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，以有效地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工程（CISE）部门计划的一项重大举措。GENI是一个实验设施，有一个非常雄心勃勃的目标：发明和展示一个全球通信网络和相关服务，将大大优于今天的互联网上级。因此，迫切需要了解如何有效管理这种性质的项目。拟议的研究目标有两个：1）探索传统和新型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，和2）了解现有的项目管理工具和技术可以如何定制或增强，以适应像GENI这样的项目的需求。尽管有关项目管理的文献已经确定了可能由于这些技术适合于解决特定的问题或挑战，因此对于如何为面临多种挑战的项目配置一套这些技术的知识相对较少。此外，关于如何有效地调整特定的程序和技术以满足具体项目的需要，知识相对较少。因此，研究如何将实践组合在一起，将有效地用于特定的项目环境是有价值的。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，这项工作最终还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界，并将需要满足该社区以及许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.