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The design of collaborative projects: language, metaphor, conversation and the systems approach
This thesis uses a systems approach to develop a model for Collaborative Project Design (CPD). Failure of the software process is the area of concern. The focus of the argument is, however, on the organizational environment of the software process. A central argument is that the analytic tools of st...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Mechanical Engineering
2017
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| _version_ | 1867613485635993600 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Day, Julian |
| author2 | Strümpfer, Johan |
| author_browse | Day, Julian Strümpfer, Johan |
| author_facet | Strümpfer, Johan Day, Julian |
| author_sort | Day, Julian |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This thesis uses a systems approach to develop a model for Collaborative Project Design (CPD). Failure of the software process is the area of concern. The focus of the argument is, however, on the organizational environment of the software process. A central argument is that the analytic tools of standard software development methodologies are inappropriate for systems synthesis. They provide little assistance in coping with the loose complexity that is inherent in the organizational environment in which the software process is embedded. These analytic tools and the engineering language and metaphor which dominate the software process undermine collaboration and disempower business users. CPD was developed to enable viable collaboration that is necessary for the software process to succeed. The purpose of CPD is to provide a systemic model of causal influences and social process in order to guide a project designer when intervening in projects which call for acts of shared creation and/or discovery. CPD was developed through a combination of action research (in projects involving software development and organisational transformation) and theoretical readings focused on the philosophy of meaning, systems thinking, social process and the software process. CPD emphasises that a collaborative project requires careful design of its underlying languages, metaphors and conversations. It identifies three distinct types of conversation, namely communication, dialogue and collaboration. The thesis describes how these conversation types are utilised in transforming a project's network of commitments from loose complexity via shared meaning to cohesive simplicity. Associated with each conversation type is a set of project influences which are developed into a causal influence model in order to depict a collaborative project as a dynamic system of mutually interdependent influences. This causal influence model was used to synthesise the learning from action research and the theoretical readings. An appreciative systems framework was then derived in order to justify a collaborative project as a self-regulating social system and was overlaid onto the causal influence model in order to derive CPD in its final form. CPD proved beneficial when tested in practical projects as a framework to organise a project designer's mind when designing project interventions. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/25974 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:36:54.225Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | Department of Mechanical Engineering |
| publisherStr | Department of Mechanical Engineering |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/25974 The design of collaborative projects: language, metaphor, conversation and the systems approach Day, Julian Strümpfer, Johan Engineering Management This thesis uses a systems approach to develop a model for Collaborative Project Design (CPD). Failure of the software process is the area of concern. The focus of the argument is, however, on the organizational environment of the software process. A central argument is that the analytic tools of standard software development methodologies are inappropriate for systems synthesis. They provide little assistance in coping with the loose complexity that is inherent in the organizational environment in which the software process is embedded. These analytic tools and the engineering language and metaphor which dominate the software process undermine collaboration and disempower business users. CPD was developed to enable viable collaboration that is necessary for the software process to succeed. The purpose of CPD is to provide a systemic model of causal influences and social process in order to guide a project designer when intervening in projects which call for acts of shared creation and/or discovery. CPD was developed through a combination of action research (in projects involving software development and organisational transformation) and theoretical readings focused on the philosophy of meaning, systems thinking, social process and the software process. CPD emphasises that a collaborative project requires careful design of its underlying languages, metaphors and conversations. It identifies three distinct types of conversation, namely communication, dialogue and collaboration. The thesis describes how these conversation types are utilised in transforming a project's network of commitments from loose complexity via shared meaning to cohesive simplicity. Associated with each conversation type is a set of project influences which are developed into a causal influence model in order to depict a collaborative project as a dynamic system of mutually interdependent influences. This causal influence model was used to synthesise the learning from action research and the theoretical readings. An appreciative systems framework was then derived in order to justify a collaborative project as a self-regulating social system and was overlaid onto the causal influence model in order to derive CPD in its final form. CPD proved beneficial when tested in practical projects as a framework to organise a project designer's mind when designing project interventions. 2017-11-01T07:48:02Z 2017-11-01T07:48:02Z 1999 2017-03-08T12:14:45Z Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25974 eng application/pdf Department of Mechanical Engineering Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Engineering Management Day, Julian The design of collaborative projects: language, metaphor, conversation and the systems approach |
| thesis_degree_str | Doctoral |
| title | The design of collaborative projects: language, metaphor, conversation and the systems approach |
| title_full | The design of collaborative projects: language, metaphor, conversation and the systems approach |
| title_fullStr | The design of collaborative projects: language, metaphor, conversation and the systems approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | The design of collaborative projects: language, metaphor, conversation and the systems approach |
| title_short | The design of collaborative projects: language, metaphor, conversation and the systems approach |
| title_sort | design of collaborative projects language metaphor conversation and the systems approach |
| topic | Engineering Management |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25974 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dayjulian thedesignofcollaborativeprojectslanguagemetaphorconversationandthesystemsapproach AT dayjulian designofcollaborativeprojectslanguagemetaphorconversationandthesystemsapproach |