Ideas in the Space Between: Stockpiling and Processes for Managing Ideas in Developing a Creative Portfolio

Research on the creative process has focused on how an idea develops within a single focal creative project. But creators often work to develop creative portfolios featuring multiple projects that overlap and intertwine over time. Through an inductive qualitative study of creative workers in independent theater and in architecture, we explore how creators manage ideas across multiple projects when developing creative portfolios. Our emergent model shows how creators shift ideas across projects by stockpiling ideas from one creative project, transforming them into resources, and mobilizing them in their portfolios. Our analysis reveals that these practices unfold in distinct ways across two different processes for managing ideas: managing ideas strategically to build portfolios by realizing stockpiled ideas in new creative products across different opportunities, and managing ideas symbolically to balance creative outputs with new meanings constructed from unrealized ideas that represent the creator’s identity and journey. Our findings reveal the critical role of stockpiling in creative work, showing how different ways of stockpiling transform ideas into resources for developing a portfolio. Our portfolio perspective on the creative process informs our understanding of creative portfolios as they develop and evolve as well as the dynamics of creative processes as they unfold across different projects

A Multidimensional and Visual Exploration Approach to Project Portfolio Management

Managing projects in an organization, especially a project-oriented organization, is a challenging task. Project data has a large volume and is complex to manage. It is different from managing a single project, because one needs to integrate and synthesize information from multiple projects and multiple perspectives for high-level strategic business decisions, such as aligning projects with business objectives, balancing investment and expected return, and allocating resources. Current methods and tools either do not well integrate multiple aspects or are not intuitive and easy to use for managers and executives. In this dissertation project, a multidimensional and visual exploration approach was designed and evaluated to provide a unique and intuitive option to support decision making in project portfolio management. The research followed a general design science research methodology involving phases of awareness of problem, suggestion, development, evaluation and conclusion. The approach was implemented into a software system using a prototyping method and was evaluated through user interviews. The evaluation result demonstrates the utility and ease-of-use of the approach, and confirms design objectives. The research brings a new perspective and provides a new decision support tool for project portfolio management. It also contributes to the design knowledge of visual exploration systems for business portfolio management by theorizing the system

Value-Driven IT Project Portfolio Management: Tool-Based Scoring, Selection, and Scheduling

Managing IT project portfolios is a challenge because of IT projects\u27 complexity, dynamics, and uncertainty. Many IT projects exceed resources or time frames and do not reach their value-driven goals. A continuous scoring, selection, and scheduling of IT project proposals is thus essential to build an optimal portfolio. It has a significant impact on value contribution, strategic direction, goal achievement, and competitive advantages. We quantify an IT project\u27s urgency, strategy, efficiency, risk, and complexity as important evaluation and scoring criteria. To support top management decision makers in the IT project portfolio management process, we outline a combination of an evaluation approach with an optimization model. We develop a prototype decision support system to automate and simplify this process and demonstrate its applicability. Our recommendations address both theory and practice, improve IT project portfolio management, support value creation, and goal achievement

Introduction to Project Management for Libraries [Electronic Resources & Libraries, 2013]

These are the slides and notes from a 4-hour workshop presented at the Electronic Resources & Libraries conference, 3/20/2013. In this hands-on workshop, attendees learned the basic theories and practice of project management for library projects. Working on real-life projects of their own choosing, workshop participants learned and practiced the key concepts and techniques for planning, organizing, managing, and completing projects in a library setting. Using simple, freely-available tools, attendees left the workshop with a project charter-- including a scope statement, deliverables, and milestones--as well as a project plan specifying tasks on a timeline and assigned resources. This workshop also touched on related topics such as agile project management and portfolio management

Multilevel classification of projects according to absolute and relative characteristics

Проекти, які реалізуються в різних сферах діяльності, в різних галузях народного господарства різними фахівцями, мають значні відмінності, тому для визначення найбільш ефективного підходу щодо управління конкретним проектом попередньо доцільно виявити його відмінні риси. Застосування класифікації проектів як бази для управління проектами дає змогу оптимізувати методи і підходи управління конкретним проектом та підвищити ефективність його реалізації. У статті авторами проведено порівняльний аналіз підходів до класифікації проектів, виявлено основні класифікаційні ознаки. На базі результатів дослідження авторами визначені нові класифікаційні ознаки щодо класифікації пов’язаних між собою проектів. Теоретичне значення запропонованого методичного підходу полягає у спрощенні подальших досліджень у галузі проектного менеджменту.Currently, one of the most important areas of modern management is project management. The activity is connected with planning and implementing of actions aimed to achieving of certain goals and solving specific business problems. The main features of a project that distinguish it from the business process are: uniqueness, goal orientation, limited execution time and limited resources. Today, project management is the subject of many researches, this is due to the increasing popularity of project management in various areas of economy and business. Due to the fact that the variety of business projects is large enough, improving the classification of projects should make it easier to rank projects when choosing the most effective funding areas and attracting the necessary resources for their successful implementation. Projects implemented in different spheres of activity, in different sectors of the economy have significant differences, so to determine the most effective approach for managing a specific project, it is advisable to identify its distinctive features. Usage of project classification as a basis for project management allows to optimize the methods and approaches of managing a specific project and to increase the effectiveness of its implementation. In this research the authors conduct a comparative analysis of approaches to the classification of projects and identify the main classification features. Basing on the results of the study the authors identify new features for the classification of related projects. In the research the authors prove the classification of alternative projects when an enterprise can choose only one of many projects. When considering alternative projects, it is advisable to classify the reasons that make it impossible to implement the projects simultaneously. Such factors may be the lack of resources required for project implementation; lack of fixed assets; lack of available staff. It should be noted that the lack of necessary resources, fixed assets or personnel may be due to lack of funds from the enterprise (the factor is present on the market, but the enterprise cannot buy it), or the uniqueness of the necessary element. The multilevel classification of projects by relative characteristics proposed in the article allows to increase the efficiency of project portfolio management. In theoretical terms the proposed methodological approach should simplify further research in project management

Portfolio approach to information technology security resource allocation decisions

This paper presents a portfolio optimization approach to information technology (IT) security investment decisions in an organization. This approach has been motivated by the extreme variations that are found in IT security requirements for organizations in addition to the diversity of starting conditions found in organizations that choose to embark on a formal approach to managing their security. Often, a budgetary allocation is made for IT security and IT managers and management are faced with the problem of how to allocate these monies or resources across competing projects and products that can potentially improve or enhance IT security in an organization. Instead of ranking or rating the various alternatives based on their benefits only, it is demonstrated how, by identifying organizational objectives, and then aligning the decisions with the objectives, one can optimally allocate resources across the IT security portfolio. The approach in this paper has been to provide a generic decision framework that can be customized by practitioners and fine-tuned by other researchers. The approach is explained and then the results are discussed using a case study. Both the strengths and weaknesses of this approach are highlighted and suggestions for how this approach can be deployed and enhanced are provided

Optimal Portfolio Management in Alaska: A Case Study on Risk Characteristics of Environmental Consulting Companies

A Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Project ManagementSharp declines in global oil prices have led to a marked contraction in Alaska’s natural resource dependent economy. This, coupled with record the State’s budgetary shortfalls and a decrease in incoming federal dollars, has created a climate where environmental consulting companies must accept riskier projects to balance portfolio growth and security. As a result, companies must adopt a risk-based portfolio management approach as both a high level strategy and a core management practice. It is important to specifically identify projects best suited for an organization’s tolerance for risk based off of the supply and demand of the industry in rapidly changing economic conditions. Therefore, the aims of this project report are to help environmental consulting companies identify risk characteristics and manage their portfolio, as well as develop a tool to guide decision-making and selecting projects best suited for a companies’ portfolio strategy. The results of this research may provide Alaska based environmental companies with a clear understanding of the types of projects that offer both development and financial security for an organization. This research paper will present the methodology, results, and an environmental consulting portfolio management tool.Title Page / Table of Contents / List of Exhibits / Abstract / Introduction / Background / Literature Review / Project Methodology / Research Methodology / Presentation and Analysis of Data from Survey / Data Validation From Survey / Conclusion / Recommendation / Project Conclusion / Recommendations for Further Research / References / Appendi

Influence of Portfolio Management in Decision-Making

Purpose: Today’s manufacturing facilities are challenged by highly customized products and just in time manufacturing and delivery of these products. In this study, a batch scheduling problem has been addressed to enable on-time completion of customer orders in a lean manufacturing environment. The problem is optimizing the partitioning of product components into batches and scheduling of the resulting batches where each customer order is received as a set of products made of various components. Design/methodology/approach: Three different mathematical models for minimization of total earliness and tardiness of customer orders are developed to provide on-time completion of customer orders and also, to avoid excess final product inventory. The first model is a non-linear integer programming model whereas the second is a linearized version of the first. Finally, to solve larger sized instances of the problem, an alternative linear integer model is presented. Findings: Computational study using a suit set of test instances showed that the alternative linear integer model is able to solve all test instances in varying sizes within quite shorter computer times compared to the other two models. It has also been showed that the alternative model is able to solve moderate sized real-world problems. Originality/value: The problem under study differentiates from existing batch scheduling problems in the literature owing to the inclusion of new circumstances that are present in real-world applications. Those are: customer orders consisting of multi-products made of multi-parts, processing of all parts of the same product from different orders in the same batch, and delivering the orders only when all related products are completed. This research also contributes to the literature of batch scheduling problem by presenting new optimization models.Peer Reviewe