Information System Development: Can Traditional Project Management Tools Be Successful in Post-Industrial Organizations?

Literature on project management of information systems development suggests practices based on success stories in industrial organizations. Recent trends towards post-industrial organizational forms and loosely coupled networked organizations raise questions regarding the applicability of these practices and their effects.

In this article a conceptual scheme is presented by drawing on soft system theory that is based on the concept of open systems, purposefulness and producer-products relationships. The analysis suggests that in post-industrial organizations the practices of planning, delegating and controlling are not effective in the traditional way but assume different meanings for different players.

This conclusion is achieved through a study of emerging working practices enacted during a development project of an ad hoc information system. The article is concluded with guidelines for the management of information systems development projects in post-industrial organizations. The guidelines are both the result of post-rationalization of the team members and of the case analysis.