Maturity of sustainable development within information systems projects
- Authors: Marnewick, Carl
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Sustainability , Information systems , Capability
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/236183 , uj:24165 , Citation: Marnewick, C. 2017. Maturity of sustainable development within information systems projects.
- Description: Abstract: Sustainability or sustainability development has been a major topic of discussion over the last couple of years. Project management is also a discipline that is starting to focus on sustainability, but the focus is more on the environmental aspect of the project itself. Information systems (IS) projects do not have such a major impact on the environment as construction and engineering projects do. Should project managers that are implementing these ‘soft’ projects be concerned about sustainability? There is currently little or no knowledge about sustainability within the IS domain and whether sustainability is incorporated at all within IS projects. A structured questionnaire was adapted based on previous studies. It was circulated to the project management community within South Africa and a total of 1 099 responses were received. The responses covered all industries and for the purpose of this article, 387 IS projects (35.2% of the total projects) were analysed to determine the level of project management sustainability maturity. The objective of the study was to determine the level of capability regarding sustainability.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Marnewick, Carl
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Sustainability , Information systems , Capability
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/236183 , uj:24165 , Citation: Marnewick, C. 2017. Maturity of sustainable development within information systems projects.
- Description: Abstract: Sustainability or sustainability development has been a major topic of discussion over the last couple of years. Project management is also a discipline that is starting to focus on sustainability, but the focus is more on the environmental aspect of the project itself. Information systems (IS) projects do not have such a major impact on the environment as construction and engineering projects do. Should project managers that are implementing these ‘soft’ projects be concerned about sustainability? There is currently little or no knowledge about sustainability within the IS domain and whether sustainability is incorporated at all within IS projects. A structured questionnaire was adapted based on previous studies. It was circulated to the project management community within South Africa and a total of 1 099 responses were received. The responses covered all industries and for the purpose of this article, 387 IS projects (35.2% of the total projects) were analysed to determine the level of project management sustainability maturity. The objective of the study was to determine the level of capability regarding sustainability.
- Full Text:
The reality of adhering to best practices : the case of information system initiatives
- Authors: Marnewick, Carl
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Project management - Standards , Information systems , Benefits management
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/222888 , uj:22398 , Citation: Marnewick, C. 2017. The reality of adhering to best practices : the case of information system initiatives.
- Description: Abstract: Purpose: Standards are written by practitioners for practitioners. It is therefore logical that project managers should comply with project management standards. Benefits management is a domain within program management. The focus of benefits management is to deliver benefits of initiatives beyond the closure of a normal program or project. This is not the case with projects within the information systems (IS) discipline, implying that IS program and project managers are not adhering to standards. The purpose of this article is to determine whether the best practices associated with benefits management are applied to IS initiatives in order to maximise the benefits of these initiatives. Design/methodology/approach: Senior and middle managers in South African organisations were interviewed to determine how benefits are managed within their various projects. The purpose of the interviews was to determine adherence to standards and especially benefits management and, secondly, to determine whether these organisations are achieving any benefits and ultimately value. Findings: There is an overwhelming non-adherence to benefits management best practices within the IS discipline, and IS program and project managers do not have the slightest idea how to perform benefits management. Irrespective of this, organisations do believe that they are receiving benefits and value from these IS initiatives. Research limitations/implications: The research was only done in South Africa with the specific focus of information systems. The results are thus very specific and opens the door for more comprehensive research that focuses on various industries, countries and standards. Practical implications: The results have several implications ranging from how standards are written to the professionalism of IS programs and project managers. Organisations are not achieving the optimal benefits from investments. The fact that organisations do realise benefits from a broken process, implies that more benefits can be realised when the entire benefits realisation process is followed. Governance controls should also be put in place to ensure that program and project managers are adhering to standards. Originality/value: Standards are dominating the project management discipline and there is a general assumption that program and project managers are adhering these standards. This research queries the value of standards as the results indicate that there is limited adherence to standards and best practices.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Marnewick, Carl
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Project management - Standards , Information systems , Benefits management
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/222888 , uj:22398 , Citation: Marnewick, C. 2017. The reality of adhering to best practices : the case of information system initiatives.
- Description: Abstract: Purpose: Standards are written by practitioners for practitioners. It is therefore logical that project managers should comply with project management standards. Benefits management is a domain within program management. The focus of benefits management is to deliver benefits of initiatives beyond the closure of a normal program or project. This is not the case with projects within the information systems (IS) discipline, implying that IS program and project managers are not adhering to standards. The purpose of this article is to determine whether the best practices associated with benefits management are applied to IS initiatives in order to maximise the benefits of these initiatives. Design/methodology/approach: Senior and middle managers in South African organisations were interviewed to determine how benefits are managed within their various projects. The purpose of the interviews was to determine adherence to standards and especially benefits management and, secondly, to determine whether these organisations are achieving any benefits and ultimately value. Findings: There is an overwhelming non-adherence to benefits management best practices within the IS discipline, and IS program and project managers do not have the slightest idea how to perform benefits management. Irrespective of this, organisations do believe that they are receiving benefits and value from these IS initiatives. Research limitations/implications: The research was only done in South Africa with the specific focus of information systems. The results are thus very specific and opens the door for more comprehensive research that focuses on various industries, countries and standards. Practical implications: The results have several implications ranging from how standards are written to the professionalism of IS programs and project managers. Organisations are not achieving the optimal benefits from investments. The fact that organisations do realise benefits from a broken process, implies that more benefits can be realised when the entire benefits realisation process is followed. Governance controls should also be put in place to ensure that program and project managers are adhering to standards. Originality/value: Standards are dominating the project management discipline and there is a general assumption that program and project managers are adhering these standards. This research queries the value of standards as the results indicate that there is limited adherence to standards and best practices.
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Konstruksie en evaluering van 'n gerekenariseerde konsepverwerwingstoets.
- Carstens, V.E., Schepers, J.M.
- Authors: Carstens, V.E. , Schepers, J.M.
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Computerisation , Concept Attainment Test , Information systems
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:6359 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1102
- Description: The construction and evaluation of a computerised concept attainment test. The principal objectives of the study were the computerisation of the Concept Attainment Test of Schepers (1971), and the determination of its reliability and validity. The computerised concept attainment test (CAT) was applied to 185 undergraduates in Informatics and Computer Science. For comparative purposes the original CAT was applied to 205 first-year students in Mathematics. For validation purposes the semester marks and examination marks of Informatics II and III, and of Computer Science II and III, were used. For Informatics II all the scores of the CAT correlated negatively with the second semester marks. None of the correlations with examination marks were statistically significant. No statistically significant correlations were obtained in respect of Informatics III. For Computer Science II “number correct” (Form A) correlated with all the semester and examination marks. No significant correlations were obtained in respect of Computer Science III.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Carstens, V.E. , Schepers, J.M.
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Computerisation , Concept Attainment Test , Information systems
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:6359 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1102
- Description: The construction and evaluation of a computerised concept attainment test. The principal objectives of the study were the computerisation of the Concept Attainment Test of Schepers (1971), and the determination of its reliability and validity. The computerised concept attainment test (CAT) was applied to 185 undergraduates in Informatics and Computer Science. For comparative purposes the original CAT was applied to 205 first-year students in Mathematics. For validation purposes the semester marks and examination marks of Informatics II and III, and of Computer Science II and III, were used. For Informatics II all the scores of the CAT correlated negatively with the second semester marks. None of the correlations with examination marks were statistically significant. No statistically significant correlations were obtained in respect of Informatics III. For Computer Science II “number correct” (Form A) correlated with all the semester and examination marks. No significant correlations were obtained in respect of Computer Science III.
- Full Text:
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