Knowledge formation and learning in the management of projects: A problem solving perspective

In contrast to traditional projects, which are assumed to be fully specified and then executed with little learning anticipated, complex projects cannot be fully specified at the outset and require continuous learning over their life cycles. Nevertheless, the key role of knowledge formation and learning in managing complex projects is under-developed for expanding project capability boundaries to include knowledge uncertainty and indeterminacy.     

The ritualization of transitions in the project life cycle: A study of transition rituals in construction projects

To manage the project life cycle and facilitate transitions, Project Management (PM) research often points to temporal models and structuring devices. However, the social and symbolic facet of transitions in projects remains understudied. Therefore, this research focuses on the ritualization of transitions in projects. Specifically, the aim is to gain insight into the practice and meaning of transition rituals in the project life cycle. To do so we draw from field research in the infrastructure sector where participant-observation was carried out during eight transition rituals in four Dutch construction projects, and 58 interviews were executed with project participants. The contribution to the PM debate on temporary organizing lies in the conceptualization of transition rituals as powerful symbolic and strategic practices in the project life cycle, and in the provision of an overview showcasing how, when and why transition rituals are practiced to facilitate transitions and embed a project in its environment.     

Adaptive programme management through a balanced performance/strategy oriented focus

This paper explores how programme management (as opposed to project management) can contribute to the effective design and delivery of megaprojects. Traditionally, project management is considered to be performance focused and task oriented, whilst programme management entails a more strategic focus. The programme management literature suggests that this can result in tensions between the management of the projects and the programme as a whole. This paper uses the findings of the €2.4 billion Room for the River flood protection programme in the Netherlands as a case study, because indicators about its budget, time, quality and stakeholder satisfaction suggest high programme management performance upon completion of the planning and design stage of its 39 river widening projects. Based on a literature review, document analysis and 55 face-to-face interviews, we have analysed how the programme management of the programme contributed to this result. Six attributes for effective programme management that are identified from the project and programme management literature are used to structure the research data. Consecutively, the interactions between project and programme management are analysed. The analysis of Room for the River reveals a combined strategic/performance focus at the level of both programme and project management that enables a collaborative approach between programme and project management. This particularly enables effective stakeholder collaboration, coordination and adaptation of the programme to contextual changes, newly acquired insights and the changing needs of consecutive planning stages, which positively contributes to the performance of the programme as a whole.     

Construction delay analysis techniques

Construction projects continue to suffer delays. Things go wrong and the project's completion date gets pushed back, with someone to be blamed for it. In practice, attempts are made to identify the causes of delays and schedules are modified to incorporate revised duration and new project time. The analysis itself is usually complex and can be aided by a computerized approach. This paper discusses different delay analysis techniques that are currently used by practitioners in the construction industry. It also discusses a proposed new delay analysis technique called the Isolated Delay Type (IDT). These techniques were tested against a case example and their strengths and weaknesses highlighted. The new technique can be used as a standalone module for delay analysis or could be incorporated within a computer system for construction delay analysis and claims preparation called Computerized Delay Claims Analysis (CDCA) that integrates different software including an expert system and management software such as scheduling and a database or spreadsheet.     

Total project cost: a simplified model for decision makers

A simplified model for total project cost is developed in this paper to meet the numerous requests from decision makers for a model that can be used to estimate the total project cost from the estimated cash flows and, more importantly, to check the accuracy of the project cost estimates in feasibility studies that require prudent decisions. It begins with a base cost estimate in constant dollars and discrete cash flows with discrete inflation rates as practised by the construction industry. The discrete inflation rates are used to estimate the current dollar costs of the project. The effects of inflation are estimated as escalation during construction. Using the future value concept, interest during construction is estimated, in a simplified approach, to estimate the total project cost. Data from an actual feasibility study is used to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the simplified model. The model is extended to treat discrete cash flows with continuous inflation rates.     

Scheduling of deconstruction projects under resource constraints

In many countries a large part of the building stock will have to be maintained, renovated, rehabilitated or even removed in the next few decades. Although profitability will be one of the major requirements to be met when these works are carried out, there will be more and more emphasis on the environmental requirements to be respected. To make the modernization of the building stock more efficient, dismantling with the aim of producing high quality recycling materials at reasonable costs is a promising approach. This paper presents an integrated approach to deconstruction site management that focuses on both economic and environmental goals. As a first step, material flow management aims at the closed-loop recycling of various construction materials. In a second step, resource constrained project planning models are used to evaluate strategies for optimized deconstruction site management. The approach offers high flexibility and can be adapted readily to different conditions. Results show that time and cost for deconstruction can be reduced by more than 50%, together with recycling quotas of more than 90%. Even when resources are strictly limited or when strong budget and time restrictions have to be respected, tremendous improvements in deconstruction site management can be achieved.     

Organisation, ‘anchoring’ of knowledge,and innovative activity in construction

The construction industry is characterised by the widespread use of project organisation. It has been suggested that the relatively low level of innovative activity in the industry can be explained by the temporary nature of firm boundary‐crossing projects. Survey data from the Danish construction industry is used to investigate the importance of learning and ‘anchoring’ of project‐specific knowledge at the firm level for participation in innovative activities. The data cover both the overall Danish construction industry and a specific region, North Jutland, which has a relatively high specialisation of construction workers. Latent class and regression analyses reveal that firms that make extensive use of partnering, together with internal product and process evaluation and knowledge diffusion (labelled ‘knowledge‐anchoring mechanisms’), are more likely to participate in innovative activities than firms which make less use of these mechanisms. This indicates that construction firms are able to compensate for the problems that temporary interorganisational projects may cause in relation to continuous learning at the firm level.     

Evaluation and management of foreign exchange and revenue risks in China's BOT projects

China is actively investigating ways to introduce project financing, specifically through the build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme to meet the needs for the country's infrastructure and to be attractive to foreign investors and lenders. The advent of concession agreements, backed by new BOT laws, will be a positive move forward to achieving project-financed infrastructure projects. There are thus opportunities especially in the power sector for foreign investors. However, it is important to identify and manage the unique or critical risks associated with China's BOT projects. This is especially so after policies were introduced in late 1996 when the first state-approved BOT project, the US$650 million 2 × 350 megawatt (MW) coal-fired Laibin B Power Plant (Laibin B), was awarded. They include a competitive tendering process and 100% foreign ownership of the operating company. This paper is based on the findings from an international survey on risk management of BOT projects in developing countries, with emphasis on power projects in China. It discusses specifically the criticality of foreign exchange and revenue risks which include exchange rate and convertibility risk, financial closing risk, dispatch constraint risk and tariff adjustment risk. The measures for mitigating each of these risks are discussed also.     

Behavior of internal stakeholders in project portfolio management and its impact on success

Stakeholder behavior and stakeholder management are key success factors within project portfolio management (PPM). This empirical study of 197 project portfolios investigates the effect of the intensity of engagement (IoE) of portfolio-internal stakeholders on project portfolio success. We show that the effect of stakeholders is phase-specific and that role clarity as a measure of PPM maturity affects the nature of the relationship between the IoE of stakeholders and portfolio success. The effects of the IoE of senior managers on success are not clearly positive with regard to strategic portfolio structuring and are even negative in operative portfolio steering in established PPM systems. In immature PPM systems, line managers tend to take advantage of their position in resource management. Surprisingly, the influence of portfolio managers in portfolio steering is insignificant. Altogether, this paper shows the diverse effect of the IoE of stakeholders on portfolio success. This study enriches project research by applying stakeholder theory to the project portfolio context and offers practical guidance for further professionalizing PPM.     

Analysis of architects' demotivating factors in design firms

The overall aim of this study is to identify factors that influence architects' demotivation in design firms. After a review of extant literatures in design management, project management, and organisational behaviour, a list of 43 demotivating criteria was produced and used in a questionnaire survey. Analyses included reliability analysis, Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests, demotivation severity index (DSI) computation and exploratory factor analysis. Results show an underlying factor structure of seven demotivating factors that include ‘organisational injustice’, ‘project induced stress’, ‘dysfunctional design team’, ‘poor interpersonal relationships’, ‘perceived career decline’, ‘negative leadership behaviours’ and ‘poor organisational culture’. Comparing these demotivational factors with motivational factors identified from previous related research, this study confirms that demotivation and motivation are on the same pole. In addition, what causes motivation or demotivation is a function of individual frame of reference. This implies that the presence or absence of a factor might cause motivation or demotivation depending on an individual frame of reference. Positive attention to the identified factors in relation to individual personality differences therefore helps to remove impediments that could affect employees' well-being such as being downcast, dispirited, depressed and despondent. The study would help directors and managers of design firms to develop a healthy workforce through recognition and eradication of the identified demotivating factors using some of the suggested solutions.