GIS Project Management

There is a big gulf between GIScience as an academic endeavor and its application in the form of GIS project management in the real world. Project activities are complex because they rarely involve routine repetitive acts, but often require specific knowledge and skills to be used in their design, execution, and management. This article explains what project management is, its objectives, and the required ingredients from personnel to budgets, and the integration of the GIS project into the larger context of an organization’s and even societal culture

Risk factors for project success in the Chinese construction industry

Purpose – To achieve project success, an effective project risk management procedure is inevitable. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of risk factors on project success in the Chinese construction industry context. Design/methodology/approach – This study by way of utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods has examined risk factors that are closely linked to project success in the Chinese construction industry. Findings – After a thorough survey and analysis, risk factors related to designer, contractor, subcontractor, client and government are shown to affect project success to some extent. Originality/value – It is suggested that the present research may be made more generalizable by a larger, more representative samples across various industries and regions of China

Guidelines to Aid Project Managers in Conceptualizing and Implementing Risk Management in Building Projects

28th International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing (FAIM2018), June 11-14, 2018, Columbus, OH, USARisk management has become a critical issue as a result of globalisation and the continued quest for greater returns. Construction organisations most especially in developing countries, approach risk management in building construction projects by using a set of practices that are normally insufficient, produce poor results often, and turn profitable building construction projects into loosing ventures. An integrated risk management approach allows construction organisations to consistently deliver superior performance while proactively managing risk. To address this gap, this paper offers a consolidated risk management system for building projects and provides project managers with guidelines for its proper implementation. In addition to helping project managers in improving risk management capability in building projects, the guideline profiled in this paper may also be of use to practitioners in other project risk management settings

Combination of Growth Model and Earned Schedule to Forecast Project Cost at Completion

To improve the accuracy of early forecasting the final cost at completion of an ongoing construction project, a new regression-based nonlinear cost estimate at completion (CEAC) methodology is proposed that integrates a growth model with earned schedule (ES) concepts. The methodology provides CEAC computations for project early-stage and middle-stage completion. To this end, this paper establishes three primary objectives, as follows: (1) develop a new formula based on integration of the ES method and four candidate growth models (logistic, Gompertz, Bass, andWeibull), (2) validate the new methodology through its application to nine past projects, and (3) select the equation with the best-performing growth model through testing their statistical validity and comparing the accuracy of their CEAC estimates. Based on statistical validity analysis of the four growth models and comparison of CEAC errors, the CEAC formula based on the Gompertz model is better-fitting and generates more accurate final-cost estimates than those computed by using the other three models and the index-based method. The proposed methodology is a theoretical contribution towards the combination of earned-value metrics with regression-based studies. It also brings practical implications associated with usage of a viable and accurate forecasting technique that considers the schedule impact as a determinant factor of cost behavio

Implementation of project management and lean production practices in a SME Portuguese innovation company

Competitiveness in a world characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, known by the acronym VUCA, is accelerating companies towards innovation. To ensure business continuity and control risk, companies must manage operations and projects with skilled teams and applying project management methodologies. The research described in this paper was undertaken in a SME Portuguese company, specialized in offering research and development solutions for industry. The main goal of the research is to implement project management good practices and lean production methodologies to improve the global performance of the company. A structured and adaptive toolkit to prioritize, select, assign resources, plan, execute and monitor projects is also in development to help the company reaching its strategic goals. The action-research methodology was used, with the researcher becoming part of the work environment, actively participating in the necessary tasks with other internal stakeholders, in a context of learning by doing. To implement the project management customized tools linked with the company strategic plan, the researcher used Business Process Management (BPM) and Lean principles. Some expected findings are the BPM customized solution implemented in the company as well as better organization and more efficient processes at the company, supported by Project Management methodologies.(undefined

Construction contingency determination : a review of processes and techniques

Abstract

Managing the delivery of iconic football stadiums in England

The English football premier league has become the most popular sports league in the world; with ardent fans and audiences all over the world. The potential business opportunities that this growth holds have therefore attracted investors who are keen to buy shares in the clubs and sign up the best footballers that money can buy. Underpinning the growth in all of the premier league clubs is a desire to make a distinct statement of identity as part of a competitive strategy. One way to achieve this is through the design and construction of iconic football stadiums. This paper explores the specific project management challenges associated with delivery of iconic football stadiums in England and draws lessons for the management of similar iconic infrastructure projects. A study of project management best practice and some case studies shows that key issues which are common to these projects are centred on design management; choice of procurement route; client management; and stakeholder expectation management. These issues are not necessarily unique to the project management of iconic football stadiums but are amplified by the context of these projects. The emphasis on iconic status in a competitive market also means that stadium projects should be conceived and delivered in the context of other strategic projects which should be clearly understood by the project management team

Implementing Success Management in an IT project

Given the high importance and complexity of the evaluation of Information Technology (IT) projects, it is essential that companies define and implement systematic processes for managing success aiming to improve project management and deliverables performance. This article presents the first stage of the implementation of a success management process in an IT project of a large multi-national company. Preliminary results show that, with a small increase of the management effort, this enables a precise definition of what really means success in the context of a project, a better understanding of the different perspectives of the participating stakeholders, a greater focus in what is most important for achieving the project success, the unbiased identification and definition of criteria for evaluating success, and the definition of milestones to carry out the evaluation.(undefined

Private finance for the delivery of school projects in England

This paper analyses the use of the private finance initiative (PFI) approach to deliver school projects in England. The findings are based on case-study research in the Building Schools for the Future scheme (BSF), the largest single capital investment in SO years to rebuild and renew all of England's secondary schools. Up to half of the school infrastructure is to be procured by PFI contracts. A major concern has been the high cost associated with PFI procurement and any subsequent changes to scope. Furthermore, in some cases PFI-funded schools have been closed soon after completion; at great cost to the public sector. The aim of this research was therefore to understand the underlying reasons for these problems. The main conclusion is that the difficulties in BSF arise from not sorting out strategic issues and instituting appropriate organisational frameworks before engaging the private sector. The result of this is a lack of clarity about the long-term needs and end user aspirations. A brief outline of current programme management methods is given and it is suggested that this might be integral to the successful delivery of schools using private finance. A clear strategic vision that cascades into projects via programmes will ensure that the school infrastructure is appropriate for the anticipated strategic benefits and is aligned to the overall service delivery ambitions

Access to Artemisinin-Based Anti-Malarial Treatment and its Related Factors in Rural Tanzania.

Artemisinin-based combination treatment (ACT) has been widely adopted as one of the main malaria control strategies. However, its promise to save thousands of lives in sub-Saharan Africa depends on how effective the use of ACT is within the routine health system. The INESS platform evaluated effective coverage of ACT in several African countries. Timely access within 24 hours to an authorized ACT outlet is one of the determinants of effective coverage and was assessed for artemether-lumefantrine (Alu), in two district health systems in rural Tanzania. From October 2009 to June 2011we conducted continuous rolling household surveys in the Kilombero-Ulanga and the Rufiji Health and Demographic Surveillance Sites (HDSS). Surveys were linked to the routine HDSS update rounds. Members of randomly pre-selected households that had experienced a fever episode in the previous two weeks were eligible for a structured interview. Data on individual treatment seeking, access to treatment, timing, source of treatment and household costs per episode were collected. Data are presented on timely access from a total of 2,112 interviews in relation to demographics, seasonality, and socio economic status. In Kilombero-Ulanga, 41.8% (CI: 36.6-45.1) and in Rufiji 36.8% (33.7-40.1) of fever cases had access to an authorized ACT provider within 24 hours of fever onset. In neither of the HDSS site was age, sex, socio-economic status or seasonality of malaria found to be significantly correlated with timely access. Timely access to authorized ACT providers is below 50% despite interventions intended to improve access such as social marketing and accreditation of private dispensing outlets. To improve prompt diagnosis and treatment, access remains a major bottle neck and new more innovative interventions are needed to raise effective coverage of malaria treatment in Tanzania