An Empirical Study of Large-Sized Companies With Knowledge Work Teams and Their Impacts on Project Team Performance

Abstract:

This article contributes to how teams comprised mainly of knowledge workers influence project team performance. This article highlights the need to examine knowledge work and knowledge worker teams' impact on performance. Three large-sized companies were investigated through their projects, knowledge work, team environment, and team success. Results showed that the percentage of knowledge workers on a project team and project objectives had positive associations on performance. Exploratory analyses revealed that project team responsibility influenced knowledge worker project team performance as defined by projects schedule, cost, and scope.     

Identifying uncertainties for industrial service delivery: a systems approach

Service delivery by industrial firms is increasingly seen as an influential factor for sustained profits. Across industry, this is typically achieved through long term contracts that aim to achieve performance, results, solutions, and so on. However, the increasing shift towards a service-oriented approach for production has created a number of challenges that originate from uncertainties that are experienced across supply networks.

Along these lines, this research adopts a soft systems based approach to identify and categorise the uncertainties that are experienced particularly at the bidding stage of service contracts. These uncertainties significantly affect the cost and performance of service-oriented projects. This article presents the findings of a 3-year study with 22 aerospace experts from naval and defence industries that acted as key informants. It seeks to contribute to knowledge in research and industry by identifying and categorising uncertainties for industrial service delivery. Using the findings of the study, the article concludes by discussing implications and future challenges for academe and practice.     

Rapid System Development (RSD) Methodologies: Proposing a Selection Framework

Abstract:

The current global customer trend requires companies across domains to reduce their product development lifecycle. As a result the exploration of methodologies that will support rapid system development has been gaining importance. The primary focus of this article is to provide a framework for comparative analysis of rapid system development methodologies. The purpose of this framework is to help the project managers and systems engineers choose and tailor an appropriate rapid development methodology to suit their development context and environment. Toward this, the framework identifies and defines a set of critical rapid development attributes. The article redefines rapid system development as adopting methodologies, tools, and techniques that can introduce rapidity into the system development processes while optimizing the success factors of development. The success factors are specific to the system under development and they depend on the system, product line, organization, and customers. Some of the common success factors are return-on-investment (ROI), cost of ownership, other performance factors, and customer satisfaction. The article provides a fundamental discussion on the current rapid system development methodologies, metrics, tools, and techniques.     

2003-2004 Annual Dissertation Review

Abstract:

The work of engineering project managers can be perceived as demanding, challenging, difficult, and stressful. Engineering project managers have to interact with new colleagues, the project framework is unclear, the context of the project is often unknown, and they have to deal with time pressure. The purpose of this article is to study coaching and the use of several leadership tools as effective stress-coping strategies. A case study from Norway is presented based on interviews with two project managers. Results show that positive selftalk, visualization, clear goals, feedback, the ABCDE method, empowerment, and resilience are tools that project managers find valuable and effective to reduce and cope with stress.     

Applying a risk assessment approach for cost analysis and decision-making: a case study for a basic design engineering project

Abstract

Many uncertainties and cost variations occur in the work activities of a project, thereby causing many possibilities of under-estimating or over-estimating for a bid price. A comprehensive study for each process of risk management should be investigated to achieve project objectives. However, a limited number of studies have a comprehensive viewpoint to indicate the benefits of risk management and the effect on project performance for the engineering design stage of engineering–procurement–construction (EPC) projects, especially in the basic design stage. This research was conducted to identify and analyze the risks associated with a Basic Design Engineering (BDE) project for a high value-added petrochemical plant in Taiwan. First, a project risk management work flow was proposed as an effective tool to minimize the project risks and maximize the management capacity of practitioners. Second, the cost effect of project risks was described by conducting a case study for the design process of a high value-added petrochemical plant using a Monte Carlo simulation. A risk register was identified to support the data required for conducting simulation analysis. The results of this paper provide reference points for risk management planning of project execution and help project managers evaluate particular risks at the engineering design stage of EPC projects to avoid cost overruns.     

Characteristics of a Work Organization from a Lean Perspective

Abstract:

Implementation of lean practices results in significant changes in an organization. Current research in lean production primarily focuses on examining relationships between the implementation of lean production (LP) and the performance of the organization; however, there is a need to assess the implications of large-scale changes such as lean production on work design characteristics and employee outcomes. The purpose of this article is to study the impact of lean production on work design characteristics, such as autonomy, task identity and skill variety, and employee outcomes. This article proposes a conceptual framework that indicates key LP practices and their influences on work characteristics and employee outcomes.

Current research in LP identifies transformations in lean models inspired by sociotechnical principles. This article presents a comprehensive literature review of an evaluation of LP based on sociotechnical design principles. This evaluation contributes toward developing an insight for the proposed framework of the work design characteristics in a lean environment. Finally, a causal loop diagram is used to derive theoretical implications of the conceptual framework proposed.     

Project Governance,Project Performance,and the Mediating Role of Project Quality and Project Management Risk: An Agency Theory Perspective

Abstract

Although project governance has garnered the attention of academicians, the area remains underdeveloped. This study measures the influence of project governance on project performance directly as well as through the mediation of project management risk and project quality and with moderation of project leadership. The survey yielded 354 responses from 132 Pakistani software firms, while SEM was applied using AMOS-21 for data analysis. This study finds that project governance has a significant positive influence on project performance directly and through mediation, whereas the moderation is insignificant. The findings will help not only Pakistan’s software firms but also those in developing countries to improve their projects’ performance through effective project governance.     

A Multilevel Framework for Lean Product Development System Design

Abstract:

Organizations today face intense and growing pressure to reduce cost, decrease time to market, and maximize stakeholder value in product development (PD). Many organizations have adopted lean product development (LPD) methods in an attempt to improve their PD systems; however, despite two decades of research, there is still much less understanding of the characteristics of effective LPD systems than of effective lean manufacturing systems. LPD systems are complex systems involving multiple organizational levels; however, most LPD research to date has focused only on a single level. There is currently a lack of understanding of the interactions between levels and effective means for managing these interactions. In this article, we propose a multilevel framework designed to capture key LPD system principles at the functional, project, and portfolio levels; tools and practices for implementing principles at each level; and approaches for managing the interactions between levels. A longitudinal case study is used to expand and refine a conceptual framework developed through literature review. Future research should focus on further validating the framework and applying the framework to improve LPD system design.     

Techno‐economic evaluation and sensitivity analysis of an energy‐recovery system

Abstract

A computation algorithm for the techno‐economic evaluation and sensitivity analysis of an air‐preheated energy recovery system is presented. Through the study, we find that different equipment designs of the same project affect the benefit of the recovery system remarkably. It is therefore necessary to consider technical and economic factors simultaneously to obtain a reasonable evaluation result for an energy recovery project. The sensitivity study shows that the annual operating hours is the primary factor in the profitability of an energy recovery system; thus, the reliability of the recovery system should be considered as the investment decision is made. In brief, this article offers the concepts of economic optimization for an energy recovery system.     

Armoured Selection Decision Support Software

ABSTRACT

Selecting a main battle tank for an army is a lengthy and complex decision-making process. Military procurement staffs use various management and engineering tools to conduct their studies. This article describes a decision support software package that can assist in selecting the best tank from a set of competitors. The package assesses the design features that affect three major performance criteria: firepower, protection, and mobility. The package combines the Expert Choice^? implementation of the analytical hierarchy process with a LOTUS^? spreadsheet.     

Proceedings Reviews

Abstract:

Coordination has been regarded as a critical factor of construction projects, but it is usually not well understood. It is common that time and money are spent on coordination, yet the performance is not as expected. This article studies the coordination needs and supply of construction projects. First, coordination needs were derived from work uncertainty and equivocality (U&;E), and supply was offered by different methods engineers use to coordinate. Then ten subway construction projects were investigated. A questionnaire was modified to quantify the project U&;E, and a time sheet designed to collect contractor engineers' work time allocated in nine coordination methods. Finally, how actual coordination time distribution met the needs and their relationships with performance were analyzed. The results indicate that the project performance is not related to the level of U&;E. In the nine coordination methods of the studied projects, site visit took up the most time (23%), followed by correspondence (20.5%) and meetings (13%). Projects with good performance applied adequate oral or written coordination mainly based on work equivocality.     

Fuzzy-based decision-making applied to performance evaluation in value engineering

Abstract

Value engineering (VE) has been widely applied in project innovation fields. Theoretically, VE implementation should improve efficiency, but improper VE implementation timing, poor communication or cooperation, insufficient budget, etc., often mean that this is not the case for many construction projects. This study considers several factors, including key factor index, value engineering study performance, and stakeholder satisfaction in order to evaluate the performance of a VE project. A fuzzy decision-making model based on an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to identify those factors which influence value engineering study results. Five linguistic ranks: very high, high, medium, low, and very low, were used to describe the degree of project performance. The results yield performance evaluation scores for the Shangyi International Airport in Kinmen, Taiwan VE project of between high, with a confidence of 57.4%, and very high, with a confidence of 4.5%.     

Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Selection Process

Abstract:

This article presents a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) evaluation and selection process that utilizes a weighted scoring model to facilitate the comparison of COTS components relative to a number of pre-established evaluation criteria. The application of a COTS evaluation methodology will enable project teams responsible for designing complex systems to take advantage of potential economic leverage and performance advantages COTS technology presents. More importantly, this approach provides a mechanism for careful evaluation of the candidate COTS components to ensure engineers developing COTS-intensive systems give appropriate consideration to critical COTS attributes such as operational requirements, risk, cost, technology maturity, and supplier viability.     

Operation strategies for scheduling problems in project management

Abstract

This article analyzes different operation strategies in project management from an economic viewpoint and proposes a general procedure to schedule a project when inflation is either considered, with linear or ladder type, or not considered.     

Effects of Project-Related and Organizational-Related Factors on Five Dimensions of Project Performance: A Study Across the Construction Sectors in Malaysia

Abstract

The objective of this research is to analyze the relationships of project-related and organizational-related factors with five dimensions of project performance across different sectors of the construction industry. Data collected from the project managers and directors of 360 construction firms in Malaysia were analyzed using multiple-regression technique with size of the organization as a control variable. The important finding is that the effects of project-related and organizational-related factors differ by sector type and by dimensions of project performance. The findings of this study can help project managers devise and implement appropriate strategies to support project success.     

How to Manage Complex,Multinational R&D Projects Successfully

Abstract

The globalization of markets, mergers of international companies, and integration of managerial and business processes in global corporations are changing project management fundamentals. A clearly recognizable trend in multinational companies since the mid-1980s has been globalization of R&D and competence portfolios.

Applied development is usually conducted in the form of a distributed project organization. A project team is formed across geographical, organizational, and cultural boundaries, engaging in a project with a global focus. Although a multinational project organization has great potential in many dimensions, there is no doubt that the execution of a distributed high technological project is still a great challenge.

This article identifies success factors in the management of distributed projects with global goals. The authors have focused on the practical experiences of the execution of complex multinational projects in the area of applied system development for power industry.     

Robust H 8 output feedback control for general nonlinear systems with structured uncertainty

Abstract

In this paper, the robust H ⁸ output feedback control problem for general nonlinear systems with L ₂‐norm‐bounded structured uncertainties is considered. Sufficient conditions for the solvability of robust performance synthesis problems are represented in terms of two Hamilton‐Jacobi inequalities with n independent variables. Based on these conditions, a state space characterization of a robust H ⁸ output feedback controller solving the considered problem is proposed. An example is provided for illustration.     

Handling Uncertainties in Fault Tree Analysis by a Hybrid Probabilistic–Possibilistic Framework

Fault tree analysis is a method largely used in probabilistic risk assessment. Uncertainties should be properly handled in fault tree analyses to support a robust decision making. While many sources of uncertainties are considered, dependence uncertainties are not much explored. Such uncertainties can be labeled as ‘epistemic’ because of the way dependence is modeled. In practice, despite probability theory, alternative mathematical structures, including possibility theory and fuzzy set theory, for the representation of epistemic uncertainty can be used. In this article, a fuzzy β factor is considered to represent the failure dependence uncertainties among basic events. The relationship between β factor and system failure probability is analyzed to support the use of a hybrid probabilistic–possibilistic approach. As a result, a complete hybrid probabilistic–possibilistic framework is constructed. A case study of a high integrity pressure protection system is discussed. The results show that the proposed method provides decision makers a more accurate understanding of the system under analysis when failure dependencies are involved. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Applied Regression Analysis and Experimental Design

In industrial hygiene, a worker’s exposure to chemical, physical, and biological agents is increasingly being modeled using deterministic physical models that study exposures near and farther away from a contaminant source. However, predicting exposure in the workplace is challenging and simply regressing on a physical model may prove ineffective due to biases and extraneous variability. A further complication is that data from the workplace are usually misaligned. This means that not all timepoints measure concentrations near and far from the source. We recognize these challenges and outline a flexible Bayesian hierarchical framework to synthesize the physical model with the field data. We reckon that the physical model, by itself, is inadequate for enhanced inferential and predictive performance and deploy (multivariate) Gaussian processes to capture uncertainties and associations. We propose rich covariance structures for multiple outcomes using latent stochastic processes. This article has supplementary material available online.