Project Management and Systems Thinking: PPMP20012 Portfolio Analysis

This assignment, a portfolio for the PPMP20012 unit, explores the application of systems thinking in project management. It begins by explaining the relevance of systems thinking and its importance for project managers. The assignment identifies and describes several systems thinking tools and techniques, including the Affinity Diagram for idea organization and communication, the Conceptual Model for understanding system necessities, the Context Diagram for defining system scope and interactions, and Functional Modeling for representing system operations. The student references mandatory and optional readings, including SEBoK materials and Kerzner's 'Project Management: a systems approach'. The assignment aims to provide a clear understanding of how to apply systems thinking principles to solve project-related problems, using tools that facilitate better communication, understanding, and the overall success of projects. The assignment also provides references that support the concepts and tools discussed.

(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—
Guidance on
portfolio
2. Identify different
systems thinking tools
and techniques to aid
project managers solve
project problems.
Some of the systems thinking tools that can be very helpful in
solving project related issues are:
 Affinity Diagram:
An affinity diagram helps in a project by allowing a group
to generate, organize and communicate various ideas for specific
problems. These ideas can be represented simply and
meaningfully after considering the opinions of every member of
the group.
This comes in handy when there is a complex problem or
when there is a disagreement between members of a group or
when there is a need for communication about the outcomes. In
short, this helps in both generating information and organizing it.
 Conceptual Model:
A conceptual model is representation by diagram of
logical activities which must be done in order to get the job
done. Is main purpose is to create a model that could help us
understand the necessities of a system and it can be a very
powerful system thinking tool.
It can have a lot of purpose like loving a problem or
understanding system requirements. This can be done
individually or by a team but the success of the model depends
upon the experience of the team.
PPMP20012 Unit Profile
PPMP20012 Moodle
Web site
Kerzner, H.,
2017. Project
management: a
systems approach to
planning, scheduling,
and controlling. John
Wiley & Sons.
Haberfellner, R., Nagel,
P., Becker, M., Büchel,
A. and von Massow,
H., 2019. Systems
engineering. Springer
International
Publishing.
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(Insert Student Name) / (Insert Student Number) - PPMP20012 Unit Portfolio for Week 1
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
management;  Context Diagram:
A context diagram is a part of the functional modelling
which is regarded as an important tool as it produces a better
and high level model of a planned and existing model which can
define the scope of the system and its environmental
interactions. In a single diagram, it represents the system
interest and the elements with which it interacts.
It has a lot of benefits like it can help finding the scope
and environment of a system of interest where it interacts. If we
fail to keep within the scope, then failure of the system occurs. It
gives a simple but high level picture of a system’s interest which
is also beneficial. IT can be used to understand and analyse the
existing systems and new requirements for a system.
 Functional Modelling:
It is a tool that produces a model of a existing or new
system for a team regarding its operational or its behavioural
aspects. It can be used for deducing system functionality, testing
basic concepts of operation and determining system interfaces.
Its models can show the understanding of the user’s
requirements as well. In a team, it allows the whole team to
understand and reach a conclusion and share necessary
information.
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(Insert Student Name) / (Insert Student Number) - PPMP20012 Unit Portfolio for Week 1
References
Kerzner, H., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Haberfellner, R., Nagel, P., Becker, M., Büchel, A. and von Massow, H., 2019. Systems engineering. Springer International Publishing.
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