Poor project performance creates a dilemma for managers in both the public and private sectors. Much research has been conducted on project success, but the relationship between organisational architecture and project success has not been fully explored. This led to the main research question of the study, which was: How can project success be better explained and understood from the perspective of organisational architecture theory? A literature review was conducted on the nature of projects, the project environment, and how project success can be defined and measured, including a discussion on success criteria and critical success factors. Organisational architecture was broken down into its core components. These components were further categorised into structural, operational or procedural, and behavioural (culture, motivation and leadership) components after which literature within each of these components were analysed and discussed. The study used a positivistic paradigm and collected quantitative data that was statistically analysed. An electronic questionnaire was successfully launched and distributed via an email link, which worked through the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) web survey system. This was done within the framework of built environment projects that are typically implemented through partnerships between the public and private sector. A satisfactory response rate was obtained from built environment professionals in South Africa to allow inference of the sample results to the population. The following hypotheses were tested in this study: H1.1: The perception of South African built environment professionals is that there is a significant relationship between organisational structure and project success. H1.2: The perception of South African built environment professionals is that there is a significant relationship between the use and application of traditional operations management tools and techniques and project success. H1.3: The perception of South African built environment professionals is that there is a significant relationship between organisational culture and project success. H1.4: The perception of South African built environment professionals is that there is a significant relationship between motivation and project success. H1.5: The perception of South African built environment professionals is that there is a significant relationship between leadership and project success. An analysis of the survey results revealed that, according to South African built environment professionals, there is an overall significant relationship between organisational architecture and project success. Following an overview of the main findings, an Organisational Architecture – Project Success (OAPS) framework was presented as a recommendation of how to better explain and understand the relationship between organisational architecture and project success.

Project implementation appears to be one the most difficult aspects of a manager’s job. The purpose of project management is to forecast or anticipate potential dangers and problems that may jeopardise the success of a project and then to plan, organise and control activities that will lead to the successful completion of projects in spite of all the envisaged risks. It is estimated that more than 80% of projects run late or over budget. Such failure often sinks small firms and erodes profits of larger organisations. Project implementation is therefore critical to the success of both small and big firms. The primary objective of this study is to improve project management in firms by investigating the variables that influence project implementation. More specifically, the study investigates the influence of organisational communication, leadership, business process management and resistance to change on project implementation. The sample consisted of 170 employees in a cross-section of industries. The sample was stratified to include senior managers, managers, supervisors and lower level employees. The empirical results show that organisational communication, participatory leadership, retention of the status quo and goal-oriented leadership increase project implementation, while resistance to change decreases project implementation.

Executives and managers are required to develop the required competencies to ensure the long term success of their organisations. In the competitive and dynamic business environment organisations are faced with, strategic management and planning has gained momentum as a management science which aids managers and executives in circumventing the challenges that such a dynamic environment can present. Strategic management and planning is, however, of no consequence unless the strategic plan is deployed and implemented in an organisation and the implemented plan is evaluated in action. Many organisations find the process of strategy implementation much more of a challenge than the process of strategy formulation. Consequently, many of these organisations have utilised project management to assist in the strategic management implementation process. The competitive and dynamic business environment also requires organisations to constantly develop and execute more innovative business strategies to remain competitive. In order to do this, many organisations have started to explore the alignment between business strategy and project management strategy. Various commentators note that successful implementation of strategy is challenging, especially considering the 70 per cent execution failure rate. It is further noted that organisations only realise 60 per cent of the potential value of their intended strategies due to failures in planning and implementation. Consequently, projects are often chosen as vehicles to implement these business strategies. The primary objective of this research is to improve the implementation of strategic management initiatives within organisations. This was achieved by investigating whether Shenhar’s strategic project leadership elements (i.e. organisational structure, process definition, implementation metrics, implementation tools and organisational culture) have an impact on the successful implementation of strategic management initiatives. The study also aims to investigate whether age, gender, race, designation, education, industry experience and tenure at Eskom Telecommunications, have an impact on the perception of the following variables under investigation: Implementation metrics; Implementation tools; Organisational structure; Organisational culture; Process definition; and Strategic management implementation. If the correlation between strategic management implementation and Shenhar’s strategic project leadership elements is established, it would assist organisations in the implementation of successful strategic management initiatives, by aiding an understanding of how these independent variables affect the implementation process. Improved implementation of strategic management initiatives would assist management teams in organisations to overcome the unique challenges that change in an organisation’s internal and external environment cause. The scope of this study was limited to be conducted in Eskom Telecommunications only. The study is concluded with a number of recommendations that Eskom Telecommunications could implement to improve strategic management implementation and a synopsis of this study’s contribution to theory is provided, in addition to recommendations for future research.

Housing projects are amongst the South African (SA) Government’s major focus points with reference to budgeting for its financial years. The delivery of these housing projects is taking place at a slower rate than anticipated due to the problems experienced in the processes involved in their management. The project management shortcomings are a major setback with reference to the delivery of houses to the communities. It is, however, stated by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (RSA) that every South African citizen has a right to housing and that the Local Government, as the closest entity to communities, must do whatever it possibly can to ensure timeous service delivery to its communities. The objective of this research is to ascertain the nature and extent of project management problems experienced by municipal project managers, the impact thereof and potential solutions to the identified problems. The study is intended to advise on possible ways to address project management problems arising during the implementation of housing projects in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) through investigation and analysis of information gathered in both theory and practice. Project management is a process of controlling the achievement of project objectives through the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques. For a housing project the main objective is to deliver safe, quality houses on time and within budget. Problems which hinder the delivery of housing projects relate to cost, time and the quality of housing projects delivered. The fact that these key project objectives are not met needs to be addressed urgently in order to improve the housing delivery. The literature reviewed and the feedback from the surveys; indicate that these problems have a vast impact on housing projects. The survey also reveals that it is not only housing Project Managers (PMs) that are unable to perform well, but also other parties involved in the project management of housing projects and which play a great role in project management failures of housing projects. Some of these parties are consultants and contractors. The lack of performance by project managers affects the delivery of houses negatively in the NMBM.

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M.Ing. / The emphasis in this dissertation will thus be to apply a case study to project initiation, implementation and termination theoretical steps and practically apply these steps to a brick making plant environment so as to guide project managers in systematic steps of nmning their own heavy industry project. To familiarise the reader with the following issues is the main objective. Vital components include project planning of works, project time and cost control, monitoring and control of designed work, monitoring and control of on and off-site work, quality control and expediting operational commissioning. These issues will be discussed under the abovementioned headings of project initiation, implementation and tennination. The appendices contain a practical application and set format that could be used to run a project of small scale and adjusted to suite larger projects. The format and plmming tools of the case study has been developed by the author and is free to be used if so needed.

Bibliography: pages 109-113. / In the evolution of project management as a distinct field of management, there seems to have developed greatly disjointed theory on project control. As a result, the modern practitioner is often faced with contradictory and confusing advice on project time/schedule control requirements. This research integrates and extends present time/schedule control theory. It includes a review of the literature, in which the fragmented theory is pieced together in a model describing the operation of a control system. It uses an industrial survey of engineering projects in the South Western Cape to highlight current time/schedule control trends and to establish the existence and form of relationships between project success, project characteristics and time/schedule control methods. The broad scope of the research has made it possible to set rough guidelines for the practising project manager, in the selection of time/schedule control requirements, and to highlight areas for further research in this area of project management.

The front–end planning phase of a project potentially has the biggest impact on the outcome of the implementation phase. Globally, significant research has been conducted into the relationship between the quality of front–end planning and the success of the implementation phase of a project. Several tools have been developed to assess the level of readiness of a project study to proceed into detail design and implementation. However, no such commonly available tool existed for mining projects. The available assessment tools are either generic, not specific to mining projects and therefore do not include many of the elements which are critical to mining projects, or the property of consulting firms. In order to create an Assessment Tool for Mining Project front–end planning, the first step was to evaluate the mining industry and identify all of the elements which should be addressed during a mining project study. This was done through a literature review (which included existing front–end planning evaluation tools), as well as focus groups and surveys. The result was a list of 180 elements which should be considered during a mining project study. To incorporate a metric structure for quantitative evaluation, the Project Definition Readiness Index (PDRI) format as utilized by the Construction Industry Institute (CII) was used. This resulted in the 180 elements being divided into four sections and 18 categories. Since not all elements contributed equally to project success, weights were assigned to each element. The weighting process involved asking experienced mining project professionals to assign weights to each element. After the data were reviewed and adjusted for normality, a weighted list of elements was created which would comprise the Readiness Assessment Tool (RAT) for mining projects. The weighting also provided a quantitative assessment value, based on which a decision can be made about whether or not to proceed to the next project phase. To validate the instrument, the completed RAT for Mining Projects was tested against completed projects. The validation process indicated that there was a significant correlation between the RAT score of a project, and the eventual implementation success. The validation process also highlighted some dominant performance indicators that could influence project results. The performance indicator relating to the performance of the completed project against expectations was found to have the most significant correlation with the RAT score and accounted for 39% of the variability. This was closely followed by the impact of change orders, which had the second–highest correlation to the RAT score (36.2%). Similarly, 8% of the variability in Cost Performance and 7.9% of the variability in Schedule Performance could be explained by the RAT score. The RAT score can explain 3.02% of the variability in the Operating Score of a project and 3.86% of the variability in the Customer Score. By creating a comprehensive, weighted list of elements to be addressed during the front–end phase of a mining project, the RAT for mining projects can assist project team members in coming to a common understanding of the areas which need to be studied, as well as the relative importance of the various elements. The most significant contribution of this study is that project teams can use the RAT as a self–assessment tool during any stage of the project study and identify the areas of the study which require more definition. Teams can also use the RAT to calculate an overall RAT rating at any stage, which will indicate the overall level of readiness to proceed into the next phase of the project. Through assessing the completeness of each of the 180 elements to determine a single RAT score, the RAT can assist project members, as well as decision–makers such as Boards of Directors, to make informed decisions regarding the approval of projects. Finally, depending on the accuracy and reliability of input data, the RAT should improve the probability of a successful project. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Graduate School of Technology Management (GSTM) / PhD / Unrestricted

This research investigated the impact and management of external project stakeholders in the Chemical sector located in the geographic region of Sasolburg (Free State province of South Africa). Within a context where the relationship between a project and its stakeholders is central to project success, and where stakeholder management is currently marginalised and suppressed, this research aimed to distinguish between which external project stakeholders are more important than others; understand which stakeholders posed a higher risk; and which dimensions required the most development to improve project stakeholder management. The research methodology was approached from a philosophical stance corresponding to a positivism paradigm and utilised deductive reasoning. The research strategy was survey based with a cross-sectional time horizon while the data collection method used non-probability sampling, specifically the snowball sampling technique, and employed questionnaires as a means to elicit the required data for analysis. This research found that the most important external stakeholder groups, and who caused the most problems and uncertainty for the project, were contractors/suppliers; clients; and end users. Due to their high levels of involvement and criticality of roles during the project lifecycle these stakeholders should be the focal point of stakeholder management initiatives. The dimensions of stakeholder management requiring the most development was strategy and plans; evaluations; and tools and methods indicating a need for a tactical approach to stakeholder management. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

<p> In 2016 Caterpillar Inc. made the corporate decision to close the Newberry, SC manufacturing facility and move a portion of their power generation product line to the engine assembly facility in Seguin, TX. This case study documented and evaluated the project management strategy utilized to execute the transition. The case study aimed to understand the power generation project’s effectiveness. The case study’s research questions included:</p><p> 1. What factors facilitated or hindered the power generation transition project?</p><p> 2. How did the project team develop the project plan, prepare for the execution, and ultimately execute the project?</p><p> 3. How was the team developed from project management to initial leadership?</p><p> Utilizing qualitative research methods available in NVivo 12 Pro, including analyzing the project’s details and reviewing similar project methods in Seguin, the research summarized the project and presented an evaluation to understand project management within the facility. The resultant themes aligned with Olivier Mesly’s (2016, p. 14) project management “four P’s,” including “plan,” “process,” “people,” and “power.” In addition, “challenges” was added as an additional theme to capture important influences on the project.</p><p> The resultant research culminated in recommendations that organizations within Caterpillar Seguin can use to execute large-scale, complex projects.</p>