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Article
Publication date: 29 January 2024

Nilton Takagi, João Varajão and Thiago Ventura

As in the private sector, public organizational information systems (IS) development is commonly carried out through projects. One of the alternatives followed by governmental…

Abstract

Purpose

As in the private sector, public organizational information systems (IS) development is commonly carried out through projects. One of the alternatives followed by governmental organizations to perform their projects is outsourcing (by hiring other public institutions that have expertise in the IS area of the projects to be developed). However, limited research has been conducted on project success regarding these government-to-government (G2G) contexts. Since achieving success is crucial for public management, this paper proposes a model for Success Management of IS projects in G2G context.

Design/methodology/approach

The research method was design science research (DSR). In the evaluation step of the DSR, IS projects in a G2G environment were the object of case studies.

Findings

This work presents in detail how Success Management activities can be integrated into the processes and process groups of the Project Management Institute's project management guide. The authors also suggest tools and techniques to be used in each Success Management activity.

Practical implications

Managing success, particularly addressing success criteria and success factors, can help managers focus their efforts on what will really impact the success of a project. In the context of IS projects in G2G contexts, this contributes to decreasing waste and increasing the chances of providing better services to citizens.

Originality/value

This work contributes to theory by providing a new model for IS G2G projects that integrates Success Management and project management processes.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2021

Nilton Takagi and João Varajão

Projects are one of the main ways used to develop organisations and turn their strategic initiatives into a reality. To support project management, several entities (e.g…

2111

Abstract

Purpose

Projects are one of the main ways used to develop organisations and turn their strategic initiatives into a reality. To support project management, several entities (e.g. associations, institutes, etc.) provide standards, guides and project management methodologies. However, despite its wide coverage of project management knowledge areas, standards currently have no specific processes focused on planning and evaluating success. The absence of these processes can limit the vision of managers and their teams on what most contributes to the success of a project. Aiming at contributing to fill this gap, this paper proposes the integration of success management processes in the ISO 21500 standard.

Design/methodology/approach

To develop the integration model, a Design Science Research approach was adopted for the construction and evaluation of the resulting artefact.

Findings

The result is an integrated model and insights for its application in practice. The model aims to help managers and their teams to identify which success management activities need to carry out and how to integrate them with the other processes of the ISO 21500 standard.

Research limitations/implications

The integrated model was applied in only one project. Another limitation is the difficulty in comparing the results obtained due to the small number of works focused on success management (namely related to planning, measuring, controlling and reporting success in practice) and its integration with project management standards, guides and methodologies.

Originality/value

The integrated model, based on success management and the ISO 21500 standard, is an important and original contribution to understand and achieve success in projects. This promotes a new vision of balanced management, directing the management effort to the areas that effectively contribute to success in each project.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 39 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 November 2020

João Varajão, Gabriela Fernandes and Hélio Silva

The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of practice in information systems (IS) project management (PM) by analyzing the use of tools and techniques by IS…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of practice in information systems (IS) project management (PM) by analyzing the use of tools and techniques by IS project managers.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors carried out an international questionnaire-based survey with experienced IS project managers.

Findings

Results reveal that, notwithstanding the similarities between the tools and techniques used in IS projects and projects from other areas, there are also significant differences concerning those more frequently used. The top five tools and techniques most used are “kick-off meeting,” “progress meetings,” “progress reports,” “requirements analysis” and “activity list.” However, the low use of some tools and techniques, from management areas such as risk and quality management, or related to the project monitoring and control, should raise concern.

Research limitations/implications

Through the results of this research, researchers, organizations and practitioners can identify ways of developing and enhancing PM by examining the tools and techniques identified as the most used and those that are not being used as frequently as expected.

Originality/value

It provides a useful benchmarking basis for evaluating the most applicable tools and techniques, designing training and teaching programs and identifying academic research opportunities in IS PM.

Details

Journal of Systems and Information Technology, vol. 22 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1328-7265

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2018

Isabel Moura, Caroline Dominguez and João Varajão

The purpose of this research is twofold: identify and gain a better insight on factors that can influence high performance of Information Systems (IS) project teams from the…

2396

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is twofold: identify and gain a better insight on factors that can influence high performance of Information Systems (IS) project teams from the perspective of IS professionals (i.e. team members and leaders), and thus contribute to the general discussion on high-performance project teams; and offer both IS project team members and their project managers some feedback on how to build and manage teams more constructively and to enhance team performance in today’s demanding business environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used an exploratory case study of a small-size holding company and a qualitative analysis of the data to address the research questions.

Findings

Results show a set of perceived factors that can influence high team performance in IS projects. Participants’ perceptions barely coincide. For instance, mutual trust was the only factor suggested as facilitating high team performance by 5 participants (out of 13). Differences may be because of participants’ characteristics (e.g. time on the job). All perceived factors are classified in the literature as nontechnical (i.e. having to do with behavioral and/or socio-organizational matters of project management).

Originality/value

This paper is among the very few empirical studies consolidating knowledge on high-performance IS project teams (e.g. it is still unclear if there are IS project team-specific factors that influence high performance). For the highly technical IS industry, this study came across human-centric factors transversal to different project teams.

Details

Team Performance Management: An International Journal, vol. 25 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-7592

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 January 2021

Isabel Moura, Caroline Dominguez and João Varajão

The main aim of this study is to contribute to the discussion on the factors that can influence the high performance of information systems (IS) project team members, from the…

1087

Abstract

Purpose

The main aim of this study is to contribute to the discussion on the factors that can influence the high performance of information systems (IS) project team members, from the individual perspective. This study also allows both IS project team members and their managers to have a thorough picture of high-performing project teams, helping them improve team design, management and performance in today's demanding business environment.

Design/methodology/approach

To address the research questions, the authors carried out an exploratory case study of a small-sized holding company and a qualitative analysis of the data.

Findings

Results show a set of perceived factors that can influence (facilitate/hinder) the high performance of IS project team members. “Proper reward systems” was the most mentioned facilitating factor. “Negative affectivity” and “Lack of competence” were the two most referred as hindering factors. Most of the perceived factors are classified in the literature as non-technical.

Originality/value

Besides being among the very few empirical studies consolidating knowledge on the high performance of IS project team members, this paper extends the authors' previous research (done at the team level) to the individual team member level (as opposed to the team or organizational levels). In spite of IS being a highly technical industry, this study came across mostly human-centered factors transversal to different professionals (IS and non-IS) involved in project teams.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 33 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 November 2021

Suzana Sampaio, Qiong Wu, Kathryn Cormican and João Varajão

The issue of project managers’ competencies has gained much traction in practice and more recently in academic debate. However, they have become analogous to extensive wish lists…

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Abstract

Purpose

The issue of project managers’ competencies has gained much traction in practice and more recently in academic debate. However, they have become analogous to extensive wish lists where a project manager is expected to have an exhaustive list of aptitudes and capabilities. Therefore, identifying and defining the most critical competencies for project success is urgently needed. Moreover, although the vast number of studies emphasize the significance of behavioral competencies, there is a dearth of empirical research and studies within the context of information systems (IS) are scarce. Consequently, the present study aims to investigate the influence of project manager's behavioral competencies for the successful delivery of IS projects.

Design/methodology/approach

This research conducted a systematic literature review (2009–2019) of 27 relevant studies incorporating 179 competencies. The authors also collected data from 121 professional IS project managers and used regression analysis and dominance analysis to test the hypotheses proposed.

Findings

The results confirm that behavioral competencies (including leadership, communication, result orientation, emotional intelligence, ethics, creativity and motivation) are significantly and positively related to IS project success. Furthermore, the findings show that emotional intelligence (resilience, stress management and self-control), creativity (resourcefulness, creativity thinking and imagination) and ethics (transparency, honesty and integrity) are the most influential behavioral competencies for IS project success.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is among the first to use a quantitative analysis to empirically investigate project manager's behavioral competencies for project success in the IS discipline. It brings much-needed empirical evidence for the most important competencies for IS project managers.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 March 2020

José-Luís Pereira, João Varajão and Robbie Uahi

The purpose of this paper is regarding the execution of business processes by Business Process Management Systems (BPMS), during design-time modelers have to specify the potential…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is regarding the execution of business processes by Business Process Management Systems (BPMS), during design-time modelers have to specify the potential performers of a work activity according to their organizational position or role. Once several workers may share the same role, at run-time all of them (indistinctively) can be assigned by BPMS to execute a work activity. However, distinct individuals have different personality traits and, for certain instances of work (requiring, for example, specific soft skills) some of them might perform better. A new approach to work distribution in business processes supported by BPMS, which takes into account the psychological characteristics of workers was proposed.

Design/methodology/approach

As stated in Section 3 of the paper, in this work the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology, as proposed by Kuechler and Vaishnavi (2008) was used. All the five steps, from the “Awareness of problem” to the “Conclusion” were accomplished, being described in the paper.

Findings

It is demonstrated that, by using the proposed approach, BPMS might deliver work to people in a more effective way, by selecting those workers that seem to be more suitable to accomplish each particular piece of work, taking into account the characteristics of the work itself and the specific profiles of the workers eligible to execute it.

Originality/value

BPMSs are responsible for the execution of business process models, by delivering work activities to suitable agents (human or artificial), which execute them. Addressing a gap in the BPM literature, this paper presents a new approach for improving work distribution in business processes supported by BPMS, enabling to assign (in run-time) the most suitable workers to perform specific work activities, grounded on the concept of psychological profile and taking into account technical, human and social aspects.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 26 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 16 September 2013

Joao Varajao

1080

Abstract

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. 20 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Article
Publication date: 6 September 2022

Anne Cardoso, Thais Fernanda Bueno da Silva, Nilton Takagi, Cleiton Silva and Alessandro Micelli

The value chain is an essential management tool for the elaboration of strategic organizational planning. However, there are few published works providing methods for the…

Abstract

Purpose

The value chain is an essential management tool for the elaboration of strategic organizational planning. However, there are few published works providing methods for the development of value chains. This research aims to present a model to develop the value chain for the public sector.

Design/methodology/approach

Action research was used with case study in the evaluation step.

Findings

This research presents a model for value chain development along seven steps, covering data collection planning to the formalization of final product acceptance. The model suggests executing these seven steps in three iteration levels: operational, tactical and strategic. Through case studies, six practical insights were also highlighted in this work.

Research limitations/implications

Given the absence of related work, one of the limitations is the lack of comparison with other methods of value chain development in the public sector.

Originality/value

There are practical guides to value chain development in the public sector; however, to the best of authors’ knowledge, such guides have not been developed using research methods. In the literature, no works provide details on how value chain can be developed in the public sector. In addition, the constraints of face-to-face contacts during the COVID-19 pandemic led the research team to conduct remotely the model's development and evaluation in the case studies. The model presents elements that enable value chain development without face-to-face contact between the execution team and public institution's stakeholders.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 28 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 April 2022

Nina Sophie Pflugfelder and Frank Ng

The purpose of this article is to explore the association of the Relational Capital (RC) embedded in a medical specialist’s social–professional network with the specialist’s…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to explore the association of the Relational Capital (RC) embedded in a medical specialist’s social–professional network with the specialist’s economic performance based on social network analysis (SNA).

Design/methodology/approach

Using health insurance claims data regarding ∼108,000 physicians treating ∼72,000,000 patients, social–professional networks (patient-sharing-networks (PSNs)) of ∼26,000 medical specialists were simulated. To explore the correlation of the network's characteristics (degree centrality, density, relative betweenness centrality and referrer concentration) with economic performance, ordinary-least-squares (OLS)-regression models were estimated for ten common specialties (gynecology, internal medicine, orthopedics, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, dermatology, urology, neurology, radiology and rehabilitative medicine).

Findings

The study confirms the applicability and strong explanatory power of SNA metrics for RC measurement in ambulatory healthcare. Degree centrality and relative betweenness centrality correlate positively with economic performance, whereas density and referrer concentration exhibit negative coefficients. These results confirm the argument that RC has a strong association with the economic performance of medical specialists.

Originality/value

The study pioneers SNA for RC measurement in healthcare. It is among the first publications on specialists' PSNs. Questions for future research are proposed.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 24 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1469-1930

Keywords

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