Browsing by Subject "Systemic Thinking"

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    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
    Identification of the critical success factors for public-funded R&D projects in South Africa
    (2019) Mkhize, Bahle; Tuan, Nien-Tsu
    South Africa (SA) is classified as a middle-income emerging market, with the most resource-rich economy in Sub-Saharan Africa (SAccess, 2012). Its Research and Development (R&D) journey is characterised by a history of imbalances and oppression. Since the introduction of SA’s National R&D Strategy, recorded government R&D spending has been on the rise. However, the success rate for public-funded R&D projects has neither been satisfactory nor readily exposed for all to see. Factors considered critical for project success are largely contextual and tend to differ per project and industry. There appears to be no general consensus among scholars and authors on the common factors deemed critical in influencing the success of public-funded R&D projects. In SA, such factors still remain a mystery for further exploration. This research study sought to develop a model that will assist in achieving two key objectives, namely to identify the Critical Success Factors (CSF) of public-funded R&D projects in SA, as well as to exhume possible interrelationships between the identified critical success factors. This paper argues for a systemic and structure-based holistic approach and adopts Warfield’s Interactive Management (IM) in its endeavour to identify those factors that are deemed critical in the successful implementation of public-funded R&D projects in SA. The methodology comprises three key phases: a planning phase; a workshop phase; as well as a follow-up phase. The planning phase is a foundational phase that lays the basis and a plan for the ensuing two phases. The workshop, also known as the conversation phase, could be conceptualised as a process for building patterned interactions among the participants. It is in this phase that a relationship model, in the form of a diagraph, is constructed. The follow-up phase is the last phase and involves the implementation of the results to prove validity of solutions proposed in the workshop phase. However, since this last phase falls outside the scope of this paper, it has been excluded. Through the application of the IM methodology, a total of 35 identified CSFs were reduced to 23 key to formulate the CSF relationship model using the Interpretive Structural Model (ISM). Based on the model results, the study is concluded by identifying “Product market viability” and “Executive management support” as the two primary success factors that are most significant and have the greatest leverage to influence other factors towards the successful completion of public-funded R&D projects in SA.