Project Management Institute Research Articles

Evaluation of Risk Management among Managers of the Primary Health Care Centers in Baghdad City: Comparative Study

Background: Several risk managem-ent standards had been developed including the Project Management Institute, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, actuarial societies, and ISO standards.
 Objective: The study aimed at evaluating risk management among managers of model and ordinary primary health care centers in Baghdad City and comparing the risk management among these centers.
 Methods: A descriptive comparative design was carried throughout the present study at 55 primary health care centers; 15 model primary health care centers and 40 ordinary health care centers in Baghdad City. The study was initiated from May 25th 2017 up to January 25th 2018. Non-probability (purposive) sample of 55 managers of primary health care centers was selected of 15 model primary health care centers and 40 ordinary primary health care centers in Baghdad City. A questionnaire was constructed for the purpose of the study. The overall number of items included in the questionnaire is 20 items. Internal consistency "split-half" reliability was obtained through computation of Cronbach alpha correlation coefficient. Data were collected through the employment of the questionnaire and the interview technique as means of data collection. Data were analyzed through the application of descriptive and inferential statistical data analysis approaches.
 Results: The study revealed that most of the managers of both model and ordinary primary health care centers had employed poor performance of standards of risk management of method of identifying risk (67%) (52.5%); risk management process (67%)(55%); potential risk treatments (60%)(67.5%); and cardinal rules for the practices of risk communication (60%)(50%) respectively. Conclusions: Managers of both sites unfortunately had performed the risk management standards inadequately.

The front-end of projects: a systematic literature review and structuring

This paper summarizes the results of a comprehensive systematic literature survey on the front-end of a project, commissioned by the Project Management Institute. The dedicated literature on the front-end is sparse: although the front-end has been shown to be critical to the strategic success of the project, this phase of the lifecycle is not well understood. This paper presents the literature on the concept of the front-end, and defines a temporarily ordered structure of generic processes that form the ‘front-end’ and how these fit together as a coherent whole. These start from the preliminaries to the initiative, then the project purpose (for various stakeholders), the initial analysis and scenario analysis; the analysis of alternatives and choice of project concept; assessment of the project, finishing with setting up project execution. It summarises the recent literature at each of these elements in turn, specifically as they relate to the front-end.

ЭВОЛЮЦИЯ ПОДХОДА К УПРАВЛЕНИЮ ПРОЕКТНЫМИ РИСКАМИ В СТАНДАРТЕ PMBOK GUIDE


 
 
 In the article, the evolution of project risk management processes in the six sequential editions of the PMBOK Guide standard, developed by the Project Management Institute (PMI), is analysed. Special attention is paid to the last edition of the PMBOK Guide standard. The PMI approach to the project risks management is compared with the outlooks of the other most well- known standards and methodologies of project management.
 
 

The Impact of Executive Coaching on Project Managers’ Personal Competencies

Personal competencies have been shown to be increasingly reliable predictors of successful project managers. This research studies whether executive coaching is effective in strengthening personal competencies in the project management field. An experiment with 30 project managers and 30 observers has been conducted to determine, by means of a quantitative and qualitative approach, the impact of coaching on different competencies based on the Project Manager Competency Development Framework – Third Edition (Project Management Institute, 2017a). The conclusions reveal interesting insights, such as the finding that executive coaching has the greatest impact on behaviors related to leading, managing, and finding strategies for coping with challenging situations.

Identifying New Knowledge Areas to Strengthen the Project Management Institute (PMI) Framework

Abstract In an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world, managers of capital projects are under relentless pressure to consistently meet their performance expectations. At the execution stage, managers have to constantly orchestrate competing demands on scare resources and, simultaneously, manage project operations to meet time, costs and quality compliances. This calls for simple methods to distinguish factors that could cause execution stage delays and prioritise their remedial actions. The objective, therefore, was to propose and test a methodology through empirical evidence, which could be useful for managers to focus on the distinguishing factors (rather than on all factors) to achieve execution excellence. We used a three-stage methodology leveraging the existing Project Management Institute (PMI) framework to define variables and then tested the methodology using case data generated from projects adopting a grounded theory approach. A set-theoretic, multi-value qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) tool helped appropriately configure this empirical case data and a subsequent Boolean minimisation technique then identified the distinguishing factor(s) that explained superior project schedule performance. The results corroborated literature findings. Two contributions emerged from this study: (a) our methodology enabled a richer analysis of the case than what would have been possible by adopting a more conventional approach; and (b) there is a potential for a domain-specific extension of the PMI framework to cover technology transfer projects having their unique knowledge areas.

Joint venture versus non-joint venture projects in the UAE construction industry: a comparison of the usage of project management practices and performance

The purpose of this paper is to report on a study comparing joint venture and non-joint venture projects in terms of their performance and usage of project management practices. Data were obtained from project managers at 99 contracting organisations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) construction industry. The results show an agreement between the two types of project in the usage level of 35 out of 40 different practices associated with the ten knowledge areas articulated in the Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide (PMI, 2017). However, joint venture construction projects had higher usages of four cost-and procurement-related practices compared to non-joint venture construction projects. The results also show that although they are associated with increased risks due to the involvement of partners, generally the overall performance of joint venture construction projects is comparable with that of non-joint venture construction projects. The findings of this study could be of value to organisations that are planning to form joint venture projects in the UAE and other countries with similar environments.

Improving organisational process input factors and company performance

Enterprise environmental factors (EEF) and organisational process assets (OPAs) are important inputs for most of the processes in all project management knowledge areas. This study assesses the effect of three important EEF and OPA input factors, project organisational support, project control and contingency planning, and project management processes, on project baseline and planning management. In addition, this study also investigates how much of an influence that effective project baseline and planning management has on company performance. Data were collected from 93 certified project management professionals (PMPs) registered with the Project Management Institute (PMI) in China. Our findings showed that firms that develop company-wide organisational support systems and company-wide procedures and processes for managing projects within an operations organisation do better in their overall performance.

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.

Application of knowledge management on project management in construction

The modern Russian labor market dictates new requirements for the qualifications of project management managers in the investment and construction sector. The leading job and staff search site, HeadHunter, requires to have a Project Management Institute certificate in every third qualification condition. Foreign standards are actively supplanting “domestic rules of the game”. The relevance of this study is contained in the answer to the question: is the body of knowledge on project management applicable to the modern construction industry or is it just “a fashion trend” of senior management who wants to have the “Project Management Professional” certificate that is in demand abroad? This paper contains an analysis of significant and “linear” investment and construction projects for the Russian Federation on the structural assessment of key indicators: time, content, and money. This triad of constraints is reflected in the project management body of knowledge as being most susceptible to change during the project life cycle. The main idea of the analysis is to look at and evaluate the deviation of the values contained in the design and estimation documentation at the “input”, i.e. at the pre-investment stage, and at the “output”, i.e. at the stage of putting the object into operation.

Towards a conceptual framework to manage BIM/COBie asset data using a standard project management methodology

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate a systematic methodology to manage asset data flow between building stakeholders throughout building life cycle using the Construction Operation Building Information Exchange (COBie) standard.Design/methodology/approachA literature review of the relevant building information modelling (BIM) for facilities management (FM) studies including the gaps and challenges of producing COBie data is analysed. Then a standard project management methodology by Project Management Institute (PMI) is introduced as a theoretical framework to map the different areas of managing COBie data as a project in coordination with Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Plan of work. This theoretical background is coupled with an inductive approach through the placement within a construction company (Bouygues, UK) in the UCLH construction project to produce the conceptual framework that is aligned with industry needs.FindingsThe lack of well-structured approach to manage COBie data throughout building life cycle causes many problems and confusions about the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders in creating and managing asset data. This confusion in turn results in incomplete and low-quality COBie data at the handover phase which hinders the ability of facility managers to use these data effectively in the operations phase. The proposed conceptual framework provides a standard project management process to systemise the data flow among all stakeholders.Practical implicationsThe proposed framework is developed in liaison with a large construction company, so it is well aligned with an actual industry approach to managing COBie data. Furthermore, it provides a systematic step-by-step approach to managing COBie as a project that could be easily implemented in actual construction projects.Originality/valueThe paper introduced a novel approach to manage COBie data using a standard project management methodology based on an actual live construction project perspective coupled with project management theory.

Gestión estratégica de proyectos: una metodología para una ventaja competitiva sostenible

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 This article aims at discussing the link between project management discipline and strategic planning by applying the methodology of strategic management. Currently, some organizations need to turn project management into a competitive advantage, which are generally reached when aligning them with organizational strategy. Consequently, it is important to make sure that strategic planning stages are clearly aligned with the methodology of project management. Therefore, the analysis, formulation, implementation and definition of the strategic goals have to meet practicability.
 Some basic concepts of strategic management and the analysis of the project management focus are discussed, referring to PMBoK of the Project Management Institute (PMI) theoretical framework which guarantees a competitive advantage for these organizations. This methodology is known as Integral Management of Strategic Projects

Multicriteria methodology and hierarchical innovation in the energy sector

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to state a hierarchy methodology to select the most promising innovative projects, based on the processes defined by the successful Project Management Institute.Design/methodology/approachOpen innovation is a new option for companies to acquire knowledge; however, in a changing and global market, it is necessary to define and select properly the proposals to be financially supported. A proven multicriteria decision methodology (MCDM) is recommended in this case to hierarchize alternatives. Moreover, analytical hierarchy process (AHP) has been considered in this study as a proven and simple MCDM.FindingsAHP has been demonstrated as a suitable option to evaluate innovative project proposals, thanks to its integration with the Project Management Institute methodology. A process example has been included to demonstrate its application.Research limitations/implicationsInnovative projects and project proposal selection have always implied subjective criteria. Moreover, some of the processes defined in the methodology were not well defined in the project proposal.Practical implicationsThe management of a project portfolio in a rational way would help decision makers to fund the most promising projects/alternatives under consideration. In this way, the inherent risk of R&D projects would be minimized.Originality/valueThe management of a portfolio of innovative proposals is less often addressed in the literature. This paper focuses on the hybridization of the criteria and processes described in the PMBOK Guide and an MCDM.

Jesus Christ: Ethics Lessons for Project Managers

When we think of Jesus Christ, the first reflex is to associate Him with religion, which is quite normal, Jesus being the son of God and at the origin of Christianity. By cons, Jesus Christ was not a religious person. He was a great leader and teacher, very practical, very popular, very close to those who were in need. His actions and teachings are today the attributes of a modern leader. Christians (as well as non-Christians) should be the first to realize that the teachings of Jesus go beyond the sphere of religion, and that they can learn much from Him, as did the people of His time. In academic archives on project management, there is only one article that directly discusses the topic of Jesus Christ. By cons, there is no article on the topic of Jesus Christ and project management in terms of ethics. The purpose of this article is to apply to project management some ethical teachings of Jesus Christ, ethics not (yet) being part of the ten areas of knowledge in project management included in the PMBoK of the Project Management Institute (PMI).

Risk Impact on Agri-Food Supply Chain Performance in Malaysia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the key risk components (probability and consequence) and their respective thresholds affecting agri-food supply chain operations in Malaysia. In addition, it seeks to understand the relationship between the major risk sources and to fathom the risk/disruption impact on agri-food supply chain performance in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach – Cross-sectional survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The risks threshold associated with agri-food supply chain were categorized using the risk matrix scale and classification described in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (Project Management Institute, 2013). Next, the Pearson correlation was used to understand the relationship between the various risks and agri-food chain performance. Lastly, to investigate how firms’ supply chain operations have been affected by risks/disruptions, an ordinary least square regression model was employed to quantify the impact of some major risk sources on agri-food chain performance in Malaysia. Findings – The results in this paper show variations in risks’ probability, impact and threshold in agri-food supply chain. While risk sources such as periodic change in interest/exchange rate policies and volatility in customer demand are high-rated risks, uncertain land policies/tenure and poor quality control are low rated risks in the operations of the chain. The performance of the agri-food chain significantly but negatively correlates with all the major risks studied. Whereas demand, supply, weather, logistics/infrastructure and financial risk sources significantly undermined the chain’s performance, risks emerging from biological/ environmental, management/operational, policy/regulations and political-related issues insignificantly affect the performance of agri-food supply chain in Malaysia. Research limitations/implications – This research is an area biased. However, some insightful managerial implications can be drawn from this paper to manage agri-food chain operations in a similar unstable environment. The result implies that risks are inevitable in agri-food chain but they differ in terms of menace to the chain’s operation. Therefore, tomanage agri-food supply chain risks effectively, managers should periodically identify, quantify and categorize risk sources before making risk response decisions. In addition, the results show that risks account for about half of the overall agri-food chain performance in Malaysia. This infers that managers/ practitioners could improve the performance of the agri-food chain if limited resources are allocated to plan and effectively respond to major risks sources (such as demand, supply, finance, weather and logistical/ infrastructural services-related risks) undermining the performance of the chain. Originality/value – This research contributes to the agri-food chain risk literature and provides managers/ practitioners with empirical evidence of risk thresholds and their corresponding major impact on agri-food chain’s performance. Since risks explained about half of agri-food chain performance in Malaysia, this research would prompt decision makers to improve on their risk assessment and responds (e.g. by employing efficient demand, supply and weather forecasting systems, logistic/infrastructure services, hedge to finance, etc.) to improve the chain’s performance.

Risks Related to Lean Six Sigma Deployment and Sustainment Risks

Lean Six Sigma is a set of tools utilized by organizations to reduce cost and waste. There are risks associated with deploying and sustaining Six Sigma. The risks are different at each stage of the process. To ensure success, these risks must be identified and mitigated. From an organizational standpoint, companies need to understand the differences between Lean Six Sigma deployment and sustainment. The risk factors discussed in this article are leadership, human resource, and project selection. Since Lean Six Sigma is a project-based approach, many tools offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI) can be utilized to complement DMAIC structure. Since risks in improper management are inherent, using project management and Lean Six Sigma tools together is beneficial. This research attempts to identify and analyze the different risks associated with deploying and sustaining Lean Six Sigma. This article presents recommendations based on an analysis of collected information.

Practical Tips for Successful Implementation of Educational Innovations: Project Management Tools for Health Professional Educators.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Background: Growing demands from health professional educators lead to expectations for smooth implementation of high-stake endeavors such as developing and successfully launching educational innovations ranging from curricular sessions to new programs under time constraints. Usually, multiple requirements, resources, and processes need to be identified, evaluated, and effectively utilized, making the process difficult and confusing. Personnel and operations must be aligned to create momentum for a successful workflow, which requires planning and negotiation with stakeholders. Increasingly, project management strategies and skills have been recommended to medical educators for accomplishing these goals; however, to-date no practical tools or templates have been provided to support and guide educational implementation processes in a practical fashion. Aim: Adjusted to the needs of medical educators across all healthcare professions, we provide interactive templates and tools in the appendix, which walk readers through the implementation of a complete educational project from start to finish. Methods: Using project management guidelines established by the Project Management Institute (PMI), the global credentialing body for the project management profession, the tools and templates follow best practices that were aligned with standards of curriculum development (six-step approach) as published by Kern and colleagues ( Thomas, Kern, Hughes & Chen (Eds.), 2016). Results: We identified a practical workflow for implementing educational innovations and developed interactive tools and templates as guides for tracking and presenting progress for the launch of educational projects of any scale, large or small. Conclusions/summary statement: Developing and implementing complex, multistep endeavors such as collaborative educational sessions or programs can be mastered successfully using project management tools and templates. Based on international project management guidelines and best practices, the authors outline how project management tools and templates allow medical educators to streamline successful systematic planning, engage in creative-problem solving and establish consensus under time constraints.

Deficiencies in and Alternatives to Heat Map Risk Matrices for Project Risk Prioritization

Heat map risk matrices are widely used to prioritize risks. They are Standard Operating Tools for risk management as prescribed by the Project Management Institute (PMI), International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), and many other organizations. They are widely used in projects and programs structured for product development, business, construction, R & D, medicine, and politics. However, they suffer from several weaknesses, notably subjectivity, symmetry, category prioritization reversal, and a failure to account for Risk Aversion, which often dominates how individuals and companies feel about risk. Because of this, they can lead to serious mis-prioritization and mismanagement of risks. We propose an alternative to the standard risk matrix that accounts for these deficiencies and provides a significantly better risk prioritization tool. Two field trials were conducted to demonstrate the benefits of the alternative method for project managers.

Decreasing the Distance Between International Standards from Different Domains: The Case of Project Management and Aviation Safety Investigations

Safety investigations fall under the typical definition of a project since they have definite start and end dates and offer a specific end-product, meaning the safety recommendations which must be considered by the respective stakeholders as a means to improve the safety of daily operations. The scope of this study was to investigate whether safety investigations could benefit from project management. The research consisted of the following steps: (1) a gap analysis between the PMBPOK standard of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the ICAO/USAF manuals regarding the main activity/knowledge areas and techniques/tools mentioned in these representative investigation standards, (2) based on the findings of the previous step, administration of a questionnaire to examine the degree to which project management areas and activities are present in regional safety investigation standards, and the perception of the participants about their usefulness. The findings suggested that the project management areas and activities are present in regional investigation standards at levels varying from 10% to 97%. Also, risk, quality, communication and stakeholder management are underrepresented in investigation standards. Most of the areas and activities of project management were perceived as very useful by the participants, who expressed some concerns about the danger to increase bureaucracy and complexity of safety investigations. Similar research can be conducted by other industry sectors and regions to detect whether project management principles can be introduced in safety investigations with the aim to increase their effectiveness and performance. Future research can focus on the project management tools and techniques that can be used in safety investigations as well as the examination of the latter through the lenses of agile project management.

Decreasing the Distance Between International Standards from Different Domains: The Case of Project Management and Aviation Safety Investigations

Safety investigations fall under the typical definition of a project since they have definite start and end dates and offer a specific end-product, meaning the safety recommendations which must be considered by the respective stakeholders as a means to improve the safety of daily operations. The scope of this study was to investigate whether safety investigations could benefit from project management. The research consisted of the following steps: (1) a gap analysis between the PMBPOK standard of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the ICAO/USAF manuals regarding the main activity/knowledge areas and techniques/tools mentioned in these representative investigation standards, (2) based on the findings of the previous step, administration of a questionnaire to examine the degree to which project management areas and activities are present in regional safety investigation standards, and the perception of the participants about their usefulness. The findings suggested that the project management areas and activities are present in regional investigation standards at levels varying from 10% to 97%. Also, risk, quality, communication and stakeholder management are underrepresented in investigation standards. Most of the areas and activities of project management were perceived as very useful by the participants, who expressed some concerns about the danger to increase bureaucracy and complexity of safety investigations. Similar research can be conducted by other industry sectors and regions to detect whether project management principles can be introduced in safety investigations with the aim to increase their effectiveness and performance. Future research can focus on the project management tools and techniques that can be used in safety investigations as well as the examination of the latter through the lenses of agile project management.

Conceptual Client Value Index for Post Disaster Reconstruction Contracting Services

To improve client value within contracting services, it is important to understand what clients value and what their priorities are. Following a disaster event, construction service providers are called by clients upon to assist with reconstruction programs. Having knowledge of client values within contracting services in the post disaster situation, service providers are able to provide better service in the disaster rebuild environment. The construction management literature is focused on business-as-usual construction and its relative values, rather than post disaster reconstruction. The objective of this paper is to explore the most important client values within contractor’s services in post disaster reconstruction situations from public and private sector clients’ perspectives. The study includes a literature review and questionnaire survey. Key client values within contracting services under the nine Project Management Institute knowledge management categories were identified. These values can be used as a basis for developing good practice for reconstruction following a disaster. As part of a aim to develop an assessment tool towards improving client value, by providing better contracting services, a client value index is proposed.