C.. Context .
Context is the ecosystem of the project organization and
the project. From a systems perspective context needs to be
viewed from the viewpoint of all stakeholders [11]. Context
includes the system-of-systems hierarchy of management, the
politics of the stakeholder community, the political
environment, resource availability, and force majeure.
Context includes those project organization activities that
are essential to administer programs, but are not directly
related to the management of the development/ or
manufacture. Context ranges from tracking budget requests
through the bureaucracy to responding to stakeholder inquiries
on how resources are being used. In system-of-systems
development context includes those activities that, while not
tied directly to individual system development success, are
essential for system-of-systems accomplishment. A recurring
theme in this category is the necessity of inter-organizational
and interpersonal communication. While a recognized factor,
this communication causes considerable work not directly
related to managing technical development. This work adds to
the capacity issues previously discussed.
An oft overlooked, but critical aspect of context is politics.
In fact, politics is by far the most powerful factor in the
category of context. Most engineers and project managers
dismiss politics as the realm of higher-level decision makers.
In fact, many refuse to engage in politics as they find the
practice distasteful {Pinto:2000ca}. However, dismissing
those political activities can have consequence. Whenever
people are put in an organization and asked to function as a
team, there is an inevitable use of power and political behavior
[26]. Notwithstanding a general distaste for political behavior
in the workplace, the reality is the practice of politics is a
prime force in any system-of-systems development. Political
behavior is the process by which individuals and groups seek,
acquire, and maintain power [26]. Understanding and
influencing the context of a system-of-systems development is
essential for success.