Development of measurement scales for project complexity and system integration performance.

摘要

Information system projects continue to fail, and industry reports estimate the losses at billions of dollars. With project complexity constantly increasing, these losses could also increase. While a number of project measurement tools exist, there is a lack of a disciplined methodology to quantify project complexity and system integration performance. In response, a quantitative study was conducted to generate construct measures that could enhance project management practices with the goal to reduce economic losses, improve resource allocations, and advance management training. The research questions focused on the creation and relationship of construct measures for project complexity and system integration performance and to determine if there is a link to demographic variables. An online survey of 261 project management professionals and graduate business students revealed a statistically significant positive correlation between project complexity and system integration performance factors. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA analyses, Cronbach's alpha correlations, and Tukey t-tests were used to evaluate the data. The newly developed system integration performance construct showed a high correlation with flexibility, reliability, and user satisfaction. Results indicate that the demographic variable working experience was statistically significant in perceiving project complexity; while age, race, gender, and education were not. The results of this research are important for project management professionals who want to establish new measurement parameters, such as complexity measures, throughout a project's life cycle. From a social change perspective, the use of the measurement scales can provide organizations with operational gains; while understanding the demographic variables provides important support for nondiscriminatory staffing practices.