Project managers and systems engineers - “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Recent research findings on development projects

EasyChair Preprint 1854

Abstract

There are two significant “players” in development projects: the project manager and the systems engineer, both working together in cooperation with the aim of carrying out technical (execution/performance, quality) and managerial (schedule, costs, and customer satisfaction) project goals.

The goal of the current study (Kordova, Kats and Frank, 2019) is to identify the management processes shared by project managers and systems engineers in the defense industry, understand which factors influence how joint project management is accomplished and how it impacts meeting project goals, and provide recommendations for joint project management that will lead to project success.

The research method was qualitative, based on 16 semi-structured interviews with project managers and systems engineers in defense companies that deal with the development of technological systems.

The main recommendations for joint project management are: clear distribution of responsibility and delegation of authority between the two professionals before starting the project; choosing a project manager who was once a systems engineer or who possesses engineering knowledge; insistence on an ongoing dialogue between the two professionals and solving/preventing conflicts through discussion and persuasion; as well as expanding common ground between the project manager and systems engineers' areas of responsibility.

Keyphrases: Systems Engineering, development projects, project management

@booklet{EasyChair:1854,
  author    = {Sigal Kordova and Eyal Kats and Moti Frank},
  title     = {Project managers and systems engineers - “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Recent research findings on development projects},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 1854},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2019}}