Are your project decisions based on statistical uncertainty?

Statistics drive decisions in every walk of life, including project management, but they give an illusion of certainty where there is none. Pat Weaver explains why we can’t rely on them wholly.

Adopting a common language in your project

Different areas of an organisation often use similar terms in different ways. Cameron Johnson explains how to adopt a common language on your project to save confusion and reduce risks.

The bookshelf of a project manager

The busy life of a project manager means there’s little time to sharpen or even learn new skills so it’s important to select and read books that are relevant to your level and experience. Amy Cowen recommends a few for the shelf.

Is there a formula for good project management?

In a process-driven environment, formula is wonderful. The problem is when you go beyond simple projects, using a formula results in a crash between those who want to tick boxes and the problems that don’t fit in a box, writes editor Adeline Teoh.

Agile innovation in project management—Rami Shakour

Agile innovation in project management
Today, we can generalize that the projects have grown in complexity and it is very common for the project managers struggling to bring their work efficiently. Recognizing these challenges, difficulties, changes and technological advances, project managers try to use standards that can best meet the goals of success and deliver them. Adopting a model for new product development project management is critical to their performance, particularly at the end of high-tech products. The application of project management in business gives better results, quality and reduction costs in the product development. The innovative products are embedded in dynamic business environments, characterized the difficulty in predicting the future, uncertainties and major challenges. However, the current assignment has presented the importance and methodologies of Agile Innovation in project management. The introductory part has given a brief overview and comparison between classical project management and agile project management. In the discussion part, agile methodology is discussed in detail along with the principles and values.

Author: Rami Shakour
Review status: Postgraduate assignment (University of Technology Sydney)

Reflection on project reform—Jacob Silver

Reflection on project reform
With reasons for project failure remaining unchanged since Harvard Business School first published the common causes, organisations are faced with situations where the focus is less about what the causes of failure are but rather what the early warning signs are and what are the response mechanisms. It’s imperative that as project managers we put in place tools to recognise the early warning signs of project failure and implement strong processes to reform projects that are on the path to failure.

This paper examines the process of change that a large and complex relocation project went through during the early stages of project failure. The paper discusses several failed attempts at change and the eventual process that got the project back on track and allowed the team to achieve immediate and ongoing success. The tools used to improve success include critical reflections, the discovery of common themes through the use of affinity diagrams and the use of personality traits to assign roles. The key lessons learnt were shared and this allowed the team to continue its success and ultimately restore faith with their client and secure future business.

Author: Jacob Silver
Review status: Postgraduate assignment (University of Technology Sydney)

Social learning theory in construction—Neroshan Devakumaran

Application of social learning theory to boost technician skills and performance in a construction project
Skilled labour force is an essential part of a construction project. Every construction project has different phases. Transitioning between phases dictates the need for different skill sets and it is crucial that every organisation manages its labour resource efficiently to avoid skill gaps that could lead to its downfall in this highly competitive world. Being constrained by a limited labour force with a significant skill imbalance during the transitioning of two phases, the author had to come up with a plan to alleviate this situation by training the unskilled technicians within a short period of time due to the steady increase of tasks and multiple end dates. The author created a strategy to train them within a month while steadily increasing the pace of work. Using the modelling process of a social learning theory with other learning styles incorporated in parts, the author was able to eventually fill the skill gaps necessary for the next phase within the planned time. The author eventually provides a reflection on the methods used by him that proves that although the techniques were efficient, there is room for improvement.

Author: Neroshan Devakumaran
Review status: Postgraduate assignment (University of Technology Sydney)

Practice of effective leadership on improving the project performance—Abdulmohsin Alghifaili

Practice of effective leadership on improving the project performance
This paper will talk about improving leadership practice in an organisation and how this practice affected the project performance. The paper will talk about individual reflection on how departments in the organisation interacted and how the project team failed to reach the specified goals. This paper will also discuss how to improve the leadership practice in the organisation and how the project leadership will improve by applying tools and approaches. Further, the paper will show indicate the results of improving the practice of effective leadership.

Author: Abdulmohsin Alghifaili
Review status: Postgraduate assignment (University of Technology Sydney)