Construction programme management theory and practice: Contextual and pragmatic approach

The combination of the economic pressures, maturity and limitations of project management and the dynamic nature of the construction industry clients’ requirements has triggered the need for the adoption and implementation of programme management as a de facto means of aligning, coordinating and managing a portfolio of construction projects to deliver benefits that would not be achievable if the projects were managed independently. Despite the benefits achievable in the practice of programme management, the awareness and understanding of its practice in the construction industry remains vague as a result of a lack of clarity and inconsistencies associated with its definitions. To fully understand the core essence of programme management, it is imperative that its quintessential definition, practice and context are clearly understood and documented. This research is based on a pragmatic synthesis of literature review and industrial questionnaire survey which establishes the relationship, similarities and differences between programme management and project management and subsequently draws comparisons of the practices relevant to programmes between programme and non-programme organisations. The research further highlights the implications of unawareness and lack of understanding that can affect the effective implementation and practice of programme management in the UK construction environment.     

Three domains of project organising

It has become axiomatic in research on project organising that projects are temporary organisations. Yet there are a number of challenges to this axiom: research on matrix organisation, the embeddedness of projects in project ecologies, and projectification all emphasise the relationship of the project to permanent organisations. Similarly, research on project-based firms and owner organisations which are relatively permanent challenges this axiom. This paper develops a conceptual framework which defines three domains of project organising: project-based firms; projects and programmes; and owners and operators as its principal theoretical contribution. This conceptual framework draws our attention to two important new areas for future research in project organising. The first is at the interfaces between the three domains of project organising: commercial, resourcing, and governance. The second is on project organising as temporary configurations of permanent organisations in coalitions to deliver particular outputs.     

Owner challenges on major projects: The case of UK government

Many studies agree that owner organisations are important for successful project organising, but they tend to focus on particular aspects of project organising rather than providing a holistic analysis of owners as organisations. Our objective is to collect evidence of the full range of challenges public sector owners face in managing their major projects. After reviewing the literature on owner organisations, we carry out a case survey of 26 major projects to identify the principal challenges using a content analysis of UK National Audit Office Value for Money reports. Our original contribution is that the findings provide the first comprehensive picture of the full range of challenges of project organising faced by owner organisations. These findings push us theoretically to extend the scope of research in project organising to identify an extended core set of dynamic capabilities for project owner organizations to address these challenges.     

The integration of ideation and project portfolio management — A key factor for sustainable success

Effective management of single projects is no longer sufficient. In today's business market, proactive management of the whole project portfolio has become increasingly important for achieving long-term success and competitive advantage. At the front end of projects, opportunities are discovered, ideas are created, and the foundation for later project, portfolio, and, eventually, corporate success is laid. This paper contributes to the project management body of knowledge by combining the front end view on projects with the holistic view of managing project portfolio landscapes. It focuses on establishing a framework for conceptualization of the relationship between ideation and project portfolio management in product development environment by relating ideation portfolio management, front end success, and project portfolio success, and lays the groundwork for further empirical research. The overarching topic I address is the conceptualization of how ideation can facilitate and sustainably improve portfolio success in the product development environment in the long-term.     

Integration projects as relational spaces: A closer look at acquired managers’ strategic role recovery in cross-border acquisitions

Acquired and acquiring middle managers are in a central role in mergers and acquisitions (M&As), as they are responsible for the execution of the acquisition's strategy. However, the context of cross-border acquisitions considerably alters the strategy roles of the acquired middle managers. This paper explores the post-acquisition phase as a collection of integration projects. In so doing, the paper contributes to an emerging stream bridging the M&As and project management literatures. Using a mixed methods research design, our findings are based on an international sample of 52 interviews and 65 survey responses. We offer two contributions to extant theorizing. The first contribution is in revealing the role of integration projects as relational spaces wherein inter-firm interaction and post-acquisition strategy execution is undertaken. The second contribution demonstrates that the recovery of acquired middle managers strategic roles is not only linked to the existence of these relational spaces, but further depends on the project type. Our findings are a call for more research connecting the M&As and project management literatures.     

Project studies: What it is,where it is going

Project organising is a growing field of scholarly inquiry and management practice. In recent years, two important developments have influenced this field: (1) the study and practice of projects have extended their level of analysis from mainly focussing on individual projects to focussing on micro- as well as macro-level concerns around projects; and (2) there has been a greater interest in different kinds of scholarly inquiry. Taken together, these two developments call for closer scrutiny of how the levels of analysis and the types of inquiry are related and benefit each other, and of the explanations of project practices they could offer. To discuss avenues for future research on projects and project practice, this paper suggests the notion of project studies to better grasp the status of our field. We combine these two sets of ideas to analyse the status and future options for advancing project research: (1) levels of analysis; and (2) type of research. Analysing recent developments within project studies, we observe the emergence of what we refer to as type 3 research, which reconciles the need for theoretical development and engagement with practice. Type 3 research suggests pragmatic avenues to move away from accepted yet unhelpful assumptions about projects and project organising. The paper ends with an agenda for future research, which offers project scholars a variety of options to position themselves in the field of project studies, and to explore opportunities in the crossroads between levels of analysis and types of research.     

Project portfolio management: An integrated method for resource planning and scheduling to minimize planning/scheduling-dependent expenses

It is well known that the progress of R&D projects has more and more begun to rely on the availability of individual experts who are generally scarce and expensive. The matrix structure considers periodic staffing of project teams which has been found to be efficient for non-scarce human resources but is impractical for individual experts. Our objective is to develop and evaluate an alternative approach for resource planning and scheduling that might be useful for project portfolio management. The method we suggest is an extension of a recently developed optimization model for a job-shop with several machines and chance-constrained deliveries. Our method determines in advance the hiring and releasing points of individual experts that maximize economic gain subject to chance-constrained delivery commitments. For this purpose, we use a simulation based on a greedy priority dispatching rule as well as a cyclic coordinate descent search-algorithm. A benchmarking of the staffing of project teams and the integrative methods shows that integrated planning and scheduling is a very useful tool for the decision-making process in project portfolio management.     

Identifying,framing and managing uncertainties in project portfolios

Uncertainties in the organization, external environment and from single projects may hamper project portfolio performance unless managed properly. This paper introduces a framework on uncertainties and their management in project portfolios and pursues increased understanding on how managers can take uncertainty into account better. We explore uncertainties, how managers frame them as opportunities or threats, and the actual practice of managing them across ten R&D project portfolios. The framework on project portfolio uncertainties and their management is further refined based on the empirical results. As key contributions, we show evidence on the balanced existence of three types of uncertainties, the threat bias in their framing, and the dominance of rational, opportunity driven mechanisms of control in uncertainty management. We discuss the context-dependent practice of project portfolio management and the need to complement rational mechanisms with structural and cultural, for project portfolio management to become a dynamic capability.     

Contemporary project portfolio management: Reflections on the development of an Australian Competency Standard for Project Portfolio Management

Project portfolio management is an emerging aspect of business management that focuses on how projects are selected, prioritised, integrated, managed and controlled in the multi-project context that exists in modern organisations. Competency standards have been developed by professional bodies for project managers. However, to date there has been no attempt to develop a competency standard at the portfolio management level. This paper examines the process for development of the first performance-based competency standard for project portfolio management and identifies how this contributes to the body of knowledge in both project portfolio management and project management more broadly. The intent is to use the Standard to improve project portfolio management capability and practice in organisations, which in turn promotes efficient resource use and more profitable project outcomes. Specific issues regarding Australian practice are described, along with implications for how this may impact Australian practice in the future.     

Microfoundations of project portfolio regulation in joint university-industry laboratories

Joint university-industry laboratories (joint U-I labs) consist of a new, yet little understood model of academic partnership with the firms, typically involving the establishment of a collaborative research unit to conduct research and development (R&D) projects. This type of collaboration faces an ongoing challenge in dealing with the tension between the development and deployment focus in the project portfolio. While several studies have investigated project portfolio management in a given firm, little is known about the interorganizational portfolio management and how the actors manage tensions in joint U-I labs. This study aims to investigate the microfoundations of project portfolio management in joint U-I labs. By combining the multiple-case study and at-home ethnography methods, we identified that the regulation approach explains how partners in joint U-I labs dynamically adjust and manage the project portfolio. Based on the empirical findings, we propose a new framework for project portfolio management in joint U-I labs: portfolio regulation. This framework consists of four processes: dual scouting, dual matchmaking, joint selection, and bridgemaking. These microfoundations enable actors to strategically regulate the portfolio by increasing/decreasing resources related to development or deployment. Our study explores how portfolio regulation evolves within a joint U-I lab through four stages: formation, learning, reconfiguration, and joint portfolio. The proposed framework contributes to interorganizational R&D portfolio management theory and joint U-I lab portfolio management practice.     

Complex project management as complex problem solving: A distributed knowledge management perspective

Traditional project management (PM) privileges planning and downplays the role of learning even in more complex projects. In contrast, this paper draws inspiration from two organisations that were found to have developed complex PM expertise as a form of complex problem solving (CPS), a practice with implicit learning because complex projects are unable to be completely specified in advance ( Hayek, 1945). Central to this view of complex project management as a form of complex problem solving is the governance challenge of knowledge management under uncertainty. This paper proposes that the distributed coordination mechanism which both organisations evolved for this contingency can best be characterised as a ‘common will of mutual interest’, a self-organising process that was fostered around project goals and paced by the project life cycle ( Kogut and Zander, 1992). The implications for theory, research, and practice in complex PM knowledge management are examined.     

Organisational capabilities and project organising research

The past two decades have seen a growing scholarly focus on applying concepts and theories from the strategic management field to explain how project-based organisations initiate and deliver projects. In this study, we focus on the increasing application of the concept of organisational capabilities. We employ a semi-systematic literature review to investigate how the capability-based view has been adopted and adapted in the context of project organising research. The findings are first presented through traditional quantitative measures. Selected articles are then categorised in accordance to how theoretically grounded they are, and are further divided into three main research themes: capability identification, capability development, and capability and performance. On the basis of these themes, we synthesise what we see as key issues in progressing capability research in the project organising domain; and provide suggestions for how future research can be developed in order to make broader theoretical contributions, whilst also remaining practically relevant.     

Structuring inter-organizational R&D projects: Towards a better understanding of the project architecture as an interplay between activity coordination and knowledge integration

The architects of inter-organizational R&D projects organize collaboration by structuring the activities and the knowledge base of the project. How do these two dimensions interplay and what are the implications on the project execution? The paper aims at developing new perspectives on inter-organizational multi-actor R&D projects using an exploratory inductive multi-case study of projects funded by the European Union's Research and Innovation Programmes. The projects have been studied simultaneously in terms of activity coordination and knowledge integration as well as the implications of their interplay on collaboration, project resilience and project management. The paper provides empirical evidence about six patterns of project architecture. The workflow-integrated architecture disintegrates the knowledge base, provides a lower collaboration potential and may require high management efforts, while a workflow-decomposed architecture makes project management easy but provides little added value from the inter-organizational setting. Nearly decomposable architectures offer the highest collaboration potential under contingent conditions.     

The Megaproject-based Firm: Building programme management capability to deliver megaprojects

The rapid growth in demand for large-scale infrastructure around the world calls for a new type of organisation, which we label the Megaproject-based Firm (MBF). We conceptualise the MBF as a core permanent entity that delivers multiple megaprojects with partners in project networks, in several large temporary organisations crossing the boundaries of the firm. We use 78 interviews to identify how the learning within and between these megaprojects has enabled the firm to build programme management capabilities over time. Our results show that adaptability, flexibility, and the design of the roles and responsibilities between clients and delivery partners are critical ingredients of programme management. Megaprojects should be delivered through a collaborative relationship with clients, not for clients. The involvement in a series of megaprojects in parallel and sequentially offers a new type of project capability building challenge for firms, adding to the literature on project-based firms and project capabilities.     

Project portfolio management in practice and in context

Companies struggle with the sub-optimization and changes among their projects, even if various normative instructions and good practices have been introduced for project portfolio management. At the center of this paper is the need to understand project portfolio management in practice and in context. The purpose is to report a review on recent empirical research literature regarding project portfolio management, to draw attention to the limitations with viewing portfolio management as a rational decision process, and to develop new avenues for research regarding project portfolio management in practice and in context. As a result, this paper shows that, to respond to uncertainties and complexities in business environments, project portfolio management can be viewed as negotiation and bargaining and as structural reconfiguration, besides rational decision processes. These alternative perspectives offer new insight into the dilemmas identified in day-to-day project portfolio management and open up avenues for resolving them, thereby promoting success in project portfolio management.     

工程建筑公司项目群管理:一个实施模型

对于以项目为基础的工程建筑公司而言,项目管理能力是其核心竞争力的体现.传统的项目管理过于关注单个项目的绩效,没有从企业组织的角度整体考虑,特别是在多项目环境下,往往会造成企业资源紧缺.在分析项目群管理概念的基础上,结合工程建筑公司特点,提出了项目群管理模式的实施模型,其实施过程包含目标合同的选择、项目群方案的确立、项目群实施过程控制、项目群管理绩效四个方面,并对各个方面的影响因素进行了详细的论述.旨在为工程建筑公司实施多项目管理提供一个"行动路线图",以重新审视、改进其当前的管理模式和技术,提高企业的市场竞争力和组织项目管理能力.     

Investigating the rationale for adopting an internationally-recognised project management methodology in Ireland: The view of the project manager

As businesses become more dependent on technology, effective project management has been recognised as a necessity, in order to lead and deliver quality software applications on time and within budget. One possible option in software projects is the use of a project management methodology. This exploratory research examines why organisations with an existing project management methodology are transitioning to an internationally-recognised methodology, and why organisations that do not have a project management methodology are implementing an internationally-recognised methodology. Results of five case studies suggest that while an in-house project management methodology can work well within an organisation, the benefits of using an internationally-recognised methodology should be considered. These include: the assurance that the organisation is using what is considered to be best-practice; demand from external customers that a recognised methodology is used; assistance with external recruitment; and the availability of suppliers of the methodology for training and support.     

Implementing the replication strategy in uncertain and complex investment projects

Replication has typically been used as a strategy in chain businesses such as McDonald's where the technology involved is rather simple but it has also been used for very complex technologies where strict quality conditions apply. This paper examines the use of replication when the object of the replication is relatively complex. — i.e. it is neither simple nor very complex. Using a qualitative, embedded single-case study we examine a strategic R&D and capital investment programme aimed at providing a small oil company with first mover advantage in the emerging market for biodiesel. The paper builds on concepts of project capability building, learning and replication and extends previous work which focused on project supplier organisations seeking to deliver similar projects to a range of clients on a repeatable basis by focusing on the efforts of a single client organisation attempting to deliver a series of similar investment projects.     

A Real Option based Six Sigma project evaluation and selection model

Identification and selection of Six Sigma projects are one of the most frequently discussed issues in the Six Sigma literatures today. In this paper a two-stage methodology has been proposed based on (i) Real Option Analysis for evaluating the value of the project to improve the managerial flexibility (ii) a zero–one integer linear programming model for selecting and scheduling an optimal project portfolio, based on the organization's objectives and constraints. The methodology is illustrated through a case study from petrochemical industry carried out during 2007. The study contributes to managerial practices by identifying a new way of valuing the Six Sigma projects through Real Option Analysis by considering various kinds of risks. Resource-constrained environment has been chosen to test the proposed approach of selection of project portfolio and the model is validated with a detailed discussion.     

Practice-based learning in construction projects: a literature review

Construction project managers often face problems when trying to change work practices. Management research addresses these problems by offering stylized and abstract models; unfortunately, they may say little about the actual work practices that managers want to change. Practice theory offers an alternative way to address practice-related managerial problems, arguing that learning is a central enabler of performing practices. While some early research on practice-based learning in construction management exists, an understanding of how this theory has been applied is lacking. To address this limitation, a systematic literature review of 15 published construction management articles was conducted, the articles being divided into five practice-related analytical categories: participation, context, meaning production, power and becoming a practitioner to identify the areas of theory discussed. Participation and context were discussed more in the published articles than meaning production, power and becoming a practitioner, which might suggest that the latter categories offer more possibilities for future research. Further, the articles were analysed through a Lakatosian research programme lens, showing that a progressive research programme exists in practice-based studies in construction management. These findings provide avenues for future construction management studies seeking to apply practice-based learning theory to understand learning in construction projects better.