Integrating Project Management, Software Development, and Knowledge Management Models: A Case Study in a Public ICT Services Organization

In project-based organizations knowledge is a critical resource used to develop and deliver products and services with a high level of quality. Therefore, a systematic and sustainable process is necessary to coordinate knowledge management, project management and product lifecycle. This scenario predominates in companies focused on the creation and maintenance of information systems. This article presents an exploratory study based on a framework that integrates cognitive, managerial, and operational processes in a public Brazilian organization that provides services in the area of information and communications technology, focusing on the construction and maintenance of information systems. Those processes are operationalized by three management models considering knowledge, project, and software development processes. Our proposal aims to understand the relationships between those three management models and their influence on the software development process in the organization under study. Our premise is based on the principle that cognitive management, project management, and software development management must be integrated to fulfill the demands of product development and service provision. The research data was composed of registers of working hours spent on software development and maintenance projects involving 244 people allocated to 5064 projects in the period from 2007 to 2013. The study resulted in the identification of the relationships among the three management models adopted by the organization, with emphasis on knowledge management activities, which were not directly identified, making it difficult to account for and measure them. We established a set of activities connected to each one of the knowledge management model phases. Since those activities were not visible before, our approach contributed to build a systematic process to register and relate activities linked to the dimensions of cognitive processes, project management, and software construction.

Comparison between Chinese Supervision Enterprise and International Project Management Enterprise

With the entrance into WTO, the Chinese supervision enterprises face the serious challenge never existed before. Comparing with other type enterprises Chinese supervision enterprises nature of China are the same as project management companies in connotation and service scope in nature. They have much superiority in development of the project management work. Through comparing and analyzing the special feature between Chinese supervision enterprise and international project management enterprise, this paper points out the gap between them, and table the proposal of they transforming to the project management enterprises.

Software Project Management Approaches for Global Software Development： A Systematic Mapping Study

Global Software Development （GSD） is a well established field of software engineering with the benefits of a global environment. Software Project Management （SPM） plays a key role in the success of GSD. As a result, the need has arisen to study and evaluate the downsides of SPM for GSD, to thereby pave the way for the development of new methods, techniques, and tools with which to tackle them. This paper aims to identify and classify research on SPM approaches for GSD that are available in the literature, to identify their current weaknesses and strengths, and to analyze their applications in industry. We performed a Systematic Mapping Study （SMS） based on six classification criteria. Eighty-four papers were selected and analyzed. The results indicate that interest in SPM for GSD has been increasing since 2006. As a class of approaches, the most frequently reported methods （40%） are those used for coordination, planning, and monitoring, along with estimation techniques that can be used to better match a distributed project. SPM for GSD requires further investigation by researchers and practitioners, particularly with respect to cost and time estimations. These findings will help overcome the challenges that must to be considered in future SPM research for GSD, especially regarding collaboration and time-zone differences.

Building the Three Gorges Project for the Chinese Nation—An Interview with General Manager Lu Youmei, China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation

The Yangtze River has nurtured the fertile land on both its banks and hundreds of millions of Chinese people. but its raging waters have also wreaked havoc on the people living in its reaches. Since the founding of New China, large-scale surveys, planning, scientific research and feasibility studies have been carried out in an effort to harness the

A Study on the Activities During the Fuzzy Front End in New Product Development Projects of Korean ICT Firms

Although previous studies on Korean manufacturing firms have empirically analyzed the causal relationship between activities during the FFE(Fuzzy Front End)and success of NPD(New Product Development)of Korean manufacturing firms,no study has concretely focused on Korean ICT(Information and Communications Technology)firms and their FFE activities.The main aim of this study is to identify the activities of these firms during their FFE and provide managerial insights into the other ICT firms.The authors conducted a survey(106 valid responses)that their FFE activities on new product development project managers in Korean ICT firms.The results showed that even though new product development managers of Korean ICT firms did not search for ideas systemically,they communicated with those departments/divisions that had frequent interaction with customers for idea assessment,with the active involvement of middle-or higher-level managers.They thoroughly established initial plans in the pre-development stages and seriously analyzed competitors’products and direct and indirect customer interactions in their market survey activities.

Factors that Influence Product Development and their Integration Level in Project Management Approaches

Project management literature provides various approaches to organize project management.Simultaneously,several factors influence product development about its efficiency and effectiveness.This paper analyses the factors that affect product development and evaluates their integration level in project management concerning modern requirements imposed in a volatile,uncertain,complex,and ambiguous(VUCA)environment.It concludes by identifying undervalued influencing factors worth investigating in future research.

The Development and Comparative Analysis of Engineering Project Management Modes

Engineering project management is the whole process of project construction management activities up to the point of achieving the goals of engineering construction, which adopts the means of planning, organizing,leading, and controlling. In addition, engineering project management modes are the works of project management and the technical guarantee of project success. For the quality and efficient transformation demands of the Chinese construction industry in the process of marketization, internationalization and informatization, based on the connotation and development path of engineering project management modes, the 16 main and new kinds of project management modes both domestically and abroad are divided into trading mode, financing mode and management mode. These have led to comparative analysis and brief commentary. Finally, it will be pointed out that the engineering project management modes move throughout the whole management process, the combined model and the expansion development of financing model. This work will provide reference for project participants to choose the appropriate project management modes and better understand building company transformation.

Research on Concurrent Engineering Oriented Integrated Product Development Process Management System

In concurrent engineering, effective process management is the key to improve the efficiency and quality of product development. Although in project management system, workflow management system and PDM system, process management functions are provided, they can not meet the needs of product development. In this paper, we integrate the project management, workflow management and product management technique together and a concurrent engineering oriented integrated product development process management system is proposed. The system structure, integrated product development model and running method are introduced. The practice proves this system is powerful in supporting product development process.

Towards an Efficient Information Systems Development Process and Management: A Review of Challenges and Proposed Strategies

Before Information Systems are developed, they must have undergone a process called Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) using appropriate methodology. The SDLC consists of phases varying from author to author. However, an information systems project can only be successful with intense interaction amongst project manager, systems analyst, system designers and the end users. Viewed from the project manager’s perspective, the SDLC lacks the essence of project management activities. Similarly, end users involvement is not clearly specified. The main aim of this paper is to propose a framework for information systems management and development process which accommodates the views of the different participants. Furthermore, the paper sharpens the concept of conventional SDLC, on the basis of the proposed framework. In addition, tools and methods that are appropriate for the implementation of the framework are herein discussed.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT:RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

This paper studies the business process known as project management. This process has exhibited a remarkable growth in business interest over the last 15 years, as demonstrated by a 1000% increase in membership in the Project Management Institute since 1996. This growth is largely attributable to the emergence of many new diverse business applications that can be successfully managed as projects. The new applications for project management include IT implementations, research and development, new product and service development, corporate change management, and software development. The characteristics of modem projects are typically very different from those of traditional projects such as construction and engineering, which necessitates the development of new project management techniques. We discuss these recent practical developments. The history of project management methodology is reviewed, from CPM and PERT to the influential modem directions of critical chain project management and agile methods. We identify one important application area for future methodological change as new product and service development. A list of specific research topics within project management is discussed. The conclusions suggest the existence of significant research opportunities within project management.

A Comparative Analysis of RAD and Agile Technique for Management of Computing Graduation Projects

Computing students face the problem with time and quality of the work while managing their graduation/senior projects.Rapid Application Development(RAD)model is based on continual user involvement for the process of requirement gathering via prototyping.After each iteration,the developers can validate the requirements that are completed in the iteration.Managing a project with RAD is easier but not flexible.On the other hand,Agile project management techniques focus on flexibility,agility,teamwork and quality based on user stories.Continual user involvement is avoided,which requires extensive maintenance time for fixing iteration and release of the story points.This also makes it necessary to provide onsite training to the users of the application.This research provides the pros and cons of RAD and Agile project management techniques,to help students in deciding the best approach for managing their graduation projects.For the evaluation of these techniques,similar case studies were given to the senior project students(having similar CGPAs)for building similar functionality-based applications.The two projects“Life Organizer”developed and managed using RAD and“Smart Patient Assistant(SPA)”developed and managed through Agile methodology were evaluated against the quality assurance criteria for senior projects.The study found that the project developed with RAD methodology performed 13.33%better in providing extensive and elaborated documentation than the students following the Agile technique.On the other hand,SPA-Agile based project,due to teamwork had 2.5%better implementation than Life Organizer-RAD based project.

Effective decision-making model for hi-tech new product development

In order to identify the effective decision-making factors at the individual NPD project manager level, a new effective decision-making model has been established by introducing the concept of decision-making effectiveness, analyzing the role of expertise, and identifying the major role of expertise and insight with respect to the interfaces between a new product, an organization, customers, technologies and regulations, for the study of the effective decision-making facilitators and inhibitors for a NPD project. The analysis of the unique task conditions for individual decision-makers shows that perceived complexity, uncertainty and time pressure have their negative effect on the effective decision-making process. It is concluded that the flexible, balanced and appropriate use of rational analysis, common sense and intuition is a key effective decision-making factor, and the psychologically ‘active attitude’ of a manager is also an important factor for successful dealing with the difficult task conditions.

Creating a Business Process Monitoring System ＂A-IOMS＂ for Software Development

In this paper, the authors establish the Amalab-integrated operation management system （A-IOMS） as a new way to carry out software development and monitor business processes. This new system puts the previously constructed the Amalab-project planning navigation system （A-PPNS） to work throughout the entire organization. The A-IOMS has several key elements. Specifically, the authors have constructed： （1） a Hi-reliability estimation system diagnostic tool that pinpoints problems with software development estimates and offers a prescription for resolving them; （2） a QA table map that allows for an immediate, thorough, and consistent quality assurance process; （3） a system for sharing software development schedules throughout the organization; and （4） a technological asset completion reporting system for passing down and cultivating software development technologies and strategically expanding them. The authors verified the effectiveness of the A-IOMS at company A, a systems integration company, and the given outcomes were obtained.

Improving Internationally Core Competences Based on the Capabilities of Precise and Accurate Project Management

Modern international project management has entered the phase of precise and accurate project management after the global financial crisis broke out at the beginning of the 21 stcentury. However, its development has faced new challenges since there has been lack of explicitly unanimous definition for the capability dimensions of precise and accurate project management, as well as the models and their process control parameters. The required core capabilities based on the precise and accurate project management for various rings are involved in the project life cycle, namely, the required internationally core competences and their components for the phases of project strategic planning and decision making in the early project phase, as well as the value engineering, and the project supervision and controls during the execution phase.Through studying the effects of the internationally core competences based on precise and accurate project management capabilities for the success and excellence of projects and configuring such models, the goal is to help the main contractors continuously obtain project success and excellence, thus improve its internationally core competences with continuous project success and excellence.

Multi-dimensional project management models for mega-construction companies and their applications

China is undertaking an increasing number of mega-infrastructure projects along with its rapid economic expansion.For participants in these projects,understand how to adapt the proper and efficient management strategies is critical.In this paper,we propose three distinct models for companies under various background and management requirements,based on sophisticated data analysis and model development.Moreover,we successfully committed these models with hydropower development projects and achieved a great progress in enhancing management efficiency.

Project Management Addressed to Iranian Government-A Case Study

Iranian Government has a unique opportunity to recede many existing difficulties and achieve to promoted productivity,paving the way for competitive and coadaptive developments in running and managing major complex projects.The present study was a combination of literature review,existing research reports,and hierarchical distance-based fuzzy approach to manage projects addressed to Iranian Government as a case study that comprises road and building construction,nuclear power,used oil and petroleum industries,new technologies(nano and plasma),industries,and waste management projects.Underpinning existing trend among frameworks of projects revealed some weakness points to lead the Iranian Government for the reliable establishment and implementation of projects such as resources and partnership management,lack of trust,technology replacement,deficiency of science,technology and additives promotions,and change in the attitude.The evaluation based on hierarchical fuzzy logic revealed the priority for diamond deposition reactors comprising highfrequency plasma=microwave?glow?laser?alternating current?plasmatron?direct current?flame,respectively.Therefore,Iranian Government needs to employ a buttressed support in the implementation of the plasma plants through applying nuclear power energy to reclaim and promote additives and products of industries,redesign and reproduction processes,quality function deployment,and other developing sectors.

The Impact of Project Portfolio Management on Enterprise Strategic Objectives

In today’s era,with the increase in the number of enterprise innovations,enterprises must adopt project portfolio management for various innovations,select alternative projects from the perspective of enterprise strategy.This paper primarily explores the use of project portfolio management in enterprise project management,hoping to improve the quality of enterprise project management and the utilization efficiency of project portfolio management in enterprise project management.

An Empirical Study of the Content Characteristics of Social Projects （According to In-depth Interviews）

This paper specifies substantial characteristics of social projects at the present stage of development of the Russian civil society. A social project is considered as a project system based on a set of measures of social orientation; has specific objectives; and is located in space and time-restricted. The sample data of 25 in-depth interviews with representatives of the business community, public authorities, and civil society institutions, all active participants in community development in the Voronezh administrative region served as an empirical basis for this paper. The analysis of respondents＇ views on the importance of social projects has enabled to define their descriptive and normative features. The main descriptive features include the following： overcoming specific urgent problems in a society; implementing state social policy; quantitative changes in the material life conditions of an individual or a social group; creating labor markets; implementing social innovations; two-way influence of the quality and quantity of social projects and the level of socio-economic structure （company, region, country）. Normative features include： encouraged development of state institutions; stability of the environment; balanced socio-economic development; formation of a community of reasonable individuals; development of human potential. Conclusions have been made about the nature, characteristics, and goals and objectives of social projects and their role in social and economic development of the region, spheres of social projects implementation significant for Russia, about active participants, success and failure factors of social projects, prospects and intensity of social engineering in the Voronezh administrative region and Russia as a whole. Soft systems methodology has been used for stating and structuring the empirical data. The results obtained have enabled to lay the foundation for finding the concepts and mechanisms to coordinate the participants in community development.

Design-Stage Prediction of Project Correctness or Incorrectness

The success of a software development project requires the early objective determination of the project’s correctness or incorrectness and the identification of the most effective solution for project management. However, few studies have been conducted on the reliable quantitative early judgment of correctness or incorrectness. In recent years, the collection and accumulation of actual attribute data from Japanese domestic software development projects have been conducted by the Software Engineering Centre of the Information-Technology Promotion Agency of Japan. In a previous article, we proposed a precise definition of project correctness or incorrectness and identified the important factors in successful projects;we also proposed a quantitative decision-making method for judging project correctness or incorrectness objectively and quantitatively on the basis of discriminant analysis using project completion attribute data. On the basis of the previous results, we propose a quantitative decision-making technique for the early judging of project correctness or incorrectness based on the attribute data of design stage as early stage of development.

An Analysis of the Benfit on Green Risk in Construction Projects

The Construction project green risks (CPGRs) refer to those threats to environment, energy sources and material re-sources during the entire life-cycle of a construction project. The emergent green risks in exploiting these resources are of varying concern to all. In this paper, evolutionary game is introduced to make about impacts of strategy choices from interactions among the choices developers, and between the choices developers and EPDs on project green risk. The results show that CPGRs will occur if either developers find that not managing CPGRs has a better payoff than opting for CPGR management, or if monitors impose only mild fines even when they find CPGRs within construction projects of developer’s firms. The study also shows that there is a prohibitively expensive cost incurred by EPDs in monitoring CPGRs. Finally, some strategies are given for EPDs to help them make policies to regulate the strategies of developers.