Project Management Knowledge Research Articles

Методика каскадирования целей в проектно-ориентированной компании

One of the most effective tools for managing a project-oriented company are the key performance indi-cators – quantitative indicators that allow to measure the degree of company's activities success through definition of strategic goals. In a project-oriented company, activities are implemented within projects execution. At the same time, each project has a set of parameters that characterize, on the one hand, the progress of the project (terms and cost of implementation, qualification of performers, frequency of changes in requirements), and, on the other hand – the final product (functionality, performance, usabil-ity and maintenance). It should be noted that a success of project implementation depends not least on the built in the company interaction processes, which make it possible to make decisions effectively to achieve the project goals. Visualization of the goals relations on the strategic map significantly facilitates the employees interacting at various levels and making management decisions in problem situations. Building a strategic map based on a balanced scorecard implies appointment of persons, responsible for achieving the target values of indicators, entering the correct values and monitoring the projects and its constituent processes implementation. This allows forming a project participants responsibility matrix, which, in turn, helps to determine a degree of performers workload when the processes execution, related to various knowledge areas. The authors' proposed method of cascading goals in a project-oriented com-pany will allow building a project management system taking into account various factors affecting the success of its implementation. Cascading is based on building a hierarchy of a project-oriented company performance indicators in accordance with the hierarchy of projects of various types and scales. Using this approach contributes to improving the quality of a project-oriented organization strategic manage-ment due to the fact that strategic goals and its corresponding indicators are consistently decomposed to the level of tactical and operational management, and then concretized and adapted in structural divi-sions. A novelty of the proposed cascading technique lies in development of the projects hierarchy in terms of its implementation priority, as well as in use of project management knowledge areas in the company's strategic map.

Project Manager Competencies for Dealing with Socio-Technical Complexity: A Grounded Theory Construction

An ongoing question is what constitutes the characteristics of a project manager. This is the subject of many studies. The characteristics, skills, abilities and knowledge of project managers—essential factors in a project’s success—describe their level of competency. This study aims to assess the relationship between project manager competencies and project complexity in the information technology (IT) sector. In total, 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior practitioners associated with complex IT projects in the private and public sectors. All transcripts were analysed through grounded theory and content analysis, with experts approving the results. Our study identified 41 competencies within project complexity, with these grouped under the following 10 dimensions: project management (PM) knowledge; management skills; interpersonal skills and attributes; professionalism; expertise; emotional skills; contextual skills; influencing skills; team working; and cognitive skills. According to this research, leadership is the core competency of a project manager, while project management knowledge is the most essential of these competency dimensions. This study’s findings can assist both academics and practitioners in simplifying the complexity of projects and helping to achieve a project’s objectives.

Integrating Knowledge of Project Management and BIM for MEP Education: Review and Recommendations

Integrating Knowledge of Project Management and BIM for MEP Education: Review and Recommendations

Improving models for sustainability evaluation of construction projects in the initiation and planning processes

The object of this study is the management processes of «sustainable construction». Sustainability is considered through the application of management processes that, in addition to the traditional tasks for construction projects, also outline the tasks of a wider context. Strategies and production practices of «sustainable construction» involve taking into account environmental, social and economic factors that affect a wide range of stakeholders and the overall condition of the built space. In this regard, the issue of applying management processes in the construction industry that ensure proper organizational and technological sustainability of projects is also being updated. This article aims to fill the existing information and methodological gap in the processes of assessing the sustainability of construction project management processes. A correlation method was applied to determine the interdependencies of the characteristics of the use of tools and methods in the processes of managing construction projects with the values of sustainable development 5Р (Product, Proses, People, Planet, and Prosperity). Highlighting the characteristics of permanence in project management processes helps to explain the difference in approaches for ensuring the internal sustainability of the construction object and the sustainable management of a construction project. A comprehensive methodology for quantitative assessment of sustainable construction project management in the initiation and planning processes under conditions of uncertainty is proposed. The relative importance of construction project management processes and subcategories of sustainable development of the construction site is taken into account. Basic mathematical models of sustainability assessment have been developed: balanced in all areas of knowledge of construction project management for each process, balanced across all construction project management processes at the «Initiation» and «Planning» phases for each category of sustainable development, and integral assessment of sustainability of construction project management processes.

Action Research as a Tool for Project Knowledge Management in the Projectified Public Organization

The chapter aims to present the results of an action research project carried out in years 2018 – 2019, which concerned project knowledge management. The entity in which the study was conducted is one of the largest museums in Poland. The museum under study is an example of a projectified public organization where most of the activities are being performed in the form of a project. The intention of the undertaken action research was to introduce an organizational change – to improve the process of project knowledge management in the museum. Hence, the aim of the paper is to show how can action research support project knowledge management processes in organisations and in which way action research affects the knowledge retention of project workers.
 Analysis of the obtained data allow us to conclude that action research, is an effective tool and approach in the improvement of project knowledge management. Thanks to this approach, members of the organizations, dispersed among different project teams, can e.g. jointly work out the rules for better project knowledge management in their workplace and improve the project knowledge management process in general. Hence, action research may positively impact knowledge retention among project team members.

Impact of project governance on project success, with mediating role of organizational support and project team cohesion

Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine how project governance influences project success. According to the authors, such an effect is mediated by organizational support and project team cohesion. The direct and indirect effects of organizational support and project team cohesion provided helpful information. The authors’ objective is to contribute to the project management knowledge of how project team cohesion plays a significant role in project success. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 350 employees working in Pakistan’s oil and gas industry. Four prime oil and gas exploration companies were selected as samples based on their contribution to the revenue. SPSS v23 and AMOS v23 were used for constructing structural equation modeling and path analysis to examine the direct and indirect effects. Findings The results revealed that project governance is positively related to project success. Furthermore, organizational support and project team cohesion mediated the relationship between project governance and project success. Originality/value Team cohesion has been primarily a topic of interest in sports psychology literature, education and medical sciences. There is an expressed need to investigate team cohesion issues in the broad domain of organizational development, specifically the project management literature. This study contributed by discussing team cohesion in the project context. Second, project governance was investigated using the conservation of resources theory. The lens of intellectual capital was applied to examine intangible resources of project governance like rules, regulations and directives for project success.

The Influence of Knowledge on Managing Risk for the Success in Complex Construction Projects: The IPMA Approach

Organizations undertaking construction projects often deal with uncertainty and complexity. Risks include a wide range of occurrences that can lead to project failure. However, these difficulties may be minimized if risks are properly managed. In addition, knowledge management may emerge as a key element in facing unforeseen events and detecting the actions that are working well in other projects. In this context, this study intends to demonstrate the influence of managing organizational knowledge on risk management and the impact of both on the success of projects and associated businesses. To this end, a questionnaire was distributed among construction technicians, practitioners and managers in order to assess the importance of factors managing knowledge and risk and of success criteria. Thanks to the participation of almost four hundred respondents, cause-and-effect relationships are characterized by means of structural equation modeling, statistically confirming them. The specific links between the knowledge-management projects and the skills and abilities to face risks provided by the International Project Management Association (IPMA) standards, with a relation of 0.892 out of 1, justify the 75.1% of the success of the venture. These findings prove that the application of IPMA proposals enhances the required knowledge that leads to improved completion and delivery of complex construction projects in risky environments.

Relationship and Knowledge Management in Construction Projects in Thailand Part 2: The Studies of Knowledge Management Process and the Three-stage Project Development Performance Improvement Framework

The study of network relationship using UCINET program in part 1 was inspired by the problematicfragmented structure of a construction project development team. In this paper, the multi-stage projectdevelopment process as another key factor that underlies the construction industry’s poor performance isaddressed. Knowledge management is then proposed as another key solution to achieve the more effectiveproject development in Thailand context. Based on Nonaka and Takeuchi’s 1995 knowledge conversion model,representatives from key project members’ organisations that developed recently complete large commercialresidential projects in Bangkok central business area were asked in semi-structured interviews aboutorganisational knowledge management process using a set of standardised questions. The outcomes show themoderate efficiency due to key project members’ unawareness of knowledge potentials. A three-stage frameworkis also proposed to identify key project members, strengthen network relationship and improve organisationalknowledge management capability to achieve the better project development performance.

Knowledge management practices of tourism consultants: A project ecology perspective

This study advances the contextual understanding of knowledge management practices adopted by tourism consultants in the setting of tourism development projects. It goes beyond the traditional understanding of the bounded nature of firms to analyse knowledge management issues through a project-based multi-layered perspective, namely project ecology. An innovative participant-observation methodology is utilised to study 15 episodic projects at three tourism development companies over a 12-month period. This provides an insider perspective to enhance understanding of the knowledge management practices and collaborations of tourism consultants. The study reveals two underlying logics that shape knowledge management practices: the logics of creativity and accumulation. The findings exhibit how knowledge management is moulded by the practices within, and interactions among, the four tiers of a multi-level project-specific contextual framework. • Analysis of project knowledge management focussed on the holistic social contexts of episodic projects instead of the bounded firm or the destination networks. • Innovative participant observation fieldwork took place in 15 tourism development projects over 12 months. • This is the first study that utilises the project ecology perspective in tourism research. • Two contrasting but interacted logics of knowledge management practices adopted by tourism consultants in tourism development projects are identified: the logic of creativity and the logic of accumulation.

RECASTING PROJECT MANAGEMENT KNOWLEDGE: A HUMANE TACTIC TO DESIGN THINKING APPROACH

This paper describes the importance of design thinking in project management. Design thinking is critical in guiding managers to deliver elaborate projects. The paper reviews literature on project failure and its reasons, knowledge of project management and illustrate how design thinking can help. Through project formulation, design, implementation, execution and monitoring stages, project managers must think beyond project complexities-they must consider environmental enablers so as to deliver successful projects. Project externalities influence the successful implementation of projects. The need for managers to think critically on their projects design and implementation is discussed later in the paper. The paper concludes by stating that knowledge on project management must be rebuilt through design thinking. This would enhance better project execution and reduce project failures.

ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ ВПЛИВУ СИСТЕМИ УПРАВЛІННЯ ЗНАННЯМИ ПРОЄКТНОЇ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ ПІДПРИЄМСТВА НА УСПІШНУ РЕАЛІЗАЦІЮ ПРОЄКТІВ ІЗ ВИКОРИСТАННЯМ НЕЧІТКОЇ ЛОГІКИ

In the article, an economic-mathematical model is developed, which allows to evaluate the impact of the knowledge management system of the enterprise's project activities on the successful implementation of projects (PS). The following component systems of knowledge management of project activities of the enterprise are offered: project knowledge management (PKM), knowledge management between projects (KMaP) and knowledge management of project management (KMaP). PKM includes indicators: People, Technologies, Processes (formation and preservation of knowledge; generation and preservation of knowledge; exchange and use of knowledge). KMaP includes indicators: organizational aspect (availability of project management office; type of organizational structure; interaction environment of participants of different groups (project teams)); technical aspect (availability of a single information and communication platform); social aspect (the presence of an atmosphere of interaction and motivation of team members to share knowledge). KMaP is represented by a comprehensive assessment of the level of formation of areas of project management knowledge. The model is built using fuzzy logic, namely Mamdani fuzzy logic, because the input information is qualitative in nature. The implementation of the proposed model includes the following stages: determination of the indicators of the knowledge management system of project activity for the study of its influence on the success of the project and the formation of a logical conclusion tree; description of linguistic variables; definition of functions belonging to linguistic terms; formation of the knowledge base of the fuzzy inference system; construction of a mathematical model; construction of a fuzzy model for assessing the impact of the knowledge management system of project activities on the success of projects using the Fuzzy Logic Toolbox and analysis of the obtained results. The research was carried out for the project-oriented enterprise of the utility sector of Ukraine, Khmelnitskteplokomuninergo. It was established that with the available input values ​​of the indicators in 2020, the probability of successful project implementation is 61.60%. The relationship (degree dependence) between the probability of successful project implementation and the efficiency indicator - electricity consumption by the enterprise for the period 2016-2020 was revealed. In order to reduce the consumption of electricity at the enterprise to the level of 9,200 thousand kWh, it is necessary to increase the probability of successful implementation of the project to the level of 75.06%. To achieve this indicator level, it is necessary to increase the People indicator to the level of 10 points; level of exchange and use of knowledge - up to the level of 5 points; KMaPM - up to the level of 8 points; to create a structural division "Project Management Office", which, as a result, will lead to a PS indicator level of 75.10%.

Knowledge management in construction industry projects. A review of the literature

The purpose of this study was to determine the current status of knowledge management in the construction industry; the references analyzed formulate theoretical links between the variables listed above, therefore this article organizes the material. The methodology employed is founded on a systematic literature review, a bibliometric search of the variables, and an analytical-synthetic procedure based on the classification of articles. The outcome is the formulation of the current state of the art, which schematizes the variables individually and their interrelation. This work contributes to the literature of knowledge management and project management by presenting these findings. To improve the performance of knowledge transfer and, consequently, the performance of projects, this study is also of importance to corporations and public bodies that manage projects in the construction industry.

Project control system (PCS) implementation in engineering and construction projects: an empirical study in Saudi’s petroleum and chemical industry

PurposeThere is growing recognition that effective project control systems (PCS) are critical to the success of projects. The relationship between the individual elements of PCS and successfully achieving project objectives has yet to be explored. This research investigates the enablers and barriers that influence the elements of PCS success and drive project objectives.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a mixed approach of descriptive analysis and regression models to explore the impact of six PCS elements on project outcomes. Petroleum and chemical projects in Saudi Arabia were selected as a case study to validate the research model.FindingsData from a survey of 400 project managers in Saudi’s petroleum and chemical industry reveal that successful PCS are the key to achieving all project outcomes, but they are particularly critical for meeting project cost objectives. Project Governance was identified as the most important of the six PCS elements for meeting project objectives. A lack of standard processes emerged as the most significant barrier to achieving effective project governance, while having skilled and experienced project team members was the most significant enabler for implementing earned value.Practical implicationsThe study offers a direction for implementing and developing PCS as a strategic tool and focuses on the PCS elements that can improve project outcomes.Originality/valueThis research contributes to project management knowledge and differs from previous attempts in two ways. Firstly, it investigates the elements of PCS that are critical to achieving project scope, schedule and cost objectives; secondly, enablers and barriers of PCS success are examined to see how they influence each element independently.

Does a Project Manager Assignment Process Affect Project Management Performance Indicators? An Empirical Study

Practitioners in most firms use intuition to assign project managers to projects, despite this decision being one of the vital factors contributing to project management performance linked to sustainable utilization of resources. Extant research reveals the need to improve the project manager assignment (PMA) process. However, existing empirical studies are currently limited, thereby restricting our understanding of this process to a specific context. This study builds on this limited area by extending our understanding to other contexts. Questionnaires and interview surveys were conducted with 73 informants across 12 firms, covering several industries engaged in different types of projects. The results provide strong empirical evidence of unstructured and ineffective PMA processes that significantly affect sustainability issues in terms of a thriving firm such as project manager performance, project manager rewards, and project success. This empirical evidence is a contribution to existing project management knowledge for three reasons: (1) empirical testing of a project management theory for the first time, (2) falsification of the conventional understanding of the theory of PMAs by using the concepts of an index rather than a scale, and (3) adding depth to existing knowledge by extending our understanding of PMA processes.

On the Importance of Project Management Capabilities for Sustainable Business Process Management

In a recently published study on business process management (BPM) capabilities in the view of digitalization, project management was not named as a core capability by the corresponding Delphi panel. However, earlier (pre-digitalization) research suggests that project management is a key success factor for BPM. This contradiction could have severe impact with regard to the sustainability of process management. This article uses qualitative case study data to discuss potential reasons for this contradiction and to answer the question of how important project management is for contemporary BPM. As both traditional and agile project management knowledge was employed in the case study, results indicate that project management is indeed helpful for BPM, especially for discrete process change. Practitioners should consider project management knowledge when staffing business process optimization and digitalization initiatives. Research should develop a deeper understanding of agile and traditional project management as antecedents to sustainable BPM success and as BPM capabilities.

Emergency Project Management Practice in Ethiopia

Emergency Project Management is a kind of project management that often attracts the most attention and resources and its management needs application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the immediate project output and goal. Proper project management practice is critical for the success of Emergency Project. Thus, the main objective of this study was to assess the extent to which Project Management Knowledge area were applied and identify the challenges in Emergency Project management. The study used descriptive research design and data were obtained through questionnaire. The finding revealed Scoping & Scheduling tools and techniques were not utilized properly. Moreover, Procurement management needs improvement. Some of the knowledge areas were managed informal & traditionally. The study recommended that workable policy documents to lead the procurement and overall Emergency Project management are vital.

Rating of Knowledge Management Factors Affecting Construction Company Performance

Constructionindustry uses project-based activities where project participants are considered as knowledge sources. This makes knowledge management as important factors in project management performance. Thus, this study presents a quantitative study on identifying knowledge management factors affecting Turner construction company performance in UAE.The study identified 32 factors and classified into 4 knowledge management groups namely knowledge leadership, knowledge culture, knowledge process and knowledge technology. A question survey was conducted to the employees of the company requesting them to gauge the influence of each factor to company performance using Likert scale. A total of 350 questionnaire sets were distributed and only 291 valid responses were used for the analysis. The results of the analysis found that in knowledge management leadership group, the most influential factor is KML5 which is Has sufficient resources in project knowledge management activities. For knowledge management culture, the most influential factor is KMC3which is Rewards employees who create, share, store and use knowledge to perform projects. In knowledge process group, the most influential factor is KMP7 which is Believe insharing knowledge with others. For the final group that is knowledge technology, the most influential factor is KMT8 which is Responsible for creating project knowledge-sharing technology environment.The result also found that the most influential group is knowledge management leadership group has attained the highest score.For cross tabulation analysis, it was found that leadership and culture related to knowledge management are more pertinent to senior respondents who are holding higher position in thecompany. This is logic as they need to manage the resources of the company holistically as compare to junior respondents. While junior employees/respondents are more inclined to knowledge management related to processes and technology. These findings are benefitted to the construction company in prioritizing the application knowledge management aspect.

Discussion on the Application Strategy of Project Management Knowledge System in Bidding Procurement Management

Discussion on the Application Strategy of Project Management Knowledge System in Bidding Procurement Management

Development of Poor Productivity Mitigation Model for a Viaduct Bridge Project

Poor productivity is a common phenomenon in the construction industry. Poor or lack of project knowledge management continues to plague the construction process especially in relation to project delays. At the same time, the human resource function has undergone dramatic change, owing, it would seem, to greater use of rapidly evolving information technology. The goal of this paper is to investigate how the choice of the human resource management strategy would positively impact both the organizational and project performance. The research methodology adopted for this study comprised three steps. First, the productivity problems encountered during the construction operations of a viaduct bridge are reviewed and reported using interviews on the potential factors contributing directly and indirectly to more effective project operations. Second, the least squares method is utilized to prioritize and rank the importance, impact, and effect of these factors. Third, a scalable and transferable poor productivity mitigation model is developed. The adopted model incorporates concepts from knowledge management, project learning and supervisory controls. Results of this research indicate that knowledge management and generally the human resource management strategy is a key factor for project success.

Prediction of failures in the project management knowledge areas using a machine learning approach for software companies

In this paper we propose a novel machine-learning model to predict project management knowledge areas failure for software companies using ten knowledge areas in project management based solely on the criteria of unambiguity, measurability, consistency, and practicability. The majority of software projects fail in software companies due to a lack of software project managers who are unfamiliar with the Project Management Knowledge Areas (PMKAs) that are used without considering the company's conditions or project contexts. By distributing questionnaires, we use an experimental methodology and the snowball sampling method to collect data from software businesses. We employ machine learning techniques including Support Vector Machines (92.13%), Decision Trees (90%), K-Nearest Neighbors (87.64%), Logistic Regression (76.4%), and Naive Bayes (66%) to adapt data from failed software projects. When we look at the results, Support Vector Machine outperforms the other four machine learning methods. High dimensional data is more efficient and contains nonlinear changes since Support Vector Machines deal with categorical data. The study's purpose is to improve project quality and decrease software project failure. Finally, we recommend collecting more failed project datasets from software businesses and comparing them to our findings to predict knowledge domain failure.