Collaboration and the use of online collaborative toolsets in the project management environment

The research aims to develop an understanding of the extent to which collaboration occurs through the use of online technologies in the project management environment. Given the breadth of the technological landscape, this research focuses on the use of online collaborative toolsets (OCTs). The research investigates six Project Management Environments (PMEs) and their use of OCTs, and uses a Collaboration scale developed specifically to measure the level of collaboration existing within each PME. The Collaboration scale presents collaboration not as a single entity, but as a scale ranging from low to high across six elements. Central to this theory is that for collaboration to exist, all elements must rate highly against the scale. The research argues that although all collaborative elements are found within a PME, it is the level of each element that determines the degree to which collaboration is occurring. A case study approach incorporated three broad strategies to collect data. The first strategy included a Likert questionnaire using the Dichotomous scale, which was administered to collect data on the operations of the individual projects. The second strategy included interviews that asked the project manager of each case specific questions regarding the PME. The third strategy involved desk research to scan for literature and web artefacts. The conclusions drawn from this research are: 1. OCTs can contain a variety of features, several of which are common amongst all. The research identified common requirements and use of the OCTs within the cases. 2. Although OCTs are capable of facilitating a high level of collaboration, Project Managers do not use OCTs for this purpose. The different project environments reviewed are not necessarily collaborative, nor do they use OCTs to assist with collaborative exercises. 3. OCTs are used predominantly for cooperation and coordinating activities within the PME. 4. Collaboration in the PMEs reviewed exists in degrees, at times being identified with cooperative functions, and at other times coordinating functions. 5. The findings demonstrate a pattern of collaboration, which is consistent across all cases. This pattern demonstrates a variation in the collaborative elements across the PME, and indicates a priority that may exist in regard to how these elements are prescribed within the actual project environment

The impact of communication on project performance : an empirical study

Abstract: The role of communication in project management has been debated intensively for decades, and investigated from various perspectives in project management literature. Communication is identified as a requisite to success and its ineffectualness a contributing factor to the failure of many projects. While some researchers may have considered communication as a mere success factor in project management, others have identified communication as an important skill and a required competency for project managers. It appears that there is a need to establish contextual and empirical evidence on how communication impacts project performance. With the emergence of social medias as the most popular communication tool in existence at the moment, it has become extremely important to identify the best set of tools and techniques to be used for successful management of communication. This paper aims to investigate and evaluate the relationship between communication and project management performance. It explores some of the tools required for the successful management of communication, as well as the extent to which communication affects project outcomes. A quantitative research approach was used to gain insight into current communication practices in the project management industry. A survey in the form of a questionnaire was distributed to a sample population consisting of professionals involved in project management. A response rate of 70, 7% participation was received and analysed using the e‐survey creator on‐line tool and statistical analysis using SPSS..

Follow the collaboration compass

Author's accepted version (postprint).This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Inderscience Publishers in International Journal of Project Organisation and Management on 24/09/2021.Available online: https://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1504/IJPOM.2021.117940acceptedVersio

Collaboration requirements for project management information systems and its implications to project knowledge management

More and more organizations are changing their way of managing projects, switching from a traditional and controlled to a more flexible bottom-up paradigm, where collaboration and knowledge sharing between internal and external project members are critical factors. In addition, the role of technology is increasing in the context of project management due to greater challenges in today’s technology-enabled work environment, where technology tools are habitually used for collaboration, communication, and deployment of project management practices The purpose of this thesis is to identify and analyze current requirements of project management in project-based organizations regarding collaboration and knowledge management, as well as the impact of these requirements in use by practitioners on improving the management of projects. The research design and methodology were supported by main research questions. In order to collect the evidence to answer the questions a comparative case study approach was selected, which included several project-based organizations in Finland belonging mainly to the IT industry. In addition, the evolution and roadmap of a project management information system was presented and analyzed. The findings reveal the influence of collaboration and knowledge management to be incorporated in the management of projects through the use of socio-collaborative tools. An integrative project management framework combining these tools is presented.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Contextualisation et conceptualisation de la planification collaborative des projets de transformation d’affaires

RÉSUMÉ: Les projets deviennent des plus en plus collaboratifs comme ils font intervenir plusieurs équipes pour livrer des produits et des systèmes complexes. La collaboration impose un changement aux pratiques de gestion de projets afin de mieux gérer les relations entre les parties prenantes et contribuer efficacement aux succès et performance des projets. Plus spécifiquement, la planification est identifiée dans la littérature comme une pratique centrale à la gestion de projets qui influence l’efficacité de la collaboration. Cela dit, la littérature sur la planification collaborative en gestion de projets est peu développée comparativement à d’autres domaines de recherche comme la gestion des chaines logistiques. De plus, la majorité des études sur la gestion collaborative des projets portent sur les projets d’ingénierie et construction. Comme le contexte influence la compréhension des pratiques et phénomènes observés, l’étude d’autres contextes de projets offre des opportunités pour développer les pratiques de gestion collaborative des projets, plus spécifiquement la planification collaborative. Cette thèse vise à explorer la nature et les caractéristiques de la planification collaborative dans le contexte des projets de transformation d’affaires. Cette étude a été effectuée en partenariat avec une entreprise industrielle. La méthodologie de recherche adoptée est exploratoire et en deux phases. Une recherche-action participative a permis d’étudier et comparer des cadres de transformations d’affaires existants dans la littérature, et l’élaboration d’un cadre de gestion de transformation adapté au contexte du partenaire industriel. Ensuite, une approche par étude de cas multiples a permis l’analyse des processus actuels de planification des projets de transformation d’affaires. De plus, les dimensions et exigences de la planification collaborative dans ce contexte ont été identifiés. Ces résultats sont discutés à la lumière de la littérature et les spécificités du contexte organisationnel. Cette thèse contribue au développement de la pratique de la planification collaborative en gestion de projets, et à la littérature sur la contextualisation des projets en étudiant les projets de transformation d’affaires et en proposant une adaptation à un contexte organisationnel spécifique. Les conclusions de cette recherche restent limitées aux cas étudiés et le contexte organisationnel choisi. Étendre le nombre de cas et d’organisations étudiés est une opportunité pour des recherches futures sur le sujet de la planification collaborative en gestion de projet.----------ABSTRACT: Projects are becoming increasingly collaborative as they include multiple teams to deliver complex products and systems. Collaboration imposes changes to project management practices to enhance the coordination of relations between stakeholders and contribute efficiently to the success and performance of projects. Specifically, planning has been recognized as a central practice to project management which has an important influence on the efficiency of collaborative work during the project. Nevertheless, project management literature has few studies exploring the concept of collaborative planning comparatively with other research fields like supply chain management. In addition, the majority of research on collaborative project management was performed for engineering and construction projects. As contexts influence the understanding and application of concepts, the study of other project contexts offers opportunities to explore and develop collaborative project practices, more specifically collaborative planning. The objective of this thesis is to explore the nature and characteristics of collaborative planning in the context of business transformation projects. This study was conducted in partnership with an industrial organization. The research methodology applied has two phases. First, a participative action research approach allowed for an understanding of the industrial partner’s organizational context. It also led to the analysis and comparison of business transformation frameworks in the literature which supported the development and adaptation of a business transformation framework specific to the industrial partner’s context. Second, a multiple case study approach led to the analysis of current planning processes in the business transformation cases selected. Then, the dimensions and requirements of collaborative planning were identified. These results are discussed in light of the existing literature and specificities of the context of study. This thesis contributes to the development of collaborative planning practice in project management and to the literature on projects’ contextualization by studying business transformation projects and proposing a framework adaptation to a specific organization. This research’s conclusions are limited to the cases and organization selected. Extending the research approach to cover more cases and organizations represents an opportunity for future research efforts

Collaboration and the use of online collaborative toolsets in the project management environment

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe and summarise a PhD thesis that investigates the extent to which collaboration occurs through the use of online technologies in the project management environment (PME). Design/methodology/approach - Six PMEs and their use of online collaborative toolsets (OCTs) were investigated, using a collaboration scale developed specifically to measure the level of collaboration existing within each PME. The comparative case study approach was chosen as it provided the capacity to develop in-depth analysis of multiple cases, whilst catering for the use of multiple sources and methods of data to be used for analysis. This approach enabled the author to gain an understanding of how each case used the OCT, whilst also identifying patterns of use across the cases. The analysis also included testing for the extent to which collaboration was occurring in the PME. Findings - The conclusions drawn from this research are: OCTs can contain a variety of features, several of which are common amongst all features; although OCTs are capable of facilitating a high level of collaboration, project managers do not use OCTs for this purpose; OCTs are used predominantly for cooperation and coordinating activities within the PME; and collaboration exists in degrees, at times being identified with cooperative functions, and at other times coordinating functions. The findings demonstrate a consistent pattern of collaboration across all cases. Practical implications - The collaboration scale is a tool that can be used to measure the extent of collaboration within many contexts and is not restricted to the PME. Originality/value - There has been scant academic treatment or quantifiable analysis that reviews OCTs to assess their use in the PME and as such this thesis contributes specific knowledge and intelligence to organisations using OCTs. The collaboration scale has been specifically designed for this thesis