Improving Project Management Practices Research Articles

Enhancing Project Management and Coordination for the Education Sector of Bangladesh: A Path Towards Achieving SDG4

The education sector in Bangladesh faces significant challenges in aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education. This article explores the current state of project management and coordination in the education sector, analyzing various initiatives aimed at enhancing educational facilities and outcomes. Through a comparative analysis of key projects, the study identifies successes, challenges, and recommendations for improving project management practices to achieve SDG4.

Delays Factors for Construction Projects in South of Iraq

This study seeks to identify and categorize the factors responsible for delays in construction projects in southern Iraq. Using a sequential research approach that includes a literature review, interviews, and surveys, data were collected from 115 industry professionals, including clients, consultants, project managers, contractors, and engineers. The analysis utilized both descriptive and conclusive statistical methods, with a specific emphasis on the Spearman rank correlation coefficient to verify the reliability of the delay factor rankings. The research identified 45 major delay factors, with the most critical being global and local economic crises, bureaucracy and corruption, public holidays, delays in securing municipal permits, and frequent change orders initiated by clients. These factors were further classified into eight categories: inaccuracies in the tendering process, technical performance management, government interference, rework in construction practices, among others. The results indicate strong consensus among the different respondent groups regarding the main causes of project delays, as demonstrated by high correlation coefficients and a Chi-squared test confirming the agreement's significance. The findings provide valuable insights for practical applications and academic research, supporting the selection of project leaders, anticipating potential delays, and improving project management practices in Iraq. The study suggests future research should focus on strategic economic planning, exploring alternative funding sources, combating corruption, and implementing regulatory reforms to address the identified delay factors.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF PROCUREMENT AND COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN NIGERIA

The construction sector plays a vital role in driving economic growth and development in Nigeria. However, it faces significant challenges, particularly in project performance, which can be attributed, at least in part, to ineffective communication and procurement management. This research aims to evaluate how communication and procurement management impact the outcomes of construction projects in Nigeria. To conduct this study, a quantitative research design was employed, utilizing a survey questionnaire administered to 260 construction professionals. The data collected underwent analysis employing various techniques such as descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analyses (CFA), exploratory factor analyses (EFA), and structural equation model (SEM) utilizing software including the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Microsoft Excel, and LISREL (Linear Structural Relations). The SEM analysis results revealed that 31 out of the 35 hypotheses used in the study were validated. Among these, the strongest relationships observed were those between procurement management and time performance, procurement management and cost performance, time performance and cost performance, time performance and quality performance, and communication management and time performance, in that specific order. This demonstrates the critical role of effective communication and procurement management in achieving successful construction projects in Nigeria. Additionally, the analysis of factors affecting the implementation of procurement and communication management in the Nigerian construction industry highlighted the need for stakeholders to be proactive in developing strategies that facilitate effective implementation of these practices to enhance project performance. The study also emphasizes the importance of establishing effective procurement policies and regulations, embracing technology, building capacity, managing stakeholders, and continuously improving project management practices to elevate project performance in the Nigerian construction industry.

Moderating Effect of Environmental Factors on the Correlation Between Project Scope Management Practices and the Integration of Technology Integration in Public High Schools in Kenya

This study focused on investigating Project Scope Management practices and adoption of Technology Integration in Kenyan Public High Schools. Data for the study was gathered from 189 out of the 373 public high schools located in Kiambu and Nairobi counties. A cross-sectional descriptive research design was used, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methods for data gathering, scrutiny, and presentation. The process of selecting schools actively incorporating Technology Integration into their educational practices was carried out using stratified sampling. The study employed a combination of closed and free-response questions in the questionnaires directed to the managers and tutors responsible for technology integration, as well as interviews conducted with the administrators of the schools. The collected data was analyzed using Jamovi, an advanced version of SPSS, for both descriptive and inferential statistics. Correlation analysis was applied to assess the Relationships between quantitative variables. Pearson Correlation and regression techniques were employed for inferential analysis. The parameters of the regression model were used to ascertain the predictive role of the independent variables in the study. The findings led to the conclusion that there was indeed a significant correlation between Project Scope Management practices and Adoption of Technology in public high schools with moderation of the environmental factors. Educational policymakers and school administrators ought not only focus on improving project management practices but also create conducive environments that facilitate technology integration efforts. Environmental factors index has no significant moderation effect on relationship between Scope Management Practices and Technology integration in Public High Schools in Kenya (H06: βx2m= 0) was rejected (β2=-0.122, t= -2.12, p-value = 0.036). By recognizing and addressing the influence of environmental factors, Kenyan public high schools can more effectively address the challenges and seize the opportunities linked to technology adoption in the educational process, ultimately elevating the quality of education for students in the digital era.

Identifying useful project management practices: A mixed methodology approach

This paper describes a mixed methodological research approach for identifying practitioner perceptions of the most useful project management (PM) practices to improve project management performance. By identifying the perceived most useful tools and techniques, as having the most potential for increased contribution to project management performance, practitioners and organizations can select their priorities when improving PM practices. The research involved a programme of thirty interviews with Project Management professionals in Portugal, followed by a global survey. Completed questionnaires were received from 793 practitioners worldwide, covering 75 different countries. The results showed that the top twenty of the list of the most useful tools and techniques is composed of very well-known and widely used tools, such as: progress report; requirements analysis; progress meetings; risk identification; and project scope statement. PM practices in the top of list cover the overall PM life cycle from initiation to project closing, but particular relevance is given to tools and techniques from planning. The areas of knowledge, scope, time, risk, communication and integration, assume a high relevance, each with at least three PM practices on the top of the list.

Knowledge Management Contributions in Project Management

Abstract The two concepts, knowledge management and project management have been steadily developing in recent years, with the current effort being the creation of a synergic effect from the two. The article demonstrates the need for a structured framework to group and facilitate the reuse of information and the generation of new knowledge in project management. In this context, knowledge management meets these requirements, providing a tool for improving project management practices. The article contains a review of the advantages and benefits that developers can get by adopting and implementing a project management strategy. An important contribution of the article is to develop a way to apply knowledge management in project management. This starts from the idea that a knowledge management cycle consists of four stages, which can also be applied in project management, and the knowledge passing through these stages goes through a filter, improves and generates a new knowledge.

Evolution of project based organization: A case study

Little research has been conducted on how project-based organizations navigate internal and external pressures to develop and improve project competences over time. Using a cases study approach, this paper examines the development and implementation of project based organization over a period of 30years. Overall, the evolution of project management competencies in the organization broadly followed the prevailing approaches in improving organizational management practices uncovered in review of literature. The organization’s capability to adopt and implement project management frameworks improved over time as senior managers became more masterful at matching improvement actions into the organizational context. This research also presents how a systematic approach of project management maturity models for identifying and implementing project management practices and processes can increase the effectiveness and comprehensiveness of overall management practices. The study concludes with a series of recommendations in further improving project management practices and processes in project-based organizations.

‘Copernicus’

In this article, we discuss an approach to initiate learning and improvement of practice related to complex business processes in corporations. The approach called PIER (Problem-based learning, Interactive multimedia, Experiential learning and Role-playing) uses interactive multimedia scenarios for role-playing in groups. We describe an action research project where PIER was applied as a large-scale competence development initiative in an industrial setting. The purpose was to facilitate experience sharing, discussion and reflection, with the intention of improving project management practices both at the individual level and the organizational level. The results of the evaluation present a situation where PIER supported organizational maintenance but failed to promote organizational change. Hence our study provides support for several key arguments in the debate about organizational learning; in particular, concerning the relationship between learning interventions and organizational development.