Acknowledge that projects are part of larger systems and are influenced by both internal and external factors. Constantly evaluate how project elements interact with each other and with external systems to optimize performance.
System Interactions in Project Management refers to the principle of recognizing that all project components are connected. Effective project managers must identify these dependencies to anticipate how changes in one area will impact others, and proactively manage effects to maintain the project's integrity.
Projects sit inside larger ecosystems that includes teams, organizations, markets, and regulations. Internal choices such as scope, resources, and processes interact with external forces like users, partners, and policies. The goal is to understand these interactions and steer toward desired outcomes.
Andrew's work invloves focusing on service and data storage servers and arrays from regular maintenance to troubleshooting. He mainly focuses on working with customer and technical system information.
Internal and External Interactions
Big Picture Thinking: If there is any disaster or disturbance to my work, it will be affected by that. For example, an unexpected power outage. Because of that, we must be very resilient and proactive with the rest of the teams, such as extensive communications, to deliver the best customer experiences considering the uncontrollable external circumstances.
Spotting Interactions: When one part of my work affects another, I consider it a regular part of being within the computer or technology sector. I keep track of it by thinking of it as to how any small changes and any small steps that you take daily are all part of the same greater system, and the best way to track it is to understand your role.
Responding to Changes: When uncontrollable external circumstances or changes affect my work, I adapt by making it as good an experience for myself as I can. This is because in your work, you’re always expected to find a solution to a problem, and you always adapt and work around it. You can ask for help, but it is ultimately up to you to confirm and put in the effort.
Management Lessons learned from Interdependent and Connected Work: Know that you are not a small weed within a forest, and that you exist within an interconnected network or community. Always give it the best that you can, while not disregarding your own efforts, since it will affect a lot of other people and it will make a difference.
Sir James Dyson used systems thinking to bring innovative ideas to life. He has created machines like the bagless vacuum, bladeless fan, and high-speed hand dryers through his questioning of what are the limitations and opportunities of standard applicances.
Internal Factors
He began by looking at what kinds of vacuums were available and how they worked. This primarily consisted of his own negative experience with losing suction when using traditional vacuums.
External Factors
He then looked for inspiration in areas that he was familiar with. His main source of inspiration was aerodynamics, where he said "small changes can lead to large nonlinear effects".
Interactions
By relying on systems thinking, Dyson was able to expand beyond traditional designs and reimagine how air could be moved.
The result of Dyson’s systems thinking was a quick rise to being a leader in innovative appliances, with technology like the Dual-Cyclone vacuum. Additionally, Dyson has become a household name and gains billions of dollars in revenue each year from the company's wide variety of innovative products.
A unique weather event called an atmospheric river flowed across the province of British Columbia, Canada leaving destruction in its wake. Towns were cut off; travelers were stranded and unable to get home; a struggling supply chain was further crippled due to no commercial traffic. The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure decided Highway 5 was the critical linkage between the interior and commercial traffic.
They used PMI project life cycle based on the PMBOK Guide as the foundation, but customized it to meet the unique needs of their projects and repairs. Ultimately, they came to the same conclusion that “the Coquihalla is a project” and “looking at each cleanup or washout as one part of the whole project” they were able to unify in their goal. Schimpf, Weicker, and their team remained flexible and adaptable to situations that continued impacting their efforts (i.e. snow, atmospheric river, thickness of asphalt that was being put down).
Thanks to Schimpf's project management focus and Weicker's engineering background, together they were able to stay on site and face problems that arose head on. The highway 5 team had more than 300 people working 24 hours a day including stakeholders such as government parties, vendors, and suppliers who came together to complete the project in the 5-week deadline, strengthening the existing relationships within the construction industry.
Team Highway 5 was able to recognize, evaluate, and respond to the changing conditions inside and outside the project, responding comprehensively to enhance their performance in repairing the vital highway. They realized the highway was the cornerstone of their project and worked as a team to make sure the project was completed on schedule.
Key Takeaway
They realized that fixing
the highway was just one piece of the entire system
that would open up the
Port of Vancouver so that business could continue moving along as normal.
