An extension of the EVM analysis for project monitoring: The Cost Control Index and the Schedule Control Index

In this paper we propose two new metrics that combine Earned Value Management (EVM) and Project Risk Management for project controlling and monitoring. We compare EVM cost and schedule variances with the deviation the project should have under the risk analysis expected conditions.These two indexes allow project managers to analyse whether the project over-runs are within expected variability or there are structural and systemic changes over the project life cycle. The new monitoring indexes we present are the Cost Control Index and the Schedule Control Index.     

A history of project management models: From pre-models to the standard models

The basis of project management theory includes, as is the case of many management theories an “articulated collection of best practices”, drawn for the most part from the study of major North American engineering projects. There is no history of project management comparable to the ones that have been produced for marketing, accounting or strategic analysis. Very few historians have studied projects as a specific activity and academics in project management are rarely specialists with archives or have familiarity with historical reasoning. Defining the historic trajectory of project management implies specifying the scope of what this history includes beforehand. To write a history of project management we must specify the object of this “historicization”. What are we dealing with when we talk about “history of project management”? A first objective of this paper is to define object and scope of this history. The author suggests a difference between “managerial practices” and “management models” and recommends writing a history of models rather than a history of singular practices. A second objective is to sketch the transition between pre-models of project to the standard North American model.     

Systems Engineering to improve the governance in complex project environments

Projects delivered in complex environments are often late, over-budget and provide fewer benefits than what were originally expected. Systems Engineering is the emerging paradigm in complex project environments to transform the governance from “project based” to “system based” and thereby increase the chance of holistic success. Systems Engineering is a multidisciplinary approach to enable the successful delivery of systems in complex environments through a comprehensive set of approaches, techniques and tools, initially developed in the USA after the Second World War. This paper focuses on how Systems Engineering can transform the governance from “project governance” to “system governance”, improving the performance of projects delivered in a complex environment. This paper presents Systems Engineering tools and techniques focusing, in particular, on the most relevant for project management, project governance and stakeholder management. At the end it provides a rich research agenda for further studies.     

Project leaders as boundary spanners: Relational antecedents and performance outcomes

Research has shown that NPD project leaders should engage in boundary-spanning activities. The present study tested the impact of four boundary-spanning activities on NPD project performance and analyzed the antecedents of these activities. We hypothesized that NPD project leaders' abilities to perform these activities depend on the characteristics of their personal networks — structural holes, strength of ties, vertical and horizontal bridging ties. A Partial Least Squares test on 73 NPD projects showed that (a) “obtaining political support” and “scanning for ideas” are the boundary activities with the greatest impact on performance, (b) project leaders with strong ties in their network are more effective at these activities, (c) project leaders with structural holes in their networks are more effective in another boundary activity, “protecting the team”, although this activity does not affect NPD outcomes. These results represent an important contribution to understanding how team leaders contribute to project performance.     

Managing customer relationship management projects: The case of a large French telecommunications company

Customer relationship management (CRM) implementation projects reflect a growing conceptual shift from the traditional engineering view of projects. Such projects are complex and risky because they call for both organisational and technological changes. This requires effective project management across various phases of the implementation process. However, few empirical researches have dealt with these project management issues. The aim of this research is to investigate how a “project team” manages CRM implementation projects successfully, across the different phases of the implementation process. We conducted an in-depth case study of the “Firm-Clients Branch” of a large telecommunications company in France. The findings show that, to manage CRM implementation projects successfully, an integrated and balanced approach is required. This involves appropriate system selection, effective process re-engineering and further development of organizational structures. We highlight the need for a “technochange approach” to achieve successful organisational transition and effective CRM implementation. The study reveals that the project team plays a central role throughout the implementation phases. Furthermore the effectiveness of technochange depends on project team performance, technology efficiency and close coordination with stakeholders.     

“Drop your boat!”: The discursive co-construction of project renewal. The case of the Darwin mountaineering expedition in Patagonia

When a project faces an unexpected, ambiguous and risky environment, “drop your tools” often comes up against the reluctance of the actors to accept and implement its renewal. Our contribution aims to explore how team members discursively co-construct the sense of their situation and accept to “drop their tools”. Drawing upon a real-time, in situ ethnographic study of a mountaineering expedition in Patagonia, we conducted a discursive analysis of a project renewal episode. Our paper first contributes to shed light on an unexplored phenomenon: the construction and acceptance of “dropping the tools”. Second, we add to the literature on project renewal. Third, we show how team members make sense in real-time of their environment by drawing on four discursive practices (re-wording, reframing, focusing attention, and reaffirming team cohesiveness) in order to construct and accept project renewal.     

Improving project forecast accuracy by integrating earned value management with exponential smoothing and reference class forecasting

In this paper, the earned value management (EVM) project control methodology is integrated with the exponential smoothing forecasting approach. This results in an extension of the known EVM and earned schedule (ES) cost and time forecasting formulas. A clear correspondence between the established approaches and the newly introduced method – called the XSM – is identified, which could facilitate future implementation. More specifically, only one smoothing parameter is needed to calculate the enhanced EVM performance factor. Moreover, this parameter can be dynamically adjusted during project progress based on information of past performance and/or anticipated management actions. Additionally, the reference class forecasting (RCF) technique can be incorporated into the XSM. Results from 23 real-life projects show that, for both time and cost forecasting, the XSM exhibits a considerable overall performance improvement with respect to the most accurate project forecasting methods identified by previous research, especially when incorporating the RCF concept.     

Risk management in small construction projects in Singapore: Status,barriers and impact

Risk management (RM) should be implemented in construction projects to assure the achievement of project objectives, regardless of project size. This study aims to investigate RM in small projects in Singapore in terms of status, barriers and impact of RM on project performance. To achieve the objectives, a questionnaire survey was conducted and data were collected from 668 projects submitted by 34 companies. The analysis results indicated a relatively low level of RM implementation in small projects, and that “lack of time”, “lack of budget”, “low profit margin”, and “not economical” were prominent barriers. Also, the results reported the positive correlation between RM implementation and improvement in quality, cost and schedule performance of small projects, respectively. The findings of this study can provide an in-depth understanding of RM in small projects in Singapore and make benefits of RM convincing to the participants of small projects.     

A time-dependent earned value model for software projects

This paper proposes a formal method for including time dependence into Earned Value (EV) management. The model requires three parameters, which map directly to the fundamental “triple constraint” of scope, cost, and schedule: the reject rate of activities, the cost overrun parameter, and the time to repair the rejected activities. Time dependent expressions for the planned value, earned value, and actual cost are derived, along with the cost performance index (CPI) and schedule performance index (SPI). The model is built on the well-established Putnam–Norden–Rayleigh (PNR) labor rate profile, which is a useful representation for large software projects. We apply the model to a well-known software dataset, demonstrating how to estimate the project's final cost, which converges faster to the correct answer with less variability than standard Estimate-at-Completion (EAC) calculations. The model also accurately predicts the required revised labor profile and the new schedule.     

Rethinking dichotomization: A critical perspective on the use of “hard” and “soft” in project management research

This paper elaborates on the categorization – dichotomization – between “hard” and “soft” in project management research. This categorization is becoming more increasingly used in project management research for example by stating that some projects are “hard”, while other projects are “soft”, that some project skills are “hard”, while other project skills are “soft” etc. The aim is to discuss this dichotomization as an example of hierarchization – a power struggle between opposites – within project management research and literature and acknowledge the effects for project management research and practice of unreflective upholding of this dichotomy. We provide a critical review and discussion of stage-gate models as an example of “hard” project management approaches, and agile methods as an example of “soft” approaches to project management and acknowledge that in project management practice, it seems as if “hard” and “soft” approaches are most often combined. Hence, this dichotomy seems to be upheld by the research community while practitioners show a more holistic perspective to project management.     

Grasping project complexity in large engineering projects: The TOE (Technical, Organizational and Environmental) framework

This paper presents a framework for characterising project complexity in large engineering projects, which can be used to adapt the front-end development phase of engineering projects to the particular complexity. Recently, a large number of project complexity related papers were published, demonstrating the evident importance of “complexity” in current project management research. However, no generally accepted framework is available to support the characterising and understanding of project complexity that appreciates the richness of project complexity in large engineering projects. Therefore the TOE (Technical, Organizational, and Environmental) framework was developed, based on a literature survey building upon existing work and on new empirical work consisting of eighteen interviews about six projects in the process engineering industry. As a result of an inductive approach, this framework presents the elements that contribute to project complexity from a theoretical as well as a practical perspective. The framework can be used to assess the complexity of engineering projects, and subsequently adapt the front-end development phase of projects in order to better manage the complexity of the project.     

The transformative effect of top management governance choices on project team identity and relationship with the organization — An agency and stewardship approach

This study focuses on the relationship and identity changes within and between a project team and its organization following top management intervention in the context of a large international construction project. The study follows the project-as-practice orientation, examining the actions and behaviors of the project team through participant ethnography in the “praxis” of the project site over its entire duration. The longitudinal case allows the examination of the way the transition process established a new governance culture undermining the initial trust-based one and changed it from a virtual absence of mechanisms toward far more potent mechanisms of control, monitoring, and punishment. Simultaneously, the initial stewardship relationships and collectivist identity of the project team shifted toward agency relationships and individualistic identity. The triggers for the transformation process were identified as CEO succession, project failure, top management intervention driven changes in governance mechanisms, and perception of organizational betrayal of the project team.     

试论施工计划管理

随着世界知识经济一体化的发展和国民经济建设的大力开展,工程项目管理虽然备受关注,但是对于施工计划管理普遍重视不足。因此,深入研究工程项目的施工计划管理,尤其是通过诸多的大中型工程项目管理的实践发现,施工计划管理应当针对工程项目的特征、目标任务、项目内容和项目管理组织结构,采用先进的数据理论和方法,加以在实施过程中采取必要的措施与对策,予以计划管理,并通过科学合理的组织、协调和控制,完善计划管理工作,从而保证完成项目管理目标并且实现效益最大化。     

Impacts of multi-layer chain subcontracting on project management performance

This paper investigates the impacts of applying the multi-layer chain subcontracting system on project management performance with reference to Hong Kong construction industry. Multi-layer chain subcontracting system is widely used within construction industry as it is considered advantageous in many aspects such as better efficiency of subcontractors’ operation due to their unique skills. However, the fact of poor quality products in construction practice raises the doubt about the effectiveness of the chain system. Accordingly, the reasons why the applications of the system contribute to poor project performance are examined. A survey conducted in the Hong Kong construction industry demonstrates that the multi-layer chain subcontracting system, while widely adopted, is largely flawed. Based on the survey results, application of multi-layer chain subcontracting system contributes largely to the poor performance across the all major aspects including quality and time management, cost control, and communication and coordination performance. The association exists between poor project management performance and the increase of the number of layers in the chain of the subcontracting arrangement. The long communication chain because of the increasing layers of subcontractors results in various problems such as communication errors, poor supervision on the bottom-layer contractors. Consequently overruns in cost and time, and abortive and remedial works are common. Recommendations for improving the practice are suggested and explored, including change the practice of the “lowest bid” to an approach which incorporate both price and technical performance, limit the number of subcontracting layers, restrain the use of “supply-and-fix” subcontracting arrangement, and enforce the implementation of government regulations. The findings of this study provide useful references in examining the practice of subcontracting system in other construction industries and identifying the areas where the improvements can be made for gaining the benefits of using the system.     

The Titanic sunk,so what? Project manager response to unexpected events

Projects are inherently uncertain and face unexpected events, from small changes in scope to unforeseen client’s bankruptcy. This paper studies how project managers respond to such events and how successful and unsuccessful responses differ from the perspective of the practitioner. We analysed 44 unexpected events faced by 22 experienced project managers in defence and defence-related organisations. The project managers compared two unexpected events that they faced, one that they considered the response successful and the other unsuccessful. We identified three pillars supporting successful responses to unexpected events: (1) responsive and functioning structure at the organisational level, (2) good interpersonal relationship at the group level and (3) competent people at the individual level. The events and respective responses analysed suggest that improvement in project management can be achieved by better managing these three pillars, allowing project and programme managers to “create their own luck”.     

The construction of research questions in project management

This article examines how opportunities for contributions are created in project research. In the article the arguments that underlie research question constructions are analyzed and their role in theory construction is reflected upon. The analysis is based upon a review of 61 papers published between 2007 and 2011 in the four major project management outlets. The results show that questions identify gaps and extend literature rather than challenge the theoretical assumptions. It is argued that the dominance of “gap spotting” hampers the development of the project field by producing theories that do not challenge long-held, sometimes possibly false, assumptions. Researchers are therefore urged to become bolder in their claims, some suggestions on how to achieve this are offered.     

EDM: Earned Duration Management,a new approach to schedule performance management and measurement

The concept of schedule monitoring and control as one of the most important functions of project and program management has not been fully exploited. One possible explanation could be the dominance of the Earned Value Management System (EVMS, also known as EVM). EVM was originally developed as a cost management and control tool which was extended to track the schedule as well. EVM and its derivatives (e.g. Earned Schedule) use cost as a proxy to measure schedule performance to control the duration of the project. While there is a correlation between schedule, cost, quality, and scope of a project, using cost to control duration has proven to be misleading. In contrast to Earned Value and Earned Schedule, the authors have developed the Earned Duration Management (EDM) in which they have decoupled schedule and cost performance measures and developed a number of indices to measure progress and performance of schedule and cost, as well as the efficacy and efficiency of the plan at any level of the project. These new indices are easy to understand, have wider applications, and can be used by contractors, clients and the scheduling offices to assess and measure schedule performance. The newly developed duration performance measures are all schedule-based and can be used for forecasting the finish date of the project.     

Measuring the efficiency of project control using fictitious and empirical project data

Dynamic scheduling refers to the integration of three important phases in the life cycle of a project: baseline scheduling, schedule risk analysis and project control. In this paper, the efficiency of controlling a project is measured and evaluated using a Monte-Carlo simulation study on fictitious and empirical project data. In the study, the construction of a project baseline schedule acts as a point-of-reference for the schedule risk analysis and project control phases. The sensitivity information obtained by the schedule risk analyses (SRA) and the earned value management (EVM) information obtained during project control serve as early warning control parameters that trigger corrective actions to bring projects back on track in case of problems. The focus in this paper lies on the time performance of a project, and not on the prediction and controlling of the project costs.     

On the dual nature of intra-urban borders: The case of a Romani neighborhood in Istanbul

This essay questions the nature of intra-urban borders from a politico-ethical point of view. Namely: to what extent are intra-urban borders acceptable at a time of proliferating discourses about a borderless world, and open cities? We discuss this through a case study of Sulukule – a historic neighborhood home to a millennium old Roma community located within the historic city center of Istanbul – in the context of the urban renewal project launched by the local municipality. The often cited “humanitarian” pretext for the renewal project is “incorporating” the Sulukule’s poor Roma community into the city and tearing down the borders demarcating their ghetto. Eventually, this discourse of incorporation served to instigate a rapid episode of gentrification in the area. Offering a critical perspective on the municipality’s renewal project, and through a discussion of the often conflicting premises of the discourses of the “right to the city” and the “group right to difference,” this essay argues that intra-urban borders are “undecided” separators and calls for policy tools that are responsive to the enabling aspects of bordering processes.