L.M. Camarinha-Matos et al. (Eds.): PRO-VE 2009, IFIP AICT 307, pp. 476–483, 2009. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2009 An SSM-Based Approach to Implement a Dynamic Performance Management System Roberto da Piedade Francisco and Américo Azevedo INESC Porto & Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Rua Doutor Roberto Frias S/N 4200-465 Porto, Portugal {roberto.piedade,ala}@fe.up.pt Abstract. This paper underlines how the use of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) for an efficient planning, implementation and monitoring of a dynamic performance management system supported by a conceptual scheme that en- ables a conscious and prepared implementation, can provide instances of per- formance of a collaborative network, and also promote alignment among the partners. A systematic way to implement it and a review on two practical appli- cations in Brazilian collaborative networks of SMEs are also presented. Keywords: Collaborative Networks, Soft Systems Methodology, Performance Management. 1 Introduction The establishment of Collaborative Networks (CN) aims at reducing uncertainty and increasing competitiveness. This subject is increasingly acknowledged by academics and practitioners as a new paradigm that involves interoperation of distinct organisa- tional systems that search for effectiveness, aggregating skills and resources of network's participants. Monitoring the CN's performance is advisable in order to un- derstand how it is possible to manage this new environment and thus assist decision- makers in achieving the goals that motivated the creation of the CN. The line of thought in this ongoing research implies that in dynamic environments, an organisation must obtain performance measurement outcomes and use them to obtain the results of operations, and to create actions that solve problems through available systematic practices in order to find an appropriate management tools. This paper intends to highlight some issues regarding performance management in collaborative networks and encourage the use of the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) in order to apply an action research to build a Performance Management Sys- tem (PMS). After the introduction of relevant aspects, this document is organized as follows: the second section presents some definitions and explanations on perform- ance management. In the third section an overview about SSM is provided. Then, the fourth section addresses the conceptual approach to support the creation of a dynamic Collaborative Network Performance Management System (CNPMS), and finally some conclusions are presented in fifth section.