Project Management Techniques Research Articles

EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS OF WATERFALL AND AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES – A CASE STUDY FROM MACAU'S CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

The adoption of project management techniques is a crucial decision for corporate governance in construction companies since the management of areas such as risk, cost, and communications is essential for the success or failure of an endeavor. Nevertheless, different frameworks based on traditional or agile methodologies are available with several approaches, which may create several ways to manage projects. The primary purpose of this work is to investigate the adequate project management methodology for the construction industry from a general perspective and consider a case study from Macau. The methodology considered semi-structured interviews and a survey comparing international and local project managers from the construction industry. The interviews indicate that most construction project managers still follow empirical methods with no specific methodology but consider the adoption of traditional waterfall approaches. In contrast, according to the survey, most project managers and construction managers agree that the project's efficacy needs to increase, namely in planning, waste minimization, communication increase, and focus on the Client's feedback. In addition, there seems to be a clear indication that agile methodology could be implemented in several types of projects, including hospitality development projects. A hybrid development approach based on the Waterfall and Agile methodologies as a tool for the project management area may provide a more suitable methodology for project managers to follow.

Enhancing Team Skills as a Project Management Strategy

Project management has become more difficult due to shifting consumer demands and technical development. Recognizing the benefits of high-performing project teams in delivering effective project outcomes is critical. This research examines the advantages of enhancing team skills in industries where people collaborate to achieve common goals. A thorough analysis of the research on project management strategies, team dynamics, and skill development was carried out. Additionally, empirical data was gathered through surveys and interviews with influential businesses' senior executives. The study showed a significant link between team skills and project performance. The statistical analysis of the survey data supported the premise that investing in team skill development significantly adds to project performance. The findings clarify that improving team skills should be regarded as a core project management technique. Team skills is essential for departments and cross-functional teams to perform effectively in businesses of all sizes. Organizations can foster a culture of continuous improvement, flexibility, and innovation by implementing various strategies such as training workshops and agile project management techniques. According to the study, prioritizing team skill development is crucial for maintaining a competitive advantage and effectively navigating the always-changing problems in businesses. Industry stakeholders should understand the need for technical proficiency and soft skills within project teams as project complexity rises. By enhancing team skills, project managers can optimize project delivery, risk mitigation, and long-term success in the industries. This study contends for a paradigm change in project management techniques, highlighting the value of team skills as a critical differentiator for the expansion and success of organizations.

Monitoring of geotechnical and underground construction facilities as part of risk management

Any construction of geotechnical and underground facilities is associated with risk factors. In order to manage these factors, a list of measures to reduce them must be provided at the project stage. One of the main measures is monitoring. The article describes an effective method of risk management by means of monitoring and scientific and technical project management, classifications of potential hazards for aboveground and underground construction are given. Using color gradation in tabular form the categories of hazards are given and the regulations and actions to reduce them are described. This paper describes in detail the results obtained at real objects during risk management by means of monitoring and scientific and technical support at each stage of construction.

Classification of success factors of youth entrepreneurship project

The success of the development of youth initiatives in the field of starting and implementing entrepreneurial activities depends on various reasons and factors. In the process of introducing a business idea and establishing a new young company and its development, a young entrepreneur is surrounded by people, companies of different spheres of activity and ownership rights, financial and credit organisations, state bodies. In the article on the basis of studying the influence of various factors on the positive result of entrepreneurial initiatives of young people and support of their undertakings the qualification of factors is carried out in the following categories: young entrepreneur, state, business environment, business knowledge, educational organisations and financial sector. The paper applies a graphical method of analysing a number of interrelated factors or causes that influence the success of the project. A cause and effect diagram of successful youth entrepreneurship in the initial stages and subsequent stages of its implementation is constructed. However, the important or significant factors depend on the sector of the economy in which the young entrepreneur wishes to start a business. But common to all entrepreneurial projects is the knowledge that a young entrepreneur must possess. Knowledge of laws, field of activity, industry and the ability to apply project management tools and techniques. That is why a separate group "business knowledge" was singled out, despite the fact that some knowledge points are also present in the categories "Young entrepreneur" and "Educational organisations".

Project management and supply chain 4.0 improvement: the case of infant formulas in the face of the challenge of COVID-19

The changes in the environment make it necessary for organizations to prepare to face in the most effective and flexible way without negatively affecting the quality of the products or services offered, making this area of opportunity become growth and a competitive advantage against to the other companies.While Industry 4.0 has been a critical factor in overcoming the challenges of pandemic restrictions and improving productivity by providing continuous operations during the crisis, the smart supply chain has enabled a constant stock of products to reach their destination. Despite the efforts and success of the Industry 4.0 and the Intelligent Supply Chain during the pandemic to meet market needs, stockouts were still significant, making it a critical point to review project and risk management tools and techniques in its operations. Smart digital technologies and techniques have been useful in developing strategies to mitigate the effects of emergencies; however, these strategies are still highly vulnerable to crises of this magnitude. That is why the aim of this paper is to show the importance of adequate project and risk management within Industry 4.0 to achieve a flexible, intelligent, and resilient supply chain.

Evaluation of design maturity models for usability in the it industry

Purpose: The ability of an enterprise to execute projects, using the tools appropriate to do so, is called project maturity. On the other hand, at a higher level of detail, it is seen as the appropriate selection of a portfolio of projects, in such a way that the implementation of given projects is directed to support the goals and strategies of the enterprise, as well as the ability to apply appropriate project management tools and techniques. Accelerating changes in the company's environment, cause them to be forced to implement project management, in order to increase flexibility and standardization, so that activities become more professional. In sum, this translates into better financial health of the enterprise, a better position among competitors and, what is related to this, gaining new markets for their products and services. Project maturity models provide a starting point for conducting an analysis of the current state of the enterprise and indicate the direction or directions in which the enterprise should develop. The purpose of this article is to present the results of a usability analysis of project maturity models for an IT enterprise. The following models are presented in it: PMMM (The Kerzner Project Management Maturity Model) - developed by H. Kerzner; P3M3 (Portfolio, Program and Project Management Maturity Model) - developed by the Office of Government Commerce; OPM3 (Organizational Project Management Maturity Model) - developed by the Project Management Institute; P2MM (PRINCE2 Maturity Model) - developed by the Office of Government Commerce. The essence of project maturity, the project approach and its operation and improvement in management systems is also discussed. Design/methodology/approach: The article is exploratory in nature, and the primary research was conducted using the expert interview method. Research limitations/implications: Future research should focus on further analysis of both design and process maturity models. Practical implications: The research discussed in this article can contribute to further empirical research, including, among other things, the initiation of work on the development of a project maturity model aimed at the IT industry. Social implications: The practical implications of the research involve the possibility of using IT to improve existing maturity models and practical implementation in IT companies. Originality/value: The main value of the article is the analysis of models past IT practitioners, and the overview presented is based on existing and used maturity models. Keywords: project management, project maturity, project maturity models, enterprise maturity. Category of the paper: General review, Research paper.

Digital Skills for Project Managers: A Systematic Literature Review

Nowadays, project managers are facing various challenges related to volatile and dynamic environment. They should be able to manage successfully changing requirements, budget constraints and multicultural teams across several countries. Due to Covid19 pandemic context, digital skills have become even more important in order to manage remote teams and to handle increasingly complex projects. In this paper, we've conducted a systematic literature review so as to explore the main digital skills which enhance project managers’ efficiency. By analyzing the main extracted concepts from the papers resulting from our systematic literature review, we've concluded that adopting digital skills is as important as technical classic project management skills and soft skills. Also, we've performed a quantitative assessment of the 15 selected articles by using bibliometric tools. Indeed, our clustering analysis on the selected papers confirms the rise of digitals skills importance since the Covid19 pandemic. In light of the above, we believe that adopting and mastering digital skills is a requirement for current project managers in order to succeed in a changing and volatile environment. Digital skills will undoubtedly play a central role for project managers to stand out and thrive in this new normal.

Jumpstart: Project management techniques to finally finish a LibGuides update

Jumpstart: Project management techniques to finally finish a LibGuides update

MCDM approach to investigate the effectiveness of SCRUM events in minimizing risk factors in project management

Traditional project management methods have been used for many years in the implementation and management of projects. With the publication of the agile manifesto in 2001, the interest in agile methods increased and successful results were obtained in the execution and solution of complex projects with agile approaches. Agile approach consists of different structures that can be named as framework or method. Among these agile methods, which are selected and applied according to the suitability and purpose of the project, the most frequently preferred one is SCRUM. In this study, SCRUM, an agile project management technique that has been used frequently in recent years in order to develop a flexible project management process, has been examined, and the effectiveness of the events of the SCRUM technique in minimizing the risks that arise in project management has been evaluated. Determining the effectiveness of these SCRUM events, which each agile project team implements in turn, is very important for the correct and effective allocation of resources. For this purpose, a multi-criteria decision-making model has been proposed to evaluate the effectiveness of 4 SCRUM events within the scope of this study. While the importance weights of the 24 project management risk factors proposed in the solution phase of the created model were determined by the SWARA method, the SCRUM events were evaluated with the WASPAS, COPRAS and EDAS methods and the solution values found by three different methods were compared.

Managing Cost and Schedule Evaluation of a Construction Project via BIM Technology and Experts’ Points of View

This research examines the beneficial contributions of project management to manage the cost and schedule of construction projects providing higher accuracy and reliability levels. The study depended on two main research approaches quantitative (online survey questionnaires) and qualitative (interviews) research techniques. The questionnaires and interviews aim to predict the importance of BIM technology in managing the cost and schedule of construction projects. Also, a third research method is employed, which represents a case study of a building, to make a comparison in terms of accuracy, effort, and budget of quantity take-off between manual (hand calculations) and numerical (REVIT Software estimations) approaches. The results revealed that adopting project management principles could significantly cut considerable budget, time, and effort to execute and complete construction projects. Also, project management is vital to prevent any financial losses or resource problems resulting from cost overruns or delays. Moreover, the results indicated that using modern project management techniques (including BIM technology and REVIT Software) could support engineers and project managers calculate the cost and schedule of their projects more accurately, avoiding errors. Besides, the results confirmed that using the REVIT software could aid project managers and civil engineers in evaluating the budget and time required to accomplish the construction project with less effort, time, and cost and provide a lower number of human errors compared with hand calculations. It was found that the manual and numerical results are greatly approximate to each other. Still, the results of the REVIT software offered more significant precision because of the accuracy in the modeling and the few engineers’ mistakes in calculating quantities manually.

ФОРМУВАННЯ СИСТЕМИ УПРАВЛІННЯ ЯКІСТЮ ЯК ЧИННИКА КОНКУРЕНТОСПРОМОЖНОСТІ ПРОДУКЦІЇ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ АГРАРНОЇ ГАЛУЗІ

Different authors and researchers describe personnel potential in different ways, noting those aspects of personnel that are relevant to them. The disadvantage of this approach is that the content of this potential is lost. A review of the research made it possible to identify four approaches to the study of the content of personnel potential: according to the subject component or characteristics of full-time employees; resource, which considers personnel potential from the point of view of existing and potential personnel, creative, personal, etc.; competence, which relies on knowledge, abilities and skills, social qualities of employees; socio-psychological. In particular, researchers do not focus on the managerial, leadership and mentoring skills of the research personnel. Turning to representatives of agribusiness, one of the significant shortcomings of project management in the agricultural sector is lack of project management techniques, ignorance of the subject area, insufficiently developed communication functions. That is why, in the course of researching the etymology and content of "personnel", we consider it important to clarify "personnel" through the professional and qualification competences of personnel, leadership skills, the ability to take control of the process (management competence), the ability to form skills, teach, instruct, prepare others (mentoring competence), the ability to unite, form relationships, connections (communication competence). In the mention of "personnel" one can hear about the "personnel" feeling of personnel, personnel value, personnel potential, which should be revealed in order to investigate the development of the personnel potential of an agricultural enterprise.

COVID-19 Struggle and Post-COVID-19 Recovery: Exploring the Governance, Success, and Digital Transition in Construction Projects in Serbia

Construction, one of the largest global economic sectors, has been severely challenged by the economic uncertainties brought on by COVID-19. Since 2020, pandemic-related disruptions and remedial measures have made its historically low performance even more difficult. As a result, recent research mainly addressed these negative consequences on the construction sector. In contrast, this paper aims to identify mitigation strategies recognised as good practices on construction projects in Serbia, in addition to detecting disruptions and quantifying their effects on cost and time overruns. A particular emphasis is given to how the pandemic hastened digital transition and encouraged the adoption of modern project management practices. The research was carried out through a survey of two rounds, conducted one year apart, to obtain an in-depth overview. The findings indicated that, although it had an impact on construction projects, the pandemic was not particularly harmful, because of widely used remedial measures and modern project management techniques. However, the pandemic did not modernise project implementation substantially nor significantly increase the use of cutting-edge digital technologies. Nevertheless, it encouraged project managers to think about introducing new approaches in project management, where digitisation is the new normal. The research findings may indicate to academia and practitioners what strategies may assure a project’s implementation even in enormously changed conditions, such as during a pandemic.

Problems of course design management in the formation of professional competencies of IT specialists

The authors analyze the relevance of the object of research, which is dictated by the ever-increasing role of competence-based education both at the stage of training at a higher educational institution and in the learning process throughout the professional path of IT specialists. The article is devoted to the specifics of planning and managing the process of creating course projects by future IT specialists during their studies at a higher educational institution. The emphasis in the article is on the aspect that the process of managing the direction of course design is in many ways similar to the process of creating IT products, which undoubtedly needs to be taken into account when determining the difficulties and features of managing the direction of course design of IT specialists. During the research, the main objective and subjective causes of difficulties during the process of creating a course project for students of IT specialties were identified, and ways of leveling them were determined. As a result of the analysis of project management techniques and practices, the critical chain method is identified as an effective tool for managing the planning and implementation of tasks in project activities. The purpose of the study is to study methods and practices in project activities and adapt their features to the practice of developing future IT specialists course projects as mini IT projects with a minimum set of requirements and participants, which can undoubtedly be considered as a mini model of a real IT project. The article analyzes the factors influencing the unfavorable course of execution and completion of course projects, highlights the main artifacts of course design, determines the length of the project buffer by the critical chain method. Based on the results of the study, practical recommendations are given for the effective planning and management of course design of future IT specialists.

Mapping business analytics skillsets with industries: empirical evidence from online job advertisements

ABSTRACT As a large accumulation of data is captured and contained, organisations find that the invaluable information can be used to improve company performance, leverage competitive advantages, and create business values. Using business analytics (BA) job advertisements collected from a recruiting website, this study identified knowledge domains and skillsets of BA professionals. Additionally, it examined the relative importance of these BA skills in different industries such as Financial and Information Technology services. The results of Text mining analysis indicate that data modelling, statistical software, visualisation, forecasting, and database are the top ranked BA technical skills. In addition, process skills such as communication, project management, and financial techniques are crucial. The association rules analysis recognises the relative importance of BA skillsets across different industries. The findings contribute to the employability and professional development of new graduates; additionally, they provide insights to BA academic curriculum design and human resources management.

Complexity and Dynamics in Construction Project Organizations

Despite the significant influence of organizational elements on the performance of construction projects, these elements are regarded as fixed, or reflected in an implicit manner, in current project management techniques. This study investigated how the organizational dynamics formed within a project organization based on complexity theory are described, and how organizational factors affect project performance during a construction project. It also presented agent-based simulation (ABS) as a means to understand organizational dynamics in construction project organizations. The author found that manager optimism bias toward organizational factors leads to unrealistic project planning and execution, ultimately having negative effects on project performance, and that developing ABS could enhance the understanding of the organizational aspect in the construction management process. This study is significant, as it enhances the understanding of the organizational aspect of a construction project, and presents a new direction for reflecting the organizational aspect in the project management process.

Evaluating the Management of Critical Success Factors of Residential Complex’s Projects and their impact on Cost, Time, and Quality in Erbil Governorate

Background: The characteristics of any project require a specific type of management. Companies and project management associations all over the world started to develop and follow these standards. Best practices in project management, if followed, may increase the chances of success in achieving goals when dealing with projects. Many studies and researchers worked earlier on critical success factors (CSF). Each type of project has its own CSF that should be considered during construction. Objective: This study focuses on covering the notion of residential complex projects (RCP) success according to two fundamental components (success criteria and critical success factors by identifying the critical success factors (CSF) on the basis of their large impact on the golden triangle (cost, time, and quality), and calculating the degree of actual practicing of each factor. Methods: A questionnaire survey has been adopted and distributed to a sample of 142 stakeholders involved in the construction of residential complex projects to calculate their impact on time, cost, and quality. Moreover, a case study for 20 constructed projects has been adopted to evaluate the average fulfilments of 8 identified management success criteria and 8 identified project success criteria using a questionnaire survey. Finally, the degree of management success and project success for each project has been calculated. Results: The results reveal 17 CSF ranging between large and very large impact on managing residential complex projects. The highest rank is realistic cost estimate and projects completed within the budget, adequate risk identification and management procedures, adequate project management tools, techniques, and standards. The study revealed that project success criteria differ from one project to another and the relative priorities among critical success factors may change for different projects even if they are of same type not only among different types of projects. The results show that management success doesn’t guarantee project success because success means different things to different people. User’s satisfaction is essential for project success. Conclusion: A scientific base should be used to identify CSF with a significant impact on the golden triangle and combine it with project success criteria. That is the classic answer for the measurement success, because it could be easily applied and normally gathers consensus within stakeholders. This study will contribute an improvement to the existing management system.

Requirements Analysis for Development of Off-Site Construction Project Management System: Focusing on Precast Concrete Construction

There has been increasing interest in the off-site construction (OSC) method in response to issues such as stagnant labor productivity, shortage of skilled workers, challenging site management, heightened safety and health-related regulations, and the push for carbon neutrality. Although efficient performance of an OSC project requires development of management techniques, and application of a management system that reflects the characteristics of the OSC projects, related technologies remain in their infancy. In this study, targeting precast concrete (PC) construction, which is one of the representative construction types of the OSC method, we derive the characteristics of OSC project management in six aspects: production place and time, production process, production method of construction, production method, production entity and facilities, and production environment. Based on this result, we further derived the requirements for developing an OSC project management system. Furthermore, based on the derived requirements, we constructed a system development scenario for the establishment of an installation plan and shipment requests. The managerial characteristics and requirements of the OSC project, presented in this study, provide the theoretical basis for developing OSC project management techniques, as well as guidance for the development of the OSC project management system in the future.

Quantifying labour impact cost due to change orders

Change orders are an integral part of most construction projects. Their impact on labour productivity is well established in literature and practice. However, quantifying change order impact on labour productivity continues to be a challenging issue and a source of dispute between Employers and Contractors. The currently used methods in quantifying the change order impact on labour productivity are based on statistical models, historical data, or unimpacted labour productivity period. Therefore, there is a need to expand these methods to include a standardized method to quantify the change order impact. This article presents a new method to quantify the labour productivity loss due to change order impact on the project base scope. The proposed method deploys many project management techniques such as scheduling, change order analysis, earned value, progress tracking and cost estimation to accurately estimate the loss of labour productivity due to change orders. The method was implemented during the construction phase of an electrical project to confirm its applicability and usefulness to the construction industry. The project parties were able to prove that the change orders had impacted labour productivity and accurately quantified their impact.

Determining the Causes of Fluctuation in Productivity in Construction Projects

Construction projects are sophisticated in nature and require close attention and project management techniques to complete projects on time by monitoring and controlling the project resources. Productivity is one of the significant factors affecting the project life-cycle in terms of time and cost. In this study, actual productivities of construction tasks such as gypsum board, suspended ceiling, ceramic, gypsum plaster, satin plaster, paint and thermal insulation board were determined at one of the Research and Training Hospitals in Istanbul. The site records were obtained from the daily reports reported in February, March, April and May. The laborers working for the concerning tasks worked 8 hours a day. Afterwards, the actual unit man-hour data for each activity obtained from the project reports were compared with the planned man-hours and unit man-hour data provided by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. In the wake of the comparison of planned, actual and ministry data, the factors affecting productivity were examined and necessary suggestions were made in order to improve productivity domain in the practice

Project management in the development of dual learning in the education system of Kazakhstan

Purpose of the research. This article is aimed to study the world experience in the application of project management and its approaches in the fi eld of education and in the system of dual education in the Republic of Kazakhstan too. The rapidly developing technologies of the labor market are tightening the requirements for young professionals, so the authors propose to consider new management approaches that will help educational organizations train highly qualifi ed personnel, so necessary for the labor market. The proposed approaches (predictive, adaptive and hybrid) include a set of project management techniques and methodologies that have the potential to solve all necessary organizational issues. Methodology. The research methodology was implemented through a literature review of scientifi c articles, according to the following keywords: «project management in education», «waterfall approach in education», «Agile in education» and «hybrid approach in education». Originality / value of the research. The relevance of the research topic lies in the potential for solving the social problem associated with youth unemployment in the Republic of Kazakhstan among the NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) generation. The originality of the research is confi rmed and substantiated by a small number of scientifi c studies and articles that reveal the use of project management to organize the educational process, especially in the process of organizing a system of dual education in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Findings. The results of the article are the authors' recommendations on the application of the necessary and appropriate project management approaches at certain stages of the implementation of dual training for its effective development in the country.