Program management approach for large-scale information technology development projects: a case study

This case study presents the program management approach in managing large-scale information technology projects. Using the case of ACME Solutions Ltd., a large software development company, the authors first emphasize on the need to use program management over project management when managing related multiple information technology projects. Then, they explain the program lifecycle in this company and discuss the ‘process’ and ‘people’ related challenges across the program stages. Broadly, they observe that there is a lack of coordination between the stakeholders and processes of the program. Recommendations to overcome these limitations are discussed

Modeling the effects of belt compliance, backlash, and slip on web tension and new methods for decentralized control of web processing lines

Scope and Method of Study: Non-ideal behavior of web process lines and new methods for regulation of web tension and web velocity are investigated. The non-ideal behavior considered includes the compliance and backlash in the transmission system and slippage of web over a roller. The effect of non-ideal elements on the controlled web tension is examined. Dynamic models are developed and analyzed to bring out the effect of non-ideal elements on controlled web tension. A method of mitigating the effect of backlash on controlled web tension is proposed. Effect of web slippage over a roller on span tension dynamics is investigated. The web tension and velocity dynamics are systematically laid down. Two decentralized control schemes viz., a non-adaptive scheme and an adaptive scheme are proposed for web tension/velocity regulation. Experimental study is conducted to validate the results.Findings and Conclusions: The dynamic model of belt-pulley transmission system is derived by considering the tight side of the belt as a spring. The singular perturbation analysis reveals that using only the measured load side speed as the feedback signal is not desirable. A method of setting the proportional and integral gains of the speed controller is proposed. Starting from the first principles, a dynamic model of backlash is derived. This model accounts for the momentum of load during no contact. Using the model, a bound on the error due to presence of backlash is derived. The proposed bound agrees with results of experiments. The dynamic model of rewind section of a transmission system containing belt-compliance and backlash is derived. Analysis of the dynamic model shows that the mean rewind tension is shifted when there is backlash in the transmission system. This result agrees with experimental data. Further, the experiments show that providing an additional braking input on the rewind shaft is successful in mitigating the effects of backlash. The dynamics of idle roller, material rolls, and web spans are systematically laid out and a decentralized control scheme for the entire web process line is proposed. A method of calculating the equilibrium inputs and setting the reference tensions is derived. An exponentially stable non-adaptive scheme and an asymptotically stable adaptive scheme are presented. These schemes explicitly account for the varying inertia of the unwind/rewind rolls and compensate for unmatched interconnections. Experimental results show that the proposed methods offer superior web tension regulation as compared to the existing decentralized PI-control scheme

IMECHE2005-81501 MODELING OF WEB SLIP ON A ROLLER AND ITS EFFECT ON WEB TENSION DYNAMICS

ABSTRAC

Role of active dancers in tension control of webs

This paper investigates the role of active dancers in attenuation of web tension disturbances in a web process line. A general structure of the active dancer is considered; an input/output model is developed for analysis and controller design. Three types of control designs were investigated for the active dancer: proportional-integral-derivative controller, internal model based controller, and linear quadratic optimal controller. An open-architecture experimental platform is developed for conducting real-time control experiments using the active dancer system. Data collected from an extensive set of experiments using the three control designs validate the usefulness of the active dancers in a web process line. We present a representative sample of the experimental data in this paper.Mechanical and Aerospace Engineerin

Comparative study on active and passive dancers used for attenuation of web tension disturbances

A dancer mechanism, used in most of the web process lines, consists of a roller which is either connected to a fixed support by passive elements such as springs and dampers or is force loaded in opposition to the web tension. Dancer mechanisms are commonly used to attenuate web tension disturbances caused by uneven wound rolls, eccentric rollers, mis-alignment of idle rollers, and slacks in webs. A dancer mechanism is also used as a feedback element in a number of web tension control systems. The tension control system is driven by the variations in the position of the dancer mechanism as opposed to the variations in actual tension from the desired tension.Since a substantial number of web process lines in web handling industries use dancer mechanisms, there is a need for a systematic comparative study of different types of dancer mechanisms and their applicability; the focus of this paper will be on such a study. Active and passive dancers will be compared using analytical models; a representative sample of the most common dancer mechanisms will be considered. The results of this analysis will assist in the selection of the dancer mechanism and its components, design of the dancer mechanism, and the effectiveness of a particular dancer mechanism to reject different types of web tension disturbances. Also, to substantiate the fundamental analysis, results from experiments, for certain situations, will be shown and discussed.Mechanical and Aerospace Engineerin

Lateral control of a web using estimated velocity feedback

The focus of this paper is on lateral control of a web using estimated motor velocity feedback. A reduced state velocity observer is designed to estimate the motor velocity based on the measured lateral position of the web and the motor input. Estimated velocity is used for inner-loop motor velocity feedback instead of measured velocity from a tachometer. Two approaches are investigated in the design of the reduced state velocity observer; the first is based on the motor dynamics and the web lateral dynamics and the second is based on the motor dynamics and the static gain of the web lateral dynamics. The second approach results in a simple low-order velocity observer when compared to the first approach.The proposed designs are experimentally investigated on a Fife remotely pivoted steering guide. The performance of the lateral control system with estimated motor velocity feedback is compared with the tachometer feedback and results are discussed. Representative experimental data from the two approaches indicated above is presented. Experimental results on the example considered shows that the observer can successfully replace the tachometer to close the inner velocity loop in lateral control systems.Mechanical and Aerospace Engineerin

Human resource allocation management in multiple projects using sociometric techniques

This article describes a new application of key psychological concepts in the area of Sociometry for the selection of workers within organizations in which projects are developed. The project manager can use a new procedure to determine which individuals should be chosen from a given pool of resources and how to combine them into one or several simultaneous groups/projects in order to assure the highest possible overall work efficiency from the standpoint of social interaction. The optimization process was carried out by means of matrix calculations performed using a computer or even manually, and based on a number of new ratios generated ad-hoc and composed on the basis of indices frequently used in Sociometry

Profiling work motivation of project workers

The purpose of this study is to understand the constructs of work motivation in project—based organizations. We first juxtapose work motivation in traditional and project—based organizations to put forward an operational definition of work motivation for our study. We then present the research methodology where we profile work motivation as perceived by project workers using principal component analysis. We obtain a five factor structure of work motivation. Finally, we discuss these results by putting them within the project management perspective and suggest managerial implications

The two dimensions of virtual and collocated project teams or what project team members WANT and GET : an empirical study

The current paper compares and investigates the discrepancies in motivational drives of project team members with respect to their project environment in collocated and distributed (virtual) project teams. The set of factors, which in this context are called ‘Sense of Ownership’, is used as a scale to measure these discrepancies using one tailed t tests. These factors are abstracted from theories of motivation, team performance, and team effectiveness and are related to ‘Nature of Work’, ‘Rewards’, and ‘Communication’. It has been observed that ‘virtual ness’ does not seem to impact the motivational drives of the project team members or the way the project environments provide or support those motivational drives in collocated and distributed projects. At a more specific level in terms of the motivational drives of the project team (‘WANT’) and the ability of the project environment to provide or support those factors (‘GET’), in collocated project teams, significant discrepancies were observed with respect to financial and non financial rewards, learning opportunities, nature of work and project specific communication, while in distributed teams, significant discrepancies with respect to project centric communication, followed by financial rewards and nature of work. Further, distributed project environments seem to better support the team member motivation than collocated project environments. The study concludes that both the collocated and distributed project environments may not be adequately supporting the motivational drives of its project team members, which may be frustrating to them. However, members working in virtual team environments may be less frustrated than their collocated counterparts as virtual project environments are better aligned with the motivational drives of their team members vis-à-vis the collocated project environments

Profiling work motivation of project workers

The purpose of this study is to understand the constructs of work motivation in project-based organizations. We first juxtapose work motivation in traditional and project-based organizations to put forward an operational definition of work motivation for our study. We then present the research methodology where we profile work motivation as perceived by project workers using principal component analysis. We obtain a five factor structure of work motivation. Finally, we discuss these results by putting them within the project management perspective and suggest managerial implications