Scheduling in Complex SI Projects

Large Systems Integration (SI) programs and projects are characterized by their high complexity derived from many factors. These factors include: • The solution being implemented involves multiple technical platforms. • Implementation requires the modification/construction of hundreds of components that need to be integrated and tested/deployed as a whole. • Solution components are built by teams often located in many geographical locations. These teams often have different work methods and maturity levels. • The vendors are operating under different commercial arrangements. • Implementation of the solution involves changes to processes and methods at different levels in the host organization. • There is a significant number of stakeholders with sometimes diverging or conflicting views on the project direction and expectations. • There is just a limited time-frame available for the implementation. In this environment, the Project or Program Manager must be able to plan, control and coordinate the execution of thousands of activities carried out by hundreds of human resources. Failure to perform those processes effectively may lead the project to the feared ‘troubled’ status. The Project Schedule is the primary artifact used to plan, control and monitor the project activities, and its construction has to consider many aspects including: • The Systems Solution to be built and its components • The methods to be used to develop the solution including intermediate work-products • The project/program organization structure • The Management Styles • Experience, skills and motivations of the project personnel • Available scheduling tools The creation and maintenance of schedules for the purpose of managing large SI programs has to take into consideration the ways in which Managers and Project Managers deal with complexity and use information to control the activities. The amount and type of information provided to management has to be carefully engineered as well as the processes by which the data is collected and prepared. In this site I will discuss and present methods and tools that I have used to assist myself as a Program Manager, and other colleagues and organisations using some principles of information engineering, organization design, development methods and complexity management.