measuring information system project success through a

Measuring Information System Project Success through a Software-Assisted Qualitative Content Analysis Jin Xiu Guo

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND LIBRARIES | MARCH 2019 53

JinXiuGuo([email protected])isDirectorofCollectionsandResourceManagement,FrankMelville,Jr.MemorialLibrary,StonyBrookUniversity

ABSTRACT

InformationSystem(IS)/ITprojectsuccessisagrowinginterestinmanagementduetoitshighimpactonorganizationalchangeandeffectiveness.Librarieshavebeenadoptingintegratedlibrarysystems(ILS)tomanageservicesandresourcesforyears.ItisessentialforlibrarianstounderstandthemechanismofISprojectmanagementinordertosuccessfullybringtechnologyinnovationtotheorganization.ThisstudydevelopsatheoreticalmodelofmeasuringISprojectsuccessandtestsitinanILSmergerprojectthroughasoftware-assistedqualitativecontentanalysis.Themodeladdressesprojectsuccessthroughthreeconstructs:(1)projectmanagementprocess,(2)projectoutcomes,and(3)contextualfactors.Theresultsindicateprojectmanagementsuccessalonecannotguaranteeprojectsuccess;projectoutputsandcontextualfactorsalsoinfluencesuccessthroughtheleadershipoftheprojectmanagerthroughoutthelifecycle.Thestudynotonlyconfirmstheproposedmodelinapost-projectevaluation,butalsosignifiesthatprojectassessmentcanreinforceorganizationallearning,increasethechanceofachievingsuccess,andmaximizeoverallreturnsforanorganization.ThequalitativecontentanalysiswithNVivo11hasprovidedanewresearchmethodforprojectmanagerstoself-assessanIS/ITprojectsuccesssystematicallyandlearnfromtheirexperiencesthroughouttheprojectlifecycle.

INTRODUCTION

InformationTechnology(IT)projectsuccesshasdrawnmoreattentioninthelasttwodecadesduetoitshighimpactonorganizationalchange.MorecompanieshaveconductedtheirinnovationtogainbusinessadvantagesthroughISprojects.IntheUnitedKingdomalone,21percentofthegrossvalueincreasedinmanufacturingandconstructionhappensthroughcomplexproductsandISdevelopmentprojects.However,theimplementationofISprojectshasnotbeensuccessfulaspractitionershoped.NicholasandHiddingreportedthatonly35percentofITprojectswerecompletedontimeandbudget,andmettheprojectrequirements.1TheU.S.OfficeofElectronicGovernmentandInformationTechnology(OEGIT)notedthatonly25percentof1,400projectsreachedtheoffice’sgoalsandmorethan$21billionspentonITprojectswereinjeopardy.2IntheEuropeanUnion,about20to30percentofcontractedIT/ISprojectscouldnotmeetthestakeholders’expectationsandcausethelossof₤70billionor$99billion.3AlthoughsomeITprojectsareconsideredsuccessfulfromtheperspectiveofprojectmanagement,projectsponsorshardlyrecognizetheresultsleadingtoorganizationaleffectiveness.ItiscriticalforITpractitionerstoexplorenewmethodstoarticulatewhatITprojectsuccessisandthenimproveprojectperformance.

MEASURING IS PROJECT SUCCESS | GUO 54 https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v38i1.10603

Traditionally,themeasurementofITprojectsuccessfocusesoninternalmeasuressuchasprojecttime,cost,risk,andquality,whichaddressprojectefficiency.Inrecentyears,externalmeasures,suchasproductsatisfactionandorganizationaleffectiveness,havegainedmoreattention.Moreover,contextualfactorssuchastopmanagementsupport,projectmanagers’qualifications,systemvendors,implementationconsultants,andadaptationtochangehaveshowncriticaleffectsonprojectsuccess.Thelackofliteratureinthepost-projectevaluationandmergerofmultipleinformationsystems(IS)stillexists.Notably,theconsolidationofinformationsystemsofdifferentorganizationscreatesadditionalchallengesfortheneworganizations.Diverseculturesandleadershipstylesmaycreatebarriersformanagerstogainthetrustofemployeeswhousedtoworkatadifferentinstitution.Nevertheless,theadaptationtochangeforallstaffisnecessaryinthecourseofthemerger.TheneedforaddressingtheimpactofthesefactorsonISprojectsuccessisincreasing.

LibrarieshaveadoptedtheILStomanageservicesandresourcesforthelasttwodecades.Thenextgenerationsystem—cloud-basedLibraryManagementSystems—arenowreplacingexistingILS.Toimprovetheefficiencyofhighereducation,consolidationofpublicuniversitiesorcollegesisstillaviablealternative.ItisessentialforlibrarianstounderstandthemechanismofISprojectmanagementinordertosuccessfullybringtechnologyinnovationtotheorganization.

ThisstudyistofillthegapbyexaminingISprojectsuccessfactorsanddevelopingamodeltomeasureISprojectsuccess.ThemodelcanhelppractitionersbetterunderstandISprojectsuccessandimprovethechanceofsuccess.Theauthorfirstlyprovidesahistoricalaccountofthedefinitionsofprojectsuccessandmeasuresadopted.Whatfollowsistoapplythemodelinapost-projectevaluationatanacademiclibrary.

THEORETICALBACKGROUND

ResearchersandpractitionershavebeenseekingITprojectsuccessthroughbothquantitativeandqualitativestudiestofindoutwhatmakesasuccessfulITprojectandhowaprojectmanagercanmakebetterdecisionstoincreasethechanceofprojectsuccess.Thisreviewistoexaminehowprojectsuccessisdefinedandwhatcriteriapractitionersemployformeasurement.

ITprojectscanbeatdifferentlevelsofcomplexity.Forinstance,aprojectofenterpriseresourceplanning(ERP)implementationismorecomplicatedandrequiresmoreresourcestodeployacrossorganizationalfunctions.Thistypeofprojectsmightquicklyoverrunbudgetanddeadline.Asaresult,thestudiesonERPimplementationsuccessdrawmoreattention.Cảrsteabelievesthatprojectsuccessistoachievethetargetsthatanorganizationhascreatedandcanberelativelymeasuredagainsttime,cost,quality,finalresultsobtained,resources,thedegreeofautomation,andinternationalstandardswithaflexibleevaluationsystem.Hesuggeststhatprojectmanagersmayanalyzethegoaldiscrepanciesbetweenthecurrentandnewtoself-evaluatetheprogress.4Althoughthismethodemphasizesprojectefficiency,theself-developedevaluationsystemhasshownthepotentialforITprojectmanagerstocontrolplanningandorganizationofmultipleITprojectswithintheorganization.

Insteadofstudyingprojectmanagementprocessalone,Tsaietal.incorporatesystemproviders,implementationconsultants,andtheachievementlevelofprojectmanagementintoDeLoneandMcLean’smodifiedISsuccessmodel.TheydescribetheERPprojectsuccessasefficientdeploymentandenhancementoforganizationaleffectiveness.Thesuccessindicatorsincludethe


accomplishmentlevelofprojectmanagementandthedegreeoftheimprovementofISperformance.Themetricsofprojectmanagementarefulfillingbusinessimplementationgoal,topmanagementsupport,budget,time,communication,andtroubleshooting;whilethesystemperformancedimensionsincludeachievingintegrationofsystemsforsystemquality,informationquality,systemuse,usersatisfaction,individualandorganizationalimpacts.TheauthorsappliedtheresearchmodeltoaquantitativestudytotestfivehypotheseswithSERVQUAL(servicequality)instruments.Theresultsshowthattheservicesprovidedbysystemvendorsandimplementationconsultantsarecorrelatedwithprojectmanagement,thenfromprojectmanagementtosystemperformance.5ItisworthmentioningthatthismeasurementintegratesprojectmanagementintotheISsuccessmodelandconfirmsthecontributionofprojectmanagementtoERPperformancethatleadstotheimprovementoforganizationaleffectiveness.BothstudiesindicateISprojectmeasuresshouldcomprisethedimensionsofprojectmanagementsuccessandbusinessgoals.

WiththesimilarinterestofERP,YoungandJordaninvestigatetheimpactoftopmanagementsupport(TMS)onERPimplementationsuccessthroughdescriptivecasestudies.Theauthorsregardprojectsuccessasthedeliveryof“expectedbenefits”andtheachievementof“aboveaverageperformance.”ThefindingsoftheresearchrevealthatTMSisthemostimportantcriticalsuccessfactor(CSF)thataffectsITprojectsuccessthroughtheinvolvementoftopmanagementinprojectplanning,resultfollow-ups,andthefacilitationofmanagementproblems,butprojectmanagementsuccessdoesnotguaranteeprojectsuccessresultinginorganizationalproductiveness.6

ResearchersarealsointerestedindifferentperspectivesofITprojectsuccess.IranibelievesISprojectappraisalshouldincorporateinvestmentevaluationintotheprojectlifecycle.AprojectmanagerevaluatesISimpactsbefore,during,andaftertheinvestmentissecuredtodynamicallyjustifytheinvestmentandensuretheprojectisinalignmentwiththeorganizationalstrategy.Theauthoralsopointsoutthatpost-projectevaluationlacksincurrentprojectmanagementsothatorganizationsloseagreatlearningopportunitytooptimizetheirprojectmanagement.7

Furthermore,PeslakinspectstherelationshipbetweenITprojectsuccessandoverallITreturnsfromtheviewpointoffinancialexecutives.TheauthordefinesITprojectsuccessasorganizationalsuccessinwhichstayingabreastoftechnologyandtheabilitytomeasureprojectandbalancemanagerialcontroloverprojectspositivelyaffectITprojectsuccess,thenprojectsuccesstooverallITreturns.8

Likewise,LacerdaandEnsslindevelopaconceptualmodelfromthestandpointofexternalconsultantstoassesssoftwareprojects.Thetheoreticalframeworkcontainsthehierarchicalstructureofvalue,analysis,andrecommendation,wheretheyidentifyperformancedescriptorsandanalyzeprojectvaluestoimprovethedecisionprocessinthecourseoftheconsultation.9NicholasandHiddingdiscoverbusinessgoals,timeforlearningandreflection,andflexibilityoftheproductareassociatedwithprojectsuccessthroughaseriesofinterviewswithITprojectmanagers.10

Additionally,researchersmakeeffortstoexplainprojectoutcomesforbetterunderstandingprojectsuccess.ThomasandFernándezbelieveprojectsuccessischangeabletoeachcompany,butthesuccesscriteriashouldconsistofprojectmanagement,technicalsystem,andbusinessgoalsthatunderscorebusinesscontinuity,metbusinessobjectives,anddeliveryofbenefits.11


AnotherstudyperformedbyKutschalsoprovesthattheachievementofbusinesspurpose;benefittotheowner;thesatisfactionofowners,users,andstakeholders;achievingprestatedobjectives;quality;costandtime;andsatisfactionofteamaresequentiallysignificantvariablesaffectingprojectoutcomes.12ThestudyfurtheratteststhatorganizationaleffectivenessisanessentialcriterionofITprojectsuccess.

Interestingly,researchersalsoexamineindividualsuccessindicatorssuchasqualityandrisktodeepentheirunderstandingofprojectsuccess.Geraldi,Kutsch,andTurnerthinkprojectqualityhaseightattributesincluding(1)acommitmenttoquality,(2)enablingcapabilities,(3)completeness,(4)clarity,(5)integration,(6)adaptability,and(7)compliancealongwith(8)value-addingandmetrequirements.13Amongthem,enablingcapabilitiesandadaptabilityarecomparativelynew.Thisdiscoverydisclosesthatprojectqualityisevaluatedvigorouslyintheprojectlifecycle,whichisconsistentwithCảrstea’sfindingthatprojectmanagersneedtoassesstheprojectsregularlytorecognizeprojectcontrolsandsafetytoachieveprojectgoals.Suchpracticescreatetheagilityforsoftwaredevelopmentprojectsandsecuretheresourcesneededfordevelopment.

SummaryofLiteratureTheliteraturereviewindicatesthatitisnecessarytodefineprojectperformancecriteriaandoutcomestomeasureISprojectsuccess.ISprojectsuccessistheachievementofprojectmanagementprocessandprojectgoals.WhenmeasuringanISproject,practitionersshouldalsoconsidertheimpactsofcontextualfactorsthroughouttheprojectlifecycle.Systemvendors,consultants’services,managementsupport,communication,adaptationtochanges,timeforlearningandreflection,productflexibility,andprojectcomplexityareenvironmentalinfluences.Itisessentialforpractitionerstocreateanopportunityfororganizationallearningandimprovefutureprojectsuccessthroughapost-projectevaluation.

Figure1.TherelationshipbetweenProjectSuccessandOrganizationalEffectiveness.

Organizationaleffectiveness

Businessgoals&objectives

Businesscase1,case2,...casen.

Project1,Project2,…Projectn.


PROJECTSUCCESSMODEL

ThepurposeofthisstudyistodevelopthemeasurementofISprojectsuccessbasedonthefindingsoftheliteraturereview.Therefore,thefirststepistodefineprojectsuccess.Projectsuccesscomprisesprojectmanagementsuccessandtheachievementofbusinessgoals.Inthepreviousstudies,practitionersemphasizedprojectmanagementsuccessbutpaylessattentiontoprojectoutcomes,whichleadstomanyunexplainableprojectfailures.Forexample,someITprojectsdidnotmeetthebusinessgoalsbutconformedtothecriteriaofprojectmanagementsuccess.Itmightbeasuccessfulprojectfromtheperspectiveofprojectmanagementprocessalthoughitfailedtoattaintheprojectgoals.TherelationshipbetweenISprojectsandorganizationaleffectivenessisdescribedinfigure1.EachISprojectmakesatleastonebusinesscase,andeachbusinesscasecontributestoatleastabusinessobjective.ItwillbeasuccessfulISprojectiftheprojectoutcomesreachthebusinessgoalsresultinginorganizationaleffectiveness.

Thepurposeofprojectperformancecriteriaistomeasureprojectprogressthroughoutitslifecycle.Withoutstandards,aprojectmanagercouldlosethecontrolovertheproject,andmostlikelyfail.Asaresult,thenextstepistoidentifythemeasuresofprojectsuccess.Theindicatorsofprojectmanagementsuccesshavebeenwidelystudiedandtested.Theprojectscope,time,cost,quality,andriskareonthetopofthemetricslist.Thediscoveryofliteraturereviewshowsresearchersemploybusinesscontinuity,achievingbusinessobjectives,deliveryofbenefits,andtheperceivedvalueofaprojecttomeasureprojectoutcomes.Itisnoteworthythatcontextualfactorsalsoimpactprojectsuccess,influencessuchastopmanagementsupport(TMS),userinvolvement,systemvendors,projectmanager’squalifications,communication,andthecomplexityofaproject,andadaptationtochangeneedtobemeasuredaswell.Hence,theauthorproposesameasurementmodelasshowninfigure2.


Figure2.ModelforMeasuringISProjectSuccess.

ThreeconstructseffectISprojectsuccessinthismodel.Projectmanagementprocessisatooltohelpaprojectmanagerattainsuccess,whereprojectperformancecriteriaareidentifiedtocontrolqualityandassesstheprogressthroughoutthelifecycle.Ontheotherhand,projectoutcomesentailprojectgoalstoensureultimateprojectsuccess.Thecontextualfactorsmaycontributetosuccessdirectlyorindirectlybyinfluencingprojectmanagementprocessororganizationalenvironmentsuchaschangemanagement.Therefore,aprojectmanagerhastoexaminethreeconstructswhenassessingprojectsuccess.Todemonstratetheapplicationofthemodel,theauthorconductedacasestudyonanILSmergerproject.

CASESTUDY:APOST-PROJECTEVALUATION

BackgroundInNovember2013,theBoardofRegentsoftheUniversitySystemofGeorgiaannouncedtheconsolidationofKennesawStateUniversity(KSU)andSouthernPolytechnicStateUniversity(SPSU).Themergeroftwostateuniversitylibrarieswasoneofthemaintasksandinvolvedmergingtwointegratedlibrarysystems(ILS).Theprojectinvolvedremovingduplicatebibliographicandcustomerrecordsbetweentwolibrariesandofrelationaldatabasesthatcontainfinancial,bibliographic,transactional,vendor,andcustomerdata.TheILSprovider,ExLibris,andtwouniversitylibrariesexecutedthemergerwiththesupportofGALILEOInterconnectedLibraries(GIL)ITstaff.TheILSmergerimplementationteamcomprisedoftwoITexpertsfromEx


LibrisandfourteenILSusersfromtwolibrariesacrossfivefunctionalunitscomprisingacquisition,cataloging,circulationandinterlibraryloan,serials,andsystemadministration.KSU/SPSUandExLibrishadaprojectmanageroneachside,andtheauthorwastheKSU/SPSUprojectmanager.TheGILSupportteamfacilitatedtheimplementationofthemerger.TheprojectgoalwastooperatetwolibrarieswithaconsolidatedILSbyJuly2015withoutinterruptingservicestostudents,staff,andfaculty.Theprojectwascompletedwithineighty-onedaysandtheconsolidateduniversitylibrarieswereoperateduniformlybythetimeline.Theteamalsowonthe2015GeorgiaLibraryAssociationTeamAwardduetoitssuccess.

MethodologyThemethodologiesadoptedinpreviousresearchesincludeinterviewandsurvey.Bothmethodsneedtocollectfeedbackfromstakeholdersduringthepost-projectperiod,whichsometimescanbechallengingtoreachtheprojectstakeholdersoncetheprojectiscompleted.However,manywrittencommunicationsincludingprojectdocumentation,emails,andreportsareinvaluabledataforprojectmanagerstoassessprojectsuccess.Researchershaveutilizedsoftwaretoassistcontentanalysisinqualitativestudies.

HooverandKoerberusedNVivotoanalyzedataliketext,interviewtranscripts,photographs,audioandvideorecordingsbycodingandretrievingtounderstandsophisticatedrelationsamongthosedata.14Researchersthinkthatcomputer-assistedqualitativedataanalysis(CAQDAS)hascreatednewresearchpracticesandhelpeddataanalysis,researchmanagement,andtheorydevelopment,whereCAQDASbecomesasynonymofqualitativeresearch.15Balan’steammanuallycodedandcategorizedthedimensionsidentifiedinconceptanalysis,thenemployedconceptmappingtopresentdatarelationship,whichisanintegrationofqualitativeandquantitativemethods.16ThewordtagcloudinNVivoisatechniquetoassesstherelevanceofthedataobtainedorgatheredtotheresearchtopicandtreemapontheotherhandisatooltoextractthenewthemesalongwiththeirrelationshipfromthestudydata.17Hutchisonetal.believedthatCAQDAScouldfacilitatethegroundtheoryinvestigation.ThegrouputilizedthememoinNVivotomonitoremergingtrendsandjustifytheresearchpurposeandtheoreticalsamplingprocedures.Theyalsoexperiencedthemodel-buildingtooltovisualizetheanalyticalobservations.18AstudyoncontentanalysisofnewarticlesindicatedNVivocouldassistqualitativeresearchthroughdataorganization,ideamanagement,queryingdata,andmodeling.Theresearchgroupalsoraisedtheconcernaboutanalyticalreliabilitybecausequalitativedataanalysisisahighlyinterpretivemethod.Therefore,theysuggestedutilizingdoublecodingandcomparisonofcodesbydifferentresearcherstoresolvethisproblem.19Paulus’steamsuggestedresearchersshouldwriteadescriptionofthesoftwaretoallowaudienceunfamiliarwiththetooltonotonlyappreciateitsroleinthestudy,butalsounderstandhowpreciselythesoftwareenhancesthepotentialintheiranalyses.20

Inthiscasestudy,theauthoradoptedNVivo11toconductacontentanalysistotestifytheproposedmodelbymeasuringISprojectsuccess,whichisaqualitativemethodforpractitionerstoassessprojectwithtextualdatainthepost-projectperiod.

DataCollectionThedatagatheredinthisstudyincludetheemailcommunicationsbetweentheprojectmanagerandstakeholders,thereportsofUniversityConsolidationOperationalWorkGroup(OWG),andprojectcommitteereports.Afterreviewingalldocumentdatatoensuretherelevancytothe


researchtopic,theauthorimported878emails,twenty-fiveOWGreports,andsixty-threeprojectcommitteereportsintoNVivo11.

ContentAnalysisProcessTheSoftware—NVivo11.NVivo11isthesoftwarepackagethatallowsresearcherstocollaborateandconductqualitativestudies.ResearcherscanimportvarioustypesofrawdataincludingsocialmediaintoNVivo11tostore,manage,andsharethedatathroughouttheresearchprocess.However,initiallearningandmasteringthesoftwarecouldposeadifficulthurdleforresearcherstoperformasoftware-assistedqualitativeresearch.

DataPreparationandImport.NVivo11canprocessdocuments(MSWord,PDF,orRTF),survey,audio,video,andimage.ResearchersmayimportOutlookemailssavedas.msgfilesintoNVivo11directly.ItisalsonotedthatemailsimportedintoNVivobecomePDFsandanysupportedattachmentsareimportedaswell.Inthisstudy,theOWGandcommitteereportsineitherMSWordorPDFwereimportedtoNVivodirectly.Toensuretheemailcontentrelevanttotheproject,theauthoropenedthesoftwareNVivo11andemailsinOutlook2010simultaneously,andthendraggedeachemailintotheSourcesListViewofNVivo11(seefigure3)afterreviewingeachemail.

Figure3.SourcesListViewinNVivo11.

Coding.Codingisawayofcategorizingallreferencestoaspecifictopic,theme,person,orotherentity.Theprocessofcodingcanhelpresearcherstoidentifypatternsandtheoriesinresearchdata.21Inthisstudy,theauthoradoptedcodingusingqueriestoanswerthefollowingresearchquestions:

• WhatisISprojectsuccess?• WhatarethefactorsthataffectISprojectsuccess?


• HowdothesefactorsinfluenceISprojectsuccess?

Belowarethestepsofcodingsourcedata:

• Runthequeryofwordfrequencyinalldatasetsusingthecriteriaofonehundredmostfrequentwordswithminimalfive-characterlengthincludingexactmatches,stemmedwords,andsynonyms.

• Reviewthewordlist,removeirrelevantwordsfromthelist,andre-runthequeryuntilthewordsareaccurateandrelevanttotheresearchtopic.

• Createtheparentnodes(e.g.contextualfactors,projectmanagementprocess,projectoutcomes)andchildnodes(e.g.topmanagementsupport,manager’squalifications,projectinvolvement)basedontheproposedmodel,andthensavetheresultsofwordfrequencyinrespectivenodes(seethecodinginfigure4).

• Runthequeryofwordfrequencywiththesamecriteriainthecontextnodes(withineachparentnode)

• Reviewtheresultsofwordfrequencyandsavethenewwordasanewnode.• Reviewallnodereferencesandsources,mergerelevantnodes,andremoveirrelevantones

asneeded.

Figure4.CodingUsingQueries.

FINDINGSANDDISCUSSION

AnOverviewofContentAnalysisPreviousstudieshaveshownthatvisualizationtoolssuchasmodels,charts,andtreemapsprovidedbyNVivocanbehelpfultopresentthefindingsofqualitativestudies.22Therefore,theauthorusedthemodeltooltogainabetterunderstandingandoverviewofkeythemesintheILSmergerproject.Sincethenumberofemailsismuchlargerthanthenumberofreports,theauthor


decidedtodisplaythethemesofemailsandreportsseparately.Figures5and6arethewordtreemapsfortheemailsandreportsrespectively.

Figure5.EmailTreeMap.

Figure6.ReportTreeMap.

Thetreemapisthevisualizationoftheresultsofwordfrequencyqueries.Infigure5,theconceptsofpatron,barcode,missing,fines,charge,circulation,andpolicyarelibraryusertransactionaldata;whileorder,vendor,complete,Wilson,lines,Taylor,andholdingshowprocurementinformation.Thethemesofproduction,mapping,duplicate,matching,location,cataloging,andprocessstandforlibraryresourcedata.Hence,theacquisition,bibliographic,patron,andtransactionaldataaretheprimarycontentmigratedtothenewILS.ThenamesmentionedsuchasRussell,AdrianaMeryll,Trotter,andDavidrevealtheinvolvementofsystemandserviceprovidersandtopmanagement.


Figure6displaysmoredetailsonlibraryresourcedatasuchasserials,codes,bibliographic,ebook,format,journalandprint.Theusertransactionaldataalsoappear.Thesubjectsofproduction,implement,identify,training,mapping,match,finish,matrix,plan,procedure,campusandurgentindicateprojectmanagementprocess.Theterm“accepted”incontrastshowsoneoftheprojectoutcomes.

Thetreemapsshownabovedemonstratethatprojectmanagementprocess,theinvolvementofuserandsystemproviders,topmanagement,andprojectoutcomesaretherepresentativesofprojectsuccess,whichimpliesprojectsuccessistosucceedinprojectmanagementprocess,projectoutcomes,andengagingtopmanagementandsystemusersandproviders.Howdothesefactorscometogethertoimpactprojectsuccess?Thenextstepistoexaminetherelationshipsamongthesevariablesandtheirinteractions.

RelationshipsamongConstructsToanalyzetheconceptsofcontextualfactors,projectmanagementprocess,andprojectoutcomesfurther,theauthorutilizedthemodeltooltocreateprojectmaps.Projectmapsaregraphicrepresentationsofthedatainaproject,whichhelpsillustratetherelationshipsamongconstructsandanswertheresearchquestionsofthisstudy.Theauthorfurtherinspectedeachconstructnodebycreatingprojectmaps.

Figure7.ProjectManagementProcessMap.

Figure7showstherelationshipsamongthevariablesthataffecttheprojectmanagementprocess.Thechildnodesofcommunication,projectcost,quality,risk,time,andscopearetheinfluencersofprojectmanagementprocess.Theirrespectivechildnodessuchasbarcodes,missing,anddeadlinearetheresultsofcodingsourcedataandwellsupporthowtheconceptsofcommunication,cost,quality,risk,scope,andtimeeffectprojectmanagementprocesscorrespondently.


Figure8.ContextualFactorMap.

Contextualfactorshavenotbeenthoroughlydiscussedinpreviousprojectmanagementpractices.Figure8illustratestheresultsofcodingsourcedatawithinthisconstruct.Theengagementofusersandvendors,andtheirfeedbacksignifythevariableofprojectinvolvement.Thenodeoftopmanagementalsoconfirmsitsparentnodeoftopmanagementsupport.Furthermore,Jinastheprojectmanagerisassociatedwiththenodeofprojectmanger’squalifications.Shecouldaffectprojectsuccesseitherdirectlyorindirectlythroughcontextualfactors.


Figure9.ProjectOutcomesMap.

Figure9representsthethemes—downtime,servicesatisfaction,andacceptancearethechildnodesofbusinesscontinuity,deliveryofbenefit,andprojectdeliverablescorrespondently.ThePDFreferencesourcesupportsthesubjectsof“satisfactionofservice”and“conditionalacceptance”asthechildnodesof“deliveryofbenefits”and“projectdeliverables”respectively.Thus,businesscontinuity,deliveryofbenefits,andprojectdeliverablesarethecorefactorstobeconsideredwhenassessingprojectoutcomes.Figures7,8,and9havedemonstratedthattheprojectwouldnotbesuccessfuliftheprojectmanagementprocesswasnotexecutedappropriately,contextfactors


werenotfullymet,orpreferredprojectoutcomeswerenotdelivered.Inotherwords,ifoneofthreeaboveprojectvariablesisnotexecutedordeliveredappropriately,theprojectcouldfail.

TheRoleofProjectManagerAlthoughfigures7,8,and9havesignifiedthethreeconstructscanaffectprojectsuccess,butdonottellhowprojectmanagementprocess,projectoutcomes,andcontextualfactorsplaytogetherinthisrole.Consequently,theauthorhopedtoidentifytheconnectionsbetweenprojectitemsandtoseeiftherearegapsorisolateditemsunexplainedbytheproposedmodel.TocreatesuchprojectmapinNVivo11,theauthorchoseemailsasprojectitemsandaddedtheissuesassociatedwiththeprojectmanagerJintothemap.

Figure10.Manager’sProjectMap.

Thiscasestudyistotesttheproposedmodelinapost-projectassessment.TheManager’sProjectMapinfigure10haswellself-explainedthispurpose.TheprojectmanagerJinledtheprojecttosuccessbyinfluencingprojectmanagementprocess,projectoutcomes,andcontextualfactors.Theprojectsuccessinthiscaseincludesthecontributiontotheconsolidationoftwostateuniversitiesandmaximizationoflibraryresourcesfortheorganization.TheoutcomesofthemergerprojectaretodeliveraconsolidatedILSandtoprovidelibraryservicesforthenewuniversitycontinuously.Figure10clearlyindicatesJinmanagedbusinesscontinuityandprojectdeliverables


throughdowntimeandloadacceptance.Amongcontextualfactors,theprojectmanagerexecutedprojectinvolvementthroughengagingsystemusersandvendorsandgatheringuserfeedback.ShealsoinvolvedtopmanagementDavidintheprojectdirectly.SeniormanagementempoweredJintomakedecisionsontheproject.Asamanagerherqualificationsenabledhertocopewiththecomplexityoftheproject.Theprojectdocumentationhasverifiedthemanager’sabilitytogoverntheproject.Forinstance,figure11istheprojectframeworkthatthemanagercreatedaccordingtothePMBOK(ProjectManagementBodyofKnowledge).Hence,aqualifiedprojectmanagercandirectlymakeimpactsonprojectsuccessthroughcontextualfactors.

Figure11.KSULibraryILSMergerProjectManagementFramework.

Meanwhile,thenodesofbarcode,mappings,missing,patrons,andvendorsconfirmthemanager’sroleinprojectqualitycontrol.Thecodingofthedeadline,cost-consolidation,communication,andriskcontrolindicatesthemanagerputhereffortinprojecttime,cost,andcommunicationmanagementandriskmitigationcorrespondingly.

Figure10revealstheprojectmanageristhecoreoftheprojectteamandmakessignificantimpactsonprojectsuccessbyinfluencingprojectmanagementprocess,contextualfactorsandprojectoutcomes.Aprojectmanagermustfullyunderstandprojectoutputs;havetheabilitytoexecuteprojectplansinthebusinessenvironment,andcommunicatewithdifferentstakeholdersatthecorrespondinglevelsthroughvariouschannelssincecommunicationbecomeschallengingwhenaprojectinvolvesmorepeoplefromdifferentsectionsofthebusiness.Peopledecodemessagesdifferently.Multiplecommunicationchainscanhelpstakeholdersgainconsistentandaccurateinformationdirectly.Forexample,thisprojectmanagerutilizedformalreports,group


discussions,training,andweeklycoordinationmeetingstoshareinformationandseekfeedback.Thefunctionalgroupsarethegovernancestructureoftheproject.Inthephraseoftestandproductionloads,theleadersoffunctionalgroupscommunicatedproblemswiththeprojectmanagermorefrequentlytoensurethemanagerresolveissuesincollaborationwithrelatedstakeholders(e.g.ExLibris)inatimelyway.Inthemeantime,theprojectmanagercommunicatedtheexpectationsforresponsibleITstaffregularlytopreventtheadditionalwaitingtimeforfeedingthemergedILSwithpatrondatabyverifyingthefeederduringthetestload,whichhelpsmeetthedeadlinesofthecampusITprojects.Themanagermitigatedriskbyimplementingtheprojectplanthoughtfullythroughouttheproject.Itwastheprojectmanagerwhoconnectsthethreevariables—projectmanagementprocess,projectoutcomes,andcontextualfactorswithprojectsuccess.

CONCLUSIONS

LibrarieshaveusedtheILStomanageresourcesandservicesfordecades.Withtheexponentialgrowthofdigitalinformation,ISinnovationcontinuouslybecomesoneofmosteffectivedriversoflibrarytransformation.Therefore,itiscrucialforlibrariestoeffectivelymanageIS/ITprojectstoachieveorganizationalgoals.ThisstudydevelopsamodelofISprojectsuccess.Themodelemploysthreeconstructsnamelyprojectmanagementprocess,projectoutcomes,andcontextualfactorstomeasureISprojectsuccess.ProjectmanagementsuccesscannotbringISprojectsuccessunlesstheprojectresultsachievebusinessgoalsandleadtotheimprovementoforganizationaleffectiveness.Theprojectmanagermakesimportantimpactsonprojectsuccessbydeliveringprojectoutcomesthroughimplementingprojectmanagementprocessandmakinguseofcontextualfactorsthroughouttheproject.Theresearchmethodology—software-assistedqualitativecontentanalysiscanbeanapproachtodeveloportestatheoreticalmodelforlibrarypractitioners.Apost-projectevaluationcancreateanexcellentopportunityfororganizationallearningandhelpmanagerstomanagetalentsbetterandimprovethechancesofprojectsuccessinthefuture.

FUTURERESEARCH

Librarieshavemovedintoanewerathatisfullofnewanddisruptivetechnologies,whichaffectlibraryservices,operations,anddecisionsonadailybasis.ISprojectswillcontinuebringinginnovationstolibraryservicesandprograms.AtheoreticalframeworkcouldprovidelibrariansamethodologytomanageISprojectssuccessfully.Notably,theU.S.SenatehasunanimouslyapprovedtheProgramManagementImprovementandAccountabilityAct(PMIAA)toenhanceprojectandprogrammanagementpracticestomaximizeefficiencyinthefederalgovernment.23Projectmanagementhasbecomeamust-haveskillfortoday’slibraryleaders.

TherearemanyopportunitiesformanagerstotesttheISprojectsuccessmodelthroughtheirpractices.Thefuturestudiesmaycombinequantitativeandqualitativemethodstoassessandenhancethemodelfurther.Eachinstitutionhasdifferentgoalsandcontextualindicatorsthattheauthorhasnotmentionedinthisstudy.Thesefactorsmightshiftfromminortomajororviceversaduetodifferentorganizationalcultures.PractitionerscanalsouseNVivotocollaborateondoublecodingtoincreasetheanalyticalreliability.Asoftware-assistedqualitativecontentanalysiswillhelplibraryleaderstounderstandprojectmanagementbetterandexperimentthesolutionstocomplexinformationworld.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ThisworkwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthesupportoftheKSULibrarySystemAdministrationandtheteameffortsfromKSUVoyagerConsolidationCommittee,GILSupport,andExLibrisTeam.IamgratefultoallofthosewithwhomIhavehadtheprivilegetoworkduringthisproject.

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