Operational Flexibility: A Model for Effective Project Management

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of operational flexibility for effective project management in the construction industry. The specific objectives are to: a) Identify the determinants of operational flexibility potential in construction project management b) Investigate the contribution of each of the determinants to operational flexibility potential in the construction industry c) Investigate on the moderating factors of operational flexibility potential in a construction project environment d) Investigate whether moderated operational flexibility potential mediates the path between predictors and effective construction project management e) Develop and test a conceptual model of achieving operational flexibility for effective project management The purpose of this study is to findout ways to utilize flexibility inorder to manage uncertain project environment and ultimately achieve effective project management. In what configuration these operational flexibility determinants are demanded by construction project environment in order to achieve project success. This research was conducted in three phases, namely: (i) exploratory phase (ii) questionnaire development phase; and (iii) data collection and analysis phase. The study needs firm level analysis and therefore real estate developers who are members of CREDAI, Kerala Chapter were considered. This study provides a framework on the functioning of operational flexibility, offering guidance to researchers and practitioners for discovering means to gain operational flexibility in construction firms. The findings provide an empirical understanding on kinds of resources and capabilities a construction firm must accumulate to respond flexibly to the changing project environment offering practitioners insights into practices that build firms operational flexibility potential. Firms are dealing with complex, continuous changing and uncertain environments due trends of globalization, technical changes and innovations and changes in the customers’ needs and expectations. To cope with the increasingly uncertain and quickly changing environment firms strive for flexibility. To achieve the level of flexibility that adds value to the customers, firms should look to flexibility from a day to day operational perspective. Each dimension of operational flexibility is derived from competences and capabilities. In this thesis only the influence on customer satisfaction and learning exploitation of flexibility dimensions which directly add value in the customers eyes are studied to answer the followingresearch questions: “What is the impact of operational flexibility on customer satisfaction?.” What are the predictors of operational flexibility in construction industry? .These questions can only be answered after answering the questions like “Why do firms need operational flexibility?” and “how can firms achieve operational flexibility?” in the context of the construction industry. The need for construction firms to be flexible, via the effective utilization of organizational resources and capabilities for improved responsiveness, is important because of the increasing rate of changes in the business environment within which they operate. Achieving operational flexibility is also important because it has a significant correlation with a project effectiveness and hence a firm’s turnover. It is essential for academics and practitioners to recognize that the attainment of operational flexibility involves different types namely: (i) Modification (ii) new product development and (iii) demand management requires different configurations of predictors (i.e., resources, capabilities and strategies). Construction firms should consider these relationships and implement appropriate management practices for developing and configuring the right kind of resources, capabilities and strategies towards achieving different operational flexibility types.

Project management exercises

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Project management exercises pdf

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Project Management: A Tale of Fact, Failure and Fiction

This is a presentation given to 3rd year Project students on our BSc degree programmes to help them project manage their 3rd year dissertations. It covers three practical methods. Fact: Skills Audits to help make projects realistic. Failure: Risk Assessment to help with contingency planning. Fiction: Gantt Charts to help with managing time and effort.

e-Research Methods Theme 5 Project Management

The aims of this theme are: •to identify and develop personal attributes that enable postgraduate students to manage a research project to the correct standard and to complete it on time; •to enable postgraduate students to plan and organise their research project in order to successfully reach their full potential in their chosen postgraduate degree; •to enable postgraduate students to apply appropriate time management skills to the planning of their research project; •to identify study skills and resource management strategies that can benefit postgraduate students to effectively organise and research their chosen field; •to develop team work skills within the postgraduate cohort studying the Project Management core theme.

e-Research Methods Theme 5 Project Management ZIP

Source files for theme 5

Agile Game: A Project Management Game for Agile Methods

Since mid-1990s, companies have adopted agile methods and incorporated them in their development methodologies. For this reason, future project managers and developers need to have a full understanding of these methods. At present, the university’s approach to agile methods is theoretical and is not reflected during the development of a product and their practical use. The purpose of this project is the creation of a software system in the form of a game, named Agile Game, which simulates their use. The system is designed for use as supplementary material in lectures, to help students understand agile methods, to present their use within a project, and to demonstrate how they differ from traditional project management methodologies. The final system, which is web based, was implemented using PHP, MySQL and JavaScript. It was fully tested against the requirements and evaluated by peer students. The evaluation showed that the majority of users were satisfied with the system but they thought that it should contain more detailed information at every step of the game. For this reason, some parts of the design and the content were reviewed to meet user requirements.

El Reportatge de recerca com a mitjà didàctic del treball de recerca. Una proposta innovadora amb elements de project management

El reportatge de recerca es el resultat, normalment en forma textual, de la transmissió del coneixement del procés de la investigació d’un treball de recerca. El desenvolupament del reportatge de recerca té com objectiu conformar els continguts d’acord amb unes característiques tangibles (l’estil de la redacció...) o intangibles (emoció, passió pel coneixement...). La seva difusió té com objectiu arribar al destinatari final per transmetre-li el coneixement de com s’ha fet la recerca o, quan està adreçat a un públic ampli, per gaudir de la lectura. El treball de recerca és una eina didàctica cada dia més utilitzada. Llavors, cal que la seva difusió sigui ben presentada, ja sigui tan a nivell dels resultats com del procés. Hi ha diferents mitjans de comunicació d’aquesta difusió: des de el text fins l’audiovisual. En el present article es farà referència al format de text amb els complements d’imatges que s’escaiguin. A continuació es mostrarà la forma com s’estructura el treball de recerca, la metodologia del reportatge de recerca i els elements informatius, que es proposa anomenar-los infotextos, que hi apareixen. La bona articulació del infotextos en el reportatge generarà interès per la lectura i posarà en valor el treball de la recerca

Private industrial project management: a systems-based case study

The technique of linear responsibility analysis is used for a retrospective case study of a private industrial development consisting of an extension to existing buildings to provide a warehouse, services block and packing line. The organizational structure adopted on the project is analysed using concepts from systems theory which are included in Walker's theoretical model of the structure of building project organizations (Walker, 1981). This model proposes that the process of building provision can be viewed as systems and subsystems which are differentiated from each other at decision points. Further to this, the subsystems can be viewed as the interaction of managing system and operating system. Using Walker's model, a systematic analysis of the relationships between the contributors gives a quantitative assessment of the efficacy of the organizational structure used. The causes of the client's dissatisfaction with the outcome of the project were lack of integration and complexity of the managing system. However, there was a high level of satisfaction with the completed project and this is reflected by the way in which the organization structure corresponded to the model's propositions.

e-learning in project management using simulation models: a case study based on the replication of an experiment

Current e-learning systems are increasing their importance in higher education. However, the state of the art of e-learning applications, besides the state of the practice, does not achieve the level of interactivity that current learning theories advocate. In this paper, the possibility of enhancing e-learning systems to achieve deep learning has been studied by replicating an experiment in which students had to learn basic software engineering principles. One group learned these principles using a static approach, while the other group learned the same principles using a system-dynamics-based approach, which provided interactivity and feedback. The results show that, quantitatively, the latter group achieved a better understanding of the principles; furthermore, qualitatively, they enjoyed the learning experience