Key Success Drivers for Large High-Technology Projects

Success in project management, and particularly in large, high-technology projects, continues to test the resources of organisations and their sponsors. This chapter revisits the conclusions of an earlier meta-study (Crosby, 2012a) that examined a large number of published case investigations and research efforts relating to the success and failure of projects. In that study, the success factors for general, and high-technology, projects were grouped and ranked as strategic success drivers for use prescriptively by project practitioners and approvers, and the principal drivers were examined closely to reveal any less obvious characteristics influencing project success. This chapter takes the original findings of ranked success drivers and investigates how these align with the experiences of three large contemporary high-technology projects. The conclusions show that, while the original set of drivers remains valid as predictors of project success, the ranking is likely to vary, even between projects that are technically and structurally similar. Two additional success factors are added as a result of the present study.

Extended Earned Value Management Based on Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making

This paper proposes an extended earned value management (EEVM) as an integrated comprehensive project progress measurement technique. The method considers all of project key success factors, simultaneously. That is the method guaranties the realistic weights achievement to implement project control and scheduling. The weights are employed to publish a correct and comprehensive progress reports which can guarantee the future decisions for the project. It is noteworthy that the weighting approach is not just an earned value management (EVM), but it covers its concept. Since, the method is comprehensive and according to its ability to take any key success factors in to account, it can be used as a good alternative for the EVM approach, and can be called as an EEVM. The method combines the fuzzy group analytic hierarchy process (FGAHP) and fuzzy technique of order performance by similarity to ideal solution (FTOPSIS) to define activity weights according to some projects uncertain data. Taking to account the advantages of FGAHP for criteria weighting besides FTOPSIS for activity weighting provides a flexible method works with human habits and projects vagueness and uncertainty. Efficiency of the proposed method has been practically verified on a stadium in Kurdistan. The results illustrate superiority of the method in case of comprehensiveness and flexibility in comparison with the other methods.

Constructive eHealth Evaluation

Despite the existence of an extensive body of knowledge about best practices and factors that contribute to the successful development and adoption of eHealth, many eHealth development-projects still face a number of problems - many of them of an organizational nature. This chapter presents a new method: “The Constructive eHealth evaluation method” aimed at supporting real end-user participation - a well-known success factor in eHealth development. It provides an analytical framework for achieving real end-user participation during the different phases in the eHealth lifecycle. The method was developed and used for the first time during the evaluation of an EHR planning process in a Danish region. It has proven effective for providing management at more levels on-going information and feedback from end-users, allowing management to change direction during eHealth development in order to achieve the most successful adoption and implementation of eHealth in healthcare environments.

Factors Causing Project Cost Overrun in the Telecommunications Industry in Oman

Several studies have been carried out to investigate the causes of project cost overrun in different industries worldwide. This paper reports on the results of a study investigating the factors causing project cost overrun in Oman. Data required for this study were collected from 44 project engineers and managers of client and contracting companies involved in telecommunications projects. According to the analysis of results, 14 out of 37 factors are identified as major causes of project cost overrun. While most of the identified factors could affect any types of projects carried out in any country, one of the factors, namely lengthy tendering process might be unique to the projects carried out in Oman. Moreover, this study investigates the association between company size in terms of number of employees and causes of project cost overrun. The results show that there is no strong evidence to suggest that the causes of cost overrun differ significantly according to company size.

The Role of Business Process Reengineering in the Modern Business World

This chapter reveals the role of business process reengineering (BPR) in the modern business world, thus illustrating the theoretical and practical concept of BPR, the applications of BPR, the drivers of BRR (in terms of internal drivers and external drivers), the critical success factors of BPR (i.e., egalitarian leadership, collaborative working environment, top management commitment, supportive management, information technology, change management, project management, and cross-functional coordination), the implementation of BPR, and BPR software tools. BPR is a systematic approach to helping an organization analyze and improve its processes in digital age. BPR is a continuum of change initiatives in order to deliver better business performance standards through establishing sustainable process capability in modern organizations. BPR has become a popular tool to dealing with rapid technological and business change in the global competitive environment. Applying BPR will greatly improve business performance and reach business goals in global business.

An Exploratory Study of the Current State of Career Development for Project Managers in the IT and Other Industries

Critical to project success and job satisfaction of project managers is effective Human Resource Management (HRM). The temporary nature of projects has changed the traditional career paths for project managers and the way project-oriented companies prioritize their motivation tactics. By conducting a survey to explore a general pattern of employers' HRM practices in different industries regarding the project management career, this paper presents the fact that most employers prefer on-job training to organizational career path in motivating and retaining project manager and that there is no difference between IT industry and other industries in terms of the extent of use of on-job training and the organizational career path. These findings contribute to an in-depth understanding of the project management career path and suggest that project managers be proactive in adjusting to change in the workplace by being more autonomous in their career development decisions based on the larger work environment.

A Practitioner Based Evaluation of Project Management Knowledge and Education

Many scholars have criticized formal project management education as being based on various Bodies of Knowledge (BOKs), lacking real-world application and representing a narrow view of the profession. Through a survey questionnaire, this research inquiry has examined the alignment of project management professional needs with the aspirations of project management education within Australian universities. The research findings show positive links between project management education, increased employability, better workplace performance and successful professional careers. However, the research has also identified poor alignment of current project management education in Australian universities with project management practice and recommends possible revision of project management education programs to meet the knowledge requirements expressed by project management professionals. The findings of this research contribute to the debate in respect of bringing project management education closer to project management practice.

Social Media Use within Project Teams

This chapter gives practical recommendations about the social media tools and applications for use on projects. It will introduce the reader to the most popular and widely used social media tools and will provide considerations for the selection of the best tools to integrate with projects. Platforms being described from a project management point of view are LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Yammer, Google+, Blogs, Wikis, Instant Messaging, YouTube, Webinars, SlideShare, Podcasts and Vodcasts. Best practice recommendations are given for each tool from a project manager as well as a team member perspective. Advice is given about dealing with various challenges such as security concerns and managing the culture change. The current trends that will dictate and influence the use of social media on projects are also discussed.

Risk Management Decisions and Organizational Structure in the Case of a Development Management Firm

This case aims to analyze risk management practices of Millennium Development International (MDI) and suggest enhancements based on a theoretical framework derived from the literature while considering the implications to its organizational structure. Al-Shamiyah project in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, is used as an example to illustrate the practices of MDI. Due to a high level of risk associated with large-scale development projects, it is argued that the traditional risk management approach is not convenient to the context of these projects. Each large-scale project has a high level of uniqueness that renders benchmarks generated out of previous projects obsolete. Hence, a reactive risk management approach is being promoted. For the purpose of optimizing this approach, engaging necessary experts and securing the presence of key decision makers in the process, the formulated system defines key milestones at which risks need to be assessed and proper decisions need to be taken.

Inside the Project Management Institute

PMI is the world's leading not-for-profit professional membership association for the project, program, and portfolio management profession. Now in its 46th year, the association provides global advocacy, collaboration, education, and research to more than 2.9 million professionals working in nearly every country in the world. To better support project practitioners in their role as “change agents,” PMI utilizes popular social media platforms, as well as a robust virtual community. Through social media, PMI creates an environment in which project practitioners create, curate, and share strong value-added content, take part in well-informed discussions, and collaborate to seek effective solutions.