Introduction The purpose of this work is to evaluate the article “Do project managers practice what they preach, and does it matter to project success” written by (Papke-Shields, Beise, & Quan, 2010). Defining project success is debatable however; the article produced numerous data and information on many of the core practices that leads to project success. Using excerpts from the literature; an analysis is discussed directly after each topic pertaining to projects and successful management. The article’s information is relevant to professionals and customers seeking answers as to why some project fails and others succeed. Successful projects are dependent on project management practices, but determining success is ambiguous. …show more content…
The article also discussed the evolution of project management over many decades and the adjustment to practices by the Project Management Institute (PMI), Association of Project Management (APM), and the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM). According to PMI (as cited in Papke-Shields et al., 2010) the propagation of standards increased awareness globally Papke-Shields et al., 2010). The article further proposed that understanding the source of project failures, internal and external to the organization is …show more content…
If the PMI standards contain provisions for project adjustment such as “Phase-Gates”, then can a project be categorized as a failure if the methodology is applied? According to Larson and Gray (2014) “The phase Gates provide an in-depth review of individual projects at specific phases in the Project Life Cycle” (Larson et al., 2014, p. 577). The review process enables project managers during certain project intervals to assess the current project situations and with stakeholder’s engagement decide if they should proceed further, scrap the project, allocate more resources, or alter the project
Introduction and Purpose of the Study Activities are executed as projects in organizations by governments and industries as a means to take advantage of the formality of processes and best practices associated with being characterized as a project (Geraldi, Maylor, & Williams, 2011, p. 966). According to Geraldi, Maylor, and Williams (p. 967), despite the promotion of “best practices” by professional program management associations that use of their methods lead to positive project outcomes, improved performance is not consistently realized. The authors argue that the associations’ one-size-fits-all approach to best practices is insufficient for project success and thus conducted systematic research (SR) to determine if something else is the cause of project success. The current paper presents a critical analysis of the 2011 article, “Now, let’s make it really complex (complicated)” (Geraldi et al.).
Crawford (2000) suggests that project leadership is the highest ranking category among project management competence factors. Project management leadership style affects overall project performance. Recent research supports the idea that successful projects are led by individuals who possess not only a blend of technical and management knowledge, but also leadership skills that are internally compatible with the motivation of the project team (Slevin and Pinto, 1988; Turner et al., 1998). Zimmerer and Yasin (1998) found that positive leadership contributed almost 76% to the success of projects. Negative or poor leadership contributed 67% to the failure of projects. Project leaders need both, relationships and task oriented leadership styles, to cope with the challenges within different phases of project (Slevin and Pinto, 1991). In projects, project leaders must lead their teams towards completing defined goals with in a fixed time scale. Verma (1997) states “Achieving the goal or final aim is the ultimate test of leadership”. Goals and tasks are achieved through people thus making people an important resource for
Graham, R. J. & Randall, L., Creating an Environment for Successful Projects: The Quests to Manage Project Management, second ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 65-113, 2003.
Project success is critical to business performance and still many projects suffer from overruns, delays and failure. Each project is different and consists of risks. According to Morris and Hough (1987), project failure rate are high when one fail to consider and analyze project risks. As per Jiang & Klein (2001), the way project risks are managed has a direct effect on the project deliverables. Tzvi et al. (2002) suggested that there is no risk free project. Project risk management aims to maximize opportunities and minimize threats. This ensures achievements of project objectives. Hence, it is unlikely that a project will be successful without effective project risk management.
Jugdev, K. (2012). Learning from Lessons Learned: Project Management Research Program. American Journal of Economics and Business Administration , 4(1), 13-22.
Project managers must possess the ability to use sound judgment based on the facts available to them, past experiences, and knowledge of current events to make effective decisions. Often, the success of project managers is based upon the outcomes of the decisions they did or did not make. As such, conducting performance assessments, during project implementation and after project completion, enables project managers and project stakeholders to accurately evaluate the success of the project. Projects are innately complex and multifaceted; therefore, project successes are difficult to measure and ascertain. “Based on an extensive review of the project success literature … a clear definition of project success does not exist and there is a need to develop meaningful and measurable constructs of project success” (Mir & Pinnington, 2014, p. 203).
The landscape of project management has changed. Project management is today more business oriented (Kerzner, 2013). This argument is supported by Yu (Yu, Flett, & Bowers, 2005), who present a value-centered proposal for addressing project success. Any project is always done within a specific environment or a system. Therefore, a project needs to support something which is existing and needs to be integrated with other efforts and units.
Establishing PMO Standards and Metrics The standards and metrics are the foundation of a successful Project Management Office (PMO). These standards and practices help a PMO to suggest and implement best practices and the corresponding tools to advance and gauge the performance of the project management methodology of an organization (Hill, 2013). Therefore, the vital objectives of this critical thinking report is to highlight these fundamental elements and showcase how the standards and metrics can be used effectively within the scope and responsibilities of a PMO. Moreover, with the help of a few practical examples the benefits of the PM standards and practices for the PMO would be described, along with the Information Technology (IT) needs
In today's business it is in the best interest of companies to have project managers. Common sense isn't always easily accomplished. Anyone who's ever worked on a project in a technical setting knows this. Indeed, much of working with others consists of solving unexpected problems and learning from mistakes along the way. Knowing this and having the proper tools a project manager will be able to manage and complete the most intense project out there.
A. Introduction The scope of this report is to provide project managers with valuable insights on the author’s own philosophical view on project management, focusing on the organization’s internal & external environment and circumstances affecting the project’s success e.g. The project management structure, forming virtual teams, and the organization’s stakeholders, etc. Laufer et al. (2015) had also emphasized the importance of long-term planning in dealing with these unforeseen events, which raises the point that project managers must be well-equipped with the proper knowledge and tools to appropriately handle such situations. The success of a project is undeniably crucial to an organization because businesses are able to meet the customers’ demands, leading to upholding of reputation and business partnership.
Project Management Institute (PMI) (2013). Project Management Professional (PMP) Handbook. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.pmi.org/certification/~/media/pdf/certifications/pdc_pmphandbook.ashx. [Last Accessed 20 April 2014].
Project management is said to be completed within time when it completed within the “triple constraints”: cost, time and quality. And in a lot of causes, one them is sacrificed so as to meet the other two. Project managers prioritize which ones are the most important.
In the globalized economy, Successful project managers are in much demand across many industries. Organizations strongly need experienced project managers to lead their staff to accomplish their business goals and deliver successful projects. In an increasingly complex environment, project managers need to turn into many roles and have all kinds of responsibilities at each level of management within an organization. Good project managers are not born. They need to be trained. They develop their skills through study, practise and experience. They become better project managers after they finish a successful project each time. They learn new techniques and apply them on their projects. They learn their lessons from failed projects and then improve to be better project managers in the future.
The role of a project manager has been the subject of numerous publications that have attempted to provide a precise set of qualities and responsibilities for the job title. However, the job role is so encompassing that there are still many different schools of thought on the subject and much debate over the precise terminology to best describe a project manager. This paper analyzes five such publications, and attempts to rationalize their research into a cohesive and comprehensive description of the roles of project manager. This paper establishes the roles of the project manager in the current setting in order that a newcomer to the subject matter will be able to understand the concepts as it relates to modern technology and business practices.
When planning a new project, how the project will be managed is one of the most important factors. The importance of a managers will determine the success of the project. The success of the project will be determined by how well it is managed. Project management is referred to as the discipline that entails the processes of carefully planning, organizing, controlling, and motivating the organization resources so as to foster and facilitate the achievement of specific established and desired goals and meet the specific criteria of success required in the organization (Larson, 2014). Over the course of this paper I will be discussing and analyzing the importance of project management.