Thought piece on the effectiveness of contemporary project management and its top performing enablers

One of the most important factors for project success is effective contemporary project management. The aim of this article is to provide project manager practitioners with access to the successful contemporary project management enablers using evidence-based research. A systematic scoping literature review using qualitative and quantitative design was performed on the ScienceDirect database using studies and articles, published in English between 2010 and 2019. This search included factors regarding successful contemporary project management and citation tracking. All studies and articles were peer reviewed. Charted data were narratively reported by clustering the results according to the identified success criteria. The review process resulted in one conceptual framework, one literature review, one survey, and one article about research on another topic, which is related to project management success factors. This article shows that to enhance evidence-based practice, it is recommended that in a contemporary project approach, every project establishes a complementary team-related project with gates as checks to ensure transparency, clarity, and comprehension. Its purpose would include the definition, development, and implementation of clear communication strategy and a mentoring and training program to support retention, build loyalty in organizations, and enhance cooperation between the stakeholders and the project team. A limitation of this study includes the consideration of contemporary project management success factors only but not those success factors influencing contemporary project management success. A second limitation is the use of a single database and the exclusion of journal quality

A review of the success and failure factors for change management

In order to stay competitive and relevant in the business environment, companies need to embrace and address internal and external change and understand how to deal with it. It is necessary for them to develop knowledge about the success and failure factors of handling change and how the latter can be resolved. The aim of this study was to identify change management success and failure factors and provide a method dealing with failure factors. In the systematic literature review, 38 success factors and 23 failure factors from 2006 to 2021 were identified. In comparing the frequency of the occurring factors, 4 main success and 3 failure factors emerged. The success factors included: communication, create a vision/change message, early active participation of all individuals and top management commitment. The failure factors included; resistance to change, standardised concepts and viewing change initiatives as short-term. Complementarity and dependency links between failure factors and success factors were highlighted. Solutions for resolving three failure factors were found using Ishikawa-Diagrams and applying root cause analysis. Identifying key factors that affect project success is part of handling change. To support any necessary change a consistent change management framework that is adaptable to individual organisations is also recommended

Portfolio Management: The Holistic Data Lifecycle

21 pagesMachine learning provides many benefits to Portfolio Managers in analysing data and has the potential to provide much more. A concern with the approach to Machine Learning in Portfolio Management is that is caught between two domains: finance and information systems. In reality, to ensure its success, having these two separate and distinct domains are problematic. What is required is a holistic view, facilitating discussions, with data being the unifying concept and the one that is key to success. The data value map is a lens that allows all involved, in the use or adoption of Machine Learning in Portfolio Management, to form a shared understanding of the lifecycle of the data involved. Rather than being seen as a financial concept or a technical concept, this view of the data lifecycle provides a platform for all involved to determine what is required, and to identify and deal with any potential pitfalls along the way. A holistic view, and shared understanding, are required for the success of Machine Learning in Portfolio Management. Research on the intersection between Machine Learning and Portfolio Management is currently lacking. A focus on the different parts of the data lifecycle provides an opportunity for further research

An exploratory study into the use of Lean Six Sigma to reduce medication errors in the Norwegian public healthcare context

Purpose: Medication errors are a significant cause of injury in Norwegian hospitals. The purpose of this study is to explore how Lean Six Sigma (LSS) has been used in the Norwegian public health-care context to reduce medication errors. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed method approach was used to gather data from participants working in the four regions served by the Norway health authorities. A survey questionnaire was distributed to 38 health-care practitioners and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 health-care practitioners. Findings: The study finds that the implementation of LSS in the Norwegian public health-care context is still in its infancy. This is amidst several challenges faced by Norwegian hospitals such as the lack of top-management support, lack of LSS training and coaching and a lack of awareness around the benefits of LSS in health care. Research limitations/implications: Because of the large geographical area, it was difficult to reach participants from all health regions in Norway. However, the study managed to assess the current status of LSS implementation through the participants’ perspectives. This is a fruitful area for future research whereby an action research methodology could be used. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study into the use of LSS methodology in reducing medication errors. In addition, this study is valuable for health-care practitioners and professionals as a guideline to achieve the optimal benefit of LSS implementation to reduce medication errors

Introducing and Familiarising Older Adults Living with Dementia and Their Caregivers to Virtual Reality.

Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly being applied in dementia care across a range of applications and domains including health and wellbeing. Despite the commercial availability of VR, informants of design are not always aware of its functionality and capabilities, to meaningfully contribute to VR design. In designing VR applications for people living with dementia, it is recommended that older adults living with dementia and their support persons be involved in the design process using participatory approaches, thereby giving them a voice on the design of technology from the outset. A VR technology probe is a useful means of familiarising older adults living with dementia and their informal caregivers with the knowledge and understanding of interactive VR to employ technology that supports them to maintain their social health. This paper charts the implementation and evaluation of a VR technology probe, VR FOUNDations. To explore their experiences, nine older adults living with dementia and their nine informal caregivers trialled VR FOUNDations and completed semi-structured interviews after its use. Overall, older adults living with dementia and their informal caregivers perceived VR FOUNDations to achieve its aim of increasing understanding and inspiring future design decisions. The findings also identified promising positive experiences using a VR technology probe which may be indicative of its applicability to social health and wellbeing domains. This paper advocates for the structured design and implementation of VR technology probes as a pre-requisite to the participatory design of VR applications for the health and wellbeing of people living with dementia. The use of such technology probes may afford older adults living with dementia and their informal caregivers the best opportunity to contribute to design decisions and participate in technology design to support their health and wellbeing

Re-boot learning: providing an e-tivity scaffold for engagement for early research activity through blog technology embedded within teaching and learning

Increasing student numbers in higher education over the last decade has challenged educational environments. The challenge for educators is to re-think learning environments and delivery methods such that a student-educator partnership approach is adopted, resulting in deep-learning and debate rather than the delivery of a service, thereby invalidating the viewpoint that a degree is a commodity rather than a skills-set. The Community of Inquiry framework draws upon ideas that computer-mediated teaching and learning require the existence of three interdependent presences (social, cognitive and teaching). The inclusion of technology in pedagogy can further complicate teaching and learning. The fact that digital technologies are ever-changing, not always predictable, and can take on many forms supports Koehler & Mishra assertion that both developers and end-users of digital technologies do not always know nor can they always predict trends and applications of such technologies. Efforts to guide educators and researchers in their technology integration has resulted in developed standards, frameworks, models, and theories that may be used to inform research and practice . Hamilton points to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) (2015) who developed standards to support students/educators/leaders with guidelines for the skills, knowledge and approaches they need to succeed in the digital age raising the question of how learners can benefit from the effective use of technology. The structured use of frameworks (such as technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK)) facilitates the integration and effectiveness of technology in teaching.The authors assert that appropriate technology and engagement in teaching can act as a scaffold for deeper research activity, weaving through paradigms such as active learning, constructivism etc to encourage students to spend quality time in what is known as the liminal space (identified as the process of mastering a threshold concept). Proposed approaches will be used to encourage and foster engagement in both formal and informal settings to allow more opportunities for dialog, which can result in greater learner engagement. Notwithstanding, it is easy for students to fall into a passive role, leaving the educator bearing this responsibility. Embedded technology teaching has many challenges but these challenges can be overcome with educators and students working in partnership with a common focus. The authors present their use of a technological framework of engagement to provide a scaffold for research activity embedded in teaching and learning. In order to assess the effectiveness of this informal technological space (in this example a blog), 93 Masters and Undergraduate students are surveyed. The aims of this survey were to: (1) determine the impact this technological space has on their research activity and (2) elicit whether or not classroom based learning through discussion was supported by the online blog or vice versa and an overall assessment of whether or not the blog met their expectations and facilitated them in easing their transition through liminal spaces in the mastery of related threshold concepts. The authors will also outline the effectiveness of blog technology as a portals or learning thresholds. Anecdotal comments from the students will also be used to relate aspects of their journey through the liminal space.peer-reviewe

Barriers and waste in the research grant application process in higher education through a Lean Six Sigma lens

Higher education institutions (HEIs) typically generate income from two main sources; student fees and research income. In contrast, the predominant waste streams in HEIs tend to include; (1) assignment/examination mark submission process, (2) photocopying process and (3) the funding application process. Unintended internal process complexities and barriers typically aggravate the challenges already inherent in the research grant application process. Although Lean Six Sigma (LSS) has been adopted by a number of HEIs in Ireland, very few have adopted an integrated LSS approach for waste reduction in the research grant application process. To identify barriers and waste in the research grant application process within an Irish HEI in an EU environment, the authors used an online survey deployed to 240 academics and researchers. The survey response rate was 13%. The participating HEI in this pilot study generated an annual income (including student fees and research income) exceeding e240 million for the academic year 2017/2018. Using an LSS lens, this paper identified the primary waste in the research grant application process from an academic and researcher perspective to be; editing and revising applications, liaising and communicating with collaborators and waiting for information. Organised thematically, the main barriers were strategic thinking, collaborator identification and co-ordination, eligibility, process, time and support & mentoring. The results from this study can be used to inform the next stage of the research where empirical studies will be carried out in other HEIs to develop a practical roadmap for the implementation of LSS as an operational excellence improvement methodology in the research grant application process.peer-reviewe