Technology and Investment, 2012, 3, 48-55 httpdx.doi.org.docx

Technology and Investment, 2012, 3, 48-55
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ti.2012.31007 Published Online
February 2012 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ti)
Risk Management of IT Service Management Project
Implementation with Killer Assumptions*
Jiangping Wan1,2, Lianyu Liang1
1Faculty of Business Administration, South China University of
Technology, Guangzhou, China
2Institute of Emerging Industrialization Development, South
China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Received January 4, 2012; revised February 4, 2012; accepted
February 11, 2012
ABSTRACT
Large IT service management (ITSM) project has high
complexity and low success in implementation. Five common
killer assumptions are selected from Warfield’s 17 Killer
Assumptions through empirical analysis. Enterprise interview
and questionnaire survey are used to establish and verify the
relational model between the root risk factors of imple-
mentation of the ITSM project and the six complexity
propositions based grounded theory. Finally, risk-averse strate-
gies are put forward to meet the demand for complexity: 1)
Identify the individual and pay attention to complexity; 2)
Select process carefully; 3) Develop innovative language; 4)
Personalized the workspace according to the demand; 5)

Enhance the role of senior executives; 6) Appropriate
communication. The research goal is to reduce the complexity
of
ITSM project’s implementation in order to manage the risks.
Keywords: IT Service Management; The Laws of Complexity;
Killer Assumptions; Grounded Theroy;
Project Management; Risk Management
1. Introduction
Now the IT Service Management (ITSM) project has
been concerned deeply by the industry. ITSM is a proc-
ess-oriented and customer-centric approach. It enhances
IT organizational service delivery, service level and the
ability by integrating IT service and organizational busi-
ness [1].
Problematic situations dominated by complexity per-
sist in many organizations, sustained by the combination
of the influence on managers of numerous Killer As-
sumptions carried over from normal practice and organ-
izational inertia. The Killer Assumptions relate to com-
plexity, learning, processes and organization infrastruc-
ture [2], and twenty laws of complexity were put forward
[3]. A science of complexity integrates all of the material,
in order to show both the theory of complexity and the
empirical evidence that has been accumulated to show
the validity of the theory. A principal outcome of the
science of complexity is called the work program of
complexity (WPOC) [2]. WPOC was applied by a large
cross-functional team of Ford engineers and system de-
velopers in the mid-1990s as an enabler to create an en-
terprise-wide information system [4]. The propositions of
complexity of software process, WPOC of software proc-

ess improvement, software enterprise model and software
production support structure are clarified in [5].
This paper is organized in the following: Section 2 is
literature review, including killer assumptions, twenty
laws of complexity, seven root risk factors of implemen-
tation of the ITSM project. Section 3 is empirical analy-
sis of killer assumptions. Section 4 is risk factor analysis
based in complexity proposition. Section 5 is risk Averse
Strategy. Finally Section 6 is conclusions.
2. Literature Review
2.1. The Classification of Killer Assumptions
The impact of the killer assumptions may be widespread.
They may limit the capacity of capable people to perform
effectively, and may significantly the quality of whatever
outcomes occur from human effort. The impact on indi-
viduals in organizations was described by a group of pro-
gram managers with a term they coined: “structural in-
competence”, meaning that individuals who were very
competent were reduced to effective incompetence by
institutional structure, bureaucratic constraints. The classi-
fication of killer assumptions is illustrated in Table 1 [2].
2.2. Twenty Laws of Complexity
*This research was supported by Key Project of Guangdong
Province
Education Office (06JDXM63002), NSF of China (70471091),
and
QualiPSo (IST-FP6-IP-034763).
Complexity is an attribute of many systems that are of
great importance to the society. Over a quarter of a century

Copyright © 2012 SciRes.
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J. P. WAN ET AL. 49
Table 1. The classification of killer assumptions.
Complexity
(one)
Learning
(two)
Evidence
(two)
Processes
(four)
Infrastructure
(seven)
High-Level Executive
& Their Decision (one)
1) The site of
complexity is in
the systems
being observed.
2) Human learning
powers are scale

independent.
3) In high-technology
environment of today,
learning from history is
largely irrelevant to
organizational
decision-making.
4) There is no
need for empirical
evidence to justify
assumptions of
relevance.
5) If information
comes from a
“prestigious source”,
it need not be
questioned.
6) Normal processes are
sufficient to enable
description and diagnosis
of problematic situations
involving high complexity.
7) The findings from
behavioral science about
behavior of individuals,
groups, and organizations are
too “soft” to have any role
in the management of
organizations.
8) Simple amalgamation of
disciplines will relieve
disciplinary shortcomings in
considering comprehensive
domains.

9) There is seldom any reason
to give the types of relationships
that are studied the type and
depth of selectivity that given
to the topics being related.
10) Representation of
complexity through
common quantitative
formalisms from physical
is adequate for resolution
of complexity.
11) The extent of valid
application of common
quantitative formalisms
from physical sciences into
socio-technical arenas is
very large, and is almost
automatic.
12) There isn’t need to
allocate space specifically
for the purpose of
portraying complexity.
13) Natural language is
adequate to represent
complexity.
14) There isn’t t reason to
provide any special
infrastructure at work to
deal with complexity,
since we have computer,
monitor, etc.
15) It is always appropriate
to discuss science and
technology as though there
aren’t essential distinction

between them.
16) Academics should be
free to call any subject that
they choose a “science”
without regard to
institutional quality
control or supervision.
17) The executive has
the intellectual capacity
to comprehend:
a) All of the factors that
are relevant to an
executive decision.
b) How the various
factors are interrelated
in problematic situation.
c) What alternative are
relevant when it is time
to make choice.
d) How to prioritize
the alternatives.
e) At what time action
should be initiated.
of research on complexity has revealed twenty laws of
complexity [2,3], which appear to be applicable to virtu-
ally all complex systems that serve the public (Table 2).
2.3. Seven Root Risk Factors of ITSM Project
Implementation
Reference [6] was concluded that if the organization
wished to successfully implement ITSM’s customer sat-
isfaction model, it should eliminate the misunderstand-

ings of IT service objectives first, while the adoption of
knowledge supporting structure of IT service manage-
ment could play a multiplier effect. Reference [7] was
concluded that if the organization wished to successfully
implement ITSM’s customer satisfaction model, it should
eliminate the misunderstandings of IT service objectives
first, while the adoption of knowledge supporting struc-
ture of IT service management could play a multiplier
effect.
Reference [8,9] identified the risk factors which re-
sulted in the failure of ITSM project implementation, and
they are sorted in accordance with the importance degree
of the risk. The most critical twenty risk factors were also
identified. There are in the following: 1) Objectives of
the project are not clear; 2) The senior officials of the
enterprise are indecisive; 3) Inadequate and ineffective
communication among staff members; 4) The core
members or project managers of an external IT company
are inexperienced; 5) Senior officials do not give proper
priority to the project; 6) Design is not based on business
demands; 7) Vague responsibility definition among staff
members; 8) Process mission and objectives are not clear;
9) The business demand analysis is not sufficient; 10)
The external IT company and the enterprise do not reach
consensus on the business processes; 11) Customer de-
mands change frequently; 12) The brain drain on the en-
terprise is too much; 13) The company and the client are
not in agreement on the level of service; 14) The busi-
ness strategy of the enterprise is vague; 15) The re-
sources allocated to the project are not sufficient; 16) The
branch separatism phenomenon occurs when the enter-
prise encounters branch conflicts; 17) The external

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J. P. WAN ET AL. 50
Table 2. The classification of complexity laws.
Behavior Based (70%)
Laws
Custom Physiology Organization
Media Based
(10%)
Mathematical Based
(30%)
L1 Triadic Compatibility * *
L2 Requisite Parsimony *
L3 Structural Underconceptualization * * *
L4 Organizational Linguistics *
L5 Vertical Incoherence Organization *
L6 Validation *
L7 Diverse Beliefs *
L8 Gradation *
L9 Universal Priors *
L10 Inherent Conflict *

L11 Limits *
L12 Requisite Saliency * *
L13 Success and Failure *
L14 Uncorrelated Extreme *
L15 Induced Groupthink * *
L16 Requisite Variety *
L17 Forced Substitution *
L18 Precluded Resolution *
L19 Triadic Necessity and Sufficiency *
L20 Small Displays * *
IT company staff doesn’t have appropriate authority; 18)
Incorrect order of process implementation; 19) IT infra-
structure planning and design are unreasonable; 20) The
project scale is too large, which increases the complexity
of management.
Then, interpretive structural model (ISM) is applied to
determine the twenty risk factors’ causal relationship,
and ISM of risk factors of the service management pro-
ject implementation is established. Finally, six root risk
factors are identified: 1) Objective of the project is not
clear; 2) Inadequate and ineffective communication among
staff members; 3) Senior officials don’t give proper pri-
ority to the project; 4) The business strategy of the enter-
prise is vague; 5) The brain drain on the enterprise is too
much; 6) The IT infrastructure planning and design in the
enterprise is unreasonable. How to solve the six root risk
factors effectively? It may be the key to implementation

of IT service management project. In our understanding,
ITIL 3.0 pays much attention to that the indicators with
science; 7) Indicators without science is the seven root
risk factor in this paper.
3. Empirical Analysis of Killer Assumptions
Statistics Analysis of Questionnaire
The respondents in this paper are the graduate students in
grade three and students of Master of Software Engi-
neering (MSE), most of which are working in IT depart-
ments of government, enterprises and research institu-
tions. Before taking the questionnaire, several impalpable
definitions were explained to the respondents. There
were 105 valid returns out of the 114 questionnaires,
collected in February and March in 2011. The respon-
dents’ sex ratio is about 3:2 (61:44) and the age is be-
tween 21 and 36. Among them, 41% (sample size 43) is
in major of Business Management, 27% (sample size 28)
is in administrative decision and 17% (sample size 18) is
studying MSE, among which there are two information
system managers, two project managers, five experi-
enced information system professionals and 9 informa-
tion system users, all having good understanding with
information system.
The descriptive statistics is illustrated in Table 3.
It can be illustrated in Table 3 that: 1) Mean varies
from 1.73 to 3.99, which means killer assumptions do not
meet with fierce opposition; 2) Killer assumptions, which
sample mean is larger than 3.5, will be selected to find
which can be universally recognized.

In order to test whether there is significant difference
between sample mean and population mean, we took One
Sample T-test with SPSS. The result of 1-Sample K-S
showed the sample about the 17 killer assumptions is
normal distribution, meaning T-test is viable.
H0: population mean = 3.5; H1: population mean ≠ 3.5.
Confidence is 95%, and α = 0.05. Then One-Sample T
Test was taken with SPSS (Table 4).
Five killer assumptions were universally recognized: 1)
Human learning powers are scale-independent (K2); 2)
Simple amalgamation of disciplines will relieve discipli-
nary shortcomings in considering comprehensive do-
mains (K8); 3) Complex problems can be solved through
m a t h e m a t i c a l m o d e l s a n d e q u a t i o n s ( K 1 0
) ; 4 )
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J. P. WAN ET AL. 51
Table 3. Statistics description of questionnaire on killer as-
sumptions.
N Min Max Mean Std. Deviation
K1 105 1.00 5.00 2.8857 1.07698
K2 105 1.00 5.00 3.7619 0.96600
K3 105 1.00 5.00 1.7333 0.68313

K4 105 1.00 4.00 1.8190 0.61677
K5 105 1.00 4.00 1.8190 0.63217
K6 105 1.00 4.00 1.9619 0.71956
K7 105 1.00 4.00 1.9524 0.71227
K8 105 2.00 5.00 3.9905 0.70021
K9 105 1.00 5.00 1.8571 0.77743
K10 105 2.00 5.00 3.6095 0.91457
K11 105 1.00 5.00 3.6190 0.77684
K12 105 1.00 5.00 2.5905 0.81683
K13 105 1.00 5.00 3.8476 1.26932
K14 105 1.00 4.00 1.9048 0.62824
K15 105 1.00 4.00 1.8190 0.67626
K16 105 1.00 5.00 2.6286 1.08537
K17 105 1.00 4.00 2.2667 0.79984
Table 4. The result of One-Sample T-Test.
Test Value = 3.5
95% Confidence Interval
of the Difference

Sig.
(2-tailed)
Mean
Difference
Lower Upper
K1 –5.845 104 0.000 –.61429 –0.8227 –0.4059
K2 2.778 104 0.006 0.26190 0.0750 0.4488
K3 –26.500 104 0.000 –1.76667 –1.8989 –1.6345
K4 –27.927 104 0.000 –1.68095 –1.8003 –1.5616
K5 –27.247 104 0.000 –1.68095 –1.8033 –1.5586
K6 –21.903 104 0.000 –1.53810 –1.6773 –1.3988
K7 –22.265 104 0.000 –1.54762 –1.6855 –1.4098
K8 7.178 104 0.000 0.49048 0.3550 0.6260
K9 –21.654 104 0.000 –1.64286 –1.7933 –1.4924
K10 1.227 104 0.223 0.10952 –.0675 0.2865
K11 1.570 104 0.119 0.11905 –.0313 0.2694
K12 –11.410 104 0.000 –0.90952 –1.0676 –0.7514
K13 2.806 104 0.006 0.34762 0.1020 0.5933
K14 –26.019 104 0.000 –1.59524 –1.7168 –1.4737

K15 –25.470 104 0.000 –1.68095 –1.8118 –1.5501
K16 –8.227 104 0.000 –0.87143 –1.0815 –0.6614
K17 –15.801 104 0.000 –1.23333 –1.3881 –1.0785
Quantitative formalisms from physical sciences can be
extended into socio-technical arenas (K11); 5) Natural
language is adequate to represent complexity (K13).
4. Risk Factor Analysis Based on Complexity
Proposition
4.1. Ground Theory Overview
Ground theory to provide the basic knowledge and pro-
cedures needed by persons who are about to embark on
their first qualitative research projects and who want to
build theory at the substantive level. In this paper, the
main steps of grounded theory are in the followings [9]:
1) Theoretical sampling; 2) Collecting information; 3)
Coding information, and forming the concepts from in-
formation; 4) Continually comparing between data, and
between conceptions and between data and conceptions;
5) Forming theoretical conceptions ,and establishing the
relationships between conceptions; 6) Building theory
and judging it.
4.2. Research Questions Generation
The scientific theory of complexity of structured-based
school is used to solve the subjective question in the
large complex project: what is the relationship between
the twenty complexity proposition and root risk factors?

4.3. Data Collection
During the interviews, we listened and paid attention to
what the interviewee concerns in the perspective of par-
ticipant in order to avoid the preconception and guidance.
In additional, we used open questions to encourage the
interviewee to speak their real ideas.
4.4. Data Procession
After dispersing the data structure, we analyzed in detail,
and discussed with relevant experts, compared and
screened continuously between data, concept and com-
plexity proposition. Finally, eleven concepts were formed,
and seven complexity propositions and killer assumptions
corresponding to them were found (Table 5). The con-
cepts from open coding and the corresponding root risk
factors were obtained as well (Table 6).
4.5. Theory Building
Theoretical coding refers to the implicit relationship am-
ong the concept or the category formed by conceptualiz-
ing substantial code, such as coordinative relationship,
causal relationship and progressive relation, etc. They are
natural emerged to generated the concept, then form a
complete theory.
The Law of Requisite Saliency considers group mem-
bers always have great difference when they evaluate the
relative importance of each factor for complex situation
and problem. If we do not take further study of the actual
situation of the design, it will come up with the ineffective

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J. P. WAN ET AL.
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Table 5. The concepts from open coding and the corresponding
complexity propositions.
Category Concept Examples of original record (abstract) Killer
assumption
The Law of
Requisite
Saliency
Give priority to the process
works fast decide the
priorities according to
customer requirement.
Give priority to the known
problems.
(Decide the order to implement ITIL) Customer perception is
most
from the service desk, the company should set up the service
desk.
We should set event priorities according to the customer level,
followed by the difficulty of the event.
We should revise our judgment of the event priority in

accordance with the customer demand.
First know, first handle.
The Law of
Triadic
Compatibility
The memory processing
capacity is limited.
Computer is necessary to desk clerk, because it is impossible
for
them to remember the classification. What we did first is to
make a
3-level classification, for example, the customer’s problem will
be
classify as “hardware requirements, notebook, printing goes
wrong”
in turn, then a “incident description” will be added.
Human learning powers
are scale-independent.
The Law of
Diverse Beliefs
Have disagreement on
“standard”.
During the project implementation, setting standard is the
most difficult.
Simple amalgamation of
disciplines will relieve
disciplinary shortcomings

in considering
comprehensive domains.
The Law of
Organizational
Linguistics
Improve the objective
environment for
communication promotion.
Guarantee the communication
frequency through the
institution.
Use standard language.
Use common language.
We use open office, in order to solve the problem immediately.
Communication must be cyclical. Morning meeting, weekly
meeting and monthly meeting is necessary for compulsory
communication. Besides, speech time for each one and
meeting record is fixed.
We use the operation procedure rather than daily language when
we give guidance to the users, or they will be impatient.
The department manager and middle-level leader have to share
the
same idea.
Natural language is
adequate to represent
complexity.
The Law of
Small Displays
The content in the
screen is limited.

The staff is not able to obtain all knowledge in training, so we
use simulation training to enforce study.
Diagrams are used in a great quantity for direct expression
in training/report material, but the most significant is the ability
of expression and communication of the speaker.
The Law of
Success
and Failure
Employee’s inactive
participation will hinder
the project’s implementation.
“All file named standardization” is reasonable but impractical,
because it is cockamamie to rename the entire vast history files.
The staff will try to boycott it, and finally we will compromise
to
rename the new documents in standardization only.
Table 6. The concepts from open coding and the corresponding
root risk factors.
Category Concept Examples of original record
Objective of the project is
not clear
Implement ITIL for fashion
Some companies take a project for fashion, that is, we do it
because others are doing,
which results slow achievement and effect.

The planning and design
are unreasonable
The implementation order
is unscientific
(Give priority to the process works fast) is not in line with the
spirit of ITIL, but this is
the customer ask for, and the purpose for us is to improve
customer satisfaction.
The business strategy of
the enterprise is vague
Find the bench enterprise
Our bench enterprise is McDonald’s, aiming to reach
standardization and give the client
the same process and service all over the world.
Inadequate and ineffective
communication among
staff members
The customer do not accept
The communication ability
is limited
(What is the key problem during project implementation?) That
is to let the owner accept
our service mode. Let customers accept that the new process is
not as complex as in
imagination and adapting to the new process is advisably.
Consultant is needed to push it forward. If you can’t make it,
you should look for consultant.

High staff turnover
Overcome the negative
influence of turnover
We provide redundancy backup for all data to reduce the impact
of staff turnover, and there
are a key user and a secondary user for each project.
Leader’ indifference Try for the leader’s attention For all
projects, it is important for leaders (senior officials) to think
highly of the project.
Indicators without science
Have disagreement on
“standard”
Setting standard is the most difficult in the process of project
implementation.
conversation, the wrong decision, the arbitrary design
and so on.
During ITIL implementation, companies prefer to give
priority to implementing the process works fast and
solving the known fault, which is not in line with the
spirit of ITIL and results in undefined goals and unrea-
sonable planning and design.
The assumptions are put forward as follow:
H1: The Law of Requisite Saliency has significant
influence on the undefined goals of the project.
H2: The Law of Requisite Saliency has significant
influence on the unreasonable planning and design.

During ITIL planning and design, it is difficult for
workers to understand the coupled relation between mo-
J. P. WAN ET AL. 53
dels, leading to design mistakes.
The assumption is put forward as follow:
H3: The Law of Triadic Compatibility has signifi-
cant influence on the unreasonable planning and design.
Setting standard is the most difficult in the process of
project implementation, that is, to confirm the result we
should achieve, which cause business strategy unclear
and unscientific indicators.
H4: The Law of Diverse Beliefs has significant in-
fluence on the unclear business strategy.
H5: The Law of Diverse Beliefs has significant in-
fluence on the unscientific indicators.
During ITIL implementation, a serious of actions is
taken to make sure that there are enough language do-
mains for the internal communication in company. At
first, the group leader makes conclusions in the morning
meeting, after that, the event members communicate to-
gether. Then the project manager communicates with the
general manager. At last, the general manager communi-
cates with customer’s general manager. While the know-
ledge gap exists between the developer and the client, we

should look for the consultant as communication inter-
mediary.
H6: The Law of Organizational Linguistics has sig-
nificant influence on the unclear business strategy.
H7: The Law of Organizational Linguistics has sig-
nificant influence on the lack of effective communica-
tion among different people.
During ITIL training, the staffs are not able to obtain
all knowledge, so we should use diagrams in a great
quantity for direct expression in materials, and use simu-
lation training to enforce study.
The assumption is put forward as follow:
H8: The Law of Small Displays has significant in-
fluence on the lack of effective communication among
different people.
The Law of Success and Failure considers the design
success consist of 7 key factors, including employee in-
volvement and leader support. And the lack of any one
will lead to failure.
Because of the integrated features of ITSM, the im-
plementation of the project involves many departments,
which requires executives use authority to help promot-
ing cooperation and coordination among departments.
H9: The Law of Success and Failure has significant

influence on the high staff turnover.
H10: The Law of Success and Failure has significant
influence on indifference of the executives.
4.6. Theory Saturation Verification
The information collected was selected randomly again
to verify the theory, but no new category was found. So
we can consider that it has reached theory saturation. The
deep logic of complexity proposition and root risk factors
was illustrated in Figure 1.
4.7. Theory Verification
Twelve experts who have ever implemented ITSM pro-
gram in Guangzhou were chosen to be respondents. They
all had rich experience and had certain understanding of
psychology. The relationship between complexity propo-
sition and root risk factors were illustrated in Table 7.
The column signed “√” means the complexity in corre-
sponding row will generate the risk factors in corresp-
onding line. Nine assumptions were verified, which means
the rationality of using grounded theory to construct as-
sumptions is high. It was found that 1) The Law of Di-
verse Beliefs had significant influence on the undefined
goal of the project; 2) The Law of Success and Failure
had significant influence on the unreasonable planning
and design, the unclear business strategy and the lack of
effective communication among different people.
5. Risk Averse Strategy
If needs of complexity are met, the possibility for human
to solve complexity problem will be increased.

1) Identify the individuals and pay more attention to
the complexity. We should realize that complexity does
exist in mind, not in problematic situations (means sys-
tem), for individuals and groups, which is a challenge of
learning. The organizational training course should in-
clude information management concepts, IT implementa-
tion knowledge, the principle knowledge on IT applica-
tion and the training of application, etc. The form of
training can be formal training courses, user manuals and
the onsite guidance from IT personnel or consultants. We
can change the perception of employee and improve their
IT knowledge and skills through training, so as to pro-
mote the enterprise’s IT absorptive capability. In addition,
the clear career development plan and incentives are also
important.
2) Select the process carefully. Process selection and
design should base in reliable scientific evidence in order
to process situation systematically, limit the expand of
complexity situation, reduce the individual cognitive
burden, eliminate restraining factors of most situation,
provide many personal strengthening factors, and support
solving the problem of complexity.
3) Apply domain language. We should realize the lin-
ear logic fault of natural language and integrate the
nonlinear logic into it. During requirement development,
comprehensive training is necessary for each subject to
communicate under unified language terms. The use of
visual language and tools makes the demand easier to
understand, for example, UML and Use Case can make
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J. P. WAN ET AL.
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54
Complexity
Propositions
Requisite
Saliency
Triadic
Compatibility
Diverse Beliefs
Organizational
Linguistics
Small Displays
Success and
Failure
Work fast
The known
Customer
requirements

Limited capacity
Disagreement
Objective
environment
Institution
Standard language
Common language
Screen limited
The leader’s
attention
Employee’s
participation
Do for fashion
Unscientific
order
Find the bench
enterprise
The customer do not
accept
limited
communication
ability

Overcome the
influence of turnover
Try for the leader’s
attention
Have disagreement
on “standard”
Undefined
project goal
Unreasonable
planning and
design
Unclear
business
strategy
Lack of effective
communication
High staff
turnover
The leader’s
indifference
Unscientific
indicators
Root risk
factors

Figure 1. The deep logic of complexity proposition and root risk
factors.
Table 7. The relationship between complexity proposition and
root risk factors.
The goal of
the project is
undefined
The planning and
design are
unreasonable
The business
strategy is
unclear
Lack of
effective
communication
High
staff
turnover
The
leader’s

indifference
The
indicators are
unscientific
1.The Law of Requisite Saliency √ √
2.The Law of Triadic Compatibility √
3.The Law of Diverse Beliefs √ √ √
4.The Law of Organizational Linguistics √ √
5.The Law of Small Displays √
6.The Law of Success and Failure √ √ √ √ √
ment, convening individual and group interviews, brain-
storming sessions, key problem seminar, field symposi-
ums and design symposiums are effective. In additional,
we should try to use individual communication and
face-to-face interaction to choose different communica-
tion places and different ways according to similar sys-
tems and industry characteristics. We also should try to
use collective exchanges and face-to-face interaction,
such as brainstorming sessions, key problem seminar,
field symposiums and design symposiums during the
demand development. In the process of demand combi-
nation and systematization, design symposiums and de-
mand simulation test should be conducted as far as pos-
sible. When verifying the demand internalization, we
should try to use individual communication and virtual
interaction, such as demand shows and requirement re-
view symposiums, etc.

the demand more intuitive. In addition, the prototype is
the key technology derived from demand, and the model
should be expressed clearly by specific characters and
graphs.
4) Design the personalized work space according to
the demand to satisfy the need of human learning.
5) Enhance the role of executives. Executives should
be offered the key decision information about the prob-
lematic situation, and deal with it seriously. Functional
departments should to communicate effectively to ana-
lyze risk and prevent arbitrary decision-making. In order
to strengthen managers’ understanding of information,
we can adopt the following methods: hiring external
consultants, taking information training and learning the
enterprise’s successful information technology experi-
ences.
6) Communicate appropriately. During communication,
we have better give up the concept of department and
organization. Simile and analogy are allowed in commu-
nication under the condition of clear expression and mi-
nimal ambiguous case. During requirements develop-
6. Conclusions
In this paper，five common Killer Assumptions are se-
lected from Warfield’s 17 killer assumptions through em-
J. P. WAN ET AL. 55
pirical analysis. Enterprise interview and questionnaire

survey are used to build and verify the relational model
between the root risk factors of implementation of the
ITSM project and the six complexity propositions based
grounded theory. Finally, risk-averse strategies are gen-
erated to meet the demand for complexity.
The primary limitation of this research to date is that
the interviews and documents have only involved people
who are in China. While it certainly is important to do
this work in a specific non-Western culture (i.e., China),
for the sake of completeness, it would be similarly useful
to apply Warfield version of systems science perspective
(WSS) to an ITSM project in a Western setting. We
doubt that any differing results will be due to the cultural
differences. ITSM started just a few years ago in China.
However, this usually involves only ITSM operations,
and does not include service strategy, service design,
service transition and continual service improvement (as
found in ITIL 3.0). In Reference [10], the Work Program
of Complexity (WPOC) is applied in managing risks of
ITSM projects’ implementation.
Although there is a long way to go, it is sure that the
research will helpful for both ITSM theories construction
and ITSM practices’ improvement in the view of WSS
perspective.
7. Acknowledgements
Thank for the helpful discussion with Mr. Zhixing Zhuo,
Mr. Ji Chen, and Mr. Dejie Li.
REFERENCES
[1] J. V. Bon, M. Picper and A. D. Veen, “Foundations of IT
Service Management Based on ITIL,” Van Haren Pub-

lishing, Zaltbommel, Netherlands, 2005.
[2] J. N. Warfield, “Understanding Complexity: Thought and
Behavior,” AJAR Publishing Company, USA Palm Har-
bor, 2002.
[3] J. N. Warfield, “Twenty Laws of Complexity: Science
Applicable in Organizations,” Systems Research and Be-
havioral Science, Vol. 16, No. 1, 1999, pp. 3-40.
doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1743(199901/02)16:1<3::AID-S
RES241>3.0.CO;2-F
[4] S. M. Staley and J. N. Warfield, “Enterprise Integration
of Product Development Data: Systems Science in Ac-
tion,” Enterprise Information Systems, Vol. 1, No. 3, 2007,
pp. 269-285. doi:10.1080/17517570701507685
[5] J. P. Wan, “Research on Software Product Support Stru-
cture,” Journal of Software Engineering and Applications,
Vol. 2, No. 3, 2009, pp. 174-194.
[6] W. G. Tan, A. C. Stel and M. Toleman, “Implementing IT
Service Management: A Case Study Focusing on Critical
Success Factors,” Journal of Computer Information Sys-
tems, Vol. 50, No. 2, 2009, pp. 1-12.
[7] J. P. Wan, H. Zhang and D. Wan, “Evaluation on Infor-
mation Technology Service Management Process with
AHP”, Technology and Investment, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2011,
pp. 38-46. doi:10.4236/ti.2011.21005
[8] J. P. Wan, S. Q. Zhu and Y. F. Wang, “Empirical Analy-
sis on Risk Factors of IT Service Management Project
Implementation,” IEEE International Conference on Wire-
less Communications, Networking and Mobile Computing,

Dalian, China, 14-16 October, 2008.
[9] J. Corbin and A. Strauss, “A Basics of Qualitative Re-
search: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Groun-
ded Theory,” Sage, London, 1990.
[10] J. P. Wan and J. Jones, “Managing ITSM Implementation
Complexity: A Warfield Version of Systems Science Per-
spective,” 2011.
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1743%28199901/02%2916:1%3C3::AID-
SRES241%3E3.0.CO;2-F
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1743%28199901/02%2916:1%3C3::AID-
SRES241%3E3.0.CO;2-F
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http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ti.2011.21005
Kerzner, Harold R.. Project Management : Case Studies (4).
Somerset, US: Wiley, 2013. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 6 May 2016.
Copyright © 2013. Wiley. All rights reserved.

381©2013 Project Management Institute. A Guide to the Project
Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth
Edition
1 2 - P R O J E C T P R O C U R E M E N T M A N A G E M
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12

Control Procurements includes application of the appropriate
project management processes to the contractual
relationship(s) and integration of the outputs from these
processes into the overall management of the project. This
integration will often occur at multiple levels when there are
multiple sellers and multiple products, services, or
results involved. The project management processes that are
applied may include, but are not limited to:
Direct and Manage Project Work. To authorize the seller’s work
at the appropriate time.
Control Quality. To inspect and verify the adequacy of the
seller’s product.
Perform Integrated Change Control. To assure that changes are
properly approved and that all those
with a need to know are aware of such changes.
Control Risks. To ensure that risks are mitigated.
Control Procurements also has a financial management
component that involves monitoring payments to the
seller. This ensures that payment terms defined within the
contract are met and that seller compensation is linked
to seller progress, as defined in the contract. One of the
principal concerns when making payments to suppliers is
that there is a close relationship of payments made to the work

accomplished.
The Control Procurements process reviews and documents how
well a seller is performing or has performed
based on the contract and establishes corrective actions when
needed. This performance review may be used as
a measure of the seller’s competency for performing similar
work on future projects. Similar evaluations are also
carried out when it is necessary to confirm that a seller is not
meeting the seller’s contractual obligations and
when the buyer contemplates corrective actions. Control
Procurements includes capturing the necessary details
for managing any early terminations of the contracted work (for
cause, convenience, or default) in accordance with
the termination clause of the agreement. These details are used
in the Close Procurements process to terminate
the agreement.
Agreements can be amended at any time prior to contract
closure by mutual consent, in accordance with the
change control terms of the agreement. Such amendments are
typically captured in writing.
12.3.1 Control Procurements: Inputs
12.3.1.1 Project Management Plan
Described in Section 4.2.3.1. The project management plan

describes how the procurement processes will be
managed from developing procurement documentation through
contract closure.
382 ©2013 Project Management Institute. A Guide to the
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) –
Fifth Edition
E N T
12.3.1.2 Procurement Documents
Described in Section 12.1.3.3. Procurement documents contain
complete supporting records for administration
of the procurement processes; this includes procurement
contract awards and the statement of work.
12.3.1.3 Agreements
Described in Section 12.2.3.2. Agreements are understandings
between parties, including understanding of
the duties of each party.
12.3.1.4 Approved Change Requests
Approved change requests can include modifications to the
terms and conditions of the contract, including the
procurement statement of work, pricing, and descriptions of the
products, services, or results to be provided. All

procurement-related changes are formally documented in
writing and approved before being implemented through
the Control Procurements process.
12.3.1.5 Work Performance Reports
Described in Section 4.4.3.2. Seller performance-related
documentation includes:
Technical documentation. Seller-developed technical
documentation and other deliverable information
are provided in accordance with the terms of the contract.
Work performance information. The seller’s performance
reports indicate which deliverables have
been completed and which have not.
12.3.1.6 Work Performance Data
Described in Section 4.3.3.2. Work performance data includes
(1) the extent to which quality standards are
being satisfied, (2) the costs that have been incurred or
committed, and (3) identification of the seller invoices
that have been paid. All data are collected as part of project
execution.

Edition
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12
12.3.2 Control Procurements: Tools and Techniques
12.3.2.1 Contract Change Control System
A contract change control system defines the process by which
the procurement can be modified. It includes
the paperwork, tracking systems, dispute resolution procedures,
and approval levels necessary for authorizing
changes. The contract change control system is integrated with
the integrated change control system.
12.3.2.2 Procurement Performance Reviews
A procurement performance review is a structured review of the
seller’s progress to deliver project scope
and quality, within cost and on schedule, as compared to the
contract. It can include a review of seller-prepared
documentation and buyer inspections, as well as quality audits
conducted during seller’s execution of the work.
The objective of a performance review is to identify
performance successes or failures, progress with respect to
the procurement statement of work, and contract
noncompliance, which allow the buyer to quantify the seller’s

demonstrated ability or inability to perform work. Such reviews
may take place as a part of project status reviews,
which would include key suppliers.
12.3.2.3 Inspections and Audits
Inspections and audits required by the buyer and supported by
the seller, as specified in the procurement
contract, can be conducted during execution of the project to
verify compliance in the seller’s work processes or
deliverables. If authorized by contract, some inspection and
audit teams can include buyer procurement personnel.
12.3.2.4 Performance Reporting
Work performance data and reports supplied by sellers are
evaluated against the agreement requirements.
Work performance information from this evaluation is then
reported as appropriate. Performance reporting provides
management with information about how effectively the seller is
achieving the contractual objectives.
12.3.2.5 Payment Systems
Payments to the seller are typically processed by the accounts
payable system of the buyer after
certification of satisfactory work by an authorized person on the
project team. All payments should be made

and documented in strict accordance with the terms of the
contract.
Fifth Edition
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12.3.2.6 Claims Administration
Contested changes and potential constructive changes are those
requested changes where the buyer and seller
cannot reach an agreement on compensation for the change or
cannot agree that a change has occurred. These
contested changes are variously called claims, disputes, or
appeals. Claims are documented, processed, monitored,
and managed throughout the contract life cycle, usually in
accordance with the terms of the contract. If the parties
themselves do not resolve a claim, it may have to be handled in
accordance with alternative dispute resolution
(ADR) typically following procedures established in the
contract. Settlement of all claims and disputes through
negotiation is the preferred method.
12.3.2.7 Records Management System

A records management system is used by the project manager to
manage contract and procurement
documentation and records. It consists of a specific set of
processes, related control functions, and automation
tools that are consolidated and combined as part of the project
management information system (Section 4.4.2.3).
The system contains a retrievable archive of contract documents
and correspondence.
12.3.3 Control Procurements: Outputs
12.3.3.1 Work Performance Information
Work performance information provides a basis for
identification of current or potential problems to support later
claims or new procurements. By reporting on the performance
of a vendor, the organization increases knowledge
of the performance of the procurement, which supports
improved forecasting, risk management, and decision
making. Performance reports also assist in the event there is a
dispute with the vendor.
Work performance information includes reporting compliance of
contracts, which provides procuring
organizations a mechanism to track specific deliverables
expected and received from vendors. Contract compliance
reports support improved communications with vendors so that
potential issues are addressed promptly to the

satisfaction of all parties.
Edition
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12
12.3.3.2 Change Requests
Change requests to the project management plan, its subsidiary
plans, and other components, such as the
cost baseline, schedule baseline, and procurement management
plan, may result from the Control Procurements
process. Change requests are processed for review and approval
through the Perform Integrated Change Control
process.
Requested but unresolved changes can include direction
provided by the buyer or actions taken by the seller,
which the other party considers a constructive change to the
contract. Since any of these constructive changes may
be disputed by one party and can lead to a claim against the
other party, such changes are uniquely identified and

documented by project correspondence.
12.3.3.3 Project Management Plan Updates
Elements of the project management plan that may be updated
include, but are not limited to:
Procurement management plan. The procurement management
plan is updated to reflect any approved
change requests that affect procurement management, including
impacts to costs or schedules.
Schedule baseline. If there are slippages that impact overall
project performance, the schedule baseline
may need to be updated to reflect the current expectations.
Cost baseline. If there are changes that impact overall project
costs, the cost baseline may need to be
updated to reflect the current expectations.
12.3.3.4 Project Documents Updates
Project documents that may be updated include, but are not
limited to, procurement documentation.
Procurement documentation may include the procurement
contract with all supporting schedules, requested
unapproved contract changes, and approved change requests.
Procurement documentation also includes any
seller-developed technical documentation and other work
performance information, such as deliverables, seller

performance reports and warranties, financial documents
including invoices and payment records, and the
results of contract-related inspections.
12.3.3.5 Organizational Process Assets Updates
Elements of the organizational process assets that may be
updated include, but are not limited to:
Fifth Edition
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Correspondence. Contract terms and conditions often require
written documentation of certain aspects of
buyer/seller communications, such as the need for warnings of
unsatisfactory performance and requests
for contract changes or clarification. This can include the
reported results of buyer audits and inspections
that indicate weaknesses the seller needs to correct. In addition
to specific contract requirements for
documentation, a complete and accurate written record of all
written and oral contract communications,
as well as actions taken and decisions made, are maintained by

both parties.
Payment schedules and requests. All payments should be made
in accordance with the procurement
contract terms and conditions.
Seller performance evaluation documentation. Seller
performance evaluation documentation is
prepared by the buyer. Such performance evaluations document
the seller’s ability to continue to perform
work on the current contract, indicate if the seller can be
allowed to perform work on future projects,
or rate how well the seller is performing the project work.
These documents may form the basis for
early termination of the seller’s contract or determine how
contract penalties, fees, or incentives are
administered. The results of these performance evaluations can
also be included in the appropriate
qualified seller lists.
12.4 Close Procurements
Close Procurements is the process of completing each
procurement. The key benefit of this process is that
it documents agreements and related documentation for future
reference. The inputs, tools and techniques, and
outputs of this process are depicted in Figure 12-8. Figure 12-9

depicts the data flow diagram of the process.
Inputs Tools & Techniques Outputs
.1 Project management plan
.2 Procurement documents
.1 Procurement audits
.2 Procurement
negotiations
.3 Records management
system
.1 Closed procurements
.2 Organizational process
assets updates
Figure 12-8. Close Procurements: Inputs, Tools & Techniques,
and Outputs
Edition
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12
Project Procurement Management
12.4
Close

Procurements
12.1
Plan
Procurement
Management
Organizational
4.2
Develop Project
Management
Plan
Enterprise/
Organization
Figure 12-9. Close Procurements Data Flow Diagram
The Close Procurements process also involves administrative
activities such as finalizing open claims, updating
records to reflect final results, and archiving such information
for future use. Close Procurements addresses each
contract applicable to the project or a project phase. In
multiphase projects, the term of a contract may only be
applicable to a given phase of the project. In these cases, the
Close Procurements process closes the procurement(s)
applicable to that phase of the project. Unresolved claims may
be subject to litigation after closure. The contract

terms and conditions can prescribe specific procedures for
agreement closure. The Close Procurements process
supports the Close Project or Phase process (Section 4.6) by
ensuring contractual agreements are completed or
terminated.
Early termination of a contract is a special case of procurement
closure that can result from a mutual agreement
by both parties, from the default of one party, or for
convenience of the buyer if provided for in the contract. The
rights and responsibilities of the parties in the event of an early
termination are contained in the terminations clause
of the contract. Based upon those procurement terms and
conditions, the buyer may have the right to terminate
the whole contract or a portion of the contract, at any time, for
cause or convenience. However, based upon those
contract terms and conditions, the buyer may have to
compensate the seller for seller’s preparations and for any
completed and accepted work related to the terminated part of
the contract.

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