Adoption of Good Project Management Practices in the International Cooperation Sector in Colombia

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer and explore innovative strategies for building and sustaining digital initiatives at information organizations. Although the examples provided are based on case studies at an academic library, the practices are rooted in project management principles and therefore applicable to all library types, museums, archives and other information organizations. The innovative strategies on staffing and funding will be particularly useful to organizations faced with monetary and staffing shortages and highlights collaborative management practices. Design/methodology/approach Concept of strategic and collaborative management practices led by an experienced project manager cross-trained in management, technical and soft skills enables the successful development and sustainability of digital initiatives. A cross-trained librarian’s management practices of leading the Digital Scholarship Initiatives at a particular university will be examined as a case study and aided with literature supporting the need for digital initiatives leaders to have training beyond the credentials of librarian, curator, archivist or historian in the technologically savvy twenty-first century ecology of information centers. Findings The innovative strategies implemented in the case study yielded increases in the number of hours of digital lab usage, digital projects developed, seminars or workshops presented, attendance of library hosted events, number of programs implemented and awareness on campus, all with limited staff and funding. The variety and level of production and marketing is instrumental to the growth and sustainability of digital initiatives. Practical implications The innovative strategies emphasized in this paper use the concept of borrowed or shared time to start staffing needs and is particularly helpful to organizations that do not have a strong line of dedicated staffing or funding to begin building digital initiatives. Offers small ways to start immediately while setting the stage to plan for big ideas for the future. Originality/value This paper suggests a credentialed information expert, such as a librarian, archivist or curator, that is, also cross-trained in project management and technology is the key to not only successfully leading digital initiatives but is instrumental for its sustainability and the marketing, growth and future of digital initiatives.

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Using action research in innovation project management: building legitimacy and organizational learning in an SME during a merger process

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business ◽

10.1108/ijmpb-02-2020-0044 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Constance Elizabeth Kampf ◽

Charlotte J. Brandt ◽

Christopher G. Kampf

Keyword(s):

Project Management ◽

Organizational Learning ◽

Action Research ◽

Management Practices ◽

Innovation Process ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Organizational Level ◽

Content Type ◽

Innovation Project

PurposeThe purpose is to explore how the process of action research (AR) can support building legitimacy and organizational learning in innovation project management and portfolio practices in merger contexts.Design/methodology/approachMeta-reflection on method issues in Action Research through an action research case study with an innovation group during an organizational change process. This case demonstrates an example of an action research cycle focused on building practitioner legitimacy rather than problem-solving.FindingsKey findings include (1) demonstrating how AR can be used for building legitimacy through visualizing the innovation process, and embedding those visuals in top management practices of the organization; and (2) demonstrating how AR can work as an organizational learning tool in merger contexts.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses on an action research cooperation during a two-and-a-half-year period. Thus, findings offer the depth of a medium term case study. The processes of building legitimacy represent this particular case, and can be investigated in other organizational contexts to see the extent to which these issues can be generalized.Practical implicationsFor researchers, this paper offers an additional type of AR cycle to consider in their research design which can be seen as demonstrating a form of interplay between practitioner action and organizational level legitimacy. For practitioners, this paper demonstrates a connection between legitimacy and organizational learning in innovation contexts. The discussion of how visuals were co-created and used for building legitimacy for an innovation process that differs from the standard stage gate model demonstrates how engaging in AR research can contribute to developing visuals as resources for building legitimacy and organizational learning based on connections between theory and practice.Originality/valueThis case rethinks AR practice for innovation project management contexts to include legitimacy and organizational learning. This focus on legitimacy building from organizational learning and knowledge conversion contributes to our understanding of the soft side of innovation project management. Legitimacy is demonstrated to be a key concern for innovation project management practices.

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Project Management in Development Cooperation. Non-Governmental Organizations

Innovar ◽

10.15446/innovar.v25n56.48989 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 25 (56) ◽

pp. 53-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Maricela I. Montes-Guerra ◽

Aida R. De-Miguel ◽

M. Amaya Pérez-Ezcurdia ◽

Faustino N. Gimena ◽

H. Mauricio Díez-Silva

Keyword(s):

Project Management ◽

Management Practices ◽

Project Performance ◽

Project Managers ◽

Development Cooperation ◽

Governmental Organizations ◽

Non Governmental Organizations ◽

Applicable Knowledge ◽

The Impact ◽

Positive Effect

This article analyzes the adoption of project management practices in development cooperation NGOs and their influence on project performance. This paper illustrates the impact in the implementation of methodologies, techniques and tools on outcomes, measured by success criteria of several projects recently implemented. Information from the project managers of the organizations was collected, and complemented by a literature review. We analyzed the correlation among the variables that determine the adoption of a project, and the criteria that determine its success. The positive effect of project management adoption in the performance of cooperation projects is demonstrated, in spite of the low use of methodologies, techniques and tools within the sector. The article shows the importance of project management in cooperation and aid projects, with the purpose of increasing researchers' awareness about the field as applicable knowledge and about the benefits of its use in the sector. The paper shows that project management can improve project efficiency and accountability in other sectors.

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Project Management Practices in Private Organizations

Project Management Journal ◽

10.1177/8756972818810966 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 6-22 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Anabela Tereso ◽

Pedro Ribeiro ◽

Gabriela Fernandes ◽

Isabel Loureiro ◽

Mafalda Ferreira

Keyword(s):

Project Management ◽

Management Practices ◽

Private Organizations

This article aims to make a contribution to theory, as well as to practice, by identifying which project management practices are used by most private organizations in general and by sector of activity. The influence of practitioners’ characteristics in the choice of project management practices and their use in groups are also analyzed. The results show that the most used project management practices are kick-off meetings, activity lists, progress meetings, Gantt charts, and baseline plans; however, differences between activity sectors and practitioners’ characteristics were found. The results also indicate that the most used project management practices are, in fact, used as toolsets.

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Effect of Project Management Practices on Project Success in Make-to-Order Manufacturing Organizations

Indian Journal of Science and Technology ◽

10.17485/ijst/2016/v9i21/94818 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 9 (21) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ahmed Fraz ◽

Asim Waris ◽

Saad Afzal ◽

Mohsin Jamil ◽

Syed Tasweer Hussain Shah ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Project Management ◽

Management Practices ◽

Project Success ◽

Make To Order ◽

Manufacturing Organizations

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The use of adaptive project management practices and methodologies in the development of a professional doctoral program

Revista de Administração da UFSM ◽

10.5902/1983465942849 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 44-62

Author(s):

Gabriel Barroso De Azevedo ◽

Emerson Antônio Maccari ◽

Nader Asgary

Keyword(s):

Project Management ◽

Management Practices ◽

Single Case ◽

Doctoral Program ◽

Evaluation Process ◽

Management Control ◽

Management Model ◽

Primary Data ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Management Tools

Purpose – Higher education institutions have used more and more project management tools to run development projects to create new professional postgraduate programs. The purpose of this research was to propose an adaptive project management model for creating a professional doctoral course in Business Administration, in order to fulfill the goals established by CAPES.Design/methodology/approach – For such, the qualitative approach was favored with the adoption of the single case study method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with academic coordinators who are experts in the field in addition to the gathering of documents, thus using data triangulation to explore the phenomenon. The analysis of primary data and the analysis of documents from the Coordinating Agency for Advanced Training of Graduate Personnel (CAPES) served as inputs for analyzing and interpreting the results.Findings – As a result, we developed an adaptive project management model with the following characteristics: a) constant planning of activities, occurring in every cycle of interactions; b) iteration using short activities, allowing for more control of the project; c) validations performed continuously to ensure the goals proposed by CAPES are reached; and d) adaptable to change of scope during the execution phase of the project life cycle.Research limitations/implications – Among the limitations of the study is the lack of other studies related to the use of adaptive project management methodologies for developing postgraduate programs. And for future researches, we point out the need for applying the proposed model, to verify its efficacy and adherence to the development of a professional doctoral course.Originality/value – This study contributes to the academy by highlighting the need for project management as a tool and technique for the development of stricto sensu professional graduate programs. In this way, HEIs will be able to use a model of adaptive project management practices to achieve the objectives proposed by the CAPES evaluation process. As a result, HEIs are strengthened in the management, control and monitoring of the progress of their programs.

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