From the editor

In order to read this Project Management Journal issue, I suggest embracing a modeling perspective. Talking about modeling should lead me to define what is meant by “model” and to develop some kind of categorization, classification, or taxonomy of models. One can consider basic categories like quantitative vs. qualitative, explanatory vs. predictive, stochastic, nonstochastic mathematical, or qualitative models, linear vs. nonlinear and their underlying assumptions, degree of simplification, systemic effects integration, and so on...

From the editor

In this Project Management Journal issue, the reader will “travel” from human capital to portfolio selection through knowledge development and maturity, systems thinking and problem (dis)solving, and development of combinative capabilities...

From the editor

In this issue of the Project Management Journal, the reader will explore understanding better the contribution of project management to organizational performance, discovering the necessity to move beyond the old reigning paradigm of single-loop project control, raising the question whether PMP® certification leads to better performance, learning how to develop project management competence through a course based on service learning and an experiential learning approach, supporting new product development with the use of “dormant knowledge,” and increasing performance of virtual new product development projects...

From the editor

In this issue of Project Management Journal, the reader will explore different perspectives, exemplifying the dynamic and creativity at stake within the project, program, and portfolio management field. These papers provide good illustrations of the various schools of project management research I introduced in the From the Editor letters between June 2007 and September 2008...

PMI Research and Education Conference 2010

The PMI Research and Education Conference 2010 ended one week ago at the time of this writing. Aside from 3 enlightening keynote speeches, 78 proffered papers were presented. On the basis of the reviewers' assessments, the 10 best papers have been selected to form this special issue...

Mapping the dynamics of the project management field : project management in action (part 6)

This is the sixth part of a Letter from the Editor series where the results are presented of an ongoing research undertaken in order to investigate the dynamic of the evolution of the field of project management and the key trends. Dynamics of networks is a key feature in strategic diagrams analysis. The radical change in the configuration of a network between two periods, or the change at subnetwork level reflects the dynamic of science. I present here an example of subnetwork comparison over the four periods of time considered in this study. I will develop and discuss an example of subnetwork transformation in future Letter from the Editor article..

Mapping the dynamics of the project management field : project management in action (part 5)

This is the fifth part of a Letter From the Editor series where the results are presented of an ongoing research undertaken in order to investigate the dynamic of the evolution of the field of project management and the key trends. I present some general findings and the strategic diagrams generated for each of the time periods introduced herein and discuss what we can learn from them on a general standpoint. I will develop and discuss some detailed findings in future Letter From the Editor articles...

Editorial

The Project Management track at EURAM (the European Academy of Management) was founded at the Stockholm meeting in 2002 and since Munich 2005 has consistently been one of the largest tracks. This has enabled it to retain a high quality of papers as evidenced by a reject rate of around one third of submitted papers. For the last four years, a special issue of the International Journal of Project Management has been produced from the track papers. This year, the importance of the field of Project Management in the academic community was demonstrated by the creation of a Strategic Interest Group (SIG), which will be launched at the next EURAM event, in Rome in May 2010...

Investigating the deployment of project management : a new perspective based on the concept of certification

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a summary description of the doctoral thesis investigating the field of project management (PM) deployment. Researchers will be informed of the current contributions within this topic and of the possible further investigations and researches. The decision makers and practitioners will be aware of a set of tools addressing the PM deployment with new perspectives. Design/methodology/approach – Research undertaken with the thesis is based on quantitative methods using time series statistics (time distance analysis) and comparative and correlation analysis aimed to better define and understand the PM deployment within and between countries or groups. Findings – The results suggest a project management deployment index (PMDI) to objectively measure the PM deployment based on the concept of certification. A proposed framework to empirically benchmark the PM deployment between countries by integrating the PMDI time series with the two dimensional comparative analysis of Sicherl. The correlation analysis within Hoftsede cultural framework shows the impact of the national culture dimensions on the PM deployment. The forecasting model shows a general continual growth trend of the PM deployment, with continual increase in the time distance between the countries. Research limitations/implications – The PM researchers are offered an empirical quantification on which they can construct further investigations and understanding of this phenomenon. The number of possible units that can be studied offers wide possibilities to replicate the thesis work. New researches can be undertaken to investigate further the contribution of other social or economical indicators, or to refine and enrich the definition of the PMDI indicator. Practical implications – These results have important implications on the PM deployment approaches. The PMDI measurements and time series comparisons facilitate considerably the measurement and benchmarking between the units (e.g. countries) and against targets, while the readiness setting of the studied unit (in terms of development and cultural levels) impacts the PM deployment within this country. Originality/value – This paper provides a summary of cutting-edge research work in the studied field of PM deployment and a link to the published works that researchers can use to help them understand the thesis research as well as how it can be extended.

Earned value management insights using inferential statistics

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to summarise a successfully defended doctoral thesis. The main purpose of this paper is to provide a summary of the scope, and main issues raised in the thesis so that readers undertaking studies in the same or connected areas may be aware of current contributions to the topic. The secondary aims are to frame the completed thesis in the context of doctoral-level research in project management as well as offer ideas for further investigation which would serve to extend scientific knowledge on the topic. Design/methodology/approach – Research reported in this paper is based on a quantitative study using inferential statistics aimed at better understanding the actual and potential usage of earned value management (EVM) as applied to external projects under contract. Theories uncovered during the literature review were hypothesized and tested using experiential data collected from 145 EVM practitioners with direct experience on one or more external projects under contract that applied the methodology. Findings – The results of this research suggest that EVM is an effective project management methodology. The principles of EVM were shown to be significant positive predictors of project success on contracted efforts and to be a relatively greater positive predictor of project success when using fixed-price versus cost-plus (CP) type contracts. Moreover, EVM's work-breakdown structure (WBS) utility was shown to positively contribute to the formation of project contracts. The contribution was not significantly different between fixed-price and CP contracted projects, with exceptions in the areas of schedule planning and payment planning. EVM's “S” curve benefited the administration of project contracts. The contribution of the S-curve was not significantly different between fixed-price and CP contracted projects. Furthermore, EVM metrics were shown to also be important contributors to the administration of project contracts. The relative contribution of EVM metrics to projects under fixed-price versus CP contracts was not significantly different, with one exception in the area of evaluating and processing payment requests. Practical implications – These results have important implications for project practitioners, EVM advocates, as well as corporate and governmental policy makers. EVM should be considered for all projects – not only for its positive contribution to project contract development and administration, for its contribution to project success as well, regardless of contract type. Contract type should not be the sole determining factor in the decision whether or not to use EVM. More particularly, the more fixed the contracted project cost, the more the principles of EVM explain the success of the project. The use of EVM mechanics should also be used in all projects regardless of contract type. Payment planning using a WBS should be emphasized in fixed-price contracts using EVM in order to help mitigate performance risk. Schedule planning using a WBS should be emphasized in CP contracts using EVM in order to help mitigate financial risk. Similarly, EVM metrics should be emphasized in fixed-price contracts in evaluating and processing payment requests. Originality/value – This paper provides a summary of cutting-edge research work and a link to the published thesis that researchers can use to help them understand how the research methodology was applied as well as how it can be extended.

The unresolved struggles between project managers and functional managers in matrix organizations

Having personal that works in projects but belongs to a functional organization is the way that many companies organized their labor force today. Previous research shows that this implies management contradictions and ambiguities between functional manager and project manager; there are unresolved struggles between these two roles in terms of power, accountability, authority and legitimacy. With this paper we aim to analyze those struggles based on previous research and to generate working hypotheses. We first provide a review of the different matrix organizations focusing on the relation between the functional manager and the project manager. We then review the literature concerning temporary organizations and projects as temporary organizations. We conclude by integrating the findings of these perspectives and by identifying working hypotheses and areas for further research.

Socioeconomic status and health outcomes in a developing country

Although the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and health is well documented for developed countries, less evidence has been presented for developing countries. The aim of this paper is to analyse this relationship at the household level for Fiji, a developing country in the South Pacific, using original household survey data. To allow for the endogeneity of SES status in the household health production function, we utilize a simultaneous equation approach where estimates are achieved by full information maximum likelihood. By restricting our sample to one, relatively small island, and including area and district hospital effects, physical geography effects are unpacked from income effects. We measure SES, as permanent income which is constructed using principal components analysis. An alternative specification considers transitory household income. We find that a 1% increase in wealth (our measure of permanent income) would lead to a 15% decrease in the probability of an incapacitating illness occurring intra-household. Although the presence of a strong relationship indicates that relatively small improvements in SES status can significantly improve health at the household level, it is argued that the design of appropriate policy would also require an understanding of the various mechanisms through which the relationship operates.

How can schools support beginning teachers? A call for timely induction and mentoring for effective teaching

Induction programs largely focus on informing the beginning teacher about the school culture and infrastructure yet the core business of education is teaching and learning. This qualitative study uses a survey, questionnaire, and interviews to investigate 10 beginning teachers’ needs towards becoming effective teachers in their first year of teaching. Findings were synonymous with studies in other countries that showed they required more support in the induction process, particularly around the school context, networking, managing people, and creating work-life balances. It also found that these beginning teachers required more support in school culture and infrastructure with stronger consideration of developing teaching practices, such as: pedagogical knowledge development and behaviour management. It highlighted willing and capable assigned mentors who can model practices and provide feedback on the beginning teachers’ practices as pivotal to induction and mentoring processes.

Reduced Il17a expression distinguishes a Ly6cloMHCIIhi macrophage population promoting wound healing

Macrophages are the main components of inflammation during skin wound healing. They are critical in wound closure and in excessive inflammation, resulting in defective healing observed in chronic wounds. Given the heterogeneity of macrophage phenotypes and functions, we here hypothesized that different subpopulations of macrophages would have different and sometimes opposing effects on wound healing. Using multimarker flow cytometry and RNA expression array analyses on macrophage subpopulations from wound granulation tissue, we identified a Ly6cloMHCIIhi “noninflammatory” subset that increased both in absolute number and proportion during normal wound healing and was missing in Ob/Ob and MYD88−/− models of delayed healing. We also identified IL17 as the main cytokine distinguishing this population from proinflammatory macrophages and demonstrated that inhibition of IL17 by blocking Ab or in IL17A−/− mice accelerated normal and delayed healing. These findings dissect the complexity of the role and activity of the macrophages during wound inflammation and may contribute to the development of therapeutic approaches to restore healing in chronic wounds.