SYSTEM DYNAMICS IN PROJECT-MANAGEMENT - A COMPARATIVE-ANALYSIS WITH TRADITIONAL METHODS

Recent dramatic project failures have highlighted weaknesses in the tr aditional approaches to project management and in particular their fai lure to cope with strategic issues. System dynamics models provide a u seful tool for a more systematic management of these strategic issues. There have been a number of applications of system dynamics in projec t management; this experience permits a tentative comparison with the more traditional approaches and to examine the particular benefits of system dynamics. The conflicts of opinion between their supporters str ess the different perspectives underlying the two approaches. The comp arison of the approaches is focused on the ''view'' of the project man agement process. Although, ultimately, they both assume a system persp ective, identifying a cycle of planning, implementation and control, t he level of detail in which they consider the project system is differ ent. Traditional models support the project manager in the detailed op erational problems within the process, while system dynamics models pr ovide more strategic insights and understanding about the effectivenes s of different managerial policies. The two approaches provide complem entary support to project management; this suggests it could be of maj or value to integrate the best of both worlds.