Project Team Leaders Research Articles

Impact of Project Teamwork on Project Success in Pakistan

The contribution of project teamwork is based on the project members toward project success has remained unattended in prior literature. This paper highlights the importance of project teamwork for the project success and argues that leader alone cannot successfully complete a project. This study is based upon Higher Education Commission (HEC)'s projects in Pakistan and data has been collected from project leaders regarding performance and contribution of project team work toward project success. It is hypothesized that there is a positive and direct relationship between the project teamwork and project success. For the purpose of verification of this relationship with the project managers were requested through e-mail to complete questionnaires. Further, this relationship is verified theoretically and empirically by applying Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). It is concluded on the basis of results that project teamwork has a positive and direct relationship with project success. The findings of the study may be helpful for policymakers and project team leaders to understand the importance and contribution of project teamwork toward achieving project success, especially in developing countries.

A Value Analysis of Lean Processes in Target Value Design and Integrated Project Delivery.

To investigate what key stakeholders consider to be the advantages and the opportunities for improvement in using lean thinking and tools in the integrated project delivery (IPD) process. A detailed literature review was followed by case study of a Lean-IPD project. Interviews with members of the project leadership team, focus groups with the integrated team as well as the design team, and an online survey of all stakeholders were conducted. Statistical analysis and thematic content analysis were used to analyze the data, followed by a plus-delta analysis. (1) Learning is a large, implicit benefit of Lean-IPD that is not currently captured by any success metric; (2) the cardboard mock-up was the most successful lean strategy; (3) although a collaborative project, the level of influence of different stakeholder groups was perceived to be different by different stakeholders; (4) overall, Lean-IPD was rated as better than traditional design-bid-build methods; and (5) opportunities for improvement reported were increase in accurate cost estimating, more efficient use of time, perception of imbalance of control/influence, and need for facilitation (which represents different points of view). While lean tools and an IPD method are preferred to traditional design-bid-build methods, the perception of different stakeholders varies and more work needs to be done to allow a truly shared decision-making model. Learning was identified as one of the biggest advantages.

Construction contract management using value packaging systems

In large construction projects, optimally dividing, packaging, and awarding the work amongst contractors and suppliers can be challenging. Typically, this procurement process is executed in the pre-construction phase based on the experience and judgement of the project leadership team. Once procurement is completed, it is difficult to demonstrate whether the results of this process are optimal, or to explain the rationale behind decision making. An auditable and robust method is needed to address these issues, while still taking into account the expertise of the project leadership team. Thus, a comprehensive construction value packaging system (CVPS) is presented which serves as a computational and process environment for assisting project leaders by increasing the efficiency, auditability, and effectiveness of the procurement process. The development of this system requires a new concept to be defined, the construction value unit (VU), whose scope covers value-added work defined by type of activity, its stage in the value chain, and its specifications. Construction value packages are composed of VUs. Research findings demonstrate that the VPS has the potential to improve the contract management of an enterprise-wide construction supply chain.

Team Leadership and Performance: Combining the Roles of Direction and Contribution

In knowledge-intensive projects, one of the challenges project team leaders often face is how to combine their roles of direction and contribution. In this paper, we propose a game-theoretic model of team leadership of coproductive projects and study how team leaders should combine their directing and contributing efforts depending on the team and project characteristics. Our analysis reveals that two types of team leadership approaches arise in equilibrium, namely, “participatory” team leadership, under which the team leader gives the team members full discretion on their choice of effort, and “directive” team leadership, under which the team leader demands team members exert higher effort than what they would choose to exert voluntarily. We find that directive team leadership is optimal when the team members have low incentives, that is, when their rewards are low, the size of the team is large, or failure is not too costly (e.g., continuation is possible); otherwise, participatory team leadership is optimal. Moreover, we show that a higher degree of effort complementarity (as in innovative projects) leads to greater alignment between the team leader’s and team members’ contributing efforts, which, under directive team leadership, also implies greater alignment between the team leader’s directing and contributing efforts. Finally, the team leader should set the team size and team members’ rewards in a way that accentuates the difference between the two team leadership approaches. That is, under directive team leadership, she should set a large team size and offer the team members low rewards whereas under participatory team leadership she should set a small team size and offer the team members high rewards. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2911 . This paper was accepted by Ashish Arora, entrepreneurship and innovation.

Optimizing Contractor Selection for Construction Packages in Capital Projects

AbstractIn capital construction projects, the contractor selection process is executed in the front-end planning phase based on the experience and judgment of the project leadership team, whose members are considered experts. A comprehensive construction value packaging system (CVPS) is presented for assisting these project leaders in improving the efficacy, efficiency, and transparency of this process. The CVPS comprises an interface-oriented approach to work decomposition and a multicriteria approach to contractor selection. Selection is supported by software for iteratively computing and interactively visualizing the Pareto front of optimal work packages. The CVPS is validated by functional demonstration and a case study of a piping installation project in an energy infrastructure facility. The initial Pareto front had more than 100,000 optimal work packages representing different trade-offs between cost, time, contractor experience, maintenance rates, and financial stability. An iterative and interact...

Team Leadership and Performance: Combining the Roles of Direction and Participation

Due to the complexity and stochastic nature of knowledge-intensive projects (e.g., in software development, new product development, semiconductor design, pharmaceutical research), firms are increasingly organizing such work around teams, while appointing team leaders to act as managers as well as contributors to the project. One of the challenges that project team leaders face is how to combine their roles as individual contributors and managers. In this paper, we propose a model of team leadership and study how a contributor leader should adjust her managing effort over time and with respect to the project characteristics (e.g., team members' incentives and team size). Modeling the problem as a stochastic dynamic game, we show that it is optimal for the leader to follow one of two approaches: (i) being directive, i.e., contribute and also manage the team members' efforts to be above what they would choose to do in equilibrium, or (ii) being participative, i.e., not manage the team members' efforts and only contribute to the project. Moreover, we show that the intensity of the leader's managing effort may evolve non-monotonically over time as a result of the misalignment of incentives between the team leader and the other team members. Finally, we show that a participative leadership approach emerges when the team members have high incentives, or the team size is small, and that otherwise, the directive leadership approach emerges.

Can teams benefit from using a mindful infrastructure when defensive behaviour threatens complex innovation projects?

Projects are often doomed to fail. An explorative case study which carried out team-based complex innovation projects in a research and technology organisation suggests three main results. 1] Project team leaders experienced that the complexity involved in the various aspects of team functioning, made it prone to mixed messaging. 2] One of the meetings observed indicated that defensive behaviours were prevalent. 3] The team members self-assessment reports on team performance suggested that team outcomes improve in the presence of team psychological safety, team learning and team mindfulness. The study indicates that complex innovation projects may be negatively affected by defensive behaviours, but this behaviour can be overcome by creating a mindful infrastructure based on team psychological safety, team learning and team mindfulness.

To Coerce or to Enable? Exercising Formal Control in a Large Information Systems Project

In virtually every information systems (IS) project, control is exercised on multiple hierarchical project levels. For example, senior managers exercise control over project team leaders, who in turn exercise control over distinct groups of project team members. Most prior studies have exclusively focused on one specific controller-controllee dyad. As a result, there is little understanding of how IS project control is exercised across different hierarchical levels. To close this research gap, we conducted a case study of a large IS project at a major engineering firm. Our study helps enrich the traditional mode-based typology of control with the dimension of control style, that is, the distinction between enabling and coercive control. Our research contributes novel insights to the IS control literature in three ways: (1) we find that the senior management level and the project management level differ in the use of control style but not in the use of control modes, (2) we identify several factors that influence the choice of a particular control style, and (3) we find that senior managers can influence project activities on lower levels by implementing controls that can be readily emulated by project leaders as well as transmitted through hierarchical levels with little distortion.

Nature of Communication Ineffectiveness Inherent in the Procurement Systems on Mass Housing Projects

Mass housing projects (MHPs) are deemed to exhibit unique procurement systems which consequently induce communication ineffectiveness that continues to dominate the challenges among mass housing project teams. However, this acknowledged communication ineffectiveness inherent in the unique procurement system features of mass housing project among the project team remains to be empirically examined. This study seeks to investigate the influence of procurement system (PS) features of MHPs to communication ineffectiveness among the mass housing project team. By adopting a quantitative method design, a structured questionnaire survey on project team leaders managing MHPs in Ghana was used in collecting empirical data. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to explore the communication problems inherent in the PS features of mass housing projects. The results revealed moderate to high effects of communication ineffectiveness in information flow and information composition inherent in the unique PS features of MHPs. The results further revealed misunderstanding, inaccuracies, barriers, and information dissemination challenges as the major communication ineffectiveness induced by the PS features of MHPs. By gaining knowledge and understanding into the communication ineffectiveness associated with these features of MHPs, practitioners are well positioned to plan communication and management strategies to engender success in mass housing delivery.

The Current Drug Development Paradigm: Responding to US and European Demands for Evidence of Comparative Effectiveness and Relative Effectiveness

The Current Drug Development Paradigm: Responding to US and European Demands for Evidence of Comparative Effectiveness and Relative Effectiveness

Formal and Informal Practices of Knowledge Sharing between Project Teams and Enacted Cultural Characteristics

This article investigates the process of knowledge sharing between project teams and uses a case study approach. This is especially relevant, as organizations face both the needs for separating work into projects and integrating knowledge created in projects into the organization. The results provided by the analysis technique of GABEK® indicate that, although projects create boundaries, employees and project team leaders use formal mechanisms and develop informal practices for knowledge sharing between project teams. Furthermore, the article identifies organizational cultural characteristics enacted in these practices that can stimulate the discussion in “knowledge culture research” regarding the relationship of organizational cultural characteristics and (specific) knowledge processes.

Integration of Finance with Marketing and R&D in New Product Development: The Role of Project Stage

While the interfaces of marketing, research and development (R&D), and manufacturing in product development have been extensively studied, no large‐scale empirical study has focused on finance's role in the product development team. The present research investigates the role of finance in cross‐functional product development teams, thereby extending existing research on cross‐functional integration in product development. A set of hypotheses is tested with a survey of 389 project team leaders and top management team members from companies in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and Austria. The findings suggest that the integration of finance in cross‐functional teams positively impacts project performance and that the importance of the finance interface depends on the project development stage and the innovativeness of the product developed. The results indicate that the R&D–finance interface is most critical at the early stage of a project, while the marketing–finance interface is most important at the late stage, and that the integration between R&D and finance is especially useful in the development of less innovative products.

Quality improvement collaboratives and the wisdom of crowds: spread explained by perceived success at group level.

BackgroundMany studies have been conducted to evaluate the impact of quality improvement collaboratives (QICs) on the quality of healthcare. This article addresses an underexplored topic, namely the use of QICs as ‘intentional spread strategy.’ Its objective is to predict the dissemination of projects within hospitals participating in a change programme based on several QICs. We tested whether the average project success at QIC level (based on opinions of individual project team leaders) explains the dissemination of projects one year later.FindingsAfter one year, 148 project team leaders of 16 hospitals participating in the two-year programme were asked to rate the success of their improvement project on a scale from 1 to 10. At the end of the second year, the programme coordinator of each hospital provided information on the second-year dissemination. Average success scores and dissemination statistics were calculated for each QIC (N = 12). The non-parametric correlation between team leader judgment and dissemination rate at QIC level is 0.73 (P < 0.01).ConclusionsPrevious work, focusing on the team and hospital level, showed which factors contributed to local success stories. It also illustrated how successes play a role in dissemination processes within programme hospitals. The current study suggests that we cannot ignore the extent to which the dissemination potential of individual projects is defined by their QIC. Aggregated team leader judgments at the QIC level might predict the future dissemination in participating organizations. The findings, however, need to be replicated in larger, independent samples.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13012-014-0091-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Effectiveness of Project Teams and their Impact on the Performance of Saudi Construction Projects

The objective of this study is to determine the nature and strength of relationship between the different elements of teamwork effectiveness and overall project success. Literature has been reviewed on constituents of effective teamwork and indicators for project success to determine the relationship. Two questionnaires were used to determine the nature and strength of the relationship between components of effective teamwork and overall project success. Data on the questionnaires were gathered from 13 different project teams of large commercial buildings in Saudi Arabia. The research showed a positive and high correlation between team effectiveness and project success. Analysis of the obtained data indicated that three factors of teamwork are strongly associated with project success. These factors are team roles and responsibilities, team goals and objectives and team leadership. The research conducted is most beneficial for project managers and team leaders in construction organizations to adjust their focus on key components of effective teamwork that lead to augment the possibilities of project success.

Total knee replacement pre-operative education in a Singapore tertiary hospital: A best practice implementation project

ObjectivesTo increase the competency of specialist outpatient clinic nurses in the provision of pre-operative total knee replacement (TKR) education, and ensure that all patients scheduled for elective TKR received the pre-operative education package. MethodsThe project was implemented in three phases. Phase 1 entailed a baseline audit that analysed 30 randomized TKR patients who received pre-operative education. In Phase 2, the gaps and barriers in the project were discussed. Using best practice recommendations from the Joanna Briggs Institute, the project team leader collated and standardized the pre-operative education tools, which consisted of a pictorial booklet, a video and home care advice. A teaching plan guided the nurses to increase their understanding and improve practice using the education tools. The usefulness of education strategies and tools was discussed and these were improved over the proposed timeline. Phase 3 entailed a post-implementation audit to evaluate the provision of pre-operative education. ResultsPost implementation, nurses’ competency in the provision of pre-operative TKR education increased from 18% to 91%. The number of patients who received the structured pre-operative education package increased from 27% to 50%. ConclusionOverall, there was improvement in the provision of pre-operative TKR education to patients by clinic nurses using evidence-based best practice and a standardized education package.

Critical Viewpoints on the Management of Conflict in Multi-National Construction Projects

International construction markets are increasingly taking economic advantage of the global workforce. It is common on international projects to find multi-cultural project teams located in multiple countries. Conflict management is becoming ever more important due to the rapid changes that are common in the current construction business environment. Global change, cultural diversity within multi-national project teams, and complexity are a few of the reasons that managing conflict is a critical skill for project team leaders. Results of this research provide an overview and describe multi-national construction projects, in which construction industry participants play an important role regarding the organization and performance, through a review of the published literature. Critical viewpoints of the paper and literature survey outcomes point in the direction that understanding multi-national or multi-cultural performances within construction projects can be a serious tool for dispute avoidance between the parties involved. DOI 10.5592/otmcj.2014.2.6 Research paper

A Comprehensive Model of Uncertainty Associated with Radical Innovation

Large established firms typically focus on enhancing their ability to manage their core businesses, with an emphasis on cost reduction, quality improvements, and incremental innovation in existing products and processes. To sustain competitive advantage over the long term, mature firms must in parallel develop radical innovations (RI) as a basis for building and dominating fundamentally new markets. Management practices that are effective in established businesses are often ineffective and even destructive when applied toRIprojects because of higher levels of uncertainty inherent in the latter. Understanding the characteristics ofRIprojects and the nature of the uncertainty that pervades them is critical to developing appropriate managerial practices.This paper reports the results of a longitudinal study of 12RIprojects in 10 large establishedU.S.‐based firms. A qualitative, prospective design was used to collect and analyze data. Project team leaders, members, and sponsors for each project were interviewed repeatedly over five years. The analysis centers on the dimensions and characteristics of uncertainty that project teams experienced. The analysis of the challenges they confronted is used to construct a multidimensional model ofRIuncertainties. The model identifies four categories of uncertainty as key drivers of project management: technical, market, organizational, and resource uncertainty. Each of these four categories is elaborated in the context of radical innovation and further distinguished via two additional dimensions: criticality and latency. These are substantiated through case based data. Implications for management skills, processes, and appropriate tools associated with radical innovation projects are discussed.

A Partnership's Effort to Improve the Teaching of K-12 Mathematics in Rapid City, South Dakota

Abstract:Over the span of ten years, a National Science Foundation-funded partnership effort has collected and analyzed multiple forms of evidence, both direct and indirect, about improved teaching of mathematics within Rapid City Area Schools. This article describes the project's impact on K-12 teaching and factors contributing to that impact. The authors argue that improvements in teaching are attributable largely to a robust infrastructure established to support teacher growth. Direct evidence includes classroom observations conducted by the project's external evaluation team. Indirect evidence exists in the form of data on student outcomes: achievement on the state's multiple-choice accountability measure and achievement on project-administered performance assessments.Keywords: (K-12 mathematics education, teacher professional development, partnership, systemic reform)Project PRIME (Promoting Reflective Inquiry in Mathematics Education] began in 2002 with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF]. A member of the initial cohort of NSF-funded Math and Science Partnership programs, PRIME was originally funded for five years. The award period has been extended several times and is now slated to conclude in 2013,11 years after its inception. Project PRIME has been working to improve the teaching and learning of K-12 mathematics within Rapid City Area Schools, South Dakota's second largest school district, and to improve the preparation of teachers at Black Hills State University, South Dakota's largest producer of teacher education majors. Project partners include Rapid City Area Schools (RCAS), Black Hills State University (BHSU], Technology and Innovation in Education (TIE], a nonprofit education service provider, and Inverness Research Associates, the external evaluator.Definition of Effective TeachingKey elements of effective mathematics teaching as defined by Project PRIME include:* Providing students with rich, meaningful, challenging mathematical tasks;* Focusing on big mathematical ideas and on connections among them;* Creating a safe and productive classroom culture ~ one that fosters a community of learning;* Paying attention to conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, student discourse, mathematical representation, and student dispositions; and* Drawing from a depth of pedagogical content knowledge to recognize patterns of student thinking, anticipate and diagnose misconceptions, and guide the learner in productive directions, especially through asking questions.PRIME has arrived at these key elements by drawing from the mathematics education literature. Resources used early within the project to develop a common vision among the project's leadership team, district math teacher leaders, building principals, university faculty, and other project staff included Adding It Up (Kilpatrick, Swafford, & Findell, 2001) and Making Sense: Teaching and Learning Mathematics with Understanding (Hiebert et al., 1997).District ProfileRapid City Area Schools includes 15 elementary schools (kindergarten through grade 5), 5 middle schools (grades 6 through 8), and 3 high schools (grades 9 through 12). It employs approximately 450 teachers of mathematics (including elementary and special education teachers), and it has a K-12 enrollment of approximately 13,000 students. Thirty-seven percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and 24% are non-White (15% American Indian, 7% other non-White, 2% two or more races). Rapid City represents the largest off-reservation population of American Indian students in South Dakota.Project GoalsPRIME'S two overarching goals are: 1) to improve student achievement for all K-12 students within Rapid City Area Schools, and 2) to increase and sustain the quality of K-12 teachers of mathematics. Central to goal one of serving all students is a commitment to educational equity, seeking in particular to meet the needs of American Indian students and those who are economically disadvantaged. …

The Fee Sensitive Risk Exposures of Project Authorized Person in Hong Kong

Authorized Persons (AP) play a critical role in the design and construction of building works in Hong Kong. Under the Building Ordinance, design and construction of building works need to be coordinated and monitored by an AP registered with the Buildings Department. Professionally qualified Architects, Engineers and Surveyors are eligible to register as AP after completing the prescribed assessment. In addition, the project AP is often appointed by the project owner to be the project team leader. In these capacities, a project AP is exposed to various risks. This paper seeks to identify the fee sensitive risk exposures of project APs. Through an ANOVA study, these risks exposures are those due to liabilities under the Building Ordinance at the construction stage, those towards the third parties and the clients.

Action‐centered team leadership influences more than performance

PurposeBuilding on a social‐technical approach to project management, the authors aim to examine the effect of action‐centered leadership attributes on team member's learning, knowledge collaboration and job satisfaction during IT‐related projects.Design/methodology/approachStructural equation modeling was utilized to assess the work environment of team members as well as the leadership practices of their respective project team leaders. Data were collected with a survey questionnaire from 327 team members in a variety of organizations in 15 industry sectors including financial services, software, manufacturing, retail, government and universities.FindingsThe identified action‐centered project leadership practices (effective task management, team efficacy cultivation, and individual autonomy support) create a project team environment that fosters individual learning and knowledge collaboration along with individual performance and job satisfaction, and ultimately project success.Research limitations/implicationsThe action‐centered leadership practices construct, developed in this study, can be a good surrogate measure of what is required to be an effective leader in an IT project team environment. The main limitations of the research are those inherent in the survey method (self‐reported; subjective data).Practical implicationsIn a project team environment, it is essential that all team members collaborate effectively to increase the likelihood of project success. The implication for managers from these findings is that concentrating more on the identified action‐centered leadership practices can positively influence the team environment.Originality/valueAlthough previous studies have described attributes that influence team performance, a clearer understanding of what team leadership practices enable a project manager to be effective warrants further investigation. A second order construct merges these team leadership practice attributes and validates its use.