Periodic Reporting for period 2 - BeingL_S (Being Lean and Seen: Meeting the challenges of delivering projects successfully in the 21st century)
Période du rapport: 2019-01-01 au 2022-09-30
The advancement of project management (PM) knowledge and the development of people’s PM capability is crucial to successful project delivery. Our programme was designed to put building blocks in place to enable PM to respond to the challenges it faces in delivering projects successfully in the 21st century. It does this by taking a multi-disciplinary perspective encompassing PM, lean management, psycho-social aspects, innovation and change management. The building blocks comprised: 1) PM efficiency (being Lean), 2) PM systems that meet the psycho-social needs of project staff (being Seen) and 3) making PM responsive to the need of organisations to be innovative and manage change (being Lean and Seen). Different country contexts of project delivery are included to reflect the global interconnectedness of projects. A network of five academic and five non-academic partners collaborated to deliver the holistic PM framework to guide project delivery. The role of different PM practices, contexts, systems and delivery approaches were explored through the collection of primary and secondary data. Knowledge of theoretical perspectives from different disciplines, which largely resided in the academic partners, was combined with the practical knowledge of project environments, largely residing in the non-academic partners, to develop the holistic framework. Work was organised through seven work packages, which are now complete. The project has generated knowledge in:
• The challenges to the successful delivery of projects in forms that are both understandable to, and actionable by, the wider PM community;
• The role of relevant management practices in tackling the challenges to the successful delivery of projects;
• The distinctions in PM system design and delivery within the context of developed and developing countries.
It provides an evidence-base for the mix of management practices required for effective and efficient PM. It promotes a multi-disciplinary perspective in the design and implementation of PM systems and in the advancement of PM Bodies of Knowledge.
• The challenges to the successful delivery of projects in forms that are both understandable to, and actionable by, the wider PM community;
• The role of relevant management practices in tackling the challenges to the successful delivery of projects;
• The distinctions in PM system design and delivery within the context of developed and developing countries.
It provides an evidence-base for the mix of management practices required for effective and efficient PM. It promotes a multi-disciplinary perspective in the design and implementation of PM systems and in the advancement of PM Bodies of Knowledge.
WP2 Trends & Challenges - Survey data were analysed, which led to the creation of a conceptual model addressing the interrelated aspects of PM trends and challenges. Findings were presented to a number of focus groups comprising multi-disciplinary practitioners and experts in PM across the UK, Germany, Switzerland and Malaysia. Current trends include: the increase in technology and data, which both address and create challenges; and the current and predicted challenges of skills gaps, new PM tools and project complexity, which may be addressed by the introduction of lean and agile approaches, but might also create increasing pressure on PMs; and the challenge of real-time cost control. WP3 Lean PM – interviews were undertaken with experienced PMs from a variety of professional disciplines. A case study of a multinational company utilising an agile approach was undertaken and focus groups including data from the UK, Germany, Malaysia, and Switzerland undertaken. Results indicate that understanding the lived experiences of PMs is vital to understanding how project complexity, and the managerial skills and competences required to deliver complexity successfully, can best be supported through lean and agile approaches; and how agility leads to ambidexterity within innovation and change environments. Implementation of lean PM approaches highlights the utility of lean as a process-related, task-driven systems approach that can be used for generic as well as discipline- specific projects. Data suggests that the benefits of lean PM are well understood and can act as an enabler for successful project delivery. WP4 Psycho-social aspects – Findings from interviews, observations and a survey led to the identification of factors for project success; individual differences (personality), PM skills (communications), emotional intelligence, conflict management, resilience and organisational justice. The most significant being Sociability, Compromising and Problem Solving. This has illuminated the way in which individuals and related social processes could impact upon each other, as well as on PM practice. WP5 Innovation & Change – Interviews were undertaken and case studies carried out on organisational, project and individual levels across different industries, in the UK and Germany. Data collection focused on ambidexterity practices by middle and project managers and used the concept of project structures and networks to analyse how these individuals contribute to exploitation and exploration activities, the conflicts between them, and the complexity in projects and organisations. An overlapping set of skills was found to be effective for best outcomes. WP6 Adaptation of lean and seen in the developing world - results from WPs 2 to 5 were shared with practitioners in focus groups across Latin America, India, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, to ensure that the solutions were not purely western-centric. Practitioners noted relevance and applicability to their project environments, industry-specific contexts, and social/cultural ways of operating. An adapted model was produced to inform PM practice. WP7 Holistic Framework - findings from WPs 2-6 informed the design of a framework that integrated lean and psychosocial aspects of PM given trends, challenges and the requirement to promote innovation and change management. It was refined and validated through focus groups and interviews. A report was produced which provides detailed information and images of a holistic framework and explains how the framework could be applied to guide the delivery of projects.
This project has practical as well as theoretical implications. The implementation, challenges, benefits and solutions brought about by the research can support competence development of current and future project managers, in dealing with the challenges brought about by uncertainty, volatility and complexity. Together with the research-led specialist knowledge and understanding of the innovative and sustainable solutions provided by the project, the major challenges of PM in the 21st century have been thoroughly explored. This includes knowledge in how they inter-relate and can be dealt with, or exploited, in a timely manner. This will enable private and public clients to design appropriate PM approaches. A holistic framework to manage projects has been developed. This equips PM professionals with a skillset enabling them to deliver projects efficiently and effectively, considering multi-professional perspectives that can be applied across different project environments and social contexts. This holistic framework enables academics access to up-to-date research which enables them to build on the "state of the art" to achieve a robust and enhanced quality of PM research.