Daniel Capaldo Amaral

Can Agile Project Management Be Adopted by Industries Other than Software Development

This research paper presents evidence from an exploratory survey on the use of agile project management (APM) practices and the presence of APM enablers in 19 medium-and large-sized companies from different industry sectors considering innovative projects. The results show that these companies are possibly struggling to use their current management practices in the face of different project challenges. Additionally, the presence of some APM enablers indicates opportunities to adapt the APM theory for different companies other than those in software development. Future research should explore the correlation between APM practices and enablers in order to develop “hybrid” management models for different industries.

Evaluating an Agile Method for Planning and Controlling Innovative Projects

This article presents an extensive investigation carried out in two technology-based companies of the São Carlos technological pole in Brazil. Based on this multiple case study and literature review, a method, entitled hereafter IVPM2, applying agile project management (APM) principles was developed. After the method implementation, a qualitative evaluation was carried out by a document analysis and questionnaire application. This article shows that the application of this method at the companies under investigation evidenced the benefits of using simple, iterative, visual, and agile techniques to plan and control innovative product projects combined with traditional project management best practices, such as standardization.

Aplicando o cenário de desenvolvimento de produtos em um caso prático de capacitação profissional

The competitive advantage of a manufacturing enterprise in a global economy is directly related to its capacity to introduce new products on the market, guaranteeing technological actualised product lines, with characteristics of quality, cost and time according to actual clients exigency. However, a great difficulty of the integrated management of product development is the existence of few professionals capacitated to act efficiently in this business process, characterised as multifunctional. That is, professionals who have a whole and integrated vision of this process. A form to help this professional capacitation is based on the utilisation of a new learning approach, characterised by active didactics, denominated scenario. This approach is supported by reference models, by which the required knowledge to the business process execution can be obtained. In this context, this article has the goal to discuss the professional capacitation question, related to the product development process, employing the scenario approach. This article not only presents a characterisation of the product development process and the requirements for capacitating its collaborators, but also describes a practical case of professional capacitation, carried out in a multinational enterprise in Brazil, utilising the scenario approach and the action research method.

Diferenciando as abordagens tradicional e ágil de gerenciamento de projetos

The project management (PM) theory has been criticized, resulting in a new approach known as the Agile Project Management (APM) approach. The assessment of these two approaches is challenging due to the lack of parameters that are available to aid in distinguishing them from one another. The objective of this paper is to identify critical differences between project management practices that are capable of revealing the appropriate project management approach to be adopted by a company. First, a project management practices list was developed and classified according to each approach. Comparing practices that have originated from each approach made it possible to identify the difference regarding how the actions are performed, instead of what tools or techniques are used. Additionally, six main characteristics of project management actions were identified that make it possible to differentiate between the traditional or agile approach in use. This result can be very useful in future research as a guide in the development of more confident approach assessment instruments.

Contexto da parceria como qualificador da gestão de projetos universidade-empresa

A literatura possui significativa quantidade de fatores criticos para o sucesso na gestao de projetos colaborativos, do tipo universidade-empresa. Esses fatores foram identificados por meio de estudos de casos multiplos e levantamentos (surveys). Nao ha, portanto, estudos aprofundados verificando esses resultados. A pesquisa apresentada e do tipo observacao participante em dois projetos, realizados entre um mesmo grupo de pesquisa e empresa. Avalia-se a percepcao da equipe, a dos coordenadores dos projetos e do participante-observador (diario de campo), complementada pela analise de documentos e percepcao dos stakeholders. O resultado mais significativo do caso e a indicacao de que fatores relacionados ao contexto da parceria, tidos como criticos para o sucesso, agiram como condicionantes. Esse dado traz novas hipoteses sobre as listas de fator critico e indica novas direcoes para a pesquisa.

Towards a conceptual framework for product vision

Purpose – Many publications emphasize the importance of product vision and its contribution to successful product development. However, the current literature lacks a definition. The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model that unites and organizes the definitions of product vision, the construct’s latent components, and demonstrates the relationship of product vision to the existing theories. Design/methodology/approach – The study conducted two exploratory literature reviews to find the initial key concepts, and a systematic literature review to define the product vision construct and identify its components. Findings – This paper proposes a framework that defines product vision through two main elements (textual and visual) and four main properties (concise, challenging, aligned with strategy, and collectively obtained). Research limitations/implications – While the proposed framework constructs a more precise definition of product vision, more research is required to validate the constr...

A Framework for the Application of Eco-efficiency to the Technology Development Process

The use of technology development process (TDP) models by the enterprises can contribute to the usage control of natural resources of technologies before or after its integration on products, services or processes. Although the choice of a technology can consider the use of some performance metrics to identify their eco-efficiency, the literature about technology development models neglects this element. Based on a qualitative analysis of existing models, this paper proposes a conceptual model for the adoption of eco-efficiency indicators in the TDP by the innovation managers, distributed in three different stages: the initial stage, during the planning of a technology, the intermediate stage, at the technology development, and the final stage, at the technology transfer. Future research, such as prioritizing the indicators and the extent of the present analysis to other sustainability dimensions are suggested for structuring a sustainable model of TDP.

Práticas de gestão do conhecimento em grupos de pesquisa da rede Instituto Fábrica do Milênio

Recent years have seen a growth in network research programs, with different distinct research groups bringing together competencies in their search for significant technological advances. Knowledge Management (KM) is an essential factor in these initiatives, but there are few studies about this theme. This paper describes KM practices in research groups of a Brazilian national research network called the Factory of the Millennium Institute (IFM). The research method adopted here was a multicase study, using interviews, applied to a sample of research groups of this network. The result was a conceptual research process development model, a theoretical model of best KM practices and barriers observed. The data confirms the importance of knowledge management practices and a focus on the aspect of socialization of knowledge conversion (tacit-tacit). A description is given of some directions for future research in this area.

A case study about the product development process evaluation

The significance of business process approach has been increasingly recognized on new product development management (NPD). The challenge is how to build models to support it. This paper presents a model named PDPNet to provide it and describes an application case study in a agriculture machine enterprise. The data collect instruments are participant observations and document analysis. The results contains the description and an evaluation of the maturity level, considering the model proposed. The conclusion presents considerations about the support disposal by the model during the application, the challenges findings, and proposals about future research.

Identificação e comparação qualitativa de indicadores de desempenho de simbiose industrial

Industrial symbiosis is the exchange of by-products, energy and water between industries, centered on a collective approach, and in order to achieve competitive advantages. It is central to the concept of eco-industrial park and requires continuous monitoring by the professionals involved. Indicators have been proposed and the objective of this work is to identify and describe the indicators present in the literature, and then make a conceptual comparison. In a total of seven indicators, the ISI (Industrial Symbiosis Indicator), from Felicio et al. (2016), stands out due to the amount of its positive features, bigger than the others, and for facilitating the indication of trends. The Environmental Impact indicator, from Trokanas et al. (2015), also stands out, but for considering the financial and energy consumption aspects, inherent in the industrial symbiosis networks. The others indicators have serious problems, including superficiality and difficulty of application. A combination of both would be the best alternative, but further research is recommended with more robust assessments, based on cases or simulations.