Search results

The study aims to investigate the concept of strategy-as-practice in construction management literature has been investigated. The focus is on the link between strategizing practices and project management.

An exploratory literature review is carried out based on fifteen journal articles on strategizing practices in the construction industry.

The analysis shows how strategy-as-practice questions and contradicts project management practices as depicted in the dominant deterministic perspective. Strategy-as-practice has a focus on reacting and adapting to a chaotic and changing environment, while project management is concerned with creating and maintaining a stable working environment. The findings point to the necessity of considering the organizational and institutional context of project management practices, and hence the values the strategy-as-practice lens, when considering new avenues for improving the industry.

As the study is based on an exploratory literature review of only 15 articles, generalizations should be made with caution. The identified literature is restricted by search words and choice of database.

The differences between strategizing and project management practices are very clear, and a focus on both may offer insights into how the construction industry could improve its productivity by developing more robust management practices.

The paper illustrates the benefit of applying a strategizing perspective, which hitherto has been under-investigated in construction management research.

This chapter explains the concept of risk management in construction in relation to project success. The types of risks were examined based on the date of identification which are known risk, unknown risk, new or discovered risk, secondary risk and residual risk. Project risk is not an all-encompassing negative event as it could also cause a positive impact on construction projects. It was acknowledged that project risk in itself could have a positive impact if its risk management process is properly implemented by the construction project team.

The purpose of this conceptual chapter is to highlight the disadvantages of project management to help the reader put project management work in context.

Different project management methodologies such as waterfall project management, Agile project management, Six Sigma, and Kanban are discussed in terms of overall problems and then specific problems with each methodology. Managing multiple projects and the problems with program and portfolio management are discussed.

The findings are that most formalized project management methods are ill-suited to most library-related situations. However, some aspects of project management are well suited to any project, at any size, and those are discussed.

The value of this paper is that readers will get a strong understanding of project management methodologies in context and a clear idea of the strengths and weaknesses of each.

This chapter takes a look at the future of project management. It starts with a historic view of the development of project management in the last five decades including the present. It shows that the role of the project manager has changed from an engineer manager to a business developer and a leader capable of dealing with multi-perspectives.

Projects are positioned in the context of changing organizational forms, including silo and network organizations. This leads to the conclusion that projects will play a key role in the future, especially in change management, business modeling, and value creation.

A section will discuss increased emphasis on learning and knowledge sharing, suggesting focus on the reflective and experimenting project manager, and planning as a social process.

A section will look at project management as a profession and point to the risk that the profession may become too narrow focusing on a well-defined body of knowledge. Current trends suggest that a broader view of projects be adopted including its strategic role and interplay with stakeholders, as has been discussed at length in this book.

We conclude the chapter by proposing a shift of paradigm.

Top management support is recognized as the most critical factor for the success of large information system (IS) projects. However, getting this support is often difficult, because top management has multiple priorities and one has to compete with others to obtain such support. Political maneuvering is thus an integral and necessary part of the process of obtaining top management support. In this chapter the authors review current research on this topic and organize and synthesize our findings into a framework. The authors then propose four specific strategies which can be used to obtain top management support, including the following: (1) social capital, (2) social engagement, (3) rational persuasion, and (4) exchange strategies. While the authors argue that all four strategies should be applied, the specific circumstances in which they should be applied vary. A two-stage process is proposed that identifies the appropriate criteria for determining the most appropriate strategy. The criteria are: (1) the type of top management support needed (i.e., durable vs immediate) and (2) the level of top management-project team trust (i.e., high vs low).

To demonstrate how the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), a formal project management framework commonly used in corporate settings, can be used to manage library projects, even in situations where the librarian does not have authority over project resources, like personnel, scope, and budget.

This chapter uses a conceptual review of the library, project management, and library project management literature to construct recommendations and best practices.

Many of the PMBOK tools are effective for project managers working without formal authority. These tools include the Stakeholder Register, which allows a project manager to track stakeholders based upon their interest and influence; the Responsibility Assignment Matrix, which allows a project manager and team members to quickly and easily see work and personnel relationships; and Integrated Change Control, which provides project managers with a process for understanding and documenting the impact of project changes. These tools, as well as the PMBOK’s strategies on managing project communication and monitoring and controlling project work, which help orient stakeholders to the work and expectations of the project, while also making sure there are no surprises, provide effective project management tools for librarians working without formal authority.

While the PMBOK is occasionally discussed in the library literature, this chapter extensively uses the framework to connect the framework to library project management. This chapter also shows how the PMBOK, which relies on formal authority, can also be used in situations where the project manager lacks it.

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce library and information science professionals to the idea of combining the tools and techniques of project management and change management to support the success of their projects. Combining these two methodologies can assist professionals not only in carrying out their projects efficiently, helping them to meet project objectives, but can also increase the likelihood that their project objectives will be accepted by their organizations.

This chapter provides an overview of project management and change management methodologies with numerous examples from academic and practitioner literature and supplements them with concrete, specific examples of how these tools and techniques were implemented in an information management project.

This chapter contributes to the development of change management and project management competencies for librarians by providing explanations of project management and change management which include advice and evidence from the literature combined with examples of how these techniques and processes were applied in a library and information management project. This chapter should therefore serve as an educational tool for library and information management practitioners seeking either to develop their project management and change management skills or to apply these techniques to their own projects.

Articles which combine project management and change management methodologies are rare. This chapter takes these concepts and applies them in a library and information management setting in a way that should be practical and approachable to library and information science practitioners.

The purpose of the paper is 1) to address the importance of contingency at the right level when defining project control baseline, including cost reserves / “room to manoeuvre” and 2) present proactive uncertainty management as a regime to ensure cost effective management of project reserves and contribute to project success.

The paper is a combination of literature study and quantitative research on how contingency develops during the lifetime of a case project. The investigation into the case project includes document study into quantitative material from the case project. The combination of empirical material and theory makes the discussion robust.

Unrealistic low cost uncertainty will lead to unrealistic low contingency. The case study from a Norwegian mega project shows a contingency of 15 per cent in addition to expected costs. The case study shows that by continuous opportunity management and risk reduction, the needs for management reserves are systematically reduced and the contingency is controlled.

This research is limited to one case study. A higher number of cases are necessary to generalise the findings. However, the authors would claim that the systematic mapping of need for management reserve towards the project contingency, and a continuous uncertainty management system will help to obtain cost effective management. The findings from the case study could be applied on similar cases.

The case study shows a way of setting contingencies and managing contingencies through systematic uncertainty management.

Improved management of project provisions will increase the value of future projects.