Project Management Journal

This paper reports lessons in project management that are focused on large, complex development programs. The lessons often contradict what one learns in smaller projects and in everyday life. The lessons derive from over 100 consulting studies of such programs that used an extensively evolved and validated series of dynamic simulation models. Unlike the usual postmortem “lessons-learned” compilations, the lessons here are demonstrable: The simulation models allow controlled experiments to identify with certainty which management strategies are successful and why. The lessons are rules of thumb for both planning and starting a program and responding to the unexpected, both in the small (normal design rework) and the large (major redesigns or scope changes). The lessons fall into three major areas: team architecture, managing rework, and managing the plan. The value of the lessons lies in enabling program managers to respond more appropriately within the large program environment; there are many lessons that have improved cost and schedule 20% or more, usually improving quality as well.

Project teams are formed to control the technical challenges and risks in system development. This paper examines the relationship between the various risks of system development and project team performance. The results reveal a significant positive relationship between project team performance and user support and top management support. These findings support the general belief that effective project teams reduce technical risks involved in system development. They also support the concept that success is likely determined by the levels of agreement among users, managers, and information systems (IS) developers. Methods on obtaining user involvement and top management support are recommended.

Project management reports must be simple, yet useful. However, the Communications Planning process in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) used in the creation of the reports can be more or less complex, depending on the project data structures. The purpose of this paper is to recommend how multiple data structures can be related to produce a report structure. The scope of this paper includes the methods that will identify the project management information needs and sources of the information for the report structure. The paper analyzes the results of the reports for approximately $500 million worth of construction projects and answers, who needs what information?

As a side result of this analysis, an important fact was discovered: the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) belongs as one of the inputs to the PMBOK® Guide Inputs to Communications Planning. Implicitly, this idea contributes to the reengineering of the PMBOK® Guide and suggests changes that need to be made and how they may be controlled.

In this paper, the work operations in an actual small-to-medium sized design office have been analyzed for the purpose of optimizing the use of resources and improving work productivity. Using simulation, a model of the office operations was developed, incorporating all design steps and their employed resources. Several simulation experiments were then conducted to determine the optimum number of resources with balanced workloads and to optimize the teamwork strategy on projects. Details of the model and the simulation experiments are described and the advantages of the model to the management of engineering organizations are discussed.

This work presents the results of a data-gathering survey of civil engineering design and construction firms to determine the number of projects that are assigned to project managers and to identify the factors that are used to determine a manager's workload. Analysis shows that most often a project manager is responsible for between 1–9 projects with the experience of the manager being the single most important influence in a firm's determination of workload. The management approach to the project, the complexity of the work, and the timing of the project are also found to be key influences. Recommendations summarize the survey findings and outline possible future research on the topic.

This paper describes a unique approach to project management education. MBA students enrolled in a project management course have been renovating homes for low-income senior citizens. Concurrent with instruction in project planning and control methods, students must communicate with a customer, plan tasks, coordinate schedules, procure materials, learn construction skills, perform physical labor, and track project progress. Reflection activities ensure that students see the broadly applicable metaphors that emerge from the experience. Results indicate that a community service project can provide a powerful learning vehicle. Evidence from similar programs run through corporations suggests that this approach is suited to industry applications, as well.