Frank T. Anbari

Earned Value Project Management Method and Extensions

The earned value project management method integrates three critical elements of project management: scope management, cost management, and time management. It requires the periodic monitoring of actual expenditures and physical scope accomplishments, and allows calculation of cost and schedule variances, along with performance indices. It allows forecasting of project cost and schedule at completion and highlights the possible need for corrective action. This paper shows the major aspects of the earned value method and presents graphical tools for assessing project performance trends. It provides logical extensions and useful simplifications to enhance the effective application of this important method in project management.

Impact of organizational and project factors on acceptance and usage of project management software and perceived project success

This study surveyed 497 participants to determine the factors that affect project professionals’ acceptance of project management software and the perceived impact of software usage on their performance. The study finds that greater information quality and higher project complexity are the dominant factors explaining higher levels of system utilization, that greater system functionality and ease of use have a significant positive relationship with increased software usage, and that a strong positive relationship exists between higher usage of project management software and perceived project managers’ improved performance. Inconsistent with prior research, more training was not found to be associated with project management software usage. The study explains more than 40% of the variation in project management software acceptance and adds project management software usage to project success factors by empirically confirming for the first time that project management software enhances project professionals’ perceived performance and provides a positive impact on the results of their projects. The study provides practical implications for project professionals, their organizations, senior management, decision makers, software developers, and vendors. These findings support the call for further research that investigates the diffusion of information technologies in the project management field and their impact on project success and competitive position.

Collaborative academic/practitioner research in project management: Theory and models

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide of a review of the theory and models underlying project management (PM) research degrees that encourage reflective learning. Design/methodology/approach – Review of the literature and reflection on the practice of being actively involved in conducting and supervising academic research and disseminating academic output. The paper argues the case for the potential usefulness of reflective academic research to PM practitioners. It also highlights theoretical drivers of and barriers to reflective academic research by PM practitioners. Findings – A reflective learning approach to research can drive practical results though it requires a great deal of commitment and support by both academic and industry partners. Practical implications – This paper suggests how PM practitioners can engage in academic research that has practical outcomes and how to be more effective at disseminating these research outcomes. Originality/value – Advanced academic degrees, in particular those completed by PM practitioners, can validate a valuable source of innovative ideas and approaches that should be more quickly absorbed into the PM profession’s sources of knowledge. The value of this paper is to critically review and facilitate a reduced adaptation time for implementation of useful reflective academic research to industry.

History, practices, and future of earned value management in government: Perspectives from NASA

The goal of this research is to explore the history, practices, and future of the earned value management (EVM) method in government, and seek opportunities and suggestions for wider implementation of EVM for managing, measuring, and controlling project performance and progress. First, this study reviews the historical background and evolution of EVM implementation in government. Then, current practices for implementing EVM are discussed through examination of EVM adoption and implementation at NASA. The research shows that NASA receives substantial project management value from its implementation of EVM, promotes consistent practices across the agency, and provides effective training on leadership, scheduling, EVM, and data analysis. This study also provides recommendations to improve and broaden the applications of current EVM and project management practices to other government programs and projects. Findings of this research contribute to the management of performance of future projects and programs and encourage the project management community to review and advance the application of EVM.

Designing and Running Super-Efficient Experiments : Optimum Blocking With One Hard-to-Change Factor

This paper discusses how to run 2k experiments for process improvement when there is one hard-to-change factor. The paper studies the different ways of running these experiments and gives practical recommendations. It shows how to block designs to get small prediction variance and low cost. It presents an algorithm to allow the selection of efficient blocking relations, in 2k designs, where there is one hard-to-change factor and tabulates the results for 23 to 27 designs, in various block sizes. It presents methods for calculating the prediction variance and G-efficiency when there are hard-to-change factors. The calculations are demonstrated by applying them to 2k designs, and results are tabulated for various block sizes. We show that optimally blocked split-plot designs dominate randomized designs. A blocked split-plot design is both less expensive to run, because it requires fewer resets of the hard-to-change factor, and more precise, as it gives a lower variance of prediction than a completely randomized design.

Collaborative academic/practitioner research in project management : Examples and applications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a cost-benefit interpretation of academic-practitioner research by describing and analysing several recent relevant examples of academic-practitioner research with a focus on doctoral theses carried out at universities and business schools in clusters of research centred in North America, Australia and Europe. Design/methodology/approach – Using case study examples, a value proposition framework for undertaking collaborative research for higher degree level study is developed and presented. Findings – Value proposition benefits from this level of collaborative research can be summarised as enhancing competencies at the individual and organisational level as well as providing participating universities with high-quality candidates/students and opportunities for industry engagement. The project management (PM) professional bodies can also extend PM knowledge but they need to be prepared to provide active support. Practical implications – A model for better defining the value proposition of collaborative research from a range of stakeholder perspectives is offered that can be adapted for researchers and industry research sponsors. Originality/value – Few papers offer a value proposition framework for explaining collaborative research benefits. This paper addresses that need.

PERSPECTIVES ON RESEARCH IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT.

We review the substantial progress and trends of research in Project Management, which we have grouped into nine major schools of thought. We address interactions between the different schools and ...

Availability-impact analysis of project management trends: Perspectives from allied disciplines

The goal of this research was to analyze current and future trends of the allied management disciplines that influence project management. We asked academicians and practitioners about the availability of knowledge and the potential impact of allied disciplines on project management. We were able to assess where the allied disciplines currently stand in terms of availability and impact as well as make predictions about the future. The thoughts and visions collected from this research provide valuable insights for identifying trends in the allied disciplines and their impact on the future of project management, as well as opportunities, challenges, and obstacles.

Comprehensive framework for estimating the deployment cost of integrated business transformation projects

Purpose – This paper is a summary of a successfully defended doctoral dissertation. The purpose of this paper is to place this research in context to emerging areas of project management and service science, management and engineering and to encourage others to embark on further research related to this important topic.Design/methodology/approach – Results reported in this paper were based upon action learning from research in which a project management tool for estimating deployment cost was developed by capturing the knowledge of subject matter experts (SMEs) and subsequently tested against projects from various geographic areas.Findings – There were two primary findings. A development and analysis of the conceptual estimating framework supports the assertion that the use of the framework provides an awareness of the project that may not otherwise be observed or, at best, would be observed later in the life of the project and potentially addressed at a higher cost. A strong association has been found be...