of the System Anatomy (original) (raw)
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Managing complex development projects – using the system anatomy
This paper investigates the use of a construct called the system anatomy for planning and controlling projects developing complex systems. The anatomy shows, in a compact form, the most crucial dependencies in the system from the perspective of how it 'comes-to-life', hence the concept of an 'anatomy'. The key point in using the anatomy for project planning is to develop and verify the system in the same order as it 'comes-to-life'. The project plan in made up in three steps. The first step is to define the anatomy itself. This is followed by the group-ing of functions into verifiable integration steps called increments. Finally, regular time and resource plans are made for each increment. Thus, the planning can be characterized as an integration driven procedure. This ap-proach has been used extensively at Ericsson, a leading manufacturer of telecommunication systems world wide. It has proven to be very successful, especially in terms of promoting communicat...
On the Integration of Project Planning, System Anatomy, and System Architecture
2013
In this paper, we propose to conceptualize projects as an integration of three views: the planning, the system anatomy, and the architectural ones. The system anatomy is the core in the Integration Driven Development approach, which has been successfully employed in a number of complex projects in the telecom industry. An illustration showing the integrated view is proposed as an instrument for managing the project. We discuss what effects on planning and risk management can be expected from applying this method, and analyze our results from a theoretical perspective called the Activity Domain Theory. Our findings are two: an amelioration of the Integration Driven Development approach with architectural aspects, and a positioning of the Activity Domain Theory with respect to the relevance versus rigor discourse in the project management discipline
On the integration of system anatomy, system architecture and project management
Proceedings of IRNOP 2013, 2013
In this paper, we propose to conceptualize projects as an integration of three views: the planning, the system anatomy, and the architectural ones. The system anatomy is the core in the Integration Driven Development approach, which has been successfully employed in a number of complex projects in the telecom industry. An illustration showing the integrated view is proposed as an instrument for managing the project. We discuss what effects on planning and risk management can be expected from applying this method, and analyze our results from a theoretical perspective called the Activity Domain Theory. Our findings are two: an amelioration of the Integration Driven Development approach with architectural aspects, and a positioning of the Activity Domain Theory with respect to the relevance versus rigor discourse in the project management discipline.
A conceptual approach for modelling system development projects
Human systems management, 1988
Israel Spiegler earned his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in computers and information systems at UCLA. He worked as a system analyst at System Development Corp. in Santa Monica, California. An Associate Professor at Boston University he taught at UCLA and is now on the Information System faculty of the Graduate School of Management at Tel Aviv University. He has published in the Journal of System Management, Information System, Omega, Data Base , and Int. Journal of Man-Machine Studies. His areas of interest are data base management, system analysis and design, and human-machine interface. Levi Tsirulnikov attended Moscow University between the years 1966-71 and received an M.Sc. degree in Mathematics. He has a second M.Sc. in computers and information systems from Tel Aviv University. He is an experienced system analyst who worked on system design at EL-AL Israel Airlines and is now the MIS manager at Motorola, Israel. The paper proposes a conceptual model for describing and managing system development projects. The model provides a structured way to subdivide projects into tasks and a tool for measuring a priori the level of control needed to manage projects in information system and other areas. A Project Basic Unit (PBU) is defined as the main building block used to describe various levels of a project hierarchy. Project phasing, the subdivision of higher PBUs into lower level ones, is investigated. Criteria for project phasing which is an important element of managing projects, are outlined and discussed. The area of project control where one person performs more than one project role, called coresidence, is also presented. This phenomenon is a frequent cause of lack of control and malfunctions in system development projects.
The System Anatomy: Enabling Agile Project Management
2011
The situation is all too well-known: the number of spectacular development failures in, for example, large software projects remains at an alarmingly high level. In spite of frantic ongoing efforts to come up with new methods and tools to support such tasks, there seems to be no radical improvement in sight. While the complexity of systems increases at an ever-accelerating pace, our innate human cognitive capabilities for managing such development tasks remain the same as they were in historical times. This book takes an alternative route to the development of complex systems. Technology, methods, and tools are still important, but human-centric aspects like common understanding, coordination, visualization, and reduction of complexity, are here brought to the forefront. The core of the alternative approach is the system anatomy, a means that was conceived in the early 1990s by Jack Järkvik, one of the contributors to this book. The system anatomy is a simple but powerful image showing the dependencies among capabilities in a system, from the most basic to the “money-making” ones, thereby representing a novel way of describing what a system is. This out-of-the-ordinary image has since then been used extensively in various forms at Ericsson for managing extremely complex system development tasks. When an innovation such as the system anatomy sees the light of the day, it soon becomes evident whether or not that innovation is feasible; otherwise, it will disappear silently into the darkness of history. The anatomy concept has certainly turned out to be extremely viable. Moreover, it is quite likely that the potential of the anatomy-based approach is not nearly fully exhausted, either in practical applications, or as an object of research. The time has come to make the system anatomy innovation known to a wider audience. Therefore, the purpose of this book is to provide a snapshot of where the anatomy-based approach to system development stands today, by looking backwards at the first attempts to use the anatomy, by examining current usage of the concept, and by contemplating what might lie ahead.
System design and project planning: Model and rules to manage their interactions
Integrated Computer-Aided Engineering, 2015
This article proposes a model and rules dealing with the management of the interaction between system design processes and project planning ones. An industrial benchmark analysis has reinforced our belief that the interaction between the two processes has to be supported by models, processes and relevant tools. Firstly, after presenting the results of the analysis, the different entities are defined and the one-to-one relationship or bijection between the structure of the system and the structure of the project is made. Then, a model, taking into account design activities and planning activities as well as management of interactions, is proposed in compliance with existing project and design standards. A process of interaction is presented to carry out design and project management. Two interaction modes have been proposed. On the one hand, the structural interaction establishes links between entities of the two domains. On the other hand, the behavioral interaction (subject of this paper) is based on the definition of states for each entity following feasibility and verification criteria, and can thus manage the changes between states. Some rules are defined (precedence and synchronous rules) to forbid certain changes when they are inconsistent and to synchronize them.
14th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2012
This article discuss the architecture of an integrated model able to support the coupling between a system design process and a project planning process. The project planning process is in charge of defining, planning and controlling the system design project. A benchmarking analysis carried out with fifteen companies belonging to the world competitiveness cluster, Aerospace Valley, has highlighted a lack of models, processes and tools for aiding the interactions between the two environments. We define the coupling as the establishment of links between entities of the two domains while preserving their original semantic, thus allowing information to be collected. The proposed coupling is recursive. It enables systems to be decomposed into subsystems when designers consider complexity to be too high, and can also decompose projects into sub-projects. The coupling enables systematically links to be drawn between project entities and system entities. In this paper, we discuss the different possibilities of linking system and project structures during the design and the planning processes. Firstly, after presenting the results of the industrial analysis, the different entities are defined and the various coupling modes are discussed.
Management issues in systems engineering
1993
When applied to a system, the doctrine of successive refinement is a divide-and-conquer strategy. Complex systems are sucessively divided into pieces that are less complex, until they are simple enough to be conquered. This decomposition results in several structures for describing the product system and the producing system. These structures play important roles in systems engineering and project management. Many of the remaining sections in this chapter are devoted to describing some of these key structures. Structures that describe the product system include, but are not limited to, the requirements tree, system architecture and certain symbolic information such as system drawings, schematics, and data bases. The structures that describe the producing system include the project's work breakdown, schedules, cost accounts and organization.
Coordinating dependencies in complex system development projects
IEMC '03 Proceedings. Managing Technologically Driven Organizations: The Human Side of Innovation and Change, 2003
This paper elaborates on different aspects af dependencies in complex system development projects. The empirical setting of the paper is based on studies of Ericsson and ABB and fheir tools to manage and coordinate these dependencies. The studiedprojects have shown fhat it is crucial fa create different pictures or abstractions of !he realify in order to make the dependencies apparent to all the involved Organizations and individuals. Both af these companies have successfully used somefhing they call dependency diagram. The use of such diagrams makes it easier for the projecf members to be aware of their contribution in the fatal system solution. Being aware of which parts of the system you are depending on and which parts are depending on your contribution makes the knowledge transfer easier. The abilify to transfer knowledge between the different parts is what in the end will be the crucial step to becoming a successful system developer.