Information Technology (IT) projects continue to fail despite being managed by certified Project Management Professionals (PMP) and professionally trained non-certified Project Managers (PM). This study addressed PMPs and qualified PMs who continue to experience IT project failure at a high rate. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore perspectives of PMs and their understanding of project management best practices in the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). There were 5 research questions focused on IT project failures, lessons learned, trends, deficiencies in project management framework, and adherence to standard PM practices. This study utilized a phenomenological approach and an inductive analysis based on Koskinen's theory that a lack of project management knowledge can contribute to project failure. Data were collected from open-ended interviews with 20 project managers; these data were then inductively coded and analyzed for themes and patterns. Findings yielded categories of poor scope management, cost overruns, unmanaged resources, un-realistic requirements, inadequate stakeholder management, and deficiencies in content in the PMBOK standards. The results could influence positive social change for PMs to assess the depth of project management training needed to understand early warning signs of IT project failure. These changes could promote awareness within the project management community and encourage more in-depth PM competency training.

p. 1-127 / Submitted by Santiago Fabio (fabio.ssantiago@hotmail.com) on 2013-02-26T17:18:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 666.pdf: 12363039 bytes, checksum: 458e5a1b1d632ea3d1eda66278af79f5 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Tatiana Lima(tatianasl@ufba.br) on 2013-03-13T20:22:07Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 666.pdf: 12363039 bytes, checksum: 458e5a1b1d632ea3d1eda66278af79f5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-03-13T20:22:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 666.pdf: 12363039 bytes, checksum: 458e5a1b1d632ea3d1eda66278af79f5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / A gestão de projetos de desenvolvimento territorial está sendo, de forma crescente, confrontada com os desafios da localização e da sustentabilidade. Neste contexto, se questiona se os tradicionais modelos de gestão de projetos, fundamentados ainda no pensamento mecanicista e reducionista, podem fazer frente a estes desafios. Esta pesquisa procura, de forma indutiva, buscar respostas para esta questão, partindo da sistematização do caso do “Programa de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Sustentado da Costa dos Coqueiros”, analisando discursos da academia e das agências de assistência técnica ao desenvolvimento, bem como estudando dois modelos de referência em gestão de projetos, o Logical Framework Approach e o Project Management Body of Knowledge. Resulta destas análises a conclusão de que a concepção e a administração de projetos de desenvolvimento territorial, além de serem fortemente influenciadas pelo contexto local, requerem uma nova forma de abordagem, de caráter mais endógeno, que promova a capacitação, a participação e o empoderamento efetivo dos beneficiários e dos demais atores locais envolvidos. / Salvador

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:51:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 4714.pdf: 3301604 bytes, checksum: 9af8a72e777bb07cc110b09f14be0d8b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-29 / Project management is an ancient concept that has been studied since the 1950´s, in the cold war era, when major military projects were developed. Currently this area still has great relevance. This happens because companies can achieve their objectives of short, medium and long term through the implementation of projects. This may occur through exchange of equipment, technological change, expansion or modernization of facilities and development of new products to take advantage of opportunities identified in the market. Thus, it is vital that these projects are well managed, what can be achieved by using as main reference the PMBOK, since this guide is widely known both in the academic and professional environments. Then the time spent on project implementation can be a competitive advantage for the organization, so it is important to reduce the time needed to complete the project. So for this, the concepts and principles of QRM, which is a pragmatic approach aimed at reducing the lead time can be used. This approach is used not only on the shop-floor, but also in the administrative environment. The QRM promotes joint action with the other partners in the supply chain to reduce lead times once it become evident the holistic earned gains. From this context emerges the present work that aims to reduce the lead time in the life cycle of a project, through a proposal to integrate the QRM approach and modern project management given by the PMBOK guide. This proposal will be utilized in an illustrative case study on a project of the oil sector that is sensitive to the term. / Gerenciamento de projetos é um conceito antigo e que vem sendo estudado desde a década de 1950 no período da guerra fria, onde grandes projetos militares foram desenvolvidos. Atualmente, os projetos são vitais para as organizações, visto que, através destes, essas podem alcançar seus objetivos trocando equipamentos, alterando tecnologia, expandindo ou modernizando suas instalações e também para que sejam aproveitadas oportunidades identificadas no mercado. Dessa forma, é vital que esses projetos sejam bem gerenciados, o que pode ser auferido ao se utilizar como principal referência o PMBOK, uma vez que este é um guia amplamente conhecido tanto no ambiente acadêmico como profissional. Além disso, o prazo de implementação do projeto pode ser uma vantagem competitiva para a organização, sendo importante a redução do prazo necessário para conclusão do projeto. Para isso, utilizou-se a abordagem do QRM que visa a redução de lead time não somente no chão de fábrica, mas também no ambiente administrativo. Essa abordagem, o QRM, promove o engajamento dos outros parceiros da cadeia de abastecimento na redução de lead times, uma vez que fica evidente os ganhos holísticos auferidos por todos. A partir deste contexto, surge a presente dissertação que tem como objetivo o a redução de lead time no ciclo de vida de um projeto, através de uma proposta de integração da abordagem QRM e a moderna gestão de projetos dado pelo guia PMBOK. Esta proposta será utilizada em um estudo de caso ilustrativo em um projeto do setor de petróleo que é sensível ao prazo.

O gerenciamento de projetos de forma sistematizada vem se tornando essencial para todo tipo de organização, pois os mercados a cada dia tornam-se cada vez mais competitivos, os recursos mais escassos e os clientes muito mais exigentes. É possível observar isso com o número crescente de empresas que se associam ao Project Management Institute (PMI) - referência nas melhores práticas em gerenciamento de projetos - que desde o final de 2013 possui mais de 400.000 empresas associadas em todo o planeta. Tal tendência é natural, visto que as empresas necessitam se destacar nos negócios em um mercado cada vez mais dinâmico a fim de garantir a sua sobrevivência. De acordo com Gu et al. (2013), uma questão-chave na investigação de gerenciamento de projetos gira em torno de porquê alguns projetos são bem sucedidos, enquanto outros não. Esta questão levou os pesquisadores a explorar determinantes potenciais que possam levar ao sucesso ou fracasso de um projeto. Por exemplo, o Standish Group International (2009) encontrou uma taxa global de fracasso do projeto em torno de 72% nos EUA. É certo que a cultura organizacional exerce forte influência no sucesso dos projetos, mas seria possível diagnosticá-la para com isso melhor conduzir as equipes de projeto? Deste modo, o objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar a relação entre a cultura organizacional e o gerenciamento de projetos, utilizando-se para tanto dos modelos como o Competing Values Framework (CVF) e o Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI). O emprego dos modelos se justifica por serem os mais utilizados na literatura em gestão organizacional, embora não tenham sido encontrados estudos empíricos que os utilize no contexto brasileiro em gerenciamento de projetos. O método utilizado para obtenção do perfil cultural dominante para o sucesso em gerenciamento de projetos foi survey, na qual o modelo OCAI foi adaptado e destinado para gerentes e membros de equipe de projetos. Observou-se através da análise dos dados, que a cultura de clã foi a que apresentou forte influência para o sucesso no gerenciamento de projetos de acordo com a percepção dos respondentes da survey. É importante ressaltar que não há um perfil de cultura melhor que o outro, portanto, a cultura de gerenciamento de projetos obtida é apenas o diagnóstico de uma cultura organizacional que poderá permitir a obtenção de um desempenho superior, ou seja, sucesso no atendimento de escopo, qualidade, custo e prazo. Discute-se para estudos futuros a importância de se empregar respondentes de diferentes estados do Brasil e ainda de outros países, buscando estabelecer que não existam influências de outros fatores culturais regionais na percepção dos respondentes. / Project management in a systematic manner has become essential for any type of organization, because the markets every day become increasingly competitive, scarce resources and more demanding customers. You can see this with the growing number of companies that are associated with the Project Management Institute (PMI) - reference the best practices in project management - which since late 2013 has more than 400,000 affiliates around the world. This tendency is natural, since companies need to stand out in business in an increasingly dynamic market in order to ensure their survival. According to Gu et al. (2013), a key issue in project management research centers on why some projects are successful while others do not. This question led the researchers to explore potential determinants that can lead to success or failure of a project. For example, the Standish Group International (2009) found an overall rate of failure of the project around 72% in the US. Admittedly, the organizational culture has a strong influence on the success of the projects, but it would be possible to diagnose it for it better lead project teams? Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between organizational culture and project management, using for both models like the Competing Values Framework (CVF) and the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI). The use of models is justified because they are the most used in the literature on organizational management, although we did not find empirical studies that use them in the Brazilian context in project management. The method used to obtain the dominant cultural profile for success in project management was the survey, in which the OCAI model was adapted and designed for managers and project team members. It was observed by analyzing the data, the clan culture showed the strong influence for success in project management according to the perception of the survey respondents. Importantly, there is a better culture profile than the other, so the obtained project management culture is only the diagnosis of an organizational culture that may allow obtaining superior performance, ie success in scope of service, quality, cost and schedule. It is argued for further study the importance of employing respondents from different states of Brazil and even from other countries, seeking to establish that there are no influences from other regional cultural factors in the perception of respondents.

O gerenciamento de projetos de forma sistematizada vem se tornando essencial para todo tipo de organização, pois os mercados a cada dia tornam-se cada vez mais competitivos, os recursos mais escassos e os clientes muito mais exigentes. É possível observar isso com o número crescente de empresas que se associam ao Project Management Institute (PMI) - referência nas melhores práticas em gerenciamento de projetos - que desde o final de 2013 possui mais de 400.000 empresas associadas em todo o planeta. Tal tendência é natural, visto que as empresas necessitam se destacar nos negócios em um mercado cada vez mais dinâmico a fim de garantir a sua sobrevivência. De acordo com Gu et al. (2013), uma questão-chave na investigação de gerenciamento de projetos gira em torno de porquê alguns projetos são bem sucedidos, enquanto outros não. Esta questão levou os pesquisadores a explorar determinantes potenciais que possam levar ao sucesso ou fracasso de um projeto. Por exemplo, o Standish Group International (2009) encontrou uma taxa global de fracasso do projeto em torno de 72% nos EUA. É certo que a cultura organizacional exerce forte influência no sucesso dos projetos, mas seria possível diagnosticá-la para com isso melhor conduzir as equipes de projeto? Deste modo, o objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar a relação entre a cultura organizacional e o gerenciamento de projetos, utilizando-se para tanto dos modelos como o Competing Values Framework (CVF) e o Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI). O emprego dos modelos se justifica por serem os mais utilizados na literatura em gestão organizacional, embora não tenham sido encontrados estudos empíricos que os utilize no contexto brasileiro em gerenciamento de projetos. O método utilizado para obtenção do perfil cultural dominante para o sucesso em gerenciamento de projetos foi survey, na qual o modelo OCAI foi adaptado e destinado para gerentes e membros de equipe de projetos. Observou-se através da análise dos dados, que a cultura de clã foi a que apresentou forte influência para o sucesso no gerenciamento de projetos de acordo com a percepção dos respondentes da survey. É importante ressaltar que não há um perfil de cultura melhor que o outro, portanto, a cultura de gerenciamento de projetos obtida é apenas o diagnóstico de uma cultura organizacional que poderá permitir a obtenção de um desempenho superior, ou seja, sucesso no atendimento de escopo, qualidade, custo e prazo. Discute-se para estudos futuros a importância de se empregar respondentes de diferentes estados do Brasil e ainda de outros países, buscando estabelecer que não existam influências de outros fatores culturais regionais na percepção dos respondentes. / Project management in a systematic manner has become essential for any type of organization, because the markets every day become increasingly competitive, scarce resources and more demanding customers. You can see this with the growing number of companies that are associated with the Project Management Institute (PMI) - reference the best practices in project management - which since late 2013 has more than 400,000 affiliates around the world. This tendency is natural, since companies need to stand out in business in an increasingly dynamic market in order to ensure their survival. According to Gu et al. (2013), a key issue in project management research centers on why some projects are successful while others do not. This question led the researchers to explore potential determinants that can lead to success or failure of a project. For example, the Standish Group International (2009) found an overall rate of failure of the project around 72% in the US. Admittedly, the organizational culture has a strong influence on the success of the projects, but it would be possible to diagnose it for it better lead project teams? Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between organizational culture and project management, using for both models like the Competing Values Framework (CVF) and the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI). The use of models is justified because they are the most used in the literature on organizational management, although we did not find empirical studies that use them in the Brazilian context in project management. The method used to obtain the dominant cultural profile for success in project management was the survey, in which the OCAI model was adapted and designed for managers and project team members. It was observed by analyzing the data, the clan culture showed the strong influence for success in project management according to the perception of the survey respondents. Importantly, there is a better culture profile than the other, so the obtained project management culture is only the diagnosis of an organizational culture that may allow obtaining superior performance, ie success in scope of service, quality, cost and schedule. It is argued for further study the importance of employing respondents from different states of Brazil and even from other countries, seeking to establish that there are no influences from other regional cultural factors in the perception of respondents.

This research focuses on the role that polychronic Communication (PC) plays in the productivity and project success of Information Technology (IT) Project Managers (PMs). PC refers to a communication style where the communicator switches rapidly between several conversations, irrespective of topic similarity, instead of completing one conversation before starting another. An online questionnaire collected data from Information Technology workers in multiple industries across the globe. The data consisted out of two distinct groups: IT PMs (n = 202) and IT project team members (n = 122). Statistical analysis on the dataset considered the perspectives of both participant groups, first separately and then combined. The results showed relationships between: 1. IT PMs’ individual polychronicity and their PC. 2. IT PMs’ PC and their opinion of the influence of PC on the success of the projects that they are managing. 3. IT PMs’ PC and their opinion of the influence of PC on their productivity. 4. IT PMs’ PC and the corporate polychronicity of their employers. In addition, when IT PMs rate their PC, the rating is lower than when other IT project team members rate the IT PMs’ PC. By contrast, there was no difference between IT PMs rating the influence of their PC on their project success and productivity versus IT project teams rating the influence of the IT PMs’ PC on their project success and productivity. These findings contribute to the factors that a corporation has to consider in hiring new IT PMs or training their current IT PMs. / Information Science / M. Sc. (Information Systems)

The diploma paper introduces and, consequently, compares the worldwide accepted project management standards PMBOK Guide and CzNCB and ASAP Methodology for Implementation. Project management standards were presented by PMI and IPMA organizations, ASAP Methodology for Implementation was developed by SAP organization. The theoretical background is further applied on real situations within projects of implementations of SAP solutions that are realized by the company NESS Czech s.r.o.. Possible difficulties, which may arise during every implementation of SAP solutions, are being identified due to knowledge and experience of project managers and solution architects of NESS Czech s.r.o., not only during each phase of ASAP Methodology for Implementation but also during pre-implementation project phase. After settling the role and responsibilities of the supplier's project manager, the solutions how to avoid and/or react on possible difficulties, in charge of supplier's project manager, are being indicated.

本研究在探討專案經理管理專案逐步完善的過程 (Progressive Elaboration)中，面對接踵而來的專案變更 (Change) 以及不確定性 (Uncertainty)，如何能以客戶觀點來看待專案管理的利害得失 ( Advantage / Disadvantage / Gain / Lost )，滿足客戶需求以創造客戶價值。 本研究認為專案管理的重點在於專案變更管理。藉由策略行銷4C架構的思維，將能有效彌補專案經理在企管知識與經驗上落差，將專案管理的重點聚焦在客戶關心的專案管理重點上，透過行銷交換上四個成本問題的解決，來為客戶與專案創造價值。本研究透過以客戶與專案經理的不同觀點來回顧與檢討兩個實務個案，建議在管理專案時以策略行銷4C架構思維作為和客戶溝通的思考架構，聚焦於如何兼顧三重限制下，把專案管理的價值提升到同時滿足專案與商業的成功。換言之，藉由行銷交換四大成本問題的解決來“作對的事”(Do the right thing)以滿足客戶的期望，而讓專案管理方法論聚焦於專案管理團隊如何管理專案，來解決“把事作對”(Do the thing right) 的問題。

This research focuses on the role that polychronic Communication (PC) plays in the productivity and project success of Information Technology (IT) Project Managers (PMs). PC refers to a communication style where the communicator switches rapidly between several conversations, irrespective of topic similarity, instead of completing one conversation before starting another. An online questionnaire collected data from Information Technology workers in multiple industries across the globe. The data consisted out of two distinct groups: IT PMs (n = 202) and IT project team members (n = 122). Statistical analysis on the dataset considered the perspectives of both participant groups, first separately and then combined. The results showed relationships between: 1. IT PMs’ individual polychronicity and their PC. 2. IT PMs’ PC and their opinion of the influence of PC on the success of the projects that they are managing. 3. IT PMs’ PC and their opinion of the influence of PC on their productivity. 4. IT PMs’ PC and the corporate polychronicity of their employers. In addition, when IT PMs rate their PC, the rating is lower than when other IT project team members rate the IT PMs’ PC. By contrast, there was no difference between IT PMs rating the influence of their PC on their project success and productivity versus IT project teams rating the influence of the IT PMs’ PC on their project success and productivity. These findings contribute to the factors that a corporation has to consider in hiring new IT PMs or training their current IT PMs. / Information Science / M. Sc. (Information Systems)

The aim of this study is to investigate whether a combination of agile system development methodologies (ASDMs) and project management methodologies (PMMs) can be used to develop a hybrid APMM that will have the ability to deliver information technology (IT) projects successfully in a constantly changing business and project environment. To achieve this objective, a literature review was conducted on the relatively well–established ASDMs by firstly defining a SDM and an ASDM. Each ASDM and its effectiveness are described, after which ASDMs in general are evaluated by considering their area of application, advantages and disadvantages. A comparison is then done of the seven different ASDMs using the four elements of an SDM (Huisman & Iivari, 2006:32) to emphasise some of the main similarities and differences amongst the different ASDMs. The seven ASDMs investigated in this study are Dynamic System Development Methodology, Scrum, Extreme Programming, Feature Driven Development, Crystal ASDMs ? Crystal Clear and Crystal Orange in particular, Adaptive Software Development and Lean Development. A literature review was also conducted on two structured and relatively well–established PMMs, PMBOK and PRINCE2, and a relatively new PMM called Agile Project Management. Each PMM is evaluated by considering their area of application, advantages, disadvantages and integration with other methodologies, after which a comparison is made of the different PMMs. The research was conducted by following a mixed methods research plan, which included the mixed methods research paradigm (combination of the interpretive research paradigm and the positivistic research paradigm), research methods (design science, case study and survey), quantitative and qualitative data–collection techniques (interviews and questionnaires), and dataanalysis techniques (cross–case and statistical). The reasons that projects fail and critical project success factors were studied and summarised to form the critical project success criteria, which were used to create the agile project success criteria. The ASDM best practice and PMM best practice frameworks were created by identifying whether a certain ASDM or PMM would satisfy a specific agile project success factor (APSF) of the agile project success criteria. The findings of each APSF in the respective frameworks were used as a foundation to develop a hybrid APMM (ver. 0) that would address the agile project success criteria. The hybrid APMM (ver. 0) was developed interpretively using design science (research approach) and constructivism by combining the strengths, addressing the weaknesses and bridging the gaps identified in the frameworks. The hybrid APMM (ver. 0) was then evaluated and improved by conducting an interpretive case study, which entailed interviewing participants from large and small organisations. Once the qualitative data collected had been analysed using cross–case analysis, the findings were incorporated in order to create an improved hybrid APMM (ver. 1). The hybrid APMM (ver. 1) too was evaluated and improved by conducting a survey, which entailed administering questionnaires to various respondents in order to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The findings of the statistical analysis of the data were also used to improve the hybrid APMM (ver. 1), resulting in the final hybrid APMM (ver. 2). This study demonstrates that a combination of ASDMs and PMMs can be used to develop a hybrid APMM with the ability to deliver IT projects in a constantly changing project and business environment. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.