Hard and Soft Modeling Tools and Approaches to Data and Information Management in Real-Life Projects and Systems

This special issue follows the previous one titled Information-and Knowledge-Based Approaches to Improving Performance in Organizations, and it contains carefully selected and reviewed papers (each paper was reviewed by two independent reviewers) that expand significantly on those topics of APIEMS'04 (Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Conference) held in Gold Coast, Australia, in December 2004, which may be of interest to information science and information systems communities. I chaired the Track and Special Sessions on " Information and Knowledge Management " during this conference. Generally , the papers presented in my sessions, and at the conference as a whole, dealt with various issues related to managing real-life systems and projects functioning in information reach environments. The common theme that was integrating a number of presentations at APIEMS'04 was the drive to develop and implement hard and soft modeling tools and approaches to data and information management in a variety of real-life systems. This special issue presents a selection of papers that concentrate on some recent developments in this general area of research. Complexities of decision-making issues within project management can no longer be dealt with by traditional approaches to information management. This is especially true in the area of software project management, which usually involves a wide variety of often distributed and interdisciplinary expertise. The first paper of this issue authored by Or³ owski and Kowalczuk, titled Project Management in Enterprises: IT Implementation Based on Fuzzy Models addresses this problem by developing a knowledge-based system for software project management (SPM). The authors develop formal approaches to supporting SPM by focusing first on a collection of separate procedures for assessment of project teams and processes and then by venturing into the development of an integrated architecture for ongoing assessment of both teams and processes. This architecture represents one of the most sophisticated and promising tools available for SP managers. The core of this tool is the fuzzy SPM model developed by