Instruments to support decision competencies of an investment project manager

From among many competencies of a manager, the abilities of team, project and organization management become especially important. However, to make right decisions, one needs to have appropriate tools supporting effective company management. In case of companies carrying out investment, modernization or innovative projects, it is especially important. Implementation of those projects takes place in various conditions resulting from changing and turbulent environment. Thus, if the manager does not have sufficient information support, provided in time and allowing for effective decision making, which mitigates negative effects of previous actions, he is basically doomed to failure. In such a case, what decides about the situation in the project execution process is a coincidence, not intentional actions of the staff, based on their knowledge about potential risks. Such a knowledge, gained early enough, allows for taking more effective corrective actions. This paper is an attempt to define an operational model of a company along with principles of monitoring actions of an enterprise that carries out projects and functions in the current economic situation, illustrated by an example of a construction company. Its implementation is supposed to provide the managing staff with stores of information that efficiently support the company management process

Management issues in systems engineering

When applied to a system, the doctrine of successive refinement is a divide-and-conquer strategy. Complex systems are sucessively divided into pieces that are less complex, until they are simple enough to be conquered. This decomposition results in several structures for describing the product system and the producing system. These structures play important roles in systems engineering and project management. Many of the remaining sections in this chapter are devoted to describing some of these key structures. Structures that describe the product system include, but are not limited to, the requirements tree, system architecture and certain symbolic information such as system drawings, schematics, and data bases. The structures that describe the producing system include the project's work breakdown, schedules, cost accounts and organization

Socionics: Sociological Concepts for Social Systems of Artificial (and Human) Agents

Socionics is an interdisciplinary approach with the objective to use sociological knowledge about the structures, mechanisms and processes of social interaction and social communication as a source of inspiration for the development of multi-agent systems, both for the purposes of engineering applications and of social theory construction and social simulation. The approach has been spelled out from 1998 on within the Socionics priority program funded by the German National research foundation. This special issue of the JASSS presents research results from five interdisciplinary projects of the Socionics program. The introduction gives an overview over the basic ideas of the Socionics approach and summarizes the work of these projects.Socionics, Sociology, Multi-Agent Systems, Artificial Social Systems, Hybrid Systems, Social Simulation

Financial and institutional sustainability of development projects: the case of the Green Corridor Project and the case of the High Dam Lake Area Project

This study aims to discuss the negative implications of the narrow scope adopted by many donor agencies when addressing sustainability for development projects implemented in developing countries. This has resulted in a very limited impact when it comes to official development assistance (ODA). The study explores the main challenges facing the sustainability of local community development projects in specific; explores attempts to address those challenges; and then presents a more sustainable approach that is based on robust financial and institutional pillars. It argues that the introduction of such pillars creates a new approach to local community development projects that enhance their sustainability. The methodology adopted to prove this hypothesis depended on two case studies for two development projects in Egypt; The Green Corridor Project undertaken by the Italian Development Cooperation Agency, and The High Dam Lake Area Project implemented jointly by the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and the World Food Program (WFP). Through those case studies, a comparative analysis was conducted to examine how those financial and institutional pillars have affected the sustainability of the former project where they were introduced vis-à-vis the latter where ignoring those aspects prevented this project from becoming sustainable. The study was able to reveal how donor agencies tend to deal with sustainable development as a fixed objective, rather than address its dynamic features. This is what the study introduces through an approach to local community development that sets in place immune structures resembled in robust local community institutions, in addition to enhancing local capacities that enable the community to handle their resources in a manner that allows them to explore various sustainable livelihoods options in pursuit of their own development

The dynamics of computerization in a social science research team : a case study of infrastructure, strategies, and skills

This paper examines the dynamics of Computerization in a PC-oriented research group through a case study. The time and skill in integrating computing into the labor processes of research are often significant "hidden costs" of computerization. Computing infrastructure plays a key role in reducing these costs may be enhanced by careful organization. We illustrate computerization strategies that we have found to be productive and unproductive. Appropriate computerization strategies depend as much on the structuring of resources and interests in the larger social setting, as on a technical characterization of tasks

Management and Evaluation of Communication and Coordination Practices among Multi Stakeholders in Complex Engineering Projects in Pakistan

The aim of this study is to investigate the management and evaluation of communication and coordination practices among multi stakeholders in complex engineering projects in Pakistan. The methodology of this study is based on questionnaire to calculate the vested interest–impact index (ViII), Position (Pos), Attributes (A), Shareholder Impact Index (SII), Normalize score of SII and ranking of normalize score of SII. In addition, this study also used the Stakeholder Impact/Probability matrix. There are 44 questions asked from 132 respondents. The result reveal that different stakeholders showed interests in construction projects, however, every stakeholder had their own agenda and interest which create a conflict. Stakeholders' impact index and probability impact matrix approach for assessment of current practice and their requirements for coordination and communication have been used. Study also represents the class and position of stakeholders during both phases. As per results, land owners have high and positive impact on complex projects throughout the project life cycle followed by local community/residents, media, institutional forces and politicians. The politicians have highest positive impact on complex projects followed by consultant, main contractor and government agencies. Efficient communication and coordination is required with low impact stakeholders for minimizing their influence. It is observed that the high value of ViII will lead to higher value of SII and normalize score of project’s PP and EP. The top five stakeholders are clients, consultants, main contractors, sub-contractors and government agencies in project’s planning and execution phase. The shareholder impact analysis also provides suggestions to project managers in developing and evaluating the stakeholder management process. The proposed study is first approach towards communication and coordination management in construction. Overall, the results show that since there is no contractual binding between external stakeholders and project sponsors, they face the maximum communication gap. There is no proper mean to establish coordination and communication among external stakeholders throughout the project

A Process Development Project For A Case Company

This paper presents a case study on a process improvement project undertaken by a company in the sustainable energy industry. The project aimed to optimize the gate model for new product development, implement a hybrid-gate model, develop a gate checklist, and create an R&D process flow chart to better manage the R&D process. The study began with a thorough analysis of the existing gate model, which revealed several bottlenecks and inefficiencies. These were addressed through a series of process improvements, including better definition of gate criteria, improved cross-functional collaboration, and enhanced communication with stakeholders. To further improve the R&D process, the company implemented a hybrid-gate model, which integrated elements of both the stage-gate and agile development methodologies. This approach enabled the company to be more responsive to changes in the market and customer needs while maintaining the discipline and rigor of the stage-gate model. In addition, the project team developed a gate checklist, which provided a standardized set of criteria to evaluate project progress at each gate. This allowed the team to identify and address potential issues early in the development process. To provide greater visibility and understanding of the R&D process, the team also created an R&D process flow chart, which outlined the steps involved in new product development and the flow of information and decision-making. The project was successful in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the R&D process, resulting in faster time-to-market for new products and increased customer satisfaction. The gate checklist and R&D process flow chart provided greater transparency and accountability, helping to ensure that projects were delivered on time and within budget. Overall, this case study demonstrates the importance of continuous process improvement in the sustainable energy industry and highlights the potential benefits of a hybrid-gate model, gate checklist, and R&D process flow chart for managing complex development projects

Development of Project Management Application Suite for Improved Communication & Project Development

The purpose of this project was to provide the client with a project management solution that provided for better communication between ITS and the community, while providing a place for projects to be proposed and stored, ensuring projects are not lost. This goal was achieved through a process of determining the client\u27s business needs, examining their existing systems, preparing a formal project plan, and designing and implementing a solution. The result was a solution that provided the community a location to improve communication on project status on a 24x7 basis. Through the design of a custom project management solution, all of the client\u27s goals were achieved. The application worked with the client\u27s current security system; guaranteeing all community users are able to access the system, without requiring a new username/password. The application also provided users the ability to finish a project proposal over multiple sessions, for projects to be prioritized, and phases to be added to each project with the ability to assign each phase to a project manager and team. The project was a successful solution to the problems defined, with the success attributed to clearly defined goals. The project used commonly used internet technologies, which provided a solution easy to use and implement