The rise and fall of project management: are we observing the birth of a new discipline?

This conceptual paper examines the state of the project, program and project portfolio management literature and highlights the divergent views of strategy that exist between project managers and top managers. Project management concepts are shown to be based on approaches to planning that top managers had rejected after thirty years of unsuccessful experience with strategic planning. Persistently high project failure rates and recent developments at the board level suggest that we might have reached the limits of our current approaches, and the question is asked whether project management is destined to follow the rise and fall of strategic planning. Alternatives to the traditional linear mechanistic approaches are explored and it is suggested that the project management field would need to embrace the delivery of strategy as the common ground to engage top managers. Approaches would need to be developed that are consistent with how strategy emerges in turbulent environments. Program and portfolio concepts are found to have the most potential to contribute to the emerging field of strategy implementation.

Estimating the value of IT Project Governance

This paper synthesises prior research findings to highlight how few IT projects realise all their expected benefits despite the widespread use of project management and technical methodologies. Using plausible assumptions derived from research the paper suggests only a third of IT projects currently deliver any benefits at all and that overall ROI is around 30%. It suggests IT Project Governance has the potential to increase ROIs to 135-240%. A large organisation that spends $30M pa on IT might realise an additional$10.5M to $21M pa, and nationally GDP might be lifted by 1.6% to 3.1%. Further research is suggested.8 page(s

An Example of Relevant IS Research for Top Managers on IT Project Failure

This paper attempts to progress the development of a more relevant IS research tradition. It describes an application of Benbassat & Zmud’s (1999) recommendations for conducting relevant research to explain how top managers influence IT projects to succeed. The findings challenged the main emphasis of the common IT prescriptions and explained why the success rates of IT projects has been so inconsistent. The research provides a example of how to overcome the fragmentation in the field and if it achieves its goal of influencing management and IT audiences, it will serve as an exemplar of relevant research. It is notable for its use of the pragmatic paradigm and collaboration leading its publication by Standards Australia

UAS Concept of Operations and Vehicle Technologies Demonstration

In 2017 and 2018, under National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sponsorship, the New York Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Test Site and Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research (NUAIR) Alliance conducted a year-long research project that culminated in a UAS technology flight demonstration. The research project included the creation of a concept of operations, and development and demonstration of UAS technologies. The concept of operations was focused on an unmanned aircraft transiting from cruise through Class E airspace into a high-density urban terminal environment. The terminal environment in which the test was conducted was Griffiss International Airport, under Syracuse Air Traffic Control (ATC) approach control and Griffiss control tower. Employing an Aurora Centaur optionally piloted aircraft (OPA), this project explored six scenarios aimed at advancing UAS integration into the National Airspace System (NAS) under both nominal and off-nominal conditions. Off-nominal conditions were defined to include complete loss of the communications link between the remote pilots control station on the ground and the aircraft. The off-nominal scenarios that were investigated included lost-link conditions with and without link recovery, an automated ATC initiated go-around, autonomous rerouting around a dynamic airspace obstruction (in this case simulated weather), and autonomous taxi operations to clear the runway

Slow wins: Patience, perseverance and behavior change.

It is easy to despair at the unsustainability of human behavior; however, such despair may come from taking too narrow and pessimistic a view of human nature. Behavior change does happen but durable change happens only slowly. What is unnerving is that our environmental problems are urgent, perhaps accelerating. This might give rise to intolerance for the slow-change notion suggested in this article. But, in fact, the opposite response is needed from us. The transition we face must be done well the first time with the changes made durable; it is unlikely we will get a second chance.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/88161/1/De_Young,_R._(2011)_Slow_wins,_Patience,_perseverance_and_behavior_change._Carbon_Management,_2(6),_607-611.pd

An Evaluation of administrative practices concerning secondary-school libraries

This study is an attempt to evaluate the practices of eight South-east Kansas secondary-school administrators concerning school libraries located in eight counties. Previous library studies have generally disclosed serious inadequacies. Administrators are responsible for conditions in any part of the school, and this study attempts to discover how nearly existing administrative practices agree with principles and practices accepted by library science authorities. After much study an information sheet was constructed and used to record data obtained during personal interviews held in the administrator\u27s office of each school. Administrative practice concerning library housing, accessibility, finance, acquisition of materials, personnel, control, support, and organization were studied in addition to the library objectives. In general, administrators consider the secondary-school library as an essential part of the school, but they seem to be unaware of its proper functions in helping attain the educational objectives of the school in modern education. More administrative practices concerning library housing and cooperation with the public library appear to be unsatisfactory than is true of those concerning other areas of study. As a whole, existing administrative practices appear to be contributing to the secondary-school objectives stated by administrators, but they do not appear to contribute much toward the attainment of objectives given by library authorities for the library in modern education

The role of psychology in preparing for lean times: The behavioral context of energy descent.

A one-time era of vast energy and natural resources allowed modern civilization to emerge and flourish. This gift of abundant resources supported the building of industrial society’s urban settlements and infrastructure. The material richness also supported the creation of a consumerist society now characterized by a massive global flow of goods and services. None of this can be sustained indefinitely since, despite how vast those resources were, they were never limitless.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136086/1/De Young, R. (2017) The role of psychology in preparing for lean times, in Columbus, A. M. (Ed.) Advances in Psychology Research 116 (Pp. 207-212).pdfDescription of De Young, R. (2017) The role of psychology in preparing for lean times, in Columbus, A. M. (Ed.) Advances in Psychology Research 116 (Pp. 207-212).pdf : Main articl