PROJECT MANAGER COMPETENCIES AND PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES IN IT PROJECTS

Meeting performance targets for IT projects is difficult, and skilled project managers have been identified as a key factor in maximizing the possibilities of success. Our goal in this study was to identify critical behavioural competencies for IT project managers, including competencies necessary for entry-level positions and competencies that distinguish superior performance in IT project management. Two categories of competence, team leadership and concern for order, were associated with higher levels of IT project performance outcomes. The behaviours within these two categories provide a useful focus for organizations seeking to improve their project management performance. Some of these behaviours - for example, detailed planning and managing meetings - are entry-level behaviours that should be the target of basic training for novice project managers. Other behaviours - for example, accurate estimation and problem solving strategies - were observed in fewer respondents and could be the focus of more advanced training for incumbent project managers. Additionally, two valuable but infrequently observed behaviours ? creating a compelling vision and ensuring alignment with business strategic goals ? were correlated with performance related to supporting longer term business benefits from IT projects, suggesting that developing project manager competence in these behaviours would be particularly beneficial for achieving long-term success from IT projects

Linking Personal Competencies With Transformational Leadership Style Evidence From The Construction Industry In Thailand

This study explored the linkage between personal competencies and leadership behaviours as well as their influences on leadership outcomes and subordinates’ work performance. Personal competencies were measured using the Project Manager Competency Development (PMCD) tool. Leadership behaviours and outcomes were measured using Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). Data was collected from construction projects in Thailand. Findings revealed that leadership outcomes have significant positive relationship with all personal competencies specified in the PMCD framework, every factor in the transformational style and contingent reward factor in the transactional style. Transformational leaders tend to produce high work quality, work quantity, and problem solving creativity from subordinates. Findings further verified that all PMCD personal competencies have significant positive relationship with every factor in the transformational style. It implies that project managers who apply the transformational style and/or have high personal competencies indicated in PMCD framework are likely to generate greater leadership outcomes and work performance on construction project

The Global People toolbook: managing the life cycle of intercultural partnerships

This Toolbook has been designed for those who are planning and running international projects and who feel a need for guidance. It has its origins in a major educational project, the eChina-UK Programme, that created new collaborations between UK and Chinese Higher Education Institutions around the development of e-learning materials. The rich intercultural learning that emerged from that programme prompted the development of a new and evidence-based set of resources for other individuals and institutions undertaking international collaborative projects. Although the main focus of the work is on intercultural effectiveness in international contexts, we believe that many of the resources have a more general value and are useful for those planning collaboration in any situation of diversity – national, regional, sectoral or institutional

Enhancing project-related behavioral competence in education

The workforce has increasingly been demanding an educational model that produces students experienced in real project management (PM) practices. This includes producing technically competent students--one who can manage real-world project constraints of cost and schedule but also possess critical project related behavioral competence. Such soft skills are essential if a project is to run smoothly and eventually succeed. In this paper, we describe an educational framework grounded in outcomes based education to enhance project-related behavioral competence. Instructors can leverage this framework to augment their existing courses and develop the critical career skill sets of graduating students

Competencies for Improving Construction Performance: theories and practice for developing capacity

The focus on improving construction performance has been narrow in many nations using partnering,leanness and supply chain management. This paper asks three practical construction related questionsconcerning reinventing the wheel across projects, blame culture and continuity of service. In addressingthese practical issues, three theories are engaged: organisational learning, emotional intelligence andrelationship management. The solutions are enhanced through applying the concepts and, indeed, thereis synergy between the concepts. The solutions require investment for the expected return, the theoreticalsynergy maximising the benefits from the investment. It is argued that such an approach has as much, ifnot more chance, to yield improvement in construction. The starting point are issues faced in constructionand theory is induced through addressing the problems, rather than starting with concepts applied inother sectors and then trying to squeeze them into the construction context

Addressing challenges to teach traditional and agile project management in academia

In order to prepare students for a professional IT career, most universities attempt to provide a current educational curriculum in the Project Management (PM) area to their students. This is usually based on the most promising methodologies used by the software industry. As instructors, we need to balance traditional methodologies focused on proven project planning and control processes leveraging widely accepted methods and tools along with the newer agile methodologies. Such new frameworks emphasize that software delivery should be done in a flexible and iterative manner and with significant collaboration with product owners and customers. In our experience agile methodologies have witnessed an exponential growth in many diverse software organizations, and the various agile PM tools and techniques will continue to see an increase in adoption in the software development sector. Reflecting on these changes, there is a critical need to accommodate best practices and current methodologies in our courses that deliver Project Management content. In this paper we analyse two of the most widely used methodologies for traditional and agile software development – the widely used ISO/PMBOK standard provided by the Project Management Institute and the well-accepted Scrum framework. We discuss how to overcome curriculum challenges and deliver a quality undergraduate PM course for a Computer Science and Information systems curricula. Based on our teaching experience in Europe and North America, we present a comprehensive comparison of the two approaches. Our research covers the main concepts, processes, and roles associated with the two PM frameworks and recommended learning outcomes. The paper should be of value to instructors who are keen to see their computing students graduate with a sound understanding of current PM methodologies and who can deliver real-world software products.Accepted manuscrip

An integrated new product development model for the Turkish electronics industry

The aim of this study is to report on an integrated model of new product development (NPD) and the analysis of factors, which have a significant effect on new product development success. First, an integrated NPD model based on past research findings and suggestions of several researchers is built. A three-step model is constructed and is tested through a series of statistical tests and analysis. The data for the testing of the model is provided by an empirical study conducted in the Turkish electronics industry. Some practices for successful NPD are suggested

Understanding the construction of marketers’ credibility by NZ senior managers: An interpretive study

Academics report that marketers are losing their influence in the boardroom due in part to serious challenges to marketing’s credibility. Although the credibility of marketing sources has received much attention since the early 1950s, research into how individuals in business organisations construct the credibility of marketers is scarce. This study, using in-depth interviews, describes how seven senior managers from different New Zealand businesses construct the credibility of marketers. For these senior managers, the credibility of marketers is grounded in their performance in delivering commercial outcomes. The findings also suggest that senior managers construct credibility in terms of a work aspect and a social aspect of a marketer’s performance, and that both these aspects have to be present if the marketer is to be considered credible. The work aspect of performance is made up of a marketer’s Pedigree, Projects, and Pervasive Influence. The Pedigree of a marketer includes their qualifications, skills and background. A degree is usually the minimum qualification required, particularly for more senior marketing roles. Skills expected from marketers include leadership, management, sales and intuition. With regard to background, the marketer needs to demonstrate they have achieved commercial outcomes in previous employment to be considered credible. Projects describes how marketers must design and implement cogent marketing plans, work effectively without supervision, achieve commercial outcomes in a clever or creative way, and provide evidence that their projects have contributed to commercial outcomes. Pervasive Influence describes how marketers influence others in the organisation toward customer-centricity. Marketers can lose credibility in the work aspect of their performance when they have no structured purpose to their marketing research, are unable to execute marketing plans or are unable to demonstrate the results of a marketing project. The social aspect of a marketer’s performance is made up of Personal Integrity and Professional Conduct. Personal Integrity describes marketers who are respected, take pride in their work, strive to improve themselves and are not precious. Professional Conduct describes a marketer who relates and collaborates competently and professionally with others, and is a team fit. Marketers lose credibility in the social aspect of their performance when they are precious, flighty, argumentative, and only out for themselves. This paper contributes a framework that describes the construction of a marketer’s credibility from a senior manager’s perspective. It also introduces a new understanding of credibility, grounded in performance terms, which is distinct from past conceptualisations of credibility found in the literature, which is based on expertise and trustworthiness. These findings demonstrate that while a marketer might be considered an expert and trustworthy, if they are not delivering commercial outcomes then they may not be considered credible, from a senior manager’s perspective