Knowledge processes and capabilities in project-based organizations

The beauty of projects lies in their ability to integrate different knowledge bases and expertise in novel ways. Projects, though, are temporary in nature and this has consequences for the organization that uses them as a business strategy to improve its efficiency. Project-based organizations are representative of this organizational form and can either be standalone or subsidiary organizations within a larger corporation. In project-based organizations the majority of products or services are produced through projects for either internal or external customers. Nevertheless, project-based organizations are characterized as loosely coupled systems with independent sub-units resulting in sparse internal knowledge processes and capability development. Real estate organizations are often composite organizations where one part is project-based with a temporary perspective, and the other parts perceive the organization to have a longer term perspective, represented by facility management, asset management, maintenance, operational services etc. Real estate organizations thus often maintain a long-term relationship with customers and end-users, although are frequently found to be lacking in their management of end-users. Moreover, they are often found to have inadequate competence in project management and in connecting their business and project networks, resulting in inefficient use of resources. The present research investigates how practices in project-based organizations impact upon internal knowledge processes and capability development with the aim of fulfilling end-users’ needs and requirements. The research question is formulated as follows: how do project-based organizations’ underlying mechanisms impact on internal knowledge processes? This is investigated through a knowledge-based view of project-based organizations and explores it from the bottom up through the organizational hierarchies, that is, from the interaction with end-users in projects, through the project management office and up to top-management and its knowledge governance strategies. The research adopts a critical realism perspective, holds knowledge processes as the unit of analysis and combines literature reviews with 14 qualitative case studies and a final qualitative sample survey, and is published in five peer-reviewed research journal papers. The empirical dataset consists of 100 semi-structured interviews, 17 workshops and meetings with researchers and practitioners, plus document analysis. The thesis is divided into two parts: Summary of the research and Appended papers. The Summary part of the thesis provides a synthesis and reflection of the findings in the papers through (a) developing six knowledge governance strategy profiles of project-based organizations, (b) extending existing contingency framework of P- and M-form corporations, (c) proposing a tentative multilayer knowledge governance framework for knowledge processes and capabilities of project-based organizations in the real estate sector and (d) suggesting an interplay focus among identified factors and layers in the proposed framework to comprehend emerging knowledge processes in PBOs

A shared leadership framework based on boundary spanners in megaprojects

Purpose Megaprojects present an intricated pattern of leadership activities, which evolve over their planning and delivery and comprises several stakeholders. A framework is useful to navigate this complexity; it allows to identify and cluster the key elements. This paper aims to introduce a novel framework based on boundary spanners to describe the structural pattern of shared leadership in megaprojects. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review about boundary spanning and shared leadership is used to identify and cluster the key elements of shared leadership in megaprojects. The systematic literature review provides a rich theoretical background to develop the novel shared leadership framework based on boundary spanners. Findings There are three key dimensions characterizing shared leadership topology in megaprojects: stakeholders, boundary spanning leadership roles and project phases. The novel framework shows how project leadership dynamically transfers among different stakeholders, showing the importance of shared leadership as a leadership paradigm in megaprojects. Research limitations/implications The novel framework epitomizes shared leadership in megaprojects by exploring its antecedents with social network metrics. This paper stresses that shared leadership is the envisaged form of leadership in megaprojects. By modeling complex project leadership in a simple, yet effective way, the framework fosters critical thinking for future research. The modeling introduced by this framework would also benefit practitioners in charge of megaprojects. Originality/value The paper moves the project leadership research to the network-level by taking boundary spanners as shared leadership roles in megaprojects. It shows how shared leadership is a valuable management tool for planning and delivery megaprojects

Enterprise analysis of factors contributing to technical change

Thesis (S.M. in Engineering and Management)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 91-93).Engineering change management (ECM) is an essential but challenging cross-functional discipline within modern product development firms. ECM is best explained as a discipline because no single process can characterize the complex interactions between stakeholders, processes, information systems, knowledge management practices and cultural factors that enable the control of technical design change. One major challenge to product development projects is gaining actionable a priori insight into the risk of technical design change in order to allocate resources to mitigate specific risks. This thesis employs systems thinking skills to identify and analyze corresponding a priori factors within a product development firm that designs large complex systems. A case study framework provides qualitative ECM analysis from an enterprise perspective with supporting empirical stakeholder interview data. Furthermore, the research design employs more than 7,000 design defects from three large system development programs to experiment with data-mining models for classifying and predicting technical defects. This research reveals some ECM risk factors and corresponding enterprise policies in the context of process, information, and stakeholder interactions. This study also offers both executable and conceptual quantitative defect models that are appropriate for proactive risk mitigation within specific ECM processes. Ultimately, this holistic analysis provides policy recommendations for the selected enterprise, and identifies factors that have general implications for contemporary industry.by Matthew T. Knight.S.M.in Engineering and Managemen

Data Information Literacy: Librarians, Data, and the Education of a New Generation of Researchers

Given the increasing attention to managing, publishing, and preserving research datasets as scholarly assets, what competencies in working with research data will graduate students in STEM disciplines need to be successful in their fields? And what role can librarians play in helping students attain these competencies? In addressing these questions, this book articulates a new area of opportunity for librarians and other information professionals, developing educational programs that introduce graduate students to the knowledge and skills needed to work with research data. The term “data information literacy” has been adopted with the deliberate intent of tying two emerging roles for librarians together. By viewing information literacy and data services as complementary rather than separate activities, the contributors seek to leverage the progress made and the lessons learned in each service area. The intent of the publication is to help librarians cultivate strategies and approaches for developing data information literacy programs of their own using the work done in the multiyear, IMLS-supported Data Information Literacy (DIL) project as real-world case studies. The initial chapters introduce the concepts and ideas behind data information literacy, such as the twelve data competencies. The middle chapters describe five case studies in data information literacy conducted at different institutions (Cornell, Purdue, Minnesota, Oregon), each focused on a different disciplinary area in science and engineering. They detail the approaches taken, how the programs were implemented, and the assessment metrics used to evaluate their impact. The later chapters include the “DIL Toolkit,” a distillation of the lessons learned, which is presented as a handbook for librarians interested in developing their own DIL programs. The book concludes with recommendations for future directions and growth of data information literacy. More information about the DIL project can be found on the project’s website: datainfolit.org.https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/purduepress_ebooks/1042/thumbnail.jp

Tools and Algorithms for the Construction and Analysis of Systems

This open access two-volume set constitutes the proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Tools and Algorithms for the Construction and Analysis of Systems, TACAS 2021, which was held during March 27 – April 1, 2021, as part of the European Joint Conferences on Theory and Practice of Software, ETAPS 2021. The conference was planned to take place in Luxembourg and changed to an online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The total of 41 full papers presented in the proceedings was carefully reviewed and selected from 141 submissions. The volume also contains 7 tool papers; 6 Tool Demo papers, 9 SV-Comp Competition Papers. The papers are organized in topical sections as follows: Part I: Game Theory; SMT Verification; Probabilities; Timed Systems; Neural Networks; Analysis of Network Communication. Part II: Verification Techniques (not SMT); Case Studies; Proof Generation/Validation; Tool Papers; Tool Demo Papers; SV-Comp Tool Competition Papers

A framework for engineering reusable self-adaptive systems

The increasing complexity and size of information systems result in an increasing effort for maintenance. Additionally, miniaturization of devices leads to mobility and the need for context-adaptation. Self-adaptive Systems (SASs) can adapt to changes in their environment or the system itself. So far, however, development of SASs is frequently tailored towards the requirements of use cases. The research for reusable elements — for implementation as well as design processes — is often neglected. Integrating reusable processes and implementation artifacts into a framework and offering a tool suite to developers would make development of SASs faster and less error-prone. This thesis presents the Framework for Engineering Self-adaptive Systems (FESAS). It offers a reusable implementation of a reference system, tools for implementation and design as well as a middleware for controlling system deployment. As a second contribution, this thesis introduces a new approach for self-improvement of SASs which complements the SAS with meta-adaptation

Development of a decision support framework to aid selection of construction supply chain organisations for BIM-enabled projects

With the emergence of Building Information Modelling (BIM), a critical criterion for the qualification of a suitable Construction Supply Chain (CSC) for projects is the ability of individual organisations to deliver through the use of BIM. Despite emerging research on BIM capability assessment, there are very few studies which look specifically at the qualification (pre-qualification and selection) of CSC organisations for projects. Furthermore, there is a general dearth of knowledge about the links between often pre-emptive qualification criteria and actual delivery success, particularly, in the BIM or CSC context. This research identifies the most relevant BIM qualification criteria for CSC organisations, as well as investigates their relative importance and influence on various aspects of BIM delivery success. A sequential exploratory mixed method research strategy was adopted in a three-phase design. The first phase explored BIM expert views on appropriate BIM qualification criteria in the UK, through interviews with BIM specialists (n=8). The next phase consisted of two rounds of a Delphi study with experienced construction practitioners (n=30 and n=25) to ascertain the most critical among the BIM qualification criteria derived from the first phase. This was achieved through statistical determination of Delphi participant consensus with the inter-rater agreement (rwg) test. The final phase involved a survey of practitioners on BIM-enabled projects in the UK (n=64) in order to empirically establish the relationship between the critical BIM qualification criteria and various dimensions of BIM delivery success in practice. This was achieved through survey respondents’ independent appraisal of CSC organisations on recent projects in relation to quality of BIM deliverables, delivery of BIM within schedule and on budget, plus collaboration, coordination and integration of project CSC through BIM. Various multivariate statistical analysis techniques including correlation analysis, mean weighted contribution analysis, multiple regressions modelling and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were engaged to identify qualification criteria influence on success. A decision support framework (DSF) was developed and proposed, based on the coefficients and weightings computed from the inferential statistical analysis of survey data. The research findings and DSF were validated through convergence analysis, as well as elicitation of expert respondent feedback to ensure adequacy, suitability and relevance in practice.The findings highlight the multi-dimensional nature of the relationship between BIM capability and various elements of delivery success. It is surmised that individual BIM capability attributes influence various aspects of BIM delivery success to different extents and this must be taken into consideration when selecting CSC candidates. BIM ‘staff experience’ and the ‘suitability of proposed methodology’ prior to BIM project commencement were identified as the most influential criteria on BIM modelling success (quality of BIM models, delivery of BIM within schedule and on budget). Individual competencies were found to be most influential on modelling quality and delivery of BIM within budget while execution planning adequacy influenced ability to deliver BIM on time. On the other hand, the ‘administrative and strategic’ level capacities were found as the most influential in relation to leveraging BIM to achieve project CSC objectives namely, collaboration, coordination or integration on projects. From a consolidation of the findings, a DSF is proposed for prioritisation of CSC organisations based on their propensity to succeed in the delivery of BIM. The work also provides an enhanced guidance on the relationship between various dimensions of BIM capability and delivery success, as well as how this knowledge enhances the prediction of CSC candidate propensity to succeed at the pre-qualification and selection phase of construction projects