ABSTRACT
It is common cause that modern “man-made” systems (e.g., missiles, housing estates, bridges) and systems-of-systems (i.e., independently useful systems incorporated into a larger system that delivers “unique” capabilities) continually increase in complexity. Large projects are increasingly becoming highly competitive, more complex, and difficult to manage. They become problems that are difficult to solve using traditional approaches; therefore, new ways of thinking (about projects), approaches, and systematic Project Management methods are needed to effectively deliver large and complex projects.
This chapter introduces Systems Thinking (ST) and related perspectives such as Systems Engineering (SE); it discusses how they might assist in dealing with the complexity so prevalent in ICT and/or Large Infrastructure Projects (LIPs). The chapter also maintains that one major implication of applying SE principles on LIPs entails considering a lifecycle that reflects the “operational environment”. The paradigm used here is to extend and particularly to adapt the SE work carried out in military and space systems to modern and complex projects (e.g., infrastructure, ICT). It further discusses practical approaches to applying ST and SE concepts on large and complex projects; additionally, the evolution of such perspectives is discoursed for the sake of novices.
