The Link between BPR, Evolutionary Delivery and Evolutionary Development

In this paper we intend to show how the challenges of managing a Business Process Reengineering (BPR) project are consistent with the ones of a Systems Development project. As traditional management techniques were no longer appropriate in the changing business environment, companies employed BPR to achieve elevated business performance. Similarly, as traditional systems development approaches delivered disappointing results, system developers experimented with other models, including Evolutionary Delivery and Evolutionary Development, in order to enable successful technology exploitation by businesses. Both these business and systems initiatives embrace elements of cultural change, management flexibility, empowerment, organisational readiness, and technology introduction in a changing environment. We will present the similarities of the two initiatives and show how progress in one initiative could contribute in the progress of the other

Hybridation of Bayesian networks and evolutionary algorithms for multi-objective optimization in an integrated product design and project management context

A better integration of preliminary product design and project management processes at early steps of system design is nowadays a key industrial issue. Therefore, the aim is to make firms evolve from classical sequential approach (first product design the project design and management) to new integrated approaches. In this paper, a model for integrated product/project optimization is first proposed which allows taking into account simultaneously decisions coming from the product and project managers. However, the resulting model has an important underlying complexity, and a multi-objective optimization technique is required to provide managers with appropriate scenarios in a reasonable amount of time. The proposed approach is based on an original evolutionary algorithm called evolutionary algorithm oriented by knowledge (EAOK). This algorithm is based on the interaction between an adapted evolutionary algorithm and a model of knowledge (MoK) used for giving relevant orientations during the search process. The evolutionary operators of the EA are modified in order to take into account these orientations. The MoK is based on the Bayesian Network formalism and is built both from expert knowledge and from individuals generated by the EA. A learning process permits to update probabilities of the BN from a set of selected individuals. At each cycle of the EA, probabilities contained into the MoK are used to give some bias to the new evolutionary operators. This method ensures both a faster and effective optimization, but it also provides the decision maker with a graphic and interactive model of knowledge linked to the studied project. An experimental platform has been developed to experiment the algorithm and a large campaign of tests permits to compare different strategies as well as the benefits of this novel approach in comparison with a classical EA

Application of Particle Swarm Optimization to Formative E-Assessment in Project Management

The current paper describes the application of Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm to the formative e-assessment problem in project management. The proposed approach resolves the issue of personalization, by taking into account, when selecting the item tests in an e-assessment, the following elements: the ability level of the user, the targeted difficulty of the test and the learning objectives, represented by project management concepts which have to be checked. The e-assessment tool in which the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm is integrated is also presented. Experimental results and comparison with other algorithms used in item tests selection prove the suitability of the proposed approach to the formative e-assessment domain. The study is presented in the framework of other evolutionary and genetic algorithms applied in e-education.Particle Swarm Optimization, Genetic Algorithms, Evolutionary Algorithms, Formative E-assessment, E-education

Co-selection in R&D project portfolio management

In the study I analyze the conflicting aspects of project portfolio evolution in a firm. The evolutionary principles of variation, selection and retention are applied to the management of new product development projects. Managers select projects for prioritization. A selection rule is the prioritization rule. In biology, living creatures develop specific features for adaptation as a result of selection rules. However, the selection of specific adaptive features carries along the retention of other, even unforeseen non-adaptive features. Drawing on the evolutionary principles forwarded by Darwin I examine how they manifest in the project portfolio. I define this non-adaptive mechanism as co-selection. By analogy, in portfolio management, if the selection rule for project priority is high revenue and feasibility to global access, other features also survive when the selection rule relating to the prioritization of projects is applied. The evolution of the new product development project portfolio in the case firm displays conflicting trends in the emerging project portfolio over time. Managers pursue prioritization to decrease product development times. But, alas, in the project portfolio the prioritized projects age to a greater degree than non-prioritized projects. Managers prioritize the projects held by the focal business unit more often than those of other business units. However, ultimately the focal business unit has less than a due share of prioritized projects in the portfolio. The results of this study question the applicability of optimizing models in R&D portfolio management in the presence of co-selection. The project portfolio management literature does not provide a mechanism to account for this type of portfolio development. Co-selection provides a mechanism that explains the observed evolution. The study contributes to the conceptualization of the notion of co-selection. The study also provides empirical evidence on co-selection, a non-adaptive evolutionary mechanism to modify R&D project portfolio outcome. The findings give a better understanding of portfolio management of R&D driven new product development projects

The strategic role of the Food Research Institute in productivity enhancement and the private sector development in Ghana

The Private Sector Development Project (PSDP) was a culmination of the renewed commitment of the Government of Ghana to accelerate the pace of development of Ghana’s private sector. The project was also a direct result of the Business Community’s own assessment of Lingering issues which impeded growth of the private sector. The key policy objective of the project was to adequately develop the private sector to become the effective engine of growth for the country. The Food Research Institute’s component of the PSDP was initiated with a clear objective of re-orienting the Food Research Institute (FRI) from a subvention-oriented institute to a partly self-financing organisation able to operate and survive in a commercial setting and to support the growth of the private sector. After a decade of implementation, what are the experiences? This paper looks at the management of the commercialisation process. The implementation process, the attitude of research scientists towards the change and the impact of the commercialisation process on the socio-economic development of Ghana are discussed. The constraint of commercialisation including inadequate uptake of research, which is a reflection of inappropriate monitoring and evaluation, is discussed. The paper seeks to review among others the background of the PSDP, the original tasks targeted at project initiation, and the successes and failures of the project. An attempt has been made to review a number of relevant conceptual and practical issues of private sector development in Ghana in an evolutionary perspective. Against this backdrop, the paper seeks to define, in a focused manner, the management framework of the Food Research Institute: From “Strategic Planning” to “Strategic Learning”.Strategic learning; Performance management; Productivity; Private sector

Defining Projects to Integrate Evolving Team Fundamentals and Project Management Skills

Industry has indicated the desire for academic programs to produce graduates that are well-versed in collaborative problem solving and general project management concepts in addition to technical skills. The primary focus of a curriculum is typically centered on the technical training with minimal attention given to coalescing team and project knowledge. In this article, we present an evolutionary approach to defining projects for the duration of a student\u27s tenure that integrates the development of team competencies and project knowledge. The approach uses the project management processes defined in the Project Management Institute\u27s Project Management Body of Knowledge as a standard collection of project knowledge and identifies different levels of expertise that should be exhibited by students at different points through the curriculum. We also provide a collection of example projects to illustrate the differences between projects at each of the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior levels

A case study of intuition and design: Building a tool for parents of premature babies and the nursing staff who care for them

The paper presents a research-based study project conveyed by Media Lab Helsinki in 2007–2008. During the process, the design team constructed a unique audiovisual tool that provides emotional support in coping with the challenges of a premature birth. The purpose of the two-hour DVD, with its three separate parts, is to help family, intensive care staff, and other associated health care personnel to better connect with each other and the tiny babies. As the first audiovisual material, which aims to explain premature babies’ communication and interaction, the end product has proven to be of significant value to Finnish neonatal care and other associated fields. The project was realized in cooperation with the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Children’s Hospital, HUCH (Helsinki University Central Hospital), and the design team worked in a network of shared expertise. In the case study the authors used co-design and self-reflection methods to monitor graduate students working with a society-level challenge. The focus was upon the utilisation of intuition in innovations, problem solving, and project management. During the design process, the authors observed the working theory: intuition is the basis of successful decision-making, which leads to innovative solutions. Throughout the design process, the team collected systematically feedback, which was later utilised as a corner stone in the case study. The authors believe that relying on intuition, the design team ended up addressing many hidden issues of the clinic and parenthood of premature babies’. This paper tries to unfold the evolutionary working approach used during the design process, presents highlights of the case study research as well as illuminates the intuitive way of working from designers’ point of view. Keywords: Design; Intuition; Case Study; Shared Expertise; Innovations; Digital Media; Evolutionary Process</p

Information system strategy for promoting demolition project management

Building demolition has been undergoing evolutionary development in its technologies for several decades. In order to achieve a high level of demolition material reuse and recycling, new management approaches are also necessitated, in particular in conjunction with the applications of information technologies. The development of an information system for demolition project management is an impactful strategy to support various demolition activities including waste exchange, demolition visualization, and demolition method selection and evaluation. This paper aims to develop a framework of an integrated information system for building demolition project demolition decision-making and waste minimization. The components of this information system and their interactions are demonstrated through a specifical demolition project.<br /