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Systems
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Advancing Project Management Through Digital Transformation
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Advancing Project Management Through Digital Transformation

A special issue of Systems (ISSN 2079-8954). This special issue belongs to the section "Artificial Intelligence and Digital Systems Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 2713

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Lihong Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering Management, School of Engineering, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Interests: project design; project learning for business model innovation; project-based supply chain management; future manufacturing systems; digital project transformation and sustainable project engineering
Dr. Hao Dong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Advanced Project Management Research Centre (APROM), University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Interests: agile project management; digital transformation; entrepreneurship; supply chain management; economic policy; sustainability
Dr. Saeed Banihashemi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Built Environment, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo 2007, Australia
Interests: digital project management; digital transformation; AI in project management; sustainable project management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The industrial, engineering, and infrastructure sectors are undergoing rapid transformation driven by advancements in digital technologies. As organizations and professionals strive to improve efficiency, sustainability, and decision-making processes, digital transformation has emerged as a critical enabler for reshaping project management practices. This Special Issue explores the intersection of project management and digital transformation, aiming to uncover innovative methods, tools, and strategies that enhance project performance across industries, e.g., manufacturing, production, construction, transportation, professional service, healthcare, and IT, among others.

Key themes include the adoption of digital enablers including but not limited to building information modelling (BIM), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), digital twins, blockchain, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in project management. The Special Issue also addresses challenges such as data integration; interoperability; agile, organizational change management; project designs; and cybersecurity. By examining the role of digital transformation in improving productivity, sustainability, collaboration, risk management, cost control, and project delivery timelines, this Special Issue seeks to provide cutting-edge insights and foster cross-disciplinary research.

We invite submissions from academics and practitioners alike, offering conceptual frameworks, rigorous reviews, empirical studies, or practical applications that demonstrate the transformative potential of digital innovation in project management. This Special Issue will serve as a knowledge hub for advancing the theoretical and practical understanding of digital transformation in contemporary project management practices, policy, and education.

Dr. Lihong Zhang
Dr. Hao Dong
Dr. Saeed Banihashemi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Systems is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • digital transformation
  • project management
  • building information modelling (BIM)
  • artificial intelligence (AI)
  • digital twins
  • Internet of Things (IoT)
  • blockchain (Web3)
  • smart project delivery
  • data-driven decision making
  • interoperability and cybersecurity
  • agile
  • project organization

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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26 pages, 819 KiB  
Article
Critical Success Factors in Agile-Based Digital Transformation Projects
by Meiying Chen, Xinyu Sun and Meixi Liu
Systems 2025, 13(8), 694; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems13080694 - 13 Aug 2025
Abstract
Digital transformation (DT) requires organizations to navigate complex technological and organizational changes, often under conditions of uncertainty. While agile methodologies are widely adopted to address the iterative and cross-functional nature of DT, limited attention has been paid to identifying critical success factors (CSFs) [...] Read more.
Digital transformation (DT) requires organizations to navigate complex technological and organizational changes, often under conditions of uncertainty. While agile methodologies are widely adopted to address the iterative and cross-functional nature of DT, limited attention has been paid to identifying critical success factors (CSFs) from a socio-technical systems (STS) perspective. This study addresses that gap by integrating and prioritizing CSFs as interdependent elements within a layered socio-technical framework. Drawing on a systematic review of 17 empirical and conceptual studies, we adapt Chow and Cao’s agile success model and validate a set of 14 CSFs across five domains—organizational, people, process, technical, and project—through a Delphi-informed Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The findings reveal that organizational and people-related enablers, particularly management commitment, team capability, and organizational environment, carry the greatest weight in agile-based DT contexts. These results inform a three-layered framework—comprising organizational readiness, agile delivery, and project artefacts—which reflects how social, technical, and procedural factors interact systemically. The study contributes both theoretically, by operationalizing STS theory in the agile DT domain, and practically, by providing a prioritized CSF model to guide strategic planning and resource allocation in transformation initiatives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Project Management Through Digital Transformation)
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Review

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23 pages, 2348 KiB  
Review
Digital Transformation in Project Management: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda
by Meiying Chen, Tomas Sparano Martins, Lihong Zhang and Hao Dong
Systems 2025, 13(8), 625; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems13080625 - 24 Jul 2025
Viewed by 1098
Abstract
Digital transformation (DT) fundamentally reshapes how organisations operate, create value, and respond to complex environments through the integration of digital technologies. Beyond mere technical deployment, DT involves behavioural, strategic, and institutional changes. As these transformations are increasingly managed through projects and programmes, project [...] Read more.
Digital transformation (DT) fundamentally reshapes how organisations operate, create value, and respond to complex environments through the integration of digital technologies. Beyond mere technical deployment, DT involves behavioural, strategic, and institutional changes. As these transformations are increasingly managed through projects and programmes, project management plays a pivotal role, not only in delivering these transformations but also in enabling them. However, the relationship between DT and project management remains fragmented and insufficiently explored. This paper addresses this gap by systematically reviewing 66 peer-reviewed articles using a qualitative thematic coding approach informed by sociotechnical systems theory. The analysis reveals four interrelated themes: methodologies and the sociotechnical integration of digital tools, misalignments in sociotechnical interfaces, governance and leadership, and industry- or project-specific transformation trajectories. Based on these findings, the paper proposes three key future research agenda: (1) embedding digital tools through methodological mediation and governance integration, (2) governance and leadership as strategic enablers, and (3) advancing sector-specific insights into DT. By offering a structured synthesis and a theory-driven research agenda, this review contributes to a more integrated understanding of how DT unfolds within project-based contexts and lays the groundwork for future interdisciplinary research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Project Management Through Digital Transformation)
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36 pages, 3524 KiB  
Review
Building Information Modeling and Big Data in Sustainable Building Management: Research Developments and Thematic Trends via Data Visualization Analysis
by Zhen Liu, Langyue Deng, Fenghong Wang, Wei Xiong, Tzuhui Wu, Peter Demian and Mohamed Osmani
Systems 2025, 13(7), 595; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems13070595 - 16 Jul 2025
Viewed by 669
Abstract
At present, the construction industry has not yet fully optimized the integration of the potential of big data. Past studies signaled the potential benefits of integrating building information management (BIM) and big data in the field of sustainable building management (SBM). However, these [...] Read more.
At present, the construction industry has not yet fully optimized the integration of the potential of big data. Past studies signaled the potential benefits of integrating building information management (BIM) and big data in the field of sustainable building management (SBM). However, these studies have a monotonous perspective in identifying the development of BIM and big data applications in SBM. Therefore, this paper aims to explore BIM and big data from various perspectives in the field of SBM to identify the aspects where additional efforts are required and provide insights into future directions, and it adopts a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative analysis, including bibliometric analysis and knowledge mapping, providing a macro-overview of the research status and development trends of BIM and big data integration for SBM from multiple bibliometric perspectives. The results indicate the following: (1) the current studies on BIM and big data integration (BBi)-aided SBM mainly focused on data integration and interoperability for collaboration, development of information technologies and emerging technologies, data analysis and presentation, and green building and sustainability assessment; (2) the longitudinal analysis of three time-slice phases (2010–2014, 2015–2018, and 2019–2024) over the past 15 years indicates that the studies on BBi-aided SBM have been expanded from the application of BIM in construction projects to the integration and interoperability of BIM with information technology, the integration of virtual models with physical buildings, and sustainable management throughout the building life cycle stages; and (3) key research gaps and emerging directions include data integration and model interoperability across the building life cycle, model transferability in the application of technology, and a comprehensive sustainability assessment framework based on the whole building life cycle stages. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Project Management Through Digital Transformation)
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