Browsing by Subject "Interactive Management"

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    Open Access
    A systemic exploration of information systems project risks in the South African public sector
    (2021) Chiloane, Poelo Leo; Tuan, Nien-Tsu
    Purpose: This study aims to investigate Information Systems (IS) project risks in the South African public sector, and to develop a systemic model of the most dominant risks encountered and identify the interrelationships that exist between these risks. Design and methodology: The study is conducted through the application of Interactive Management (IM) to identify IS project risks and structure the interrelationships between them. The IM methodology comprises of four key phases: Idea Generation, Idea Clarification, Idea Structuring, and Interpretation. A workshop with a group of participants is required to carry out an IM intervention successfully. During the Idea Generation phase, participants are asked a triggering question to elicit ideas, which are then clarified and structured in the subsequent phases of IM before final interpretation. Findings: In the Idea Generation phase, six IM participants working on public sector IS projects were asked a triggering question to elicit dominant IS project risks they perceive to be important. The participants initially identified 34 IS project risks, which were reduced to 24 after they brainstormed their relevance during the Idea Clarification phase. Further deliberations led to the participants removing another risk during the Idea Structuring phase. During the Idea Structuring phase, the remaining 23 risks were structured to produce an Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) digraph with the aid of software. The ISM digraph revealed three risk factors as the primary drivers of IS project risks in the public sector, specifically, in the context of this study. These risks are ‘lack of consultation with users', ‘budget cuts' and ‘excessive red tape'. Value of study: This research contributes to the following: (1) the existing knowledge-base on public sector IS project risk management; (2) the focus on a soft systemic approach such as IM helps in uncovering context-specific issues on IS project risks that may not be available in extant literature; and (3) the collaborative learning process of the IM approach adds to research on the sustainability of complex IS projects implemented in the public sector.
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    Open Access
    A systemic exploration of risks in mobile application development projects and environments
    (2022) du Plessis, Ashlea; Tuan, Nien-Tsu
    Purpose - The aim of this research is to develop an understanding of the most common risks encountered during mobile application development projects and identify the interrelationships that exist between these risks to highlight the core risk drivers that negatively impact these projects and outcomes. Research design and methodology - This study adopted a holistic approach using Warfield's Interactive Management (IM) methodology to understand the risks that hinder MAD projects and understand the interrelationships between these risks to identify the core driving risks. IM can be divided into four phases. In the first phase, Idea generation, participants were asked through a survey to define their role and list the risks they perceive as most important within their environment. The second phase, Idea clarification, was actioned through online video calls where participants discussed the risks to get a shared understanding of each risk. The third phase, Idea structuring, was also executed through online video calls where participants agreed on the relationships that exist between each risk through pair-to-pair comparison using Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) software. The final phase, Interpretation, required participants to review the interpretive structural model and agree on the core risks that mainly negatively impact MAD projects. Research finding - The research revealed three core risks that significantly lead to other risks that will negatively impact MAD projects and environments within the context of this study. These risks include ‘Lack of platform knowledge', ‘Poor team skills and capabilities', and ‘Poor quality and observability of data/analytics to understand user behaviour'. Value of the research – This research contributes to the following: 1) Risks that are identified and prioritised as dominant risks can be compared to the lists from existing studies that aimed to highlight unique risks in MAD projects, 2) By understanding the inter-relationships between risks, a few root causes/risk drivers can be highlighted which should receive more attention throughout the project, 3) By adopting a systemic approach, it helps to reveal context-specific issues which may not be available in existing literature, and 4) The collaborative learning nature of the IM approach adds to research on the sustainability of complex MAD projects implemented in pluralist and coercive environments.
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    Open Access
    Identification of critical success factors for enhancing virtual project team performance in South Africa's local government context
    (2025) Lande, Kwanda; Tuan, Nien-Tsu
    Internationally, virtual project teams have surfaced as an essential organizational structure due to improved information and communication technology and changes in corporate values. Furthermore, virtual project teams are favoured for the flexibility they provide in terms of recruiting the best available experts regardless of their location, improving productivity by reducing commuting time and operational costs for organizations. Despite this, virtual project teams are also associated with many challenges, linked to communication, collaboration and sharing of information, that negatively affect Virtual Project Team Performance (VPTP). Hence, identifying what enhances VPTP is of great importance. This research aimed to identify Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for enhancing VPTP in the South African local government context (focusing on the City of Cape Town), determine the interrelationship between the identified CSFs, and identify CSFs to prioritize when implementing and managing virtual project teams. The research participants for this study identified 20 CSFs using Interactive Management methodology techniques linked to CSF generation, and CSF clarification processes. Moreover, research participants generated an Interpretive Structural Model (ISM) that illustrates the CSFs that "significantly help to achieve” other CSFs. Using the transitive logic inferences embedded in the ISM program, this research has revealed that CSFs such as shared values among team members, regular team brainstorming sessions, reviewing lessons learned of previous projects, effective communication, technical skills competencies aligned to tasks, project progress and performance management, time management and boundaries, reliable technology and network system, and regular in-person engagements even when virtual working is the norm, are relatively important based on the number of other CSFs that they significantly help to achieve. The benefit of this study is twofold: firstly, it helps to extend prior research on CSFs for VPTP by contributing new information based on the views and experiences of virtual project team stakeholders in the South African local government context. Secondly, this research is essential for South African municipalities as it identifies CSFs in one municipality that other municipalities can use as a base to build from in identifying and implementing CSFs for VPTP in their organizations.