Resumo

DU BRUYN, Leon. Projects are systems: people, equipment, materials and resources managed to achieve a goal. JCMAN [online]. 2005, vol.2, n.1, pp.143-162. ISSN 1815-7440.

When the topic of this article is considered, a fair assumption regarding the concept of projects would be that they are indeed systems in which various resources are managed to achieve specific goals. This assumption, based on the general accepted definition of a system being an organised sum of coordinated and interacting parts, rings true when people, equipment, materials and resources (all interacting parts) are managed (coordinated) to achieve these set goals. Using the Green Scheme project in Namibia, this article will examine the relationship of the project management system with its environment, various viewpoints of the project management system, the dynamics and characteristics of projects and project management, as well as the project management process. Through this examination the article will validate the importance of these issues and how organisations relate to them, especially regarding the success or failure of a project. There are specific organisations involved in the Green Scheme project, which will be used to demonstrate the functional implications of certain assumptions made in the article. These assumptions with relevant justifications are critical to the value that this article can add to the development of project managers. The Green Scheme project therefore presents a research opportunity, examining the possibility and long-term sustainability of a project that relies on progressive elaboration. The research objective would be to prove assumptions to be relevant or not, supporting the challenge to assist the Namibian Government in successfully establishing a proud legacy for their President. Based on published research, expert judgements and personal experiences, the article will endeavour to add practical relevance to the study field of project management.

Palavras-chave : characteristics of projects and project management; project initiation process, identifying possible projectconstraints; project life cycle; projectmanagement process; projectmanagementsystem; systems approach for project management.

        · texto em Inglês     · Inglês ( pdf )