Project Management Environment Research Articles

An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Statistical Tools in Project Management Environments

Projects are very important to all organizations, as project managers view various issues in the organization from a higher perspective. The conclusions drawn from these projects determine the base on which various decisions affecting the organizations will be made. This paper introduces the statistical analysis tools used in various project environments to differentiate between the effective and ineffective tools of statistical analysis. Statistical analysis tools are useful in analyzing data collected for a study to be conducted on the same data. The literature review illustrates how statistical analysis tools have been effective and useful to researchers. Over time, more effective statistical tools will be invented that will improve the process of data analysis. The findings on different statistical analysis tools will also be highlighted. Thus, the discussions show the impact, applications, and lessons learned from the statistical analysis tools by the project managers and engineers. The study will also present the limitations, along with the conclusions and recommendations.

Risks of Using Statistical Analysis Tools in Project Management Environments

The purpose of this study is to examine the risks of using statistical tools on a project basis. A systematic search of certain academic databases has been conducted for this study. Statistical tools could be used in a project, and they should be properly planned and designed. Statistical tools include major activities such as collecting and analyzing data and provide meaningful interpretation as well as reporting findings. When dealing with statistical tools, there are several risks that may arise and impact the project positively or negatively. This study covers a brief outline of the risk management, statistical tools, and the relationship between the two concepts. Finally, a discussion of the common type of risks that are initiated by using statistical analysis tools where the risks could be planned, identified, and analyzed in the early stage of the project is done.

Economic Decision Making and Risk Management in a Project Management Environment

In today's uncertain business environment, companies must evaluate risk for projects before making business decisions. For example, one can use the SMART method. Also, Gantt charts help the project manager to schedule and plan, which helps in decision-making for the project. Technology has created software for discovering the probability of the risk with algorithms and many mathematical methods. However, pre-existing literature does not show how these variables, their concepts, and models help in project management, which has resulted in a research gap. Thus, this study addresses the most current variables, their concepts, and models within operations and project management. With a design-science-investigate strategy, the authors approve a valuable growth reveal for reasonable and hypothetical application. Thus, they create a suitable assessment model to fill the research void, as well as to contribute to the engineering field by improving the project success rates and helping with team communication.

Development of theoretical basis and practical evaluation of management results of stakeholders in projects

The work addresses an important scientific and applied task of developing and evaluating stakeholder management processes in projects, which is important for ensuring timely implementation of the project plan and achieving results that would satisfy all interested parties. The analysis of the approaches described in publications and studies to identify and control important acting parties in the project environment is presented and the entire sequence of actions is presented in the form of related operations at all phases and stages of the project management, which allows project managers to see the whole process as a whole, to control the entire results chain and consequences. Existing practical approaches to identify and manage stakeholders in projects are reviewed, summarized and structured, and methods, tools, and actions are structured in relation to a project phase or a group of processes; stakeholder management phases; substantive parts of the stages. This allows you to represent the entire body of knowledge in the form of a system, to reduce the entire complex (set) of methodological techniques and means of managing the IP, to analyze and find the possibility of their improvement. The whole process of sequential actions and the tasks of identifying and analyzing stakeholders in the project environment are analyzed, the possibilities for increasing the effectiveness of acting people (forces) are determined both structurally and in relation to the development of the process itself. In the structural plan, it is proposed to use the method of hierarchy analysis to represent the problem in the form of a hierarchy to select the optimal structure that would control the processes of relationships. The structure is presented by possible alternatives that form the fourth (lower) level of the hierarchy. Criteria (communication requirements, legitimacy, efficiency, multi-vector nature) form the second level of the hierarchy. In turn, the importance of the criteria depends on the significance of the sub-criteria that form the third level of the hierarchy. In terms of the development of the process, based on the Mitchell topology, an algorithm has been developed to analyze the significance of interested parties, taking into account the dynamics of change during the time of the project, the composition of the groups, the strength of the manifestation of interests and the degree of influence of IP on the project. This allows to develop an adequate IP management plan and build a convenient communication plan and significantly reduce the time for interaction, coordination and problem solving. The nature of the proposed changes (improvements) of the stakeholder management process is shown, their essence is revealed and new features are shown, and practical assessment of the success of managing IP in projects is given. Purpose. Development and practical evaluation of project environment management in order to meet better the interests of all acting parties. Object of study. Management processes of interested parties in the project environment. Subject of study. Methods and means for the project management environment.

Using agile methodologies for adopting COBIT

COBIT 5 is a widely-used framework for implementing sound governance of enterprise IT (GEIT). Currently, the ISACA’s official implementation solution follows a sequentially ordered process, raising several issues related with lack of commitment from top management and misaligned solutions. Nevertheless, new project life-cycle strategies have emerged along with the agile paradigm for project management, providing flexible and adaptable environments for projects where the solution is complex and not clear, delivering the product incrementally with feedback loops. This research aims to eliminate some known challenges of COBIT 5 adoptions by providing a Scrum based methodology to address these programmes. Design Science Research Methodology was used to guide this work, where two iterations on the solution development, demonstration and evaluation activities were performed. With two different iterations to the same solution and two distinct demonstrations, it was possible to identify several relevant findings. Overall, the results demonstrated that an agile methodology is not sufficient to reduce the resistance to changes, however, it increased the commitment from senior managers on the adoption of new practices and allowed to detect scope misalignment earlier in the development of solutions.

Effective and Ineffective Statistical Analysis Tools in Project Management Environments

The study aims to investigate the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of different statistical analysis tools in project management environments. Furthermore, this study focuses on identifying some factors that affect project management by highlighting some commonly used statistical analysis tools and by evaluating ineffective analysis tools. Quantitative data was collected through participant observation, as well as a review of the relevant materials to meet these objectives. Some of the dependent variables that were tested in the study include the project manager's skills, the organization's financial status, and the affordability of the analysis tools. The independent variable is the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of the statistical analysis tools. After collecting and analyzing the data, the study finds that a tool's effectiveness or ineffectiveness depends on the dependent variables, i.e., the project managers' skills, the organization's financial status, etc.

A systematic review of association rules in project management: opportunities for hybrid models

It is known that significant amounts of data are collected and stored in project management environments due to the use of digital communication and data storage technologies. At the same time, there is the challenge of managing increasingly complex projects in environments that require significant levels of agility. One way to deal with this problem is through hybrid management models. Could data mining techniques assist in the development of hybrid models, allowing organizations to deal with the complexity of their projects? This study identified the state of the art on the use of association rules in project management, identifying opportunities for research. Among data mining techniques, we prioritize association rules, which aim to find interesting patterns in large data sets. Through a systematic literature review, ten studies were found proposing the use of association rules in project management. As a result, we propose potential solutions using data mining to deal with complexity in the context of hybrid project management. The study aims to contribute to the advancement of project management literature and to shows new research opportunities in the area.

A multi-objective optimization approach to project scheduling with resiliency criteria under uncertain activity duration

Uncertainty is one of the main parts of the project management environment that can strongly affect the project objectives and cause unpredictable delays. This study presents a multi-objective optimization approach for constructing resilient project schedules under resource constraints to cope with uncertain activity durations. In this paper, the concept of resilient project scheduling is defined to measure the ability of schedules to deal with duration disruption. Since the direct evaluation of resiliency is computationally complicated and time-consuming, a new surrogate resilience measure is introduced. The proposed resiliency criteria measure the floating of activities and the risks associated with the completion of the project. Furthermore, a new model based on a combination of time buffer and float allocation approach is developed. To extend existing project scheduling models with uncertainty, general precedence relationships between activities have been considered. To validate the proposed approach, the construction project of a combined cycle power plant is used as a case study. Due to a large number of project activities in this case study, the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA II) has been used to solve the problem. The results of solving the mathematical model using the proposed method are assessed through extensive simulation experiments and compared with those of the baseline schedule. The results show that by taking the proposed resiliency measure and the optimal allocation of buffer time to activities, the project completed at the same duration with higher reliability.

The Effect of Stakeholders’ Satisfaction and Project Management Performance on Transitions in a Project Management Office

This paper aims, through a longitudinal case study, to present and analyze the transitions in operational activities and the performance of a Project Management Office (PMO) in a technology-based company. The paper discusses functions, tensions, stakeholders’ interfaces, performance and how they drove the major changes faced by the PMO. The changes in the PMO were mainly based on non-planned events rather than in a change of the management process. The results demonstrated that political tensions in the organization, rather than project management performance, explained the PMO transitions. Managers must look for identifying tensions in the project management environment, project performance and stakeholders’ satisfaction in order to propose and direct PMO changes and the sustainability of project ongoing best-practices. This study also contributes to the collection of evidences that corroborate previous literature appointments, as well as to question some results that need to be contextualized according contingencies for avoiding mimicry in the PMO implementation and transformation.

Agile vs. Traditional Approach in Project Management: Strategies, Challenges and Reasons to Introduce Agile

Agility is a very topical issue today, however, it can be found most frequently in literature related to software development. The agile software development methodology is based on a gradual approach that is repeated. It focuses on the flexibility, acceptability of change, continuous advancement and strong interaction. There is a slowly emerging recognition that agile have something to offer within the wider project landscape and motivation for this research came from the fact that not many empirically grounded studies at the moment exist. Based on the aforementioned this study aims in the first instance, to provide academics and practitioners with a coherent overview of the strategies to introduce agile in traditional project management environment, recommended in literature. In the second instance, through empirical research to show which are the reasons for introduction of agile and challenges in its application in and beyond software development. Originally developed questionnaire was distributed through Project Management Institute worldwide network.

Project management under uncertainty: resource flexibility visualization in the schedule

Going from an idea to a result, using a series of well-defined techniques with deadlines and limited resources, is a skill that a project manager must have. In a rapidly changing environment like the present one, there are many factors that contribute to budget overruns and delays that occur in most major projects. To be successful, one must rely on techniques and tools that assist the project manager in the various stages of the project. Therefore, this paper presents an Add-In for MS Project®, based on a previously developed model for solving the Resource Constraint Project Scheduling Problem with Flexible Resource Management (RCPSP-FRM), which can help the project manager with regard to the scheduling of resources using flexibility, giving him relevant information to the decision making process in case of delays during the execution phase. The flexible chart and table format view allows project managers to easily and objectively identify the activities which can have their durations increased or shortened, impacting significantly on project execution time. This research contributes not only to the academic environment, but also to professional project management environments.

Analysis of external and internal forces in the environment of the project

Today among Ukrainian project managers one of the most discussed topics is the management of external and internal forces in the project environment. It is known that the best results are achieved by those projects and organizations that take maximum into account the influence of stakeholders and competently build their relationships with all stakeholders, which creates value for all parties, and not just for project owners. The analysis of publications and studies shows that attention is paid to various aspects of the project's interaction with stakeholders, but all these sources give a fragmentary account of the problem, do not give a complete picture of the process as a whole. It is important for the manager to see and represent the whole process in order to understand the relationship and significance of successive actions and tasks aimed at managing stakeholders.Purpose. The aim of the work is to summarize and systematize the knowledge complex concerning the management of important actors in the project environment, to present the whole process of managing interactions entirely and to identify opportunities for improving the manageability of stakeholders, both structurally and in terms of the development of the process. The authors have systematized the methods of managing stakeholders in the project. All the accumulated knowledge base is represented in the form of a structure containing: the phases of the project; stages of management; group of processes; methods, tools, actions. Based on the proposed systematization, the entire set of stakeholder management tasks is presented in the form of a single process of sequential related actions, which allows the manager to see and monitor the whole process. The possibilities of increasing the controllability of external factors and persons both in structural terms and in terms of development of the process are determined. It is shown that the analysis of external and internal forces creates a basis for the formation of relationships management structures. When creating a formal organization for managing interactions, two things should be considered: the choice of the formal structure and the criteria by which to evaluate the success of relationship management. It is proposed to use the method of hierarchy analysis to select the optimal structure - representation of the problem in the form of a hierarchy. In the problem under consideration, the structure is represented by possible alternatives that form the fourth (lower) level of the hierarchy. The criteria and sub-criteria to which the structure should correspond form the second and third levels of the hierarchy. At the top of the hierarchy, the goal is to select the optimal structure in terms of better satisfaction of the interests of key actors in the project environment. It is shown that it is possible to assess the success of managing interactions by time control. It is shown that for an unprepared artist, the time for the interaction is subject to the random walk equation. If the management of interactions is entrusted to a formal structure, the whole complex of tasks will be performed much faster. In addition, time is easy to measure and can serve as a quantitative measure of the evaluation of the success of managing interactions in the presence of a structure and without it.Object of study. Management processes of the persons, who interested in the project environment. Subject of study.Methods and tools for the project management environment.

Engineering Management and Cost Control of Petrochemical Projects

With the increasing developing of petrochemical engineering construction market, China has accumulated rich experience in project engineering management and cost control, but has not yet established a complete cost control performance evaluation system, and the traditional project cost control method has been unable to meet the cost requirements under the new project management environment. For this, this paper studies the engineering management and cost control system theory of petrochemical projects, and builds one petrochemical project cost control system. The analysis results show that mature project management mode has been increasingly applied in petrochemical projects. The construction of the engineering cost control early warning system can achieve the objective of cost control. The related cost control performance evaluation system can greatly improve the actual engineering cost control level and realize the quantification and standardization of cost control performance evaluation.

Analysis of the significance of the interested parties of the project

Analysis of the significance of the interested parties of the project

Projects’ issue management

Almost no project can be delivered smoothly without facing some obstacles and issues during its lifecycle from concept till closure. This inevitable topic of “project issue management” did not attain the appropriate attention either in the literature or in the project management standards or implementation practices. This paper explores the current awareness status and level of implementation of the topic within the project management environment. The conducted survey revealed that this topic is immature and needs to be fostered through awareness, training, institutionalizing, automation and finally standardization. Within this context, a process flow is suggested to be a standard operating procedure to deal with issues during projects implementation. This flow is then verified and validated. To reinforce the topic, an index was newly developed and validated to show the status of issues within projects with the aim of inclusion of this index within the overall project health indicator. Finally, new knowledge area was suggested in a similar way of the American international standard of project management (PMBOK) as an initial trial for the PMBOK update process every four years. The local and international impact of having such a topic “project issue management” within projects was discussed showing some areas for implementation.

Risk Management in Project Environments: Reflection of The Standard Process

This research analyzes the concept of risk management in project environments by reflecting on the best practices that make up the standard risk management process in project environments. A meta-analysis approach was used to evaluate standard tools and approaches to risk management in project management environments. The study found that regardless of the project complexity or type of risk, there is a standard risk management process that should be followed when examining risk in project environments. In any project scenario, risk management has risk probability and impact assessment to investigate the likelihood that each risk occurs. It also focuses on the potential effects that a risk will have on a project’s objectives, including schedule, cost, quality, and performance. The study concludes that all project managers and organizational leaderships should know the standard risk management process in project management; it is only with a standard process that risks can be effectively identified, assessed, and mitigated.

Aderência entre gestão de projetos e o sistema de gestão de convênios e contratos de repasse (SICONV)

Destaques- Análise do modelo de gestão do Sistema de Gestão de Convênios e Contratos de Repasse (SICONV).- Relação estabelecida entre as fases de um convênio, gerido por intermédio do SICONV, e os grupos de processos definidos pelo Project Management Institute (PMI).- O modelo de gestão adotado possui diferentes intensidades de aderência às práticas de gestão de projetos, a depender da área do conhecimento analisada e da fase do ciclo de vida do SICONV.ObjetivoEstudar a aderência entre as práticas de gestão de projetos preconizadas pelo PMI e o SICONV. Mesmo com os esforços do PMI na elaboração do Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) especificamente para o setor de Governo, não há estudo que o relacione com o ambiente eletrônico que fornece suporte às transferências voluntárias (SICONV).AbordagemO artigo aborda os conceitos de projetos e gestão de projetos; contextualiza a gestão de projetos no ambiente público e a organização do Estado Brasileiro, com destaque para o papel dos municípios nas transferências de recursos voluntários; apresenta o SICONV, suas fases e funcionalidades e traça um paralelo entre os grupos de processos do PMI e o fluxo operacional do SICONV.AchadosO modelo definido pelo ambiente SICONV privilegia claramente os aspectos formais e legais das transferências voluntárias de recursos, isto é, a proposição do projeto por parte do ente municipal, a celebração do convênio entre município e governo federal, a formalização do ato, o monitoramento da implementação do projeto e a realização da prestação de contas. Destaca-se, ainda, que o modelo de gestão adotado possui diferentes intensidades de aderência às práticas em gestão de projetos, a depender da área do conhecimento analisada e da fase do ciclo de vida do ambiente.Limitações da pesquisaA análise de aderência das práticas de gestão de projetos ao SICONV indica lacunas que abrem caminho para investigação adicional, haja vista a dinâmica do ambiente apresentado.Implicações práticas A pesquisa apresenta a aderência entre áreas de conhecimento em gestão de projetos e ambiente do SICONV, apontando para a necessidade de se ampliar o modelo com o objetivo de elevar a gestão das transferências voluntárias para patamares mais altos.Originalidade/valor Identifca-se, na literatura especializada, uma forte restrição à ampla adoção de práticas de gestão de projetos na administração pública devido a peculiaridades do ambiente. Assim, entender a aderência existente entre as práticas de gestão de projetos e o SICONV para municípios brasileiros pode ajudar a preencher esta lacuna.

Aderência entre gestão de projetos e o sistema de gestão de convênios e contratos de repasse (SICONV)

<p><strong>Highlights</strong></p><p>- Analysis of the management model of the System of Management of Agreements and Transfer Contracts (SICONV).</p><p>- Relationship established between the phases of an agreement, managed through the SICONV, and the process groups defined by the Project Management Institute (PMI).</p><p>- The management model adopted has different intensities of adherence to project management practices, depending on the area of knowledge analyzed and the phase of the SICONV life cycle.</p><p><strong>Objective</strong></p><p>Study the adherence between the PMI and SICONV project management practices. Even with PMI's efforts in designing the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) specifically for the Government sector, there is no study linking it to the electronic environment that supports voluntary transfers (SICONV).</p><p><strong>Approach</strong></p><p>The article discusses project concepts and project management; contextualizes the management of projects in the public environment and the organization of the Brazilian State, with emphasis on the role of municipalities in the transfer of voluntary resources; presents the SICONV, its phases and functionalities and draws a parallel between the PMI process groups and the SICONV operational flow.</p><p><strong>Findings</strong><strong></strong></p><p>The model defined by the SICONV environment clearly emphasizes the formal and legal aspects of voluntary transfers of resources, that is, the proposal of the project by the municipal entity, the conclusion of the agreement between the municipality and the Brazilian federal government, the formalization of the act, the monitoring of the implementation of the project and the rendering of accounts. It is also worth noting that the management model adopted has different intensities of adherence to the practices in project management, depending on the area of knowledge analyzed and the phase of the life cycle of the environment.</p><p><strong>Research limitations</strong><strong></strong></p><p>The adherence analysis of project management practices to SICONV indicates gaps that pave the way for further research, given the dynamics of the presented environment.</p><p><strong>Practical implications </strong></p><p>The research presents the adherence between areas of knowledge in project management and SICONV environment, pointing to the need to expand the model with the objective of increasing the management of voluntary transfers to higher levels.</p><p><strong>Originality/Value </strong><strong></strong></p><p>There is a strong restriction in the literature on the wide adoption of project management practices in public administration due to the peculiarities of the environment. Thus, understanding the existing adherence between project management practices and SICONV for Brazilian municipalities can help to fill this gap.</p>

LEADERSHIP AND COLLABORATION IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY

This paper discusses about the importance of practical experience and multidisciplinary collaboration in project management success and the apparent lack of emphasis placed on this within the context of university education. It introduces a multidisciplinary approach currently being implemented in the College of Engineering in Qatar University between the departments of Architecture and Urban Planning and Industrial and Systems Engineering. The research items cover specific areas of collaboration and leadership in project management and the collected data was then analyzed to compare Architecture and Engineering students in their approach to the multidisciplinary project and in the proper application of managerial tools for planning scope, time, cost and risk managements through integration, technology and communication. The paper provides strategies of effective practices applied for embedding enterprise and employability in higher education, in respect to the specific project experiences that are mandatory for each project manager. The students’ outcomes demonstrate their ability to recognize the dialectic relationship between project management and the multidisciplinary approach to recognize the diversity of roles, needs, values, tools, as they relate their experience to the current environment for project management in Qatar. In other words, the question is: can the multidisciplinary collaboration, applied in higher education, enhance the interaction between theory and practical experience in a field mainly dominated by the theoretical approaches of different disciplines?

Challenge of Millennials in Project Management

The need for understanding Generation Y employees' attitudes and expectations that considerably differed from previous generations had been a focus of researchers in the last decades. IT industry and specifically software industry had been among the most popular employment areas of Generation Y professionals and hence Generation Y Software Developers constitutes the majority of the work force in the software industry. As known, software development is a project-based business where the project management methodologies and principles are utilized. Similar to other project based works, the effectiveness of human resources management and team development is the determinant of project success in software development. Therefore, to effectively manage and to adapt appropriate approaches for leading the project teams which include Generation Y software professionals, managers and leaders prior in need to understand their perspective. In this context, research aims to understand the expectations and attitudes of Generation Y Software Developer professionals in projects. The research is structured in two parts reflecting these dual aims. The first part of the research addresses the expectations of Y generation employees from project management and project environment in software development projects. The second part of the research explores the attitudes of Y generation Employees in software development project teams. Survey is conducted with the participation of 113 Generation Y Software Professionals who are employed in major software companies in Turkey. Basic concepts that are explored in the study are expectations from working environment, expectations from project type and content, leadership, motivation factors, challenges faced, perceptions on generation conflicts and the attitudes of Generation Y professionals towards project-based work and work environments. Software industry is dominated by project based management methods, perceptions and attitudes of Generation Y in projects are expected to provide practical guidelines to policy makers and HR professionals in developing solutions and tools for improving motivations and effectiveness of Generation Y employees.