Using social network analysis techniques to study the efficiency of interproject communication

Abstract

Traditional performance monitoring techniques in project management are based on classical measures – costs, schedule and scope of work. But focusing our view on these indices and their derivatives we can overlook one of the most important elements of project management – project participants. Degrees of their coordination, cohesion and collaboration directly influence on the extent to which project goals could be achieved. Communications and relations between participants play a vital role of special glue holding project parts together. Besides, communication environment integrate within itself information about all aspects of a project – successes, failures and conflicts. Character of interpersonal relations and structure of communications between participants are proposed as indicators of successfulness or failures. In present report project participants are considered as a social network. Using social network analysis (SNA) techniques provides opportunities to examine links between structural characteristics of interproject communication networks and project performance.