The competences of project managers are a vital role in projects success. An exten-sive literature survey was conducted to determine the constitution of an adequate knowledge base for would-be project managers. A detailed literature study was conducted. The literature review discussed how to assess project management competencies. Technical skills and social cultural skills were identified from the literature review. A comprehensive list of criteria was used to generate the critical success factors.Based on the critical success factors that were obtained from the literature in the content for the knowledge base was constructed. This research then started to address what constitutes certification requirements. Certification programs were identified globally for the study. This study identified what the certification programs offered. This research started by proposing a knowledge base and using the “grounded theory approach” used content analysis to compare the proposed knowledge base with project management certification programs. The study concluded with recommendations on the gaps that exist in project man-agement certification programs.

This research is addressing the causes and effects of project delays in the coal mining industry in South Africa. A literature review was conducted and it was found that the causes of delays are extensively researched in the construction industry with only limited reference to delays in the mining industry which are mainly risk based. The effects of delays are predominantly listed as timing and cost effects.

To contribute to the field of research of Projects as Social Processes, this research study will investigate the various aspects of social processes in the project environment. The study will be qualitative in nature and will use a case study methodology investigating the social processes experienced by the project managers of the various subsystems of Bombardier Transportation, as part of the Bombela Concession Company, in the delivery of the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link project. Project Managers were interviewed to understand how they experience the social processes taking place in the project environment as well as how they handle and approach these social interactions. The above methodology used in this exploratory case study is specifically used to develop a justification for enlarging the existing methodological Project Management Bodies of Knowledge (PMBOK) and the Life Cycle processes applicable to System Engineering to include Social processes.

Globalisation has always been researchers' main concern and interest over a long period of the time. One effect of globalisation is that the composition of project teams had become increasingly diverse. The differing national cultural backgrounds of members increases the complexity of team composition, which regulates the success of the project performance. Research has shown that diverse teams outperform homogenous ones. Other studies have investigated the impact of national culture on projects. But our knowledge of how effectively companies can manage a complex, multicultural team project is inadequate and limited. Furthermore, theoretical and empirical studies concerning how the national cultural diversity of teams can impact project performance are limited. Most of the studies are qualitative, either focusing on one country or discussing one aspect of culture, and mainly considering team performance. To fill this gap, this study investigates the national cultural factors that influence multicultural project teams and determine the cultural dimensions that impact on project performance. In particular, it examines the influence of five national culture dimensions developed by Hofstede on multicultural team complexity variables including integration, communication, trust and knowledge-sharing, and to recognise how these factors are related to project performance. The territory chosen for this study was the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, as all of these nations rely intensely upon an expat workforce because of the lack of both skilled and unskilled manpower in the local market. A survey instrument was extracted and developed from previously validated questionnaire scales. Pilot testing was conducted to ensure the scales, format and contents of the survey instrument were appropriate. A range of project team members were targeted, and 329 valid questionnaires were returned. The data obtained was analysed by using two widely used statistical software tools, SPSS and AMOS. The data analysis steps included reliability (Cronbach's alpha) and validity (Confirmatory Factor) analysis. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to test the entire model. By using SEM, it was possible to test the parsimonious nature of the model, identify the model, determine whether it makes theoretical sense, and examine its fit to the data. The relationship between national culture, team performance and project performance was analysed using path analysis as part of the SEM. The research outcome showed that national culture has a significant impact on the team performance, especially on integration, communication, trust and knowledge sharing, which will also moderate the relationship between national culture and project performance. The finding of this research study confirmed that there is a relationship between national cultural differences and project success. Understanding the cultural differences among team members, who are from different national cultural backgrounds, is an essential aspect of managing projects successfully. Moreover, mismanaging or ignoring cultural differences of the team members may lead to project failures. Furthermore, the outcomes have obviously shown that the optimal project performance is accomplished when the entire project team is thoroughly integrated and incorporated with the project purpose. This study contributes to the literature by delivering a deeper understanding of the cultural issues that influence the performance of multicultural project teams in GCC countries. In addition, it provides greater insight into national culture within projects context, in particular providing empirical evidence that different nationalities have different cultural orientations and that these different cultural orientations are associated with different levels of performance. In practice, the findings will assist project directors and managers in similar countries to further recognise the role of national culture in the context of enhancing project performance. In particular, project directors and managers can undertake an assessment of their teams' national cultural background and based on that, forecast the probable team and project performance. Where necessary, action can be taken to manage or even change the cultural orientation in terms of the attitudes and behaviours of project teams. This research expressed the views of professionals who work in a multicultural environment on the extent to which national cultural dimensions may affect the outcome of a project.

Many musicians, artists and other creative thinkers often struggle with organizational skills in preparation for events that require detailed planning, notably recital preparation. Musicians often find themselves ill-prepared and must reschedule the event, recycle music that they do not wish to perform, or ultimately perform at a lower standard. Currently, there is no standardized, established model for pianists or other types of musicians to guide them in setting up a recital and successfully executing all of its parts from start to finish. This study, through discussion of the employment of project management principles, aids artists in putting together a performance successfully. Specifically, it explored the planning and execution of all facets of the performance. This study sought to present a guide on the basic steps in planning a successful recital using the established methodology of a business model and applying it to piano performance. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate how project management principles can be applied to recital preparation, planning and execution. The study addressed the returning performer; however, aspects of this study can be used by the student and seasoned professional alike. Results of the study generated an integrated project plan, illustrating the project life cycle of piano performance.

In the new business economy, project management has become a central way for undertaking several of the business activities. One of the increasing and most significant concerns with projects is that, projects are behind schedule, over budget and show unsatisfactory performance in terms quality and customer satisfaction. In the last few decades the manufacturing industry successfully improved quality and productivity, by using the concepts of lean thinking. The thesis explores the relevance of lean concepts in project management and how lean concepts can improve project productivity. The qualitative method is used in this study. Further, a systematic approach was used to identify the relevance of lean concepts in project management. The qualitative data was collected using an interview with a project consultant. The results of the study reveal that all concepts of lean thinking are relevant to project management in specific kinds of projects. However, a greater degree of understanding and interpretation of each concept is needed when applying lean thinking in project management. Furthermore, some of the concepts have to be interpreted with caution when they are used in innovative projects. In general, it is found that, lean project management can improve project productivity. The findings suggest that the lean concepts can reduce cost and time which are two key measures of project success. The results of this study can be seen as a tentative framework intended to stimulate further discussion about integrating lean thinking in project and program management.

Timing, cost, and quality are the key elements in the construction project. (We can call it ¡§elements triangle¡¨) Whenever one of the elements is being changed, such as the project progress delay, the cost surpass the budget or the quality flaw excessively many and so on, usually the solution is to modify the problem part, but we miss the ¡§System Dynamics¡¨ of the construction project. The elements are involved to each other. Therefore, when we adjust the deviation part of the element; actually the adjustment also involves changes of the other elements or even the whole construction project, but still not solves the problem. It causes the recycle of the deviation occurs continually, but not the solution. According to the complex system dynamics, we found the best solution form the research of several construction cases with its management strategy and identities: 1. Adjust the deviation according to the person who is in charge of the project is better than just adjust the problem part of the elements. 2. Improve the satisfaction to the person who is in charge of the project and the cooperators for obtaining a better effect. 3. Applies the case occurs from the dynamic simulation method analysis practical field will enhanced the result of the inspection improvement plan, but also effected to the deviation analysis.

There are many papers or theses researched the similar topic which always focused on individual project management skills or risk management technique. Have you ever thought if a IT service provider try to process multiple projects, how the top manager team should monitor and supervise? How can they get this project done effectively and efficiently? How can they make the business more adaptive, responsive, and thus more profitable in a rapidly changing, multiproject environment? The advantages which can easily present why enterprise project management function its capability and show up its importance. This thesis proposed the point of view from the project management office, and try to draft a series of flexible processes to speed up and eliminate internal works of an enterprise, to raise customer satisfaction, to maintain the proper risk level; even though the controlling process had simplified, the risks still can be managed. In this research, which focused on risk assessing process in enterprise project management, reference lots of issues, books, magazines¡Ketc., by literature review and existing assessing flow in I company, find out the risks of multiprojects, go through generalized and analysis methodology to conduct a lot of different processes which should be properly used in each type of projects. Following results could be come out from this research, 1st, to realize what are the risk factors of enterprise project management(EPM). 2nd, to provide a referenced check list and process to which business wants to implement EPM. 3rd, to offer flexible risk assessing models speeding up processes and raise customer satisfaction. We could find 80% Type A projects could shorten process working days from original 31 days to 9~11 days; and 86% Type B projects, from 31days to 4~6days; total 81.37% sampling projects will get benefits.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 130-134).

The practice of managing capital project delivery in America evolves. By proxy, the skillsets necessary to fulfill the requirements of this profession also evolve. This report attempts to identify sources that define which skillsets are most valuable for professionals managing capital project delivery today. The report will specifically explore professional certifications and organizations, Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredited education programs, and industry opinion. Included in the study is a discussion of valuable skillsets for future construction management professionals. / text