Project Managers and Systems Engineers, “Can two walk together, unless they agree?”: Recent Research Findings on Development Projects

Abstract

There are two significant “players” in development projects: the project manager and the systems engineer. They work together with the aim of meeting the technical (execution/performance, quality) and managerial (schedule, costs, and customer satisfaction) goals of the project.

The purposes of the current study (Kordova S, Katz E, Frank M, Syst Eng 22(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/sys.21474) are to identify the management processes shared by project managers and systems engineers in the defense industry; to understand which factors influence the ways in which joint project management is accomplished and how it impacts meeting project goals; and to provide recommendations for joint project management that will lead to project success.

The research method was qualitative, based on 16 semi-structured interviews with project managers and systems engineers in defense companies that deal with the development of technological systems.

The main recommendations for joint project management are: Set a clear distribution of responsibility and delegation of authority between the both parties before starting the project; choose a project manager who was once a systems engineer or who possesses knowledge of engineering; insist on ongoing dialogue between the two professionals; solve/prevent conflicts through discussion and persuasion; and expand the common ground between the project manager and systems engineer’s areas of responsibility.