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Prelims

Hans Mikkelsen (PRODEVO Consulting, Aalborg University, Denmark)
Jens O. Riis (Aalborg University, Denmark)

Project Management

ISBN: 978-1-78714-830-7, eISBN: 978-1-78714-829-1

Publication date: 10 October 2017

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Mikkelsen, H. and Riis, J.O. (2017), "Prelims", Project Management, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. i-xxvi. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78714-829-120171015

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017 Emerald Publishing Limited

Half Title Page

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

A Multi-Perspective Leadership Framework

Title Page

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

A Multi-Perspective Leadership Framework

BY

HANS MIKKELSEN

PRODEVO Consulting, Aalborg University, Denmark

JENS O. RIIS

Aalborg University, Denmark

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2017

Copyright © 2017 Emerald Publishing Limited

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No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-78714-830-7 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-78714-829-1 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-78743-266-6 (Epub)

List of Figures

Chapter 1
Figure 1.1 The Five-by-Five Project Management Model. 7
Figure 1.2 The Planning Process is Circular. 14
Figure 1.3 Four Complementary Perspectives. 28
Figure 1.4 Narrow and Broad Visions. 31
Figure 1.5 Three Types of Relationships between a Project and Organizational Change. 43
Figure 1.6 The Total Elapsed Change Process. 44
Chapter 2
Figure 2.1 The PPSOP Model. 62
Figure 2.2 Consequences of Uncertainty. 68
Figure 2.3 Dimensions of Complexity. 70
Figure 2.4 Forming the Project Based on Synergy Considerations. 75
Figure 2.5 Aspects of Forming a Project. 77
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1 Structuring a Project as a Combination of Work Paths and Time. 90
Figure 3.2 A Cascade Model of a Production Group Project. 94
Figure 3.3 Project Processes. 96
Figure 3.4 Four Tasks of the Change Process. 100
Figure 3.5 Resistance to Change. 103
Figure 3.6 Driving Forces of Change. 104
Figure 3.7 The Choice of Course of Action is Determined by the Project Complexity. 110
Figure 3.8 Some Detailed Check Points Concerning the Course of Action. 111
Figure 3.9 Four Approaches to Planning the Course of a Project. 115
Figure 3.10 Decisions During the Project. 116
Figure 3.11 Kotter’s Eight Points in a Change Process. 123
Figure 3.12 A Model of Project Planning. 126
Figure 3.13 Planning Events During the Project. 127
Figure 3.14 Aspects of Preparing a Master Plan for the Course of Action. 128
Figure 3.15 A Typical Life Cycle for a Renewal Project. 130
Figure 3.16 The Dilemma of Project Planning. 132
Figure 3.17 Seven Principles of Agilean Thinking for Project Management. 141
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1 An Example of a Typical Project Organization. 150
Figure 4.2 A Basic Pattern of a Project Organization. 152
Figure 4.3 Participation versus Influence. 178
Figure 4.4 An Example of a Project Organization Diagram. 180
Figure 4.5 Two Organizational Forms and Work Culture. 187
Figure 4.6 The Project Organization as an Arena for Cooperation with Other Organizational Units. 192
Figure 4.7 An Example of Values in Partnering. 195
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1 Aspects of Project Teamwork. 203
Figure 5.2 The Special Characteristics of Project Groups. 204
Figure 5.3 Examples of Inappropriate Group Culture. 205
Figure 5.4 The 5C Model. 208
Figure 5.5 Work Patterns for Project Groups. 210
Figure 5.6 Types of Project Cooperation. 213
Figure 5.7 Project Work Needs Three Rooms. 218
Figure 5.8 Intensive Work Patterns. 219
Figure 5.9 Energy Creators and Energy Killers in Project Work. 221
Figure 5.10 Two Problem-Solving Processes. 231
Figure 5.11 Elevator Model. 235
Figure 5.12 Field of Tensions. 238
Figure 5.13 Stages of Group Development. 243
Figure 5.14 Four Kinds of Learning. 248
Chapter 6
Figure 6.1 What Kind of a Project Manager Are You? 255
Figure 6.2 The Special Characteristics of a Project Management. 256
Figure 6.3 Five Project Management Areas. 258
Figure 6.4 The Project Manager and Creation of Results. 259
Figure 6.5 The Project Coordination Tasks. 261
Figure 6.6 Differences between Leadership and Control. 262
Figure 6.7 Conditions for Project Management. 267
Figure 6.8 Some Requirements for Project Managers of Tomorrow. 269
Figure 6.9 Adapt Leadership Style to Project Phases. 270
Chapter 7
Figure 7.1 Five-by-Five Project Control Model. 284
Figure 7.2 Project Control Is Determined by the Complexity. 287
Figure 7.3 Effect Areas of Control Decisions. 289
Figure 7.4 The Good Activity Control. 291
Figure 7.5 Forward-Oriented Follow-up. 294
Figure 7.6 General Control Model – Control Loops. 294
Figure 7.7 Aspects of Managing Complex Projects. 298
Figure 7.8 Elements in Evaluation of a Completed Project. 301
Figure 7.9 Considering Imposed Effects. 307
Figure 7.10 Life Cycle Cost Model. 309
Figure 7.11 Elements of Quality Assurance. 311
Figure 7.12 Quality via People versus Quality via Methods. 311
Figure 7.13 Planning Levels. 313
Figure 7.14 Effects of Delay and Cost Budget Overrun. 317
Figure 7.15 Economy Control Tasks. 323
Figure 7.16 Life-cycle Economy. 324
Figure 7.17 Project Costs. 326
Chapter 8
Figure 8.1 The Gray Zone of Company Development Initiatives In-between Major Strategic Efforts and Projects in Single Sections. 338
Figure 8.2 Many Development Initiatives Need to Be Formed to Ensure Value-adding. 340
Figure 8.3 Means of Connecting Strategy and Development Projects. 343
Figure 8.4 Internal Development Takes Place at Several Levels. 350
Figure 8.5 An Example of a Diagram of Balances in a Portfolio. 352
Figure 8.6 Examples of Dimensions of Balancing Two Portfolios. 352
Figure 8.7 Orchestration Forms. 357
Figure 8.8 From Ideas to Portfolio. 358
Figure 8.9 The Attention of the Portfolio Management Should Be Directed Toward Value Creation. 358
Figure 8.10 Classical Tasks of Portfolio Management. 359
Figure 8.11 Definition of a Program. 360
Figure 8.12 An Example of an Overall Milestone Plan for a Program of a Total Relocation of a Production Plant. 362
Figure 8.13 The Transformation Matrix. 364
Figure 8.14 Transformation from Strategy into Initiatives in a Strategic Effort Area: Sales of Process Equipment “M1” in Northern Europe. 365
Figure 8.15 Focus on the Value of Projects. 368
Figure 8.16 A Model of Functions for Program Management. 369
Figure 8.17 Important Information Sheets for Program Management. 370
Figure 8.18 Elements of Agile Company Development. 374
Chapter 9
Figure 9.1 Different Relationships Between a Renewal Project and Change. 394
Figure 9.2 The Total Change Process. 395
Figure 9.3 Roles of the Change Organization Compared to Roles of the Project Organization. 397
Figure 9.4 Tasks of the Change Manager. 398
Figure 9.5 The Context of Company Development. 400
Figure 9.6 The Management Triad. 401
Appendix A
Figure A1 Four Pictures. 417
Figure A2 A Frame for the Portrait. 419
Figure A3 Examples of Project Portraits. 419
Appendix B
Figure B1 Challenges As a Basis for Planning. 428
Figure B2 Description of Project Complexity. 430
Figure B3 Examples of Project Conditions. 431
Figure B4 Analysis and Prioritization of Challenges – An Example. 431
Figure B5 Points of Special Attention. 432
Figure B6 The Coalition Model. 434
Figure B7 Form: Analysis of Interested Parties (Stakeholders). 438
Figure B8 Interested Parties’ Position. 439
Figure B9 Classification of Interested Parties. 440
Figure B10 Sociogram. 441
Figure B11 Connections Between Project Goals. 443
Figure B12 Types of Benefit Goals. 445
Figure B13 Value Calculation. 450
Figure B14 A Business Case. 451
Figure B15 Goals and Means Are Linked. 452
Figure B16 Concept Documentation. 454
Figure B17 Form for Analysis of Uncertainties. 458
Figure B18 Analysis of Milestones and Activities. 459
Figure B19 Sorting Uncertainties. 460
Figure B20 Interfaces and Connections. 462
Figure B21 SWOT Analysis. 463
Figure B22 RPD Example (a) and (b). 465
Figure B23 Decision Tree Example. 466
Appendix C
Figure C1 Planning Points in the Project Process. 470
Figure C2 Planning Model. 472
Figure C3 Purpose of the Picture of Interested Parties. 477
Figure C4 Pictures of the Project Environment. 479
Figure C5 Five-by-Five Model of Control Functions. 489
Figure C6 Structure for Development of a Manufacturing System. 497
Figure C7 Process Diagram Is the Basis for Structure (an Example). 499
Figure C8 A Process Plant Is Divided into Modules/Units (a Cement Factory). 500
Figure C9 An Example of Project Structure. 501
Figure C10 Three Structures and Their Connections. 502
Figure C11 Activity Relations to Project Structure. 502
Figure C12 Different Activity Delimitations. 503
Figure C13 The Classic Phase Model – The Waterfall Model. 505
Figure C14 A Phase Model for an IT Project. 506
Figure C15 A Phase Model for Implementation of a Standard IT System. 506
Figure C16 A Phase Model for a Product Development Project. 507
Figure C17 A Phase Model for Medicare Product Development. 507
Figure C18 Phases in an Engineering/Construction Project. 508
Figure C19 A Phase Model for a Building Project. 508
Figure C20 The Concept-Based Approach Model. 509
Figure C21 A Three-Stream Model for Integrated Product Development. 519
Figure C22 A Four-Stream Model for Development of a Production System. 520
Figure C23 Streams in a Technical Project. 520
Figure C24 The Principle of an Iterative Approach. 523
Figure C25 An Example of an Iterative Approach. 524
Figure C26 Different Views – Different Phases. 525
Figure C27 Organizational Conditions for the Project. 526
Figure C28 Interested Parties’ Understanding and Acceptance of Necessity or Value. 527
Figure C29 Interested Parties’ Understanding and Acceptance of the Concept and Vision. 528
Figure C30 Interested Parties’ Change Competency. 528
Figure C31 Change Analysis and the Change Task. 531
Figure C32 Means of Creating Engagement. 532
Figure C33 Considerations from interested parties. 533
Figure C34 Structure of the Coordination and Control Schedule. 536
Figure C35 Factors Determining Activity Duration. 542
Figure C36 The Active Project Start. 553
Appendix D
Figure D1 Basic Pattern of the Project Organization. 579
Figure D2 The Project Team Structure Is Related to the Work Paths. 580
Figure D3 Organogram with Contact Lines. 582
Figure D4 Responsibility Chart. 584
Figure D5 Two Examples of Interaction. 591
Figure D6 Example: Matrix Organization in a Technical Manufacturing Company. 592
Figure D7 Example: Matrix Organization in a New Product Development Department. 593
Appendix E
Figure E1 The Workshop Meeting. 597
Figure E2 The Control Meeting. 599
Figure E3 The Meeting Minutes. 601
Figure E4 Examples of Collaborative Behavior. 603
Figure E5 A Model for Teambuilding. 605
Figure E6 Teamwork Issues. 605
Figure E7 Obstacles in the Group. 606
Figure E8 Evaluating the Culture in the Project Group. 607
Figure E9 Analyzing the Behavior of the Participants During a Meeting. 608
Figure E10 Characterizing the Disagreement. 610
Figure E11 Reasons for Emotional Tension. 611
Figure E12 Types of Behavior in a Conflict Situation. 612
Figure E13 Reactions to a Conflict Situation. 613
Figure E14 Levels of Power in a Collaboration. 614
Figure E15 Political Activities to Gain Influence. 615
Figure E16 A Decision Model. 617
Figure E17 Advice on Decision Processes. 619
Figure E18 Activities in a Decision Process. 621
Figure E19 Preparing for a Decision. 622
Figure E20 Participants’ Possibilities of Gaining Influence. 622
Figure E21 A Model for Time-out Reflections. 633
Figure E22 An Example of a Cause-effect Analysis. 634
Figure E23 Cues for Evaluation During the Project. 635
Figure E24 A Method for Reflecting on Management Situations. 636
Appendix F
Figure F1 Project Leader’s Five Management Areas. 644
Figure F2 The Project Leader’s Roles. 645
Figure F3 Checklist for Selection of a Project Leader. 647
Figure F4 Challenges for Leading the Team. 648
Figure F5 Delegation of Tasks. 649
Figure F6 Leading in a Political Milieu. 650
Figure F7 Project Manager’s Contract. 651
Figure F8 Competencies in Project Management. 654
Figure F9 Competency Elements of Leadership Behavior. 656
Figure F10 Workshop about Project Manager’s Competency Profile. 657
Figure F11 Example of a Competency Profile Form. 658
Figure F12 The Managerial Grid. 660
Figure F13 Dulewitz and Higgs Company Model. 663
Figure F14 Project Leader’s Plan. 666
Figure F15 Management of a Small Project. 666
Figure F16 Plan for Own Work. 667
Figure F17 Week Plan. 668
Appendix G
Figure G1 Work Plan Form. 671
Figure G2 Example of Project Planning Billboard. 671
Figure G3 Conditions Determining Activity Duration. 675
Figure G4 Estimating Activity Duration – Three Estimates. 676
Figure G5 Principles of the Critical Chain Method. 678
Figure G6 Principles for Time Schedules in Gantt Charts. 679
Figure G7 Elements in a Gantt Chart. 680
Figure G8 Example of a Master Plan as a Gantt Chart. 681
Figure G9 Example of a Cyclogram. 682
Figure G10 Example of Network Plans. 686
Figure G11 Rules for Activity Overlap. 687
Figure G12 Time Calculation in Process Diagram. 688
Figure G13 Project Info-Room. 690
Figure G14 Info-Room Facilities. 692
Figure G15 Issue Management. 695
Figure G16 Example of the Structure of a Technical Logbook. 696
Figure G17 Work Status in a Gantt Chart. 699
Figure G18 Deadline Trend Diagram. 701
Figure G19 Basic Elements of the Progress Curve. 702
Figure G20 Example of the Line of Balance Tool (a) and (b). 703
Figure G21 Basic Elements of PMS. 708
Figure G22 The Five-by-Five Model as a Scorecard. 713
Figure G23 A Scorecard Example. 714
Figure G24 Factors Influencing Resource Consumption. 717
Figure G25 A Resource Planning Form for a Participant. 719
Figure G26 Formulas in Successive Calculation. 723
Figure G27 Example of Successive Calculation. 724
Figure G28 Timeline for Cost Control Actions. 726
Figure G29 Cost Control Activities. 728
Figure G30 Cost Summary Take in Figure. 729
Figure G31 Project Account. 730
Figure G32 Types of Deliveries and Services. 734
Figure G33 Typical Contract Elements. 737
Figure G34 Example of a Hierarchical Influence Diagram. 739
Figure G35 Example of an Influence Diagram. 740
Figure G36 Example of a Goal-Means tree for a Hydro Power Project. 740
Figure G37 Example of an Ovalogram. 742
Figure G38 Symbols and Drawing Rules for an Ovalogram. 743
Figure G39 Example of a Cause-Effect Diagram. 744
Figure G40 Symbols in a Cause-Effect Diagram. 744
Figure G41 Example of a Problem Matrix. 745
Figure G42 Example of a Gap Analysis. 745
Figure G43 Example of a Function Tree. 746
Figure G44 Description of the Development Task. 747
Figure G45 Example of a Systems Hierarchy. 749
Figure G46 A Black-Box Description of a System. 750
Figure G47 Illustration of Systems. 751
Figure G48 Description of a System. 752
Figure G49 Logical Framework Example. 753
Figure G50 Activity-Oriented and Goal-Oriented Planning. 755
Figure G51 Example of Content in the System Specification. 760
Figure G52 Content in a Basic Product Specification. 761
Figure G53 The Road to Quality. 762
Figure G54 Quality Management Activities. 762
Figure G55 Quality Assurance Plan. 763
Figure G56 A Review Procedure. 765
Figure G57 The Requirement Picture in QFD. 767
Figure G58 Example of Requirements in QFD. 768
Figure G59 Form for FMEA Analysis. 774
Figure G60 Example of Types of Changes. 777

About the Book

Professional projects are increasingly confronted by complexity and ambiguity. For successful project management, it is essential to understand the project environment, business, and organizational perspectives, and to identify and interact with stakeholders. Much of the training and teaching of project management is dominated by a belief in prescribed solutions and courses of action that fit all situations, but in order to cope with the challenges of modern projects, a more holistic approach is needed.

Project Management – A Multi-Perspective Leadership Framework suggests that managers view change as an integral part of project development, allowing leaders to better adapt to difficulties and incorporate multiple perspectives. Often, public and private projects do not lead to expected success because of insufficient management of organizational change. This book presents a circular planning process, taking the reader from the loose ideas of a project’s inception through to its gradual coherence with the demands of the environment. It breaks a project down into five key elements, allowing managers to easily develop appropriate strategies. This is reflected in the broad spectrum of tools presented in the second part of the book, focusing on practical methods for both planning and leadership.

The book is targeted at practitioners who need an overview of project management techniques through a comprehensive framework and to graduate students who work with complex projects or who wish to relate their studies to broader corporate strategy.

Preface

Although project management is a rather new subject in management and organization theory, it has undergone significant developments in the last two or three decades, partly due to its widespread applications in almost all areas of society. The role of the project manager has changed from that of a planner to the role of a business developer.

For many years we have been interested in understanding the nature of the project environment, e.g., how to identify the kind and extent of uncertainties and ambiguity, how to come to grips with various kinds of complexity, and how to understand the political environment by asking who would like to see the project carried out, and who would be against it.

In recent years, this approach has been supported by new developments. For example, Agile Project Management has acknowledged that often no clear objectives of a project can be established in the early stages; rather a learning process should be staged in a dialog with customers and by means of a series of prototypes.

Lean Thinking has successfully been applied to production, service and product development with its focus on creation of value. This has also implications for project management to focus on creating effect in the receiving organization, and to ensure that stakeholders see the project as a success.

Rethinking project management has gained momentum in recent years. The starting point was an observation that a major part of the project management theory and practice was preoccupied with looking inwards to planning, organizing, and controlling of a project, rather than viewing a project in a larger context. For example, the Rethinking literature views a project as part of a strategic effort, and acknowledges the necessary organizational changes to take place in order to assure implementation of the project.

Our approach embraces these approaches and seeks to contribute to their further development by means of frameworks, models, and solutions.

We shall present five generic elements of a project, respectively, project management, project task, stakeholders (interested parties), resources, and project environment. This five-by-five model is used to identify the nature of a specific project and to develop appropriate approaches and means. It also allows a circular planning process that gradually leads to coherence among the five elements.

To better cope with the complexity of the project environment, this book adopts a multi-perspective framework by introducing four perspectives: a technical, a business, an organizational, and a stakeholder perspective. In this way, project management may be tied to corporate strategy and organizational development. Also, five dimensions of complexity will be identified and a number of means of managing complex situations will be presented.

In view of the diversity of projects, we have identified five generic types of projects, each with specific characteristics and practice. This has also led us to square up with a standard project phase model. In practice, we see numerous courses of action that reflect the specific situation of projects and that have been acted upon with great empathy and ingenuity. Instead of proposing a standard model for a project’s course of action, we will present a spectrum of different models to support a situational approach.

The increased prevalence of projects has created a need to view several projects together. Therefore, we have written a separate chapter on management of several projects, with coordination of projects in a portfolio and a program as a central theme. Also, projects’ role in corporate strategy is discussed. The chapter rests, among other things, on a survey and a development project that we have carried out in Danish companies.

The book is organized in two, almost equal parts: (1) a theoretical part covering key models and issues related to project management. The first part of each chapter introduces a few basic models to the subject of the chapter. The latter part elaborates on the subject by means of additional models and discussions. (2) Appendices with a number of tool sheets aimed at providing practical methods, techniques, and checklists associated with themes of the chapters.

This book is aimed at two groups of readers:

  • Graduate students who work with complex projects in their studies and who want to adopt a broader view of project management. They may be inspired by examples from practice and exercises.

  • Practicing and reflecting project managers who want to go beyond a specific project manual, to obtain an overview by means of a comprehensive and unified framework, and to be inspired to develop own solutions. Learning from own experience may be stimulated by reflecting on own practice in relation to general models and relevant tools. It may be supported by keeping a logbook with weekly descriptions of activities, important decisions and incidents. Mutual learning may be facilitated by forming an experience group of project managers.

It will require empathy, intuition, creativity, and interplay with people to work with projects on the basis of an effort to understand the project environment, including the uncertainty and complexity of the project task. This will make project management more challenging and also more interesting and rewarding. It may be relevant to ask if companies and institutions are willing to support a more situational, task-oriented and value-driven mode of working with projects, rather than focusing on complying with procedures and directions. We believe that a more systematic and explicit delineation of the project conditions and a broad discussion of the project task will make it possible to clearly define the responsibilities of a project.

Often in the book, we use the term ‘company’ as the place where projects take place. It should be interpreted in a broad sense to include private and public companies, public institutions and administrations, as well as networks of organizations.

We are indebted to Ms. Anna Falcon Svendsen for her great effort to format our manuscript and figures into a readable form, and to Ms. Louise Olesen Kragh for editing our English manuscript and Ms. Kirstine Rosenkrands Mikkelsen for translation assistance. We thank Annette Wier for her vignettes. We would also like to thank Jaya Chowdhury (MPS Limited, Chennai, India), the Project Manager of our book.

Hans Mikkelsen

Jens O. Riis

April 2017

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