Engineering Management System Thinking

(
Insert Student Name) / (
Insert Student Number) - PPMP20012 Unit Portfolio for Week 1
Week 1 Topic: Explain the relevance of systems thinking to PM.
Reading
samples
Learning
outcomes of
the unit
Learnings from your weekly study, experience,
this and prior unit readings and assignments
Supporting
documentation
including any
prior learning
Mandatory
Readings
 SEBoK:
'Introduction to
SEBoK'
 SEBoK:
'Introduction to
Systems
Engineering';
 SEBoK: Part 7:
Systems
Engineering
Implementation
Examples
 Kerzner (2013)
Chapters 2.1;
2.6 - 2.8; 2.21;
 AS/NZS
15288:2015
Introduction;
Optional
Readings
 AS ISO
21504:2016
Project,
programme
and portfolio
management—
1. Explain the
relevance of
systems
thinking to the
project,
program and
portfolio
manager.
System thinking is regarded as the disciplinary
viewing of a problem, not in parts but a whole, for
watching change patterns rather than static scenes
and for solving dynamic, interconnected problems.
System thinking considers entities which may be
social or technical, and are interconnected and
organized hierarchically, whose behaviour cannot be
predicted by finding the behaviour of the individual
parts. The function of system thinking can be
described as:
 Using various tools, methods and ways to find
dynamic complexity.
 Thinking and framing complex dynamic
problems and their solution.
 Using diagrams to see and understand complex
dynamic problems.
 Using vocabulary to express problems and
methods to implement tools and approaches.
System thinking is very important for complex,
inter-connected and uncertain problems whose
solution is complicated. It gives a framework to
improve project and program success rates, portfolios
and can also reduce budgets overrunning and delays.
PPMP20012 Unit
Profile
PPMP20012
Moodle Web site
Roychoudhury,
A., Shepardson,
D.P., Hirsch, A.,
Niyogi, D.,
Mehta, J. and
Top, S., 2017.
The Need to
Introduce
System Thinking
in Teaching
Climate
Change.
Science
Educator,
25(2),
pp.73-81.
Li, C.A.I., 2018.
Engineering
Management
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