Governance of Organizational Project Management and Megaprojects Using the Viable Project Governance Model

Ralf Müller (), Nathalie Drouin () and Shankar Sankaran ()
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Ralf Müller: BI Norwegian Business School
Nathalie Drouin: University of Quebec in Montreal and KHEOPS, International Research Consortium on the Governance of Large Infrastructure Projects
Shankar Sankaran: University of Technology Sydney

Chapter 19 in Handbook of Systems Sciences, 2021, pp 501-527 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter applies a systems lens to the governance of projects, megaprojects (which are major undertakings, typically in infrastructure development), and Organizational Project Management (OPM), which is the integration of all project-related activities in an organization. The chapter provides an overview of systems thinking in the governance literature and relates it to the layers of an OPM model to outline the architecture of OPM systems in respect of Stafford Beer’s viable systems model (VSM). It then addresses megaprojects as a further viable system, something quite different from the normal organizational perspective. A case study from a real-life megaproject exemplifies the theoretical findings for practical use. The chapter ends with a reflection on the new insights to project governance when employing a viable systems perspective. This includes identification of specific governance issues for better project results, such as adjustment of steering groups to the variability of project outcomes, as well as less dominance of symbolism at VSM systems 4 and 5, combined with more realistic planning at systems 1 and 2, followed up by system 3 in megaprojects.

Keywords: Organizational Project Management; Megaprojects; Governance; Viable governance model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-981-15-0720-5_14

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DOI: 10.1007/978-981-15-0720-5_14

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