GENI:Mechanisms for Managing Large, Complex, Dynamic and Distributed Projects

这项探索性研究小额赠款（SBER）提出了新的技术和工具，以有效管理特别难以执行的项目，特别是那些大型、复杂、动态和分布式的项目，如GENI（全球网络创新环境）。GENI是美国国家科学基金会计算机与信息科学与工程（CISE）分部计划的一项重大项目。GENI是一个实验设施，它有一个雄心勃勃的目标：发明和展示一个全球通信网络和相关服务，它将大大优于今天的互联网。因此，迫切需要了解如何有效地管理这种性质的项目。这项研究的目标有两个：1)探索传统的和新颖的项目管理工具和技术在多大程度上可以有效地应用于像GENI这样的项目；2)了解如何调整或增强现有的项目管理工具和技术，以适应像GENI这样的项目的需要。尽管关于项目管理的文献已经确定了可能适合解决特定问题或挑战的特定工具或技术，但是关于如何为面临多重挑战的项目配置一组这些技术的知识相对较少。此外，关于如何有效地裁剪特定的过程和技术以满足特定项目的需要的知识相对较少。因此，考虑如何将对特定项目环境有效的实践组合在一起的研究是有价值的。在GENI的情况下尤其如此。GENI的规模、范围和复杂性都很大，因为除了网络和分布式系统之外，这项工作最终将影响计算机科学和工程研究的许多领域。GENI还将影响更广泛的计算机科学社区，并且需要满足该社区以及众多其他利益相关者的高期望。鉴于GENI的规模和重要性，了解如何有效地管理这种性质的项目有可能对项目的许多利益相关者以及更广泛的社会产生积极影响，这些利益相关者是它所激发的创新的最终受益者。

This Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SBER) proposes new techniques and tools to effectively manage projects that are especially difficult to execute, especially those that are large, complex, dynamic and distributed such as GENI (Global Environment for Networking Innovations). GENI is a major initiative planned by the Computer and Information Science & Engineering (CISE) Division of the National Science Foundation. GENI is an experimental facility that has a highly ambitious goal: to invent and demonstrate a global communications network and related services that will be substantially superior to today's Internet. Thus, there is an urgent need to understand how a project of this nature can be managed effectively. The goals of the research proposed are twofold: 1) to explore the extent to which both traditional and novel project management tools and techniques can be applied effectively to projects like GENI, and 2) to understand how existing project management tools and techniques may be tailored or enhanced to fit the needs of a project like GENI.Although the literature on project management has identified specific tools or techniques that may be suited to address a particular problem or challenge, there is relatively little knowledge on how to configure a set of these techniques for projects that face multiple challenges. In addition, there is relatively little knowledge on how to effectively tailor particular processes and techniques to meet the needs of specific projects. Thus, research that considers how to put together a portfolio of practices that will be effective for a particular project context is valuable. This is especially true in the case of GENI. The scale, scope and complexity of GENI are large, as the effort will ultimately affect many areas of computer science and engineering research in addition to networking and distributed systems. GENI will also impact the broader computer science community and will need to meet the high expectations of that community as well as of numerous other stakeholders. Given the magnitude and importance of GENI, understanding how a project of this nature can be managed effectively has the potential to positively impact the project's many stakeholders as well as broader society, the ultimate beneficiaries of the innovations it stimulates.