Thread: Managing context in project environments

<p>Creative design agencies are unique organisations as various disciplines and priorities combine to deliver solutions in often complex client problems. A suite of software platforms is used in the day-to-day operations of project-based organisations, however there still appears to be a disconnect between communication and shared understanding. While the market for project management software is saturated, a need exists for a complementary platform that can help encourage shared understanding throughout the client project lifecycle. This project aims to explore issues of boundary spanning, project knowledge management, and communication with DNA Design serving as a project partner. In this exploratory research process, a qualitative research approach revealed several issues revolving around inadequate handover processes, low work self-efficacy, and a lack of alignment between priorities. The core finding of this project found that while practitioners do communicate throughout the project lifecycle, there is no one best fit for all project members and despite the high levels of communication, many practitioners feel they lack the necessary information and understanding in a client project. From this core finding, the product development strategy pivoted. Instead of developing and implementing a knowledge repository, it could be more beneficial for DNA and other project-based organisations to consider strategies and technologies to actively manage expectations and understanding within a client project. The proposed solution, Thread, aims to track each project team members’ attitudes at a regular interval to map the stage of the project lifecycle and provide DNA a bird’s-eye view of the user experience of project team members to allow for active project management during the project lifecycle and a quantifiable post-project review process. It is hoped the recommendations and proposed solution can be scaled to other project- environment organisations as the challenges of knowledge sharing and communication are felt heavily in multi-disciplinary teams and organisations. As the future of organisations are moving towards specialised knowledge workers, it is increasingly important that staff are aware of the context of the project to be empowered and productive.</p>

Thread: Managing context in project environments

<p>Creative design agencies are unique organisations as various disciplines and priorities combine to deliver solutions in often complex client problems. A suite of software platforms is used in the day-to-day operations of project-based organisations, however there still appears to be a disconnect between communication and shared understanding. While the market for project management software is saturated, a need exists for a complementary platform that can help encourage shared understanding throughout the client project lifecycle. This project aims to explore issues of boundary spanning, project knowledge management, and communication with DNA Design serving as a project partner. In this exploratory research process, a qualitative research approach revealed several issues revolving around inadequate handover processes, low work self-efficacy, and a lack of alignment between priorities. The core finding of this project found that while practitioners do communicate throughout the project lifecycle, there is no one best fit for all project members and despite the high levels of communication, many practitioners feel they lack the necessary information and understanding in a client project. From this core finding, the product development strategy pivoted. Instead of developing and implementing a knowledge repository, it could be more beneficial for DNA and other project-based organisations to consider strategies and technologies to actively manage expectations and understanding within a client project. The proposed solution, Thread, aims to track each project team members’ attitudes at a regular interval to map the stage of the project lifecycle and provide DNA a bird’s-eye view of the user experience of project team members to allow for active project management during the project lifecycle and a quantifiable post-project review process. It is hoped the recommendations and proposed solution can be scaled to other project- environment organisations as the challenges of knowledge sharing and communication are felt heavily in multi-disciplinary teams and organisations. As the future of organisations are moving towards specialised knowledge workers, it is increasingly important that staff are aware of the context of the project to be empowered and productive.</p>

Integrating Construction 4.0 Technologies: A Four-Layer Implementation Plan

This research explores the current state of Construction 4.0 and discusses a four-layer implementation of Construction 4.0 in the industry. The research methodology consists of an extensive literature review to gain insights about Construction 4.0 and frame the four-layer implementation plan. A case study is also presented to showcase the proposed implementation plan. Nine Construction 4.0 technologies were discussed, their integration throughout the project lifecycle was presented in a roadmap, their integration and connectivity with one another were outlined in an interaction roadmap, and the requirements necessary for achieving the 4.0 transformation were articulated. However, the proposed implementation plan is focused on nine Construction 4.0 technologies. The research presents a comprehensive plan for integrating Construction 4.0 technologies into the industry and serves as a guideline to help construction companies better understand the implications of Construction 4.0.

National Dairy deriving value through project management

Complexity academic level Study level: MBA and Executive Education Applicability: This case can be taught in the project management course. It will cover the project-planning phase, which is an iterative or progressive elaboration for the entire project lifecycle. The case will help in discussing how project management is an important discipline to manage projects and stakeholders effectively. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 2: Built environment.

Building and construction quality: systematic literature review, thematic and gap analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine, review and analyse the current literature on building and construction quality and determine the related themes and gaps.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review approach was adopted on the building quality literature, and keywords such as “construction” or “building”; “defect” and “quality” or “rework” were searched through the Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases. A number of articles were found and filtered by title, abstract and keyword relevancy. Further articles were cross-referenced from these and again filtered by title, abstract and keyword relevancy. The time period for the search was 2000–2020. A total of 97 articles were found and analysed on the topic.FindingsA number of recurring themes were found throughout the literature. They are safety, occupier satisfaction, cost, time, licensing, culture, training, software and building quality frameworks, classifications and recommendations. These themes were linked to display relationships between them from the literature. Based on the project lifecycle stages, an amalgamated classification system was developed and is presented here. The gaps in the current literature have been analysed and reported on.Originality/valueA comprehensive descriptive, thematic and gap analysis was conducted on the available literature of building and construction quality. The emerging themes were discovered, their relationships were demonstrated and the research gaps were identified. A new classification system positioned in the project lifecycle stages is presented.

Adopting International Learnings to Improve the Performance of New Zealand’s Infrastructure Supply Chain

Growing interest in the productivity of the infrastructure sector has increased due to cost and time overruns in major projects. In this regard, many developed countries have failed to implement a framework to ensure that project success is met through newly available technologies and business initiatives to ensure the user is the most important beneficiary. This review paper provides a review of international research relating to the life cycle, firm-level operations, and collaborative business models of infrastructure projects. The review initially identified the importance that understanding key phases and procurement models has on the efficiency of a project’s life cycle. A key indicator of the likelihood of good performance across a supply chain lies with the ability to understand the efficiencies of the firm-level operations. The literature has noted that successful projects are able to perform well across an organizations end-to-end involvement and be able to share risks among mature organizations. This paper provides a review of how a collaborative business model can benefit a project lifecycle and firm-level operations. The global research currently has identified the need for a collaborative approach that reduces the risk within all organizations through common goals, effective end-to-end project systems and consideration of the entire project lifecycle. The paper provides a detailed review of international practices in an infrastructure supply chain that have the potential to address New Zealand’s infrastructure project failures.