| 1. |
- Andersson, Annika, 1961-, et al.
(författare)
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Challenges in project management : Grabbing the elephant
- 2007
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Ingår i: Projects & Profits. ; 7:12, s. 33-37
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Projects and project management tend to have special meanings to the individuals involved in a specific line of research. This article reports on some topics covered in an informal Swedish network devoted to study project management. Ten topics are selected for discussion that fall into three broad categories—projects as practice, productivity in projects and education in a PM curriculum.
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| 2. |
- Aubry, Monique, et al.
(författare)
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Identifying forces driving PMO changes
- 2010
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Ingår i: Project Management Journal. - : Wiley. - 8756-9728 .- 1938-9507. ; 41:4, s. 30-45
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Project management offices (PMOs) are dynamic organizational entities, frequently in transition from one charter and structure to the next. Within this article, we present empirical results on the nature and reasons for this transition. The article reports the second of a series of studies aimed at understanding the dynamics of PMOs. It addresses the mistaken paradigm that PMOs change because characteristics or functions in an existing PMO are wrong and require a new PMO charter or structure that can last for a long time. Instead of that, the article proposes a process view on the transformation of the PMO as being triggered by conditions within the external and/or internal context and producing outcomes in terms of impacts from the transformation. A global web-based questionnaire on PMO transitions in structure and charter yielded 184 responses. Factor analysis and correlation analyses revealed that the transition of a PMO from one configuration to the next is not a question of being right or wrong. PMOs in transition can rather be understood as a multilevel dynamic process anchored in a specific organizational context change. From the academic viewpoint, the authors believe that this research filled a large gap in the understanding of the reasons for and nature of PMOs to transition.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Aubry, Monique, et al.
(författare)
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Project management offices in transition
- 2011
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Ingår i: Project perspectives. - Nijkerk : IPMA. - 1455-4178. ; 33:1, s. 48-53
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper presents empirical results from a research on Project Management Offices (PMO) in transition. This research adopted a process view of PMOs in transition. Descriptive data from 17 case studies was primarily obtained through interviews and analyzed using qualitaive text analysis methods. Thirty-fi ve factors of change have been grouped in ix categories forming a typology of drivers of PMO change. The major contribution of this research is to gain a better understanding of the dynamic evolution of PMOs. For researchers, these findings contribute to the project management theoretical development within the field of organizational change. For practitioners, it challenges the paradigm of considering the PMO change as a sign of failure.
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| 5. |
- Aubry, Monique, et al.
(författare)
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Project management offices in transition
- 2010
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Ingår i: International Journal of Project Management. - : Elsevier. - 0263-7863 .- 1873-4634. ; 28:8, s. 766-778
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper presents empirical results from a research on Project Management Offices (PMO) in transition. While PMOs are now a prominentfeature of organizational project management, the underlying logic that leads to their implementation or renewal is still not understood. Thisresearch adopted a process view of PMOs in transition. Descriptive data from 17 case studies was primarily obtained through interviews andanalyzed using qualitative text analysis methods. Thirty-five factors of change have been grouped in six categories forming a typology of driversof PMO change. In addition, three patterns of PMO change are presented. The major contribution of this research is to gain a better understandingof the dynamic evolution of PMOs. For researchers, these findings contribute to the project management theoretical development within the fieldof organizational change. For practitioners, it challenges the paradigm of considering the PMO change as a sign of failure.
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| 6. |
- Blomquist, Tomas, 1963-, et al.
(författare)
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Ekonomisk styrning för förändring : en studie av ekonomiska styrinitiativ i hälso- och sjukvården
- 1998
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Since the end of the 1980’s Swedish county council managers has been preoccupied with planning and implementing organisational change in order to alleviate the financial problems and to create more efficient production systems. Many of these efforts to change have implied changing the systems for management accounting and control, changes that have been inspired both by market-oriented ideologies and by the governance principles of large corporations in the private sector. Literature on management accounting and control indicates however, that management is unintentionally contributing to the creation of organisational inertia and conservatism. This contradiction is formulated as a change dilemma; ”How can managerial principles that make organizations subject to bureaucratization and inertia be used as important strategies for organizational change?” The purpose of the study is thus to analyze the use of management control systems as organizational change strategies in health care, employing a change perspective on management control.When used as a change strategy, management accounting and control becomes manifest as management control initiatives. Actors handle these control inititatives by organising themselves around the issue at hand. This organising process ends or fades away when there are no need for further attention to the control initiative.Empirical studies were made in the councils of Västerbotten, Sörmland and Uppsala counties. Management control initiatives investigated were performance-related pay, quality improvement work, systematic planning procedures, provider/purchaser-models, downsizing projects and profit center systems.The systems for management accounting and control appeared to structure health care organisations in terms of spatial structuring temporal structuring and actor categorization. The management control initiatives introduced were structured as extraordinary organising processes delimited in terms of space, time and involved actors. Actors in the administrative norm system participated with the intention to change the organisation, while those in the medical norm system aimed at just handling the initiative.Management control initiatives can therefore be seen as passing opportunities to change, passing in the sense that the organising processes are temporary by nature, opportunities in the sense that temporary re-coupling can be used to achieve long-term change. One such opportunity is the formulation of control initiatives; the possibility of using simple and standardized change strategies can be useful, but only if they are also linked to the medical norm system. A second opportunity is the temporary organising processes; if the project form of organising change can also be conveyed to the medical norm system, management control initiatives could result in short, intense courses of events that actually change things. The third opportunity s the recurrent cyc ica pro perties of management accounting and control systems, enabling recurrent activities around the same themes, thereby keeping them alive.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Blomquist, Tomas, 1963-, et al.
(författare)
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On productivity in project organizations
- 2009
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Ingår i: International Journal of Managing Projects in Business/Emerald. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 1753-8378 .- 1753-8386. ; 2:4, s. 591-598
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look at the underlying unit cost considerations in project conduct at the firm level and an established business unit concept is extended to multi-project organizations. The approach and background are described along with apparent implications. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology developed by Gold is extended to cover multi-project organizations. The adaptation of the productivity network is demonstrated using a hypothetical case. Findings – The focus of the paper is on demonstrating an approach. Generally, productivity in an organization is found not to be dictated by a single input, but by the multiplicative outcome of each together. In particular, the number of projects handled each year appears to be of strategic importance in productivity. Research limitations/implications – The paper is conceptual, so applicability depends upon the nature of the particular organization to which it is applied. Implications, of course, will depend upon the degree to which actual data match the model. Practical implications – The approach permits managers to get a handle on productivity in their organizations. It is particularly attractive insofar as it largely depends upon available accounting information for input. This paper seeks to fuel greater interest and debate by practitioners and project management academics about the topic. Originality/value – Although the paper is conceptual, the authors believe that it may among the first to quantitatively treat productivity in multi-project organizations. The approach can be used to understand the productivity as well as some elements of effectiveness of multi-project organizations.
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| 9. |
- Blomquist, Tomas, 1963-, et al.
(författare)
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Project-as-practice : in search of project management research that matters
- 2010
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Ingår i: Project Management Journal. - : SAGE Publications. - 8756-9728 .- 1938-9507. ; 41:1, s. 5-16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Research on projects is not only an immaturefield of research, but it is also insubstantial whenit comes to understanding what occurs in projects.This article contributes to making projectmanagement research matter to the academic aswell as to the practitioner by developing a projectas-practice approach, in alignment with theongoing debate in social science research.The article outlines a framework and argues thatthere are two major challenges to the researcherand also suggests how these challenges can bemet. Underlying notions of the practice approachare outlined to ensure a development of theproject-as-practice approach that makes projectmanagement research matter!
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| 10. |
- Blomquist, Tomas, 1963-, et al.
(författare)
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Projects - real, virtual or what?
- 2010
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Ingår i: International Journal of Managing Business in Projects. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 1753-8378. ; 3:1, s. 10-21
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Purpose – At the heart of this paper is the question of how to describe the ongoing changes of project management (PM) and how to cultivate the understating of projects. In line with the theme of this issue, a non-traditional approach of presenting this paper is used with the aim of providing a lived experience view on projects. This helps pave the way for changed perceptions of many of the traditional ideas of projects and PM, implicitly demanding a need for rethinking the field. The purpose of this paper is to offer some of that rethinking and suggest how to research it. Design/methodology/approach – The approach is narrative and builds on exploratory storytelling which is common in the social sciences but quite non-traditional in the PM sphere. Findings – The paper explores the kind of arguments people might have when defending their perceptions of what a project is and should be. Practical implications – Traditional PM might benefit from being open to experiences from non-traditional areas of application, and equally important is that the reverse might apply. Originality/value – Rethinking PM and relating to social science areas is very much in the vogue presently. The authors wish to push that issue even further, and this paper illustrates one way to achieve a fruitful dialogue or a discussion in a scientifically based context.
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| 11. |
- Burström, Thommie, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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Time managers in a platform project
- 2014
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Ingår i: Advancing research on projects and temporary organizations. - Koege : Copenhagen Business School Press. - 9788763002486 ; , s. 71-90
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)
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| 12. |
- Hällgren, Markus, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Project management practice : making project management research matter
- 2006
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Ingår i: Irnop.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Project theory is not only an immature field of research, it is insubstantial when it comes to understanding what is really going on in projects. This paper contributes to making project research matter to the academic as well as the practitioner through the theoretical development of a project-as-practice approach, aligned with an ongoing debate in social science research. We outline the framework of project-as-practice and argue that there are two major challenges to the researcher: the relevance challenge and the pattern challenge. We suggest how these challenges can be met and give some examples of earlier studies that have done so. The practice approach is not a substitute to present theorizing but rather a complement that brings substance. Finally, underlying notions of the practice approach are outlined in order to have a fruitful future development of a project-as-practice approach that makes project theory matter!
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| 13. |
- Mainga, Wise, et al.
(författare)
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Project learning and project competencies in project-based firms : swedish consultancy firms as case study
- 2011
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Ingår i: World Journal of Management. - 1836-070X. ; 2:3, s. 94-119
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study explores, describes and analyzes the various characteristics of interproject learning mechanisms and project competencies found in a sample of consulting firms in Sweden. The study focuses on the perceived importance of different interproject learning mechanisms and their perceived impact in developing project competencies in consulting firms. The study interrogates the ‘perceptions’ of ‘key’ informed project management practitioners, who have experience of managing projects. Their perceptions about project activities in their respective firms helped capture a ‘managerial’ view, as well as, provide ‘expert’ opinion. The study finds that the most highly ranked and valued interproject learning mechanisms involved some degree of face-to-face interactions. Learning mechanisms that enables the capture, storage and transfer of explicit knowledge, though important, were not ranked highly in importance as person-to-person communication. The difference might be due to the efficient way the latter mechanisms have in transferring socially embedded and context-dependant tacit knowledge, which comprise a large part of knowledge applied in execution and management of projects. As a result of the research findings, a number of recommendations are outlined.
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| 14. |
- Shi, Quian, et al.
(författare)
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A new approach for project scheduling using fuzzy dependency structure matrix
- 2012
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Ingår i: International Journal of Project Management. - : Elsevier. - 0263-7863 .- 1873-4634. ; 30:4, s. 503-510
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As an alternative solution, the Dependency Structure Matrix (DSM) is a useful tool in project scheduling when approaching information dependency issues between activities. However, the current DSM approach faces the dilemma that the overlap of activities cannot be precisely estimated in the planning stage of a project, and the solution calls for a robust methodology for managing schedules within uncertain conditions of information dependency. The aim of our research is to propose an approach that utilizes fuzzy set theory to solve the problem within an uncertain environment. As an extension of traditional DSM-based scheduling, we describe the overlap and duration of activities as fuzzy numbers and put forth a systematic algorithm to calculate the time variables of activities and project duration thereof. An example is also provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm.
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| 15. |
- Wilson, Timothy, 1938-, et al.
(författare)
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Projects and profits
- 2010
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Multi-project firms exist to make a profit from their project activities. This article addresses issues associated with profits and projects, which we acknowledge is undoubtedly the 'primary' concern of multi-project organizations. Independent, academic studies in the area would be most welcome. The main reason they are probably not available is that standard accounting treatment does not capture information at the project level. Nevertheless, there are reasons to believe that profitability of projects would conform to an 80-20 rule, and longitudinal studies might show that firms become less, rather than more, profitable with age. Further, first time projects may be a nemesis for firms. Of course, empirial verification of these observations could lead to more effective management of multi-project firms.
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| 16. |
- Zackariasson, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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EPM in video game development : Life amongst lindblomian cyborgs
- 2004
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Ingår i: Project and Profits. ; 4:11, s. 77-85
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The development of a videogame is an artistic endeavor dependent on a number of disciplines, and understanding the creative nature of firms in this industry is tantamount to understanding the "skunk works" of the aerospace industry. Empirical information was collected as an ethnographic study of a game developer with approximately seven years experience in producing videogames. Our EPM observations at this particular firm, and gaming in general, fit into three categories -- personnel, which form the foundation of capabilities, management of the primary development project, and leadership.
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