Successful Project Outcomes Research Articles

Critical success factors for cost management in public-housing projects

PurposeEffective cost performance is a crucial criterion measuring successful project management in public-housing projects. This paper aims to analyse the vital underlying factors surrounding the successful cost management process (CMP) outcomes in public housing projects (PHPs).Design/methodology/approachThe research was conducted in three stages. The first stage consisted of a detailed literature review to document success factors affecting cost performances and management. In stage two, brainstorming sessions were undertaken with construction experts knowledgeable in cost management practices and have been involved in PHPs. These sessions were used to refine those success factors for the PHPs settings and define their criticality with respect to the CMP stages using interpretive ranking process. In stage three, focus group sessions were performed to validate the interrelationships of the contextualised critical success factors.FindingsThe top three most critical factors for successful implementation and outcomes at all CMP stages in PHPs settings were found to relate to competencies, team qualities and collaborative practices of the project team. Early contractor involvement and effective construction planning and management also emerged relevant to the process.Practical implicationsGovernment project departments, project managers and construction organisations (consultants and contractors) need to commit and mandate continuous development of cost management competencies for all professionals engaged in PHPs. Channels supporting team integration and collaborative practices between design and construction teams are required to increase the likelihood of successful project cost management practice and outcomes in PHPs.Originality/valueThe research has developed a factor-process relationship model that can be used to improve and evaluate the efficacy of CMP implementation in PHP settings.

Factors leading to sustainable social impact on the affected communities of engineering service learning projects

University engineering programs across the USA engage in service learning projects. These projects involve student teams designing and implementing products or solutions for communities in need, often in developing nations. There has been much research done relating to pedagogy and the impact of these programs on student learning. However, less research has been done on measuring the impact of these programs on the affected communities. This paper examines factors that practitioners believe are related to successfully delivering a desirable and transferable solution to affected communities. The authors identified 49 distinct factors from the literature that implicitly or explicitly are suggested to contribute to successful project outcomes. Formed as postulates in this paper, these 49 factors have been separated into 5 categories to assist understanding and implementing these factors into service learning programs. Lastly, different methods of analyzing and measuring project success and impact are discussed. Future methods for proving the viability of the 49 postulates are discussed as well.

Investigating Crucial Factors of Agile Software Development Through Composite Approach

The major emphasis of Software Engineering (SE) discipline is to produce successful software systems. The success of software projects is estimated through quadruple measures including budget, cost, scope, and quality. To meet this aim of SE, several software development processes are presented in the literature. Such processes are categorized into two different methodologies which are known as traditional and agile software development methodologies. The issue with traditional software development methodologies is that they had not shown any remarkable progress towards the fundamental goal of SE. Consequently, software development organizations have started to adopt agile methodologies in the pursuit of successful software development. However, agile adoption does not come without challenges that vary from one context to another. Therefore, it is necessary to figure out the key factors of agile software development for successful project outcomes. In the wake of such need, this study investigated the Critical Success Factors (CSFs), categorized and prioritized them through a mixed-method approach. Such an approach was based on the detailed literature review and Delphi method accompanied with Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) technique. Twelve CSFs were revealed and categorized into people, organization and technical dimensions. Among these factors, ‘team capability’ was found the most significant factor where ‘culture’ was revealed as the least significant factor. The findings of the study would be promising for agile software development that is carried on in the local software industry.

Implementation of Context Specific Diagnostics, Strategies and Resources for PMTCT Scale-up Programming in Conflict Affected Communities in Jos, Nigeria

The 2013 WHO HIV guidelines provided effective antiretroviral regimens to reduce perinatal transmission to below 2%. The option-B approach of providing antiretroviral drugs was adopted by Nigeria, which contributed 32% of global gaps in Preventing Mother to child transmission (PMTCT). In Plateau State, which had 7.7% HIV prevalence, incessant ethnoreligious conflict created challenges impacting on HIV service delivery and access to treatment centers. PMTCT diagnostics conducted by the lead HIV implementing Partner (IP), revealed that several communities in Jos, Plateau State, lacked HIV treatment centers, but were also unable to access existing centers because of conflict related partitioning of Jos, calling for specialized strategies and collaboration to scale-up to affected communities. To bridge existing challenges related to distrust amongst communities, the intervention strategy identified six community oriented resource persons (CORPs), of same ethnoreligious dispensation as people in affected communities, who also possessed HIV programing competencies, to lead the intervention. The project methodology included engagement of community gatekeepers and Plateau HIV stakeholders, who generated context specific strategies to enter these communities and scale-up HIV/PMTCT. The lead CORPs included a female public health/HIV physician, another clinician who owned a community hospital, a HIV laboratory personnel, a HIV trained Data officer, a religious cleric/youth leader and a female expert patient cum member of Federation of Muslim women association of Nigeria (FOMWAN). Collaborating with various stakeholders, they birthed a community faith based organization they called Muslim Health Initiative of Nigeria (MUHIN). This served as platform for community engagement to scale-up HIV/PMTCT services. The Lead HIV Partner supported, engaged and funded MUHIN to provide context specific scale-up to address existing gaps. MUHIN identified, assessed, upgraded and activated twenty-eight community clinics for HIV/PMTCT service deliver, building on existing Maternal, child and New-born health (MNCH) structures. They provided HIV trainings, MNCH materials, national data-capture tools and capacity building to the identified facilities, staff and CORPs. They stratified according to facility capacity, and linked them using the Hub-and-spoke model, to provide HIV testing, PMTCT and Antiretroviral therapy (ART) services. In order to bridge existing human resource for health gaps existing at the clinics, community health workers and HIV positive women who had successfully completed PMTCT programs were engaged and trained according to task shifting and task sharing (TSTS) guidelines, in preparation for HIV/PMTCT activation using HCT as entry. We conclude that detailed diagnostics, planning and utilization of context-specific strategies including TSTS are critical for successful project outcomes.

The effect of commitment differentiation on integrated project delivery team dynamics: The critical roles of goal alignment, communication behaviors, and decision quality

Recently, architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) project teams have begun to adopt the integrated project delivery (IPD) method with increased frequency. This adoption has been made on the assumption that IPD will lead to beneficial project team dynamics and outcomes. Although novel and potentially useful, we contend that the mere implementation of the IPD method does not in and of itself guarantee successful project team dynamics and outcomes. In specific, in this manuscript we argue that commitment disparities between project team members are problematic for numerous project team dynamics and outcomes: goal alignment, communication behaviors, and decision-quality. Using data from 21 IPD project teams, we show this to be the case. Results from this investigation suggest that when members’ commitment levels vary within project teams, goal misalignment, poor communication behaviors, and reduced decision quality are expected to follow. Moreover, results suggest that this is especially likely to occur when members’ commitment levels are low as opposed to high. This work contributes substantially to our understanding of project team dynamics in the AEC industry, especially as they relate to those delivered under contractually followed IPD. Although the IPD method holds the potential to be beneficial, these results suggest that such benefits accrue only if team members’ commitment levels are both high and uniform. In the absence of such conditions, problematic team-level dynamics and outcomes are expected to ensue.

Architect and craftsperson: project perceptions, relationships and craft

PurposeArchitects and craftspeople work together on complicated built heritage projects as part of a diverse multidisciplinary team. Effective interactions and collaborations between them can lead to a more successful project outcome; however, differing perceptions of each other can cause professional relationship tensions, communicative barriers and disharmony.Design/methodology/approachThrough the analysis of online surveys completed by architects and craftspeople, this study examines the contemporary relationship between the two groups, including the architect's perceptions of the function of traditional building craft within their day-to-day role.FindingsFindings suggest that whilst both groups agree that the craftsperson is an essential specialist on a built heritage scheme, there are contradictory perceptions with regard to the architect's role. Despite these differences, the results suggest that architects are open to accommodating more exposure to craftspeople and traditional building craft within their day-to-day role – believing they would learn more about building materials, make better practical decisions and understand craftspeople better. More importantly, this study proposes that a focus on craft would break down communicative and perceptual barriers, in turn improving relationships and project outcomes.Originality/valueThe study strongly suggests that traditional building craft can form an essential, tangible bond between architects and craftspeople by increasing focus on relationships and learning. The insights offered are relevant not only to those in the fields of architecture and traditional building craft but also to those involved in heritage management, as well as other professional roles, who may benefit from the use of craft as a method to repair professional relationships, as well as historic buildings.

Factors Influencing Project Success: A Qualitative Research

This paper defines project success factors and aspects that are significant for successful project performance and outcomes, in the context of Information Technology (IT) projects. The list of total 38 factors is obtained through the qualitative content analysis of data collected via survey of 108 IT professionals, through one open-ended question. Detected factors are grouped into five categories: project team, project customer, project planning, project execution and project control. The results extend and support findings of the former quantitative study and the resulting project success model. They emphasize the significance of project team and project control activities for successful project outcomes.

The Role of Identity in Supporting a Shared Reality On Cross-Functional Project Teams

Project structures have become a dominating form to organize and accomplish work in firms today. This study focused on firms that source the functional expertise needed to support project implementations on a temporary basis from their organizational hierarchy. In this matrixed structure, individuals reside in two social worlds, that of the project team and that of their functional team. The purpose of this quantitative study was to understand the effect of social identity on cross-functional project teams’ communication and their ability to develop a shared reality with other project team members. In this study, we surveyed 212 members of cross-functional project teams in the financial services sector. We found that a strong functional identity was positively related to the ability of an individual to understand what is being communicated from another discipline. The ability to understand someone from another discipline was positively related to a successful project outcome. This study contributes to the literature on team social identity by demonstrating how it is mediated by effective communication across functional boundaries to create successful project outcomes.

Project Success Criteria and Project Success Factors in Information Technology Projects

Public and private-sector organizations make significant investments in information technology projects to enable significant business change, drive organizational efficiency and effectiveness and achieve competitive advantages. Unfortunately, many of these projects do not achieve some or all of the planned business objectives and many are outright failures. This challenge in implementing projects has led to considerable research about both what constitutes project success criteria (the dependent variable) and what are the project success factors which influence achieving a successful project outcome (the independent variables). This paper will review the current state of the literature for both project success criteria and project success factors. Based on this review of the literature, a conceptual model is proposed to predict the potential success of a project for evaluation in future research, based on an adaptation of Westerveldt’s (2003) Project Excellence® model which seeks to link project success factors with project success criteria.

Organizational Support in Healthcare Redesign Education: A Mixed-Methods Exploratory Study of Expert Coach and Executive Sponsor Experiences.

Healthcare organizations must continue to improve services to meet the rising demand and patient expectations. For this to occur, the health workforce needs to have knowledge and skills to design, implement, and evaluate service improvement interventions. Studies have shown that effective training in health service improvement and redesign combines didactic education with experiential project-based learning and on-the-ground coaching. Project-based learning requires organizational support and oversight, generally through executive sponsorship. A mixed-methods approach, comprising online surveys and semi-structured interviews, was used to explore the experiences of expert coaches and executive sponsors as key facilitators of workplace-based projects undertaken during an Australian postgraduate healthcare redesign course. Fifteen (54%) expert coaches and 37 (20%) executive sponsors completed the online survey. Ten expert coaches and six executive sponsors participated in interviews. The survey data revealed overall positive experiences for coaches and mixed experiences for sponsors. Interview participants expressed a sense of fulfillment that came from working with project teams to deliver a successful project and educational outcomes. However, concerns were raised about adequate resourcing, organizational recognition, competing priorities, and the skills required to effectively coach and sponsor. Expert coaches and executive sponsors sometimes felt under-valued and may benefit from cohort-tailored and evidence-based professional development.

The Challenges of Major Tank Coating Refurbishment Projects for On-Station Floating Assets

The objective of this paper is to acknowledge that major tank coating refurbishment projects to FPSO’s and FSU’s are likely to be required during the life of these assets. It highlights the key challenges of achieving these major coating projects in an offshore environment, whilst the assets remain operational and in-production. As these floating assets age the original coatings applied to protect the internal (and external) hull, deteriorate. In an industry with a reluctance for extensive dry-dockings, there is an expectation that any coating refurbishment campaigns can be achieved safely and efficiently whilst the assets remain on-station and in-production, in preference to costly steel renewal’s which may be required at a future date if coatings are not maintained in good condition. With often complex, congested and hazardous topsides processing equipment and pipework directly above the hull tanks, there’s a need for systems, procedures, and specialist equipment to ensure the safety of the personnel entering confined spaces for extended periods. There’s also a need to plan and engineer the works appropriately, using best practice and emergent technologies to improve safety, reduce bedding impacts and to ensure the success of the coating campaign. This paper explores the challenges of major coating projects by discussing the importance of planning and preparation, the need to create a safe working environment within the confined space worksites, the role surface preparation plays in the success of coating projects, and finally the application of coatings and the challenges this operation can present. The key considerations are summarised in 10 specific conclusions as guidance to promote successful project outcomes.

Hazard analysis on public-private partnership projects in developing Asia

Developing Asia’s infrastructure gap results from both inadequate public resources and a lack of effective channels to mobilize private resources toward desired outcomes. The public-private partnership (PPP) mechanism has evolved to fill the infrastructure gap. However, PPP projects are often at risk of becoming distressed, or worst, being terminated because of the long-term nature of contracts and the many different stakeholders involved. This paper applies survival-time hazard analysis to estimate how project-related, macroeconomic, and institutional factors affect the hazard rate of the projects. Empirical results show that government’s provision of guarantees, involvement of multilateral development banks, and existence of a dedicated PPP unit are important for a project’s success. Privately initiated proposals should be regulated and undergo competitive bidding to reduce the hazard rate of the project and the corresponding burden to the government. Economic growth leads to successful project outcomes. Improved legal and institutional environment can ensure PPP success.

Hazard Analysis on Public–Private Partnership Projects in Developing Asia

Developing Asia’s infrastructure gap results from both inadequate public resources and a lack of effective channel to mobilize private resources toward desired outcomes. The public–private partnership (PPP) mechanism has evolved to fill the infrastructure gap. However, PPP projects are often at risk of becoming distressed or worst being terminated because of the long-term nature of contracts and the many different stakeholders involved. This paper applies survival time hazard analysis to estimate how project-related, macroeconomic, and institutional factors affect the hazard rate of the projects. Empirical results show that government’s provision of guarantees, involvement of multilateral development banks, and existence of a dedicated PPP unit are important for a project’s success. Privately initiated proposals should be regulated and undergo a competitive bidding to reduce the hazard rate of the project and the corresponding burden to government. Economic growth leads to successful project outcomes. Improved legal and institutional environment can ensure PPP success.

Project Manager’s Skills for improving the performance of complex projects in Kuwait Construction Industry: A Review

The role of project manager is one of the crucial factors in achieving project success. Project managers handling large and complex construction projects have to deal with several factors to ensure coordination in achieving project delivery based on time, cost, and quality. However, recently, several large and complex projects in Kuwait s are facing several delays and overrun. According to previous research, the main factors were communication, teamwork & teambuilding, planning & coordination, problem solving, and interpersonal skills. The aim of this paper is to provide a review on project manager’s skills framework (PMSF) that are required in improving complex construction projects in Kuwait. Extensive literature reviews on the project managers skills in the management of the project were identified. It was found that skills such as teamwork, effective communication with staff and contractors, and effective resource management, effective planning and training, risk management are some of the important factor. The findings of this research contribute to exiting literature on developing a project managers skills framework (PMSF) that can be used by academic professional, business practitioners, and policy makers in identifying the issues facing construction projects and providing successful outcomes. Project managers involved in complex projects need to have strong skills to handle their team and every project participant. Project manager has the highest importance and critical to the success of the project. The literature review has indicated several skills that are important for project managers. The type of project determines the type and extend of skills that is required in successful project outcomes.

Success Factors for Effective Contractor-led Stakeholder Relationship Management: Perspectives from the Botswana Construction Industry

Stakeholder relationship management (SRM) remains critical to the attainment of successful project outcomes. This is particularly the case in the construction industry: an industry often described as considerably fragmented and project-based with a multiplicity of stakeholders with vested interests. Burgeoning incidences of project failure has been attributed to poor SRM. A lot of studies investigating stakeholder management exist, yet a paucity of studies looking into SRM has been noticed. Most of these studies have sought to investigate the phenomenon from a client perspective without taking cognizance of the contractor’s role in SRM. Also, the tendency of these studies to overlook stakeholder dynamics as it concerns power, uncertainty, etc. during various stages of the project lifecycle is observed. These are the gaps which this study will seek to fill relying on the customer relationship model (CRM) theoretical lens. A multi-case study research design is proposed. Different contractor organizations were selected based on a set of predetermined criteria. A plethora of within-case interviews and document reviews will be utilized in eliciting data concerning the approach adopted by construction contractors for managing extant relationships with critical stakeholders. The data was analysed thematically. It is expected that success factors will result from the elicited narratives. The following success factors for effective management of stakeholder relationship management emerged from the interviews and documents: Communication, understanding of stakeholders, the different types of stakeholders and type of project, management, and interpersonal skills, collaboration, engagement, and conflict management. This artefact will be compared to different CRM models to identify probable success factors for engendering effective stakeholder relationship management. Furthermore, the study’s findings will seek to contribute towards the development of a contractor-centric stakeholder relationship management framework for the Botswana construction industry.

Methods for Modeling and Evaluating Construction Disputes: A Critical Review

Cost and time are the targeted outcomes of any successful construction project, and disputes over these two key factors constitute a major obstacle to successful project outcomes. As escalated levels of dispute are becoming increasingly unavoidable, the construction industry is aiming to develop dispute identification strategies to reduce and eliminate them during construction. However, existing research on construction disputes appears to give more consideration to dispute resolution than it does to avoiding conflict and preventing disputes from arising in the first place. This paper aims to minimize disputes during construction by addressing the causes of disputes during the pre-construction phase. As an integral part of ongoing research, it presents the results of a thorough study encompassing a critical review of previous research on construction disputes. Several conflicts and disputes are categorized and analyzed to allow for the future determination of their direct and/or indirect links to the pre-construction phase. This review also elaborates on the different methods of research adopted in the literature and the relevant research tools utilized. The research highlights the use of fuzzy logic coupled with structural equation modeling (SEM) as a recognized and valid modeling tool in construction projects, as it models and establishes an appropriate framework for dispute modeling and evaluation. The findings of this review therefore call for a further investigation of and deep research into the relationship between the characteristics of the pre-construction phase and the types of disputes and their likelihood of taking place during the construction phase itself. These findings can be utilized to develop an operational framework for predicting dispute occurrences during construction. The paper concludes by providing a developed hybrid fuzzy-SEM model to quantify the probability of dispute occurrence in construction projects, thereby enabling project stakeholders to predict, identify, and properly manage dispute occurrences during the pre-construction phase.

Analyzing the Constructs of Stakeholder Engagement towards Renewable Energy Projects Success in Malaysia: A PLS Approach

Stakeholder engagement is increasingly becoming a part of practice in delivering successful project outcomes. However, there is a limitation of studies on how the stakeholder engagement approaches are being implemented primarily towards mega-scale projects such as renewable energy projects. This paper intends to fill the gap by analyzing the relationship between ten identified constructs of stakeholder engagement and renewable energy project success. Data was collected through survey questionnaires applied to the Renewable Energy Power Providers (REPPs) in Malaysia, using stratified random sampling. SPSS ver.23 and SmartPLS 3.0 was applied to test measurement and structural models of this study. The findings revealed that effective communication, continuous consultation, understand intention and behavior, implement plans, build good relationships, analyze changes, risk mitigation, compromise conflicts, understand project success and good project governance were significant critical constructs of stakeholder engagement that were confirmed as drivers that influenced the renewable energy project successfully. It is apparent that this study allows the contribution to the body of knowledge of project management and offers some important insights into limited literature on stakeholder engagement. This study also shed light on the key stakeholders’ groups in developing successful renewable energy projects.

Procurement strategy and outcomes of a new universities project in South Africa

Purpose Construction project management outcomes in the literature typically portray significant deviations from expected outcomes. Various theories from studies that focus superficially on causes of project cost and time overruns rather than root causes have not addressed this problem. The need is for a better understanding of how procurement strategy provides a fundamental means to address this problem. The purpose of this paper is to examine the procurement strategy used to deliver a new universities project in South Africa within budget and to ascertain its influence on the outcomes. Design/methodology/approach A case study was designed to provide a comprehensive and intensive methodology to identify and examine the construction procurement strategy and its influence on the project outcomes. Document analyses and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data on the construction procurement strategy and outcomes from the client team. Findings The evidence brought forward demonstrates that the successful outcome was largely a consequence of the client team, procurement strategy and systems of delivery. However, the collaborative procurement strategy formed the basis of the successful project delivery and outcomes. A general observation from the data is that an appropriate construction procurement strategy developed by an experienced client team and proactively implemented by an integrated delivery team working collaboratively is likely to achieve the intended project outcomes. Practical implications The findings show three critical keys to achieving intended outcomes – people, procurement strategy and systems of delivery at the governance, portfolio, programme and project management levels. Originality/value The value of this paper lies in using a comprehensive methodology to study the relationship between procurement strategy and outcomes. The findings can be applied by client teams to achieve better outcomes and value for money in infrastructure projects.

Enabling a CCS industry through research at the CO2CRC National Otway Research Facility

The CO2CRC Otway Research Facility is Australia’s first demonstration of carbon capture and storage. The Otway Research Facility was established in 2007 to demonstrate scientific, technical, legal, regulatory and social aspects of successfully operating a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. The facility is also globally unique as it has its own CO2 production well (Buttress-1) on site. For more than a decade, experiments with strong national and international collaboration at the Otway Research Facility continue to provide strong value to an emerging global CCS industry, not only due to the activities taking place, but also because of the specific scientific, social, political and regulatory environments at the time of execution. The Otway facility has one of world’s most comprehensive characterisation, injection, monitoring and verification programs, and its successful project outcomes have not only met and helped further guide CCS legislation within Australia, but also assisted underpinning the regulatory and business case for large commercial CCS projects in Australia and overseas. In addition, the Otway Capture Facility is a hub for CO2 capture research for high pressure and high CO2 content natural gases. Tests are being conducted using adsorption and three different types of membrane-based gas separation technologies. These technologies have the potential to become available for natural gas processing on production platforms and floating production storage and offloading vessels.

Newness and Outcomes in Commodity-Driven New-Product Development Projects: A Survey in the Norwegian Manufacturing Industry

Based on longtime experience in the global automotive industry, we have observed steadily higher expectations in the execution of product development projects regarding time, budget and quality. This is particularly challenging when different stakeholders, including customers, design, manufacturing and suppliers, impose changes to the agreed product content late in the project. This paper addresses commodity-driven automotive projects and the impact of externally and internally driven changes in the project content—which we denote ‘newness’—on performance outcomes. Aiming to falsify our initial hypothesis that such newness in project content during new product development will have negative impact on project outcomes, we examine data from Norwegian companies obtained by surveying their experience with project outcomes relative to imposed changes in content. The participants were asked about the different level of innovation and project specific circumstances perceived forming the basis for successful and unsuccessful project outcomes. The data show a significant positive correlation between newness and unsuccessful project outcomes, whose underlying factors are examined and discussed further in the paper.