2016 UMD PM Symposium Papers

2016 Project Management Symposium Papers
ISSN 2374-9377
Papers are arranged alphabetically by last name

1
Project Management: A Foundation for Leadership Transition

Emily J. Allen and Deborah M. Stempowski
MITRE Corporation 7515 Colshire Drive McLean, VA 22102; [email protected]
United States Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road Suitland Maryland 20746;
[email protected]
Abstract
Leadership transitions present a myriad of challenges to organizations. In the Federal
government, Senior Executives are expected to move around their organizations and lead in
multiple contexts based on agency need. The American Community Survey Office (ACSO) at
the Census Bureau recently experienced a change in Chiefs. This paper describes how well-
established project management practices served to smooth the transition between Senior
Executives and enabled critical business decision-making to continue even early in the transition.
Beginning in 1998, the U.S. Census Bureau made it a business priority to inculcate the globally
recognized Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) throughout the fabric of the
organization. Over the course of time, the Census Bureau has built a cadre of managers who are
skilled in applying the PMBOK to their work, fostering strides in operations, planning,
budgeting, and innovating at the agency. The years of constructing, adjusting, and strengthening
a solid Census Bureau project management infrastructure have paid off in impressive business
outcomes and organizational stability through leadership transitions
By describing the correlation between effective project management and leadership success
through a transition, this paper will provide examples of benchmarks, lessons learned, and
leadership practices that may serve other public or private organizations as they endeavor to lead
through change.
Background
The United States Census Bureau is a leading source of quality data about the people and
economy of our nation. It administers and analyzes over 130 surveys, which provide vital
statistical support to American communities, businesses, and government agencies.1 This work
is successfully executed thanks in part to precision synchronization of thousands of activities
through the full complement of project management infrastructure that the Census Bureau has
developed over the last 18 years. Through project management, leaders at the organization plan,
monitor, and adjust a broad variety of activities needed to carry out the mission. Some of those
activities include budgeting, training survey administrators, conducting research for continuous
survey improvement, creating billions of estimates based on survey data, engaging over 250,000
stakeholders (each with unique concerns, needs, and interests), and teaching data users how to
use census data.2 However, what makes it unique from other agencies is that the operational pace
and resource expenditures necessarily balloon cyclically to accommodate the Decennial Census,
1
Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/are-you-in-a-survey/survey-list.html.
2
Internal Census Records.
This paper is released to inform interested parties of ongoing operations and to encourage discussion of work in
progress. Any views expressed on operational issues are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the U.S.
Census Bureau and The MITRE Corporation. Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited. 16-0725
©2016 The MITRE Corporation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
2
which is the largest peacetime mobilization existing in the United States. As such, the Census
Bureau is in a perpetual state of operational expansion and contraction, which requires the
stability and agility afforded through project management.
In the late 1990’s the U.S. Census Bureau was busily preparing for the 2000 Decennial Census,
when it received a report from the National Performance Review that highlighted critical
performance management failures such as missed deadlines and spending that exceeded budgets.
As a result, leaders at the Census Bureau moved swiftly to partner with ESI International Inc.
and George Washington University (GWU) to create a Project Management Master’s certificate
program. Leaders created staff cohorts to receive the training. Subsequently, the 2000 Decennial
Census was completed at $2 billion under budget which is in part attributed to the project
management infrastructure created by the first cohorts who received their certificates and applied
their learning in the workplace.3 Over the years, over 2,800 Census Bureau employees have
earned either the ESI/GWU certificate, or the citation (which was created to provide a more
affordable option), and worked together to build a solid project management infrastructure that
undergirds operational success at the Census Bureau. Members of the Senior Executive Service
are pivotal figures in project management at the Census Bureau. As leaders in the organization,
they depend on the project management system to provide them with the necessary insight to
plan, lead initiatives, manage risk, and navigate transitions confidently and successfully.
Senior Executive Service: An Overview
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 established the Senior Executive Service for the purpose
of ensuring “that the executive management of the Government of the United States is
responsive to the needs, policies, and goals of the Nation and otherwise is of the highest
quality.”4 The 7,000-plus members of the Senior Executive Service are highly skilled managers
who often work their way up through the ranks in Federal civil service. They are expected to
have mastery of core management functions that can be used in multiple environments, so that
they may be rotated around their agencies, or as envisioned in 1978, even across the Federal
government. However, a 2009 study co-authored by the Partnership of Public Service and Booz
Allen Hamilton Inc. revealed that most Senior Executives remain in the same Federal agency
throughout the course of their careers where they primarily engage in operational as opposed to
strategic management.5 This situation may be remedied by a new Executive Order,
“Strengthening the Senior Executive Service”, released on December 15, 2015. This order is
requiring agencies to submit plans for SES rotation outside of their agencies. With this
development, people who serve in the Senior Executive Service may benefit further from using
project management to facilitate transition.
Because Senior Executives experience movement across their organizations, they must become
adept at leadership transition. Employees and leaders alike can experience leadership transition
3
From a July 2012 interview with the then Census Director-Robert Groves on “The Federal Drive” on Federal News
Radio by Tom Termin and Emily Kopp.
4
CSRA 1978 Title V Subchapter 2 Section 3131
5
Retrieved from http://www.boozallen.com/content/dam/boozallen/media/file/reimagining-the-senior-
executive-service-2009.pdf
3
as something akin to crisis, even under the best of circumstances. It’s not hard to imagine how all
involved in the transition may experience a sense of uncertainty, mistrust, and even feelings of
grief and loss. Amidst transition, manager and employees alike look for stability as new learning
displaces routine, and new relationships are forged. 6,7 It is during these times when a project
management system offers a constancy that proves to be the foundation of a successful
leadership transition. It provides a common framework that employees and leaders can use as a
platform for clear communication. Stempowski found that the use of familiar terminology and
processes foster transparency of expectations which assists in developing trust, as well as
accelerating understanding of initiatives. Further, the constancy and familiarity facilitates
rational decision-making on a neurological level amidst the pressures of transition as described
below. 8
A leadership transition can elicit emotions such as anxiety, fear, and even grief and loss that have
the ability to impede rational thought processes. Specifically, the brain’s “conflict regulator”, the
anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), the brain’s
“balance sheet” play a large part in how leaders synthesize leadership transition.9 The ACC,
which is connected to the amygdala10 but can be accessed by the conscious mind, impacts
attention.11 It can become overstimulated in the face of conflict, distracting thinkers from
focusing on problems at hand. When it is overstimulated, the ability to focus on process can
assist the thinker to stay focused. For example, pain studies have demonstrated that the amount
of pain experienced by individuals are not actually related to the pain itself, but rather how much
that person focuses on the pain.12 The project management process is a pathway to solutions, and
by focusing on that process, leaders can see a pathway away from the psychological pain caused
by an existing unresolved problem. Without a process to maintain focus, the leader could
languish by overthinking the problem; therein remaining in a cycle of pain or lack of resolution
with an overstimulated ACC.
When it is functioning at its best, the vmPFC balances risk, delay, and ambiguity, which is
something a project management system assists leaders to accomplish.13 Project management
processes provide a structure that disrupts the potential for emotional hijacking of the brain.
Trust in and familiarity with the project management process disrupts the cycle of negative
emotions, which often occur at a subconscious level and are thus difficult to control, allowing a
leader to focus on the facts at hand.14 The project management system shifts the focus of a
leader’s mind from “imminent threat” to a framework for understanding the tasks at hand. While
6
McNatt, D. B., & Judge, T. A. (2008). Self-efficacy intervention, job attitudes, and turnover: A field experiment
with employees in role transition. Human Relations, 6 (6), 783-810
7
Nicholson, N. (1984). A Theory of Work Role Transitions. Administrative Science Quarterly, 29 (2), 172-191
8
Amanda L. Ingrim Olkin, Yulia R. Gel. (2016). Leadership and Women in Statistics. CRC Press. 175.
9
Srinivasan S. Pillay. (2011). Your Brain and Business: The Neuroscience of Great Leaders. Pearson Education Inc.
197.
10
The amygdala is part of the limbic system and regulates emotions.
11
Ibid 196.
12
Ibid. 197.
13
Ibid.
14
Ibid 198.
4
daily tasks present challenges to leaders, the high emotions associated with a leadership
transition puts them at greater risk for thought and solution disruption where no project
management system, exists.
Leadership Transition at the American Community Survey Office
In the spring of 2015 at the Census Bureau, the American Community Survey (ACS)
experienced the transition of its top leader, a Senior Executive. The ACS is one of the better-
known surveys that the Census Bureau manages. It is a comprehensive survey that replaced the
long form of the Decennial Census. Each year, the ACS is disseminated to a sample of 3.5
million people. It was designed as an improvement over the long form both to ensure that
communities of small populations and small geographies are counted, and that data is available
annually as opposed to every ten years. In fact, the ACS is the most reliable source of
information about the people in our communities and how our communities are changing.
People in state and local regions use the wealth of information provided by the ACS for a wide
variety of purposes, including comprehensive planning, economic development, emergency
management, and broadening understanding about local issues and conditions. Businesses rely
on ACS data to make key marketing, location, and financial decisions to serve customers and
create jobs; when combining these expenditures with the more than $400 billion distributed
annually by the Federal government based on ACS data, this survey impacts over $1 trillion
worth of investments into our nation’s communities each year.15
A central part of the business of the ACSO is to remain agile and cost-effective in the face of
omnipresent emerging information needs. In this environment, it engages in research for
continuous improvement on meeting those needs along with improving data quality and the
experience of survey respondents. In order to carry out this research, ACSO assembles integrated
project teams, works with subject matter experts, and tests the outcome of making changes to
many activities that impact the survey. Some of those activities include employing new survey
methodologies, improving field and telephone protocol, testing alternative survey packaging, and
adjusting the sample. All of this research is one of many initiatives at ACSO that require fully-
informed oversight to ensure that progress continues even through a change in ACSO leadership.
Therefore, upon taking the helm as the new ACSO Chief, Deborah Stempowski immediately
employed the project management system to quickly assess research project progress with views
of schedule, milestones, staffing, budgets, and risks. Because of the level of effort ACS devotes
to research, its project management system is quite mature as well as very familiar to staff. As a
complement to the research processes, ACS also employs a similar structure to the management
of its ongoing survey.
While the operational environment was new to Stempowski, the constants of the project
management infrastructure were quite familiar to her. Because of Census’ strong project
management culture, both Stempowski and her staff were familiar with project management
language and processes, allowing them to speak a common language to address the funding
15
U.S. Census Bureau. (August 18, 2015). Agility in Action: A Snapshot of Enhancements to the American
Community Survey. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/operations-and-
administration/2015-16-survey-enhancements/agility-in-action.html
5
issue. Indeed, the project management system served as a channel for her new staff to
communicate with her about their steadily advancing research initiatives, for it gave all involved
a common language to work together. The familiarity accelerated Stempowski’s assimilation of
the information at hand. For example, early in her term, Stempowski was faced with significant
funding delays for annual research projects. Even though she was not familiar with all the
details of the projects, Stempowski was able to use project management language, tools and
techniques to guide her staff in conducting an assessment of the resulting impact from the
funding delays. Using risk management and schedule management techniques, she and her staff
were able to identify the impact from the schedule delays, and then identify mitigation plans and
actions. The project management infrastructure gave her questions to ask about the work,
questions which could be anticipated by staff based on their regular engagement with the project
management system. She knew what to look for, and they knew what she would want to know,
which understandably increased everyone’s comfort level. It signaled the beginning of a
relationship bound by trust, which is a pillar of efficacy in the working world. The project
management system not only smoothed the transition, but shortened the transition period such
that normal operations were not affected by senior leadership turnover. Additionally, project
management supplied the basis for rational decision-making amidst the pressures of the
transition.
Project Management at the American Community Survey Office
One benefit of the way project management is practiced at the ACSO is its simplicity and
integration with the Census Bureau-wide management process. A strong governance
foundation provided by the ACSO Program Management Governance Board (PMGB) reinforces
the project management infrastructure at ACSO. The PMGB brings together key stakeholders
from senior leadership across the Census Bureau and follows established program and project
management processes through a lifecycle, similar to those in use across the Census Bureau.
The lifecycle begins with new work requests and moves through decision-making, planning,
execution and control, then finally closeout. The PMGB monitors each phase in the lifecycle,
makes critical decisions at important milestones and makes requests for adjustments where
needed. It also provides status updates to senior leadership in the Decennial Directorate as well
as the Operating Committee, a senior executive oversight committee chaired by the Chief
Operating Officer of the Census Bureau. Each phase of the lifecycle addresses critical oversight
needs. Figure 1 below illustrates the ACSO Project Management Lifecycle. Each lifecycle
component is described in the section that follows.
6
Figure 1. ACSO Project Management Lifecycle
Work Requests Decision-Making

1 2
Planning Execution and Control

3 4
Close Out
5
1) New work requests begin with a short document that includes a brief description of the work,
a rough estimate of the resources and a high level milestone schedule. Requestors review
lessons learned from similar projects and incorporate them into the attributes of the request.
Work requests are created for all work including mandatory and unfunded, that are not
considered ongoing operations and maintenance for the ACS.
2) Decision-making by the PMGB is supported by a discussion of the work request as well as
scoring the work request and its potential impact and risks against the ACS strategic objectives it
supports. Because the PMGB has broad representation from all operational areas, including
those outside of ACSO, various viewpoints are part of the process and all stakeholders are aware
and informed even for projects outside of their usual scope and authority.
Even mandatory work requests are scored so the relative score can be compared to other work in
the ACS portfolio. Projects are also assigned a tier level at that time so that appropriate
oversight can be implemented from the project start. The PMGB assigned tiers are informed by
scoring criteria which include a comprehensive consideration of the project’s value as illustrated
in the Figure 2 below. The PMGB also explores potential project risk, visibility, costs, and
degree of complexity. It also looks at how completely the requestor defines the project and all its
parameters along with how well the committee understands the work request itself.
7
Figure 2. Pre-Decisional Consideration of Project Value
Project Value
Impact Urgency Feasibility
Strategic Business Stakeholders Management Technical

Timing Source
Alignment Benefit Impacted Feasibility Feasibility
Decision-making can have a variety of outcomes: approved, denied or deferred.

3) Planning after a project is approved requires that requestors develop a robust resource-loaded
project schedule that follows ACS standards and guidelines for schedules. These standards cover
baselines, task-level details such as duration, logic, order, and constraints. They also address
standards for reporting, software fields, oversight, and dependency network. Project milestones
must be documented. Once the schedule is in place and resources, both staff and funds, are
identified and secured, the project enters the execution and control phase.
4) Execution and Control is the longest phase in the process. By following the guidelines and
standards associated with the oversight tier assigned during the decision making process, project
managers use consistent practices to monitor and report on the status of the work. Risk and issue
identification and management are key components of this phase, with monthly project
management reviews (PMRs) that provide an opportunity to address challenges with the triple
constraint (budget, schedule, scope) as well as quality that is affected by all three constraints.
5) Project Close-out, the final phase, provides an opportunity for the ACSO staff to reflect on
work that has been completed and document lessons learned, which encompass both good
practices and areas for improvement. At this time, the PMGB and ACSO acknowledge that staff
who completed the work are now available for new assignments. At the close of this phase,
ACSO employees take care to update the ACS portfolio to show that the work is complete. By
presenting to the PMGB as part of the project close-out phase, managers are informed and can
communicate with their staffs appropriately.
Conclusion
Even within an organization like the Census Bureau that has a solid project management
infrastructure, there can be differing opinions about the value of project management. Some may
perceive it as a futile bureaucratic process that consumes significant time and staff resources
while overlooking the strategic value of consistency, continuity and delivery on strategic goals
and objectives. When working within a complex system such as a Federal agency, schedules
8
have thousands of moving parts which must be monitored, analyzed, coordinated, and updated,
in order to both remain functional and achieve success. Risks need to be managed, budgets need
to be monitored and scope needs to be controlled through sound project management practices.
Though daily operations present multiple stresses to leaders and their staff alike, managing
through a leadership transition presents special challenges associated with adapting to change.
Some of our knowledge about neuroscience suggests that project management could assist all
involved with leadership transition to stay focus and minimize potential distractions brought on
by emotional response to change.
Not all leaders see the value in the consistent investment in project management. However, in the
case of the ACSO, for Stempowski and her staff, it provided value through the seamless
operation of the office during leadership transition. The bevy of complex research projects that
were in play when she arrived continued without interruption, as Stempowski used the project
management system to rapidly make sense of their multiple, interdependent moving parts.
Indeed, project management can be credited for enabling tremendous public value to our nation’s
communities through the rigorous process it represents with the successful delivery of the ACS
and all the ancillary activities the ACS drives. The strong governance foundation provided by the
ACSO PMGB supports key stakeholders from senior leadership across the Census Bureau and
reinforces established program and project management processes, similar to those in use across
the Census Bureau. The project management-inspired environment provides the stability
necessary to facilitate smooth transitions in leadership for continuity of operations and focus. As
illustrated by the example of SES transition at the Census Bureau, other organizations may
benefit from developing or strengthening an existing project management system to stay focused
through the operations disruption and emotional responses caused by leadership change. For
members of the Senior Executive Service who may soon be rotating across agencies, this may
hold a special significance.
Leveraging on Unmanned Ariel Vehicle (UAV) for Effective Emergency
Response and Disaster Management
Faisal Arain1 and Shahab Moeini2

1
Director, AR Management Global Inc., Edmonton, Canada email:
[email protected]
2
Instructor, Construction Project Management, School of Construction, SAIT,
Calgary, Canada email: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Over the past two decades, the impact of disasters has been
devastating, affecting 4.4 billion people, resulted in 1.3 million
causalities and $2 trillion in economic losses. Global climate change
and worldwide instabilities have affected urban areas. In spite of all
the technological advances, the impacts of natural and manmade
disasters in urban areas represent an increasing challenge – therefore
effective mitigation and emergency response strategies are pivotal.
Concerning post-disaster reconstruction scenario, the most significant
factor is accessibility to the disaster affected area and timely response
based on best possible information available. Effective emergency
response and sustainable post-disaster reconstruction are crucial and
lie at the heart of disaster management agencies in almost every
cautious country around the globe. The complex and multi-faceted
processes of post-disaster recovery and reconstruction extend well
beyond the immediate period of restoring basic services and life
support infrastructure. While immediate restoration of services can be
a matter of weeks, full recovery can stretch out 10-15 years. The
success of the reconstruction phases, i.e., rescue, relief, and
rehabilitation, is mainly dependent on the accessibility to the site,
availability of efficient project teams and timely information to make
informed decision. Using UAV to access the affected areas and to
monitor and capture data to make well-informed decisions, combined
with the efficiency of a project team and strong coordination, project
success should increase. This paper presents potential application of
UAV for accessibility to affected areas, monitoring, and capturing
timely and useful information for enhancing prompt and effective
sustainable disaster management. The UAV with mounted imaging
device will access to disaster struck areas and capture timely and
useful information for making more informed decisions for effective,
timely and sustainable response in post-disaster scenarios.
The potential application of UAV would be helpful for emergency
response management teams to access areas that are otherwise not
accessible, take timely measures by learning from captured
information, making informed decisions related to effective emergency
response and disaster management processes undertaken by
emergency management agencies. Professionals need to have access to
disaster struck areas to respond to emergency and provide urgent and
critical life saving aids. Timely access and information will support a
better and more efficient system for sustainable disaster management.
Hence, the study is valuable for all professionals involved with
research and development of emergency response and sustainable
disaster management strategies.
INTRODUCTION
The recent sudden increase of natural and manmade disasters has taught many
valuable lessons (Iglesias, 2007). Unfortunately, the need for preparedness is greater
than ever before, given the increasing frequency and worsening intensity of weather-
related storms and the escalation of technological threats (Moeini et al., 2013). No
geographical area is immune or protected from the threat of emergencies and
disasters. The importance of a proactive approach in responding to a disaster scenario
in term of learning from past projects cannot be overstated (Arain, 2008). Pre-
planning with local public safety and emergency response agencies can decrease
confusion when a jobsite incident occurs (Ahmed, 2008). A quick response due to
proper pre-planning and preparedness can expedite saving lives and rehabilitation
process (Moeini et al., 2013).
Post-disaster reconstruction and rehabilitation is a complex issue with several

dimensions (Arain, 2015). Many professionals in both fields tend to focus on
planning and immediate response and have only recently begun to consider the
requirements and opportunities inherent in long-term mitigation and reconstruction
(Vale and Campanella, 2005). The complex and multi-faceted processes of post-
disaster recovery and reconstruction extend well beyond the immediate period of
restoring basic services and life support infrastructure. While immediate restoration
of services can be a matter of weeks, full recovery can stretch out 10-15 years
(Pelling, 2003). Government, non-government, and international organizations have
their own stakes in disaster recovery programs, and links must be established among
them, as well as with the community. In other words, a post-disaster rehabilitation
and recovery programs should be seen as an opportunity to work with communities
and serve local needs. Relief and development often leads to burdens on the recipient
government, and also often fails to serve the actual purpose and to reach the people in
need (Shaw et al., 2003).
Environmental management professionals are now concentrating on the
sustainability of environmental quality and environmental improvement; emergency
managers and planners are re-focusing their efforts on the survivability of systems,
organizations, and communities (Vale and Campanella, 2005). Sustainability and
survivability are, in truth, two aspects of the same concept, namely: how to encourage
and achieve continual improvement in ecosystems, the built environment, and human
society (Pellow and Brulle, 2005). Both environmental management and emergency
management have much to contribute to, and to gain from, the planning and
implementation of post-disaster reconstruction.
Development is a dynamic process, and disasters provide the opportunities to

vitalize and/or revitalize this process, especially to generate local economies, and to
upgrade livelihood and living condition. Shaw and Sinha (2003) suggested the ideal
level of involvement of different stakeholders after the disaster, as shown in Figure 2.
The standard time frame of rescue, relief, and rehabilitation are defined as short term,
long term, and longer term respectively.
Increasing worldwide impact of climate change, environmental degradation from

human exploitation, urbanization and economic and social instabilities, unknown
patterns and consequences of recent type of natural and manmade disasters, social
and cultural complexity of urban residences and the aging urban infrastructures has
increased the level of vulnerability to any type and different level of disaster (Pelling,
2003). Due to the increasing urbanization and population growth, the impact of any
type of disaster (natural or manmade) in an urban area can be devastating with longer
recovery period.
Increasing discussions and debates within disaster mitigation interest groups have
raised questions regarding the practicality of adopting developmental approaches to
disaster reconstruction (Ahmed, 2008). The chaos surrounding the disaster period
following a disaster could easily lead to short-term and hasty decisions adversely
affecting the community’s ability to achieve sustainable, long term reconstruction
goals (Arain, 2015). To minimize the occurrence of these unwise decisions, it is
important to plan proactively for post-disaster restoration in order to provide general
guidance for decision-makers and a framework for the professionals involved in
reconstruction processes (Iglesias, 2007). For proactive plans and decisions, an
integrated approach is required that may empower to implement the developed
reconstruction strategy and monitor its results and progress.
The recent sudden increase of natural disasters has taught many valuable lessons
(Iglesias, 2007). Unfortunately, the need for preparedness is greater than ever before,
given the increasing frequency and worsening intensity of weather-related storms and
the escalation of technological threats. No geographical area is immune or protected
from the threat of emergencies and disasters. The importance of a proactive approach
in responding to a disaster scenario in term of learning from past projects cannot be
overstated. Pre-planning with local public safety and emergency response agencies
can decrease confusion when a jobsite incident occurs (Arain, 2015). A quick
response due to proper pre-planning and preparedness can expedite saving lives and
rehabilitation process.
It is suggested that a timely access to relevant information and disaster site will
assist in improving rescuing and reconstruction project processes, coordination and
team building process because the most likely areas on which to focus to reduce
unwise decision can be identified during the early stage of the post-disaster scenario
(Arain and Low, 2006). Tapping on the live feed of information of post-disaster
scenarios, the UAV system provides direct access to a wealth of pertinent and useful
information for decision makers and eventually enhance collaborative venture. By
having the access to timely information via UAV and a systematic way to make well-
informed decisions, the efficiency of project team and the likelihood of strong
coordination and eventually project success should increase (Arain, 2015).
The potential application of UAV would be helpful for emergency response

management teams to access areas that are otherwise not accessible, take timely
measures by learning from captured information, making informed decisions related
to effective emergency response and disaster management processes undertaken by
emergency management agencies. Professionals need to have access to disaster struck
areas to respond to emergency and provide urgent and critical life saving aids. Timely
access and information will support a better and more efficient system for sustainable
disaster management.
UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE AND ITS APPLICATION
The UAV application supporting forest fire management is surely the most
developed and practically demonstrated activity among all disasters (Restas, 2012).
UAV can be used before fire for hot spot detection, during the intervention helping
fire management with real time information and after suppression for post fire
monitoring. The method of prescribed fire can be also in the focus of UAV use as a
special application for fire prevention (Restas, 2015).
Detecting hot spots by aerials earlier than reporting it by civilians is obviously

helps fire managers limiting the damages fires cause (Restas et al., 2014).
Unfortunately the main reason why this method is not always used is the huge costs
of aerials. If this procedure made by UAV is cheaper solution than the traditional one
(manned aircraft) means option of drone use is the better solution. Naturally this case
assumes the similar professional efficiency of different methods (Restas et al., 2014).
As pre-disaster activity, UAV following the stream of rivers can control the state
of dams. In case of any unusual recognition the responsible authority can react in time
for the problem. This activity is very flexible; the flight patrol can be optimized
depending on time or other workload. Since affected areas are usually oversized,
managing floods by aerials is always suffered from limited sources. It means drone
can support disaster management at local level. This task requires tactical or
operational UAV (Restas, 2015).
The stability of dams hangs on many conditions like the time it suffer from water
press, how structure of dams built, what materials made of it. There is yet not enough
information about it, however it can be supposed, with a procedure what is able to
analyze the state of dam as airborne is help for managers. Knowing the state of dam
managers can optimize the sources making the critic parts of dam stronger or in case
of escalated problem can order the evacuation in time (Restas, 2015).
Since floods are a slowly developing disaster UAV can help for the management
in many ways. With UAV observation can predict how flooded the area, what
buildings are in risk, where from and where to evacuate the citizens, etc. The essence
of this application is the gap of aerials what means the missing of manned aerials but
UAV can offer as a satisfied solution (Restas, 2015).
An earthquake is a rapid escalating disaster, where, many times, there is no other

way for a rapid damage assessment than aerial reconnaissance (Restas, 2015). For
special rescue teams, the drone application can help much in a rapid location
selection, where enough place remained to survive for victims. Floods are typical for
a slow onset disaster. In contrast, managing floods is a very complex and difficult
task. It requires continuous monitoring of dykes, flooded and threatened areas. UAV
can help managers largely keeping an area under observation. Forest fires are
disasters, where the tactical application of UAV is already well developed. UAV can
be used for fire detection, intervention monitoring and also for post-fire monitoring.
In case of nuclear accident or hazardous material leakage UAV is also a very
effective or can be the only one tool for supporting disaster management (Restas,
2015).
Types of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
The UAV classification is based on the military standards which have been
partially adopted for civilian UAVs. Civilian UAVs are classified into two main
classes: a) fixed wing, and b) multirotor or multicopter. Each UAV class has its
unique design, operability and advantages and disadvantages which are briefly
presented below.
Fixed Wing UAV
Fixed wing UAVs have a simple and aerodynamics structure consisting of a pair
of rigid wings connected to the main fuselage. They a long flight time
capacity(maximum 90 - 120 min) within both visual and beyond visual line-of-sight
(VLOS & BVLOS) to cover long distances and large operational areas in a single
flight.
This type of UAV is suitable for the rapid creation of aerial orthomosaic of
disaster affected areas. Fixed wing UAVs offer a perfect platform for real-time
accurate visual assessments of areas affected by disaster and enable the emergency
responders to plan for response and recovery in large areas in a timely manner. The
fixed wing UAVs are also effective platforms for immediate visual inspection of
some critical infrastructure such as roads, railways, water, oil and gas pipe lines as
well as power transmission lines.
Modified long range Skywalker X8
Modified long range Talon system
Modified Fixed Wing UAVs for aerial photogrammetry and surveying, equipped with Infrared and Sonar
Multirotor or multicopter
These types of UAVs have a more complex structure and better control systems
operations compared to the fixed wing UVAs. In contrast to fixed wings UAVs
multirotors have a lower speed and much shorter flight time (maximum 30- 40
minutes) due to their non-aerodynamics structure.
The main advantages, of multirotor UAVs are the Vertical Takeoff and Landing
(VTOL) and capability to hover and perform agile maneuvering in small
spaces. Multirotor UAVs are suitable platforms to inspect urban facilities such as
bridges, power plants (fossil or nuclear fuel based), municipal buildings, hospitals and
emergency centers. These types of UAVs are also able to carry different types of
emergency packages such as CPR and emergency first aid kits to area with limited
access. Multirotor UAVs enable the building inspectors to assess the building
situation and define the possible damages with high level of accuracy and in a timely
manner.
Modified Multirotor UAVs for aerial photogrammetry and surveying, equipped with Infrared and Sonar
Arial and infrared images of the flooded areas to inspect the possible equipment damage in the construction site during the flood
CONCLUSION
Concerning post-disaster reconstruction scenario, the most significant factor is

accessibility to the disaster affected area and timely response based on best possible
information available. Effective emergency response and sustainable post-disaster
reconstruction are crucial and lie at the heart of disaster management agencies in
almost every cautious country around the globe. The complex and multi-faceted
processes of post-disaster recovery and reconstruction extend well beyond the
immediate period of restoring basic services and life support infrastructure. While
immediate restoration of services can be a matter of weeks, full recovery can stretch
out 10-15 years. The success of the reconstruction phases, i.e., rescue, relief, and
rehabilitation, is mainly dependent on the accessibility to the site, availability of
efficient project teams and timely information to make informed decision. Using
UAV to access the affected areas and to monitor and capture data to make well-
informed decisions, combined with the efficiency of a project team and strong
coordination, project success should increase. This paper presents potential
application of UAV for accessibility to affected areas, monitoring, and capturing
timely and useful information for enhancing prompt and effective sustainable disaster
management. The UAV with mounted imaging device will access to disaster struck
areas and capture timely and useful information for making more informed decisions
for effective, timely and sustainable response in post-disaster scenarios.

measures by learning from captured information, making informed decisions related
to effective emergency response and disaster management processes undertaken by
areas to respond to emergency and provide urgent and critical life saving aids.
The paper sets the foundation for future research into application of UAV for
disaster management. UAV can help managers largely keeping an area under
observation. UAV can be used for fire detection, intervention monitoring and also for
post-fire monitoring. In case of nuclear accident or hazardous material leakage UAV
is also a very effective or can be the only one tool for supporting disaster
management. UAV can also assist in transporting medical help to disaster struck
areas and also airlifting critically injured human beings to near by medical support
venues. Timely access and information will support a better and more efficient
system for sustainable disaster management. Hence, the study is valuable for all
professionals involved with research and development of emergency response and
sustainable disaster management strategies.
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Ahmed, K.I. (2008). “Challenges and opportunities of post-disaster shelter
reconstruction: The Asian context.” Proceedings of the 4th International i-Rec
Conference, New Zealand.
Arain, F.M. (2008). “Knowledge management approach for enhancing prompt and
effective post-disaster reconstruction: Leveraging on information technology.”
Proceedings of the Building Abroad Conference: Procurement of
Construction and Reconstruction Projects in the International Context,
Montreal, Canada, 65 – 77.
Arain, F.M. (2015). “Knowledge-based approach for sustainable disaster

management: Empowering emergency response management team.” Procedia
Engineering, 118 (2015), 232 – 239.
Arain, F.M. and Low, S.P. (2006). “A framework for developing a knowledge-based
decision support system for management of variations in institutional
buildings.” Journal of Information Technology in Construction (ITCon),
Special Issue Decision Support Systems for Infrastructure Management, 11
(01), 285-310.
Iglesias, G. (2007). “Promoting safer house construction through CBDRM:

Community designed safe housing in post-Xangsane Da Nang City.” Safer
Cities, 19(02), 1-8.
Moeini, S., Arain, F.M. and Sincennes, J. (2013). “Leveraging on Geographic

Information Systems (GIS) for effective emergency response management.”
Proceedings of the 3rd Specialty Conference on Disaster Prevention and
Mitigation, Canadian Society of Civil Engineers (CSCE), May 28 – June 1,
Montreal, Canada. DIS-19-01 – DIS-19-09.
Pelling, M. (2003). “The Vulnerability of Cities: Natural Disasters and Social

Resilience.” Earthscan Publications, London.
Pellow, D.N. and Brulle, R.J. (2005). “Power Justice and the Environment: A Critical
Appraisal of the Environmental Justice Movement.” The MIT Press,
Cambridge MA.
Restas, A, Hinkley, E.A. and Ambrosia, V.G. (2014). “An Approach for Measuring
the Effectiveness of Fire Detection Systems in Different Dimensions.” Bolyai
Szemle, 23, 283-296.
Restas, A. (2012). “Unmanned aircraft system applications: firefighting. introduction

to unmanned systems: air, ground, see & space.” In: LeMieux, J., Ed.,
Technologies and Commercial Applications, LCCN 2012954516.
Restas, A. (2015). “Drone applications for supporting disaster management.” World

Journal of Engineering and Technology, 3, 316-321.
Shaw R. and Sinha R. (2003). “Towards sustainable recovery: future challenges after
the Gujarat earthquake, India.” Risk Management Journal, 5 (01), 35-51.
Shaw R., Gupta M. and Sharma A. (2003). “Community recovery and its
sustainability: lessons from Gujarat earthquake of India.” Australian Journal
of Emergency Management, 18(01), 28-34.
Vale, L.J. and Campanella, T.J. (2005). “The Resilient City: How Modern Cities
Recover From Disaster.” Oxford University Press, New York.
The Five Stages of Grief:
(aka Setting Up an Enterprise Project Portfolio Management Organization)
Amanda Arriaga1 and Jessica Ballew2

1
Amanda Arriaga, Esq., Texas Department of Public Safety, 5805 N. Lamar Blvd,
Austin, TX 78752; [email protected]
2
Jessica Ballew, Texas Department of Public Safety, 5805 N. Lamar Blvd,
Austin, TX 78752; [email protected]
ABSTRACT
If you or someone you love has experienced a loss or a tragedy, you might be familiar
with the five stages of grief. What no one may have told you is that professional or-
ganizations facing a major change also experience these phases. In this paper, the au-
thors will share with you their experience implementation the Enterprise Project
Management Office (EPMO) at the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). This
office was created in order to manage the strategic execution cycle at the department
and ensure that priorities and the most valuable initiatives were accomplished.
The authors will explain what you really need to know and what to expect when es-
tablishing an enterprise level organization that is responsible for the strategic execu-
tion cycle. They will provide valuable insight into the hurdles and roadblocks that
might be encountered, along with strategies for overcoming them. They will also
discuss the critical need for buy-in and what to expect when that isn’t achieved at the
right time, by the right people. The authors will focus on the integral role that people
play in change and execution, and will provide valuable insight into techniques that
might be used to minimize conflict and increase collaboration.
FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF
In 1969, Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler–Ross studied terminally ill patients and
released a book, On Death and Dying i, which outlined the five stages of grief. The
five stages are: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance.
Traditionally, the five stages of grief are discussed in context of a personal loss or
tragedy. However, more recently, the concepts have been applied to organizations as
they undergo major change.
In December of 2011, the director of the DPS established the EPMO to ensure that all
of the department’s priority projects were completed efficiently and effectively, and
to ensure he had visibility into the process along the way. While this directive was
clear to the EPMO leadership, it was potentially less than clear to the stakeholders
who would soon be impacted by this major change.
1
STAGE 1: DENIAL
The EPMO was created and was charged with not only standing up the organization,
but also communicating the need for the organization to their stakeholders. As part of
this initial communication, EPMO leadership had to explain the director intent to
seek a more effective means of planning and prioritization at the enterprise level.
This reality resulted in some initial denial from stakeholders.
There were two groups of thought experiencing this denial. Some business areas
“wanted it all” and didn’t see a need to identify dependencies or prioritize efforts.
Some support areas believed they could “do it all” and wanted to provide service for
every new innovative idea. However, this line of thought was the underlying cause of
the problem with resource allocation that requires the need for prioritization.
Despite the communication efforts across the agency to the purpose of this new or-
ganization, several areas continued to attempt to initiate projects on their own. It was
clear that a strong communication campaign would be necessary to manage stake-
holder expectations and to gain buy-in on the new organization by demonstrating how
it would benefit both the agency and the individual business units. Along with creat-
ing a customized communication plan based upon each stakeholder group, EPMO
leadership also developed a milestone diagram as the foundation for a communication
tool to have conversations with leadership.
STAGE 2: ANGER
Once the EPMO was established, they created a charter in order to codify their role
for the rest of the agency.
The initial charter ii described that the EPMO had been created to serve the depart-
ment by:
• Overseeing the management of enterprise and priority projects;

• Coordinating and overseeing enterprise and priority programs;
• Overseeing alignment of resources (financial and human) to support priority
projects;
• Coordinating and overseeing the prioritization of projects;
• Providing a channel of communication for project status, financial health, and
mitigation of issues, risk, and dependencies across projects, departments,
and/or divisions;
• Providing a channel of communication to achieve efficiencies with project ex-
ecution and Agency contracting and procurement; and
• Communicating the results and progress of the agency projects to executive
management to ensure they are incorporated to future requests to the Legisla-
ture during the Legislative session.
2
While the language in the charter accurately codified the director’s intent, it also cre-
ated some discomfort for others throughout the agency who may have believed that
their organizations would be negatively impacted by this change, due to additional
oversight and the possibility that not all of the individual unit priorities would rise to
the level of being at the top of the agency priorities.
Project portfolio management was established at DPS to help identify the priority of
projects in the portfolio based on factors that demonstrated alignment to legislative
requirements and strategic objectives. Many times, due to funding and the require-
ment to implement legislative mandates, newly mandated projects would generally
take precedence over those projects that were being pursued as a way to innovate or
modernize a business process. This prioritization was critical to demonstrating how
resources needed to be applied (i.e., to minimize situations where agency priorities
would not be completed, or not be completed on-time and on-budget. For those areas
with projects that typically fell outside of the scope of funded mandates or critical in-
frastructure operations, this meant they would have limited access to resources re-
quired to address their requests.
Through the enterprise model, transparency into actual status and effort was
achieved. The agency began tracking and reporting project resources hours and pro-
ject budgets. A change control system was introduced, along with reporting on the
impact of changes to resource utilization and costs. This additional visibility demon-
strated that more time should be spent on effective project planning and estimating.
Project controls also identified risks or issues to projects associated with resource al-
location and competing demands. These competing demands were not necessarily
other projects that required the same resources. The competition also came from
maintenance efforts. This level of transparency provided the leadership team with the
information needed to have the right conversations and make informed decisions
about where the resources were more urgently needed. This visibility was perceived
by others as negatively exposing resource constraints within their operations.
Rather than understanding the new process was beneficial to their unit, and a way to
receive the help and support needed to successfully reach its goals, the new system
was initially seen by some as a drawback. This again highlighted the need for strong
stakeholder and communication plans and additional methods to seek buy-in from
those being affected by the change.
STAGE 3: BARGAINING
As the EPMO established effective relationships, they gained buy-in from the busi-
ness executives. The buy-in was created due to the EPMO leadership effectively
convincing the business areas why the change was important and the direct benefit
they would receive from this office.
3
This process of bargaining included things such as explaining why filling out a busi-
ness case would be ultimately beneficial to the success of a project; addressing ques-
tions about how to alternatively staff desired efforts through methods such as con-
tracts or temporary services; and trying to include the business areas in development
of the processes, templates and procedures.
EPMO leadership met with each business area’s leadership team and elicited feed-
back into the baseline processes. Having this feedback, and making trade-offs in
those areas of the processes, procedures, and templates that would not impact the
overall objective of the organization, provided a method to gain both buy-in and un-
derstanding from the majority of the stakeholders.
The EPMO also requested ongoing representation from each business unit to serve on
a process improvement team that would support ongoing assessment and feedback on
the enterprise project processes over time and as “lessons learned” were conducted.
This level of inclusion provided the various stakeholder groups with some sense of
ownership in the new processes they would be following.
STAGE 4: DEPRESSION
Despite the efforts to include representation from across the organization in the de-
velopment of the processes that would serve to request, analyze, and deliver projects,
there were still some stakeholder areas that were remained unsure of the need. With
organizational change comes some form of non-compliance that takes time to identi-
fy, assess, understand, and correct.
EPMO leadership knew that stronger partnerships with these areas would need to be
established in order for the objectives of the office to be met. They began working
more closely with the areas that were inadvertently duplicating efforts to determine
whether certain elements of the process needed to be modified in order to accomplish
what they’re unit needed. Some modifications were made to the process. For exam-
ple, the business case template was revised to capture additional detail to accommo-
date specific needs of those areas that had previously been unknown. This mitigated
the problem of duplication. Sporadically, efforts continued to be identified that com-
peted against the enterprise projects. However, by reporting the project status to lead-
ership on a regular basis, they were able to gain insight into resource challenges that
impacted project schedules and costs, and give direction to course correct as needed.
STAGE 5: ACCEPTANCE
After several months working in the new enterprise process, business divisions no-
ticed that with transparency and prioritization, they were able to see progress in their
projects, or at a minimum understand the reasons for any stalled progress. This
4
transparency gave them the insight required to provide better direction about how to
move forward and balance the needs of the agency.
Once the stakeholders adjusted and became accustomed to this change in the way of
doing business, they ultimately understood the benefits the director had originally en-
visioned. With this acceptance came compliance from the vast majority of the de-
partment, which substantially improved project planning and delivery.
CONCLUSION
Undergoing significant organizational change can be challenging. It is critical to

provide constant and thorough communication to the individuals and business areas
that will be impacted by the change. Furthermore, it is imperative that the communi-
cation not only explain the changes and the benefits of those changes, but the com-
munication must also be multi-directional. In order to gain buy-in and successful
adoption of impending change, communication must also focus on asking for feed-
back and input as to how best to implement and address the change. Bringing stake-
holder groups together for open dialogue and discussion on implementation of change
will better position the organization for a successful rollout and can eliminate some
challenges associated with lack of understanding and resistance to change.
5
Ultimately, leaders from the business divisions began to champion the DPS EPMO.
By this time, the new enterprise processes had already resulted in an improved suc-
cess rate of approximately 50% in the project and contract space, but that rate needed
to further improve.
In late 2015, the decision was made to move all of the planning and project manage-
ment resources remaining in the agency to the EPMO to help eliminate any residual
competing processes. With the consolidation of these teams, further efficiencies were
gained in the processes, customer expectations were more successfully managed, re-
lationships improved, and more priorities were successfully accomplished.
REFERENCES
i
Kubler-Ross, E (1969) On Death and Dying, Routledge ISBN 0-415-04015-9
ii
Policy, Project and Portfolio Management Office, Texas Department of Public Safety (2013) Charter
6
Customer Centric Project Management

Engage the Customer, but don't disengage the Project Manager
Charles Villanyi Bokor¹
¹The CERP Group, Ottawa, CANADA; [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Customer Centric Project Management (CCPM) is integrating the

continuous re-examination, evolution and definition of the stakeholders'
business requirements into the technology project’s mandate to define
deliverables based on the organizational strategy, business processes,
capacity, and capability. It is producing deliverables that create value
for the corporation and emphasize the value of IT professionals.
Defining business requirement that outputs of an easy to use and fit for
the purpose system is based on, is a critical activity. CCPM is engaging
the project customer throughout the project development lifecycle. PMs
using CCPM focus less on the cost to deliver or delivering as per the
established schedule and more on creating corporate strategy aligned
business value. CCPM involves senior executives, system owners,
business analysts and the PM and is a cultural shift from how we
deliver to what we deliver.
Key Words: project development, customer centric, business requirements,

requirements definition process, project management, requirements change
management, project development team, outcome, methodology, value,
accountability, project failure.
This paper is based on empirical observations, current literature, limited trials and
project management experiences.
THE PROBLEM
In a recent article on the "10 common causes of IT project failure" [Carlson, 2013]
one of the causes was: “Letting users delay projects by constantly requesting tweaks”.
According to this cited cause of project failure and common belief, allowing business
requirements to be changed post system design and during project development, i.e.
allowing tweaks, may force the designed and partially developed project to be
reworked, delaying the project and or adding costs that were not budgeted. A 1996
article [McConnell. 1996] noted that: "Studies have found that reworking defective
requirements, design, and code typically consumes 40 to 50 percent of the total cost
of software development [McConnell 1996].". Such significant variance between the
pre-design estimated and the eventual cost of delivery or time to deliver, can in turn
Copyright © The CERP Group Page 1 of 7

fail and have failed IT projects. Thus according to this school of thought changes to
requirements should be limited to minimize changes to schedules and costs.
Limiting customer requested ‘tweaks’ or changes to the requirements is considering

the changes to be less important than the originally stated requirements. It implies that
the customer was not aware that the requested changes can be postponed. Not easily
allowing changes to requirements implies that the customers who presented the
original requirements and the Business Analysts (BA) who elaborated them and
consequently defined the project’s output, knew the right or best business solution
with which to create the expected business value or outcome, which is the original
(not new) and the future definition of project success. It implies that they have
expressed all vital customer business needs and expectations at the time the
requirements were gathered and defined. It further implies that since the time the
requirements were defined no one has learned or identified a better way to solve the
business problem. In other words, due to an organizational flaw that prevents the
organization from innovating or naivety there has not been any learning during the
development of the project. By keeping the list of requirements static, the
organization implicitly declares, that those who can prevent the additional effort to
develop the changes or tweaks or act on opportunities to improve needed capability to
be made, can decide on the eventual business results. By not making changes the
mandated functionality is delivered over the significantly higher cost of an enhanced
system indicating that being on-time and on-schedule is the organization’s priority.
CUSTOMER CENTRIC PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Customer Centric Project Management (CCPM) is continuous aligning the skilled re-
examination and readjustment of the technology project’s mandated business based
deliverables, customers’ expectations and capabilities, the project’s estimated budget,
schedule, and the system’s functionality as well as the cost of not making or
postponing the identified change. It is ensuring that stakeholder needs, and options
are evaluated to determine balanced, agreed-on enterprise objectives to be achieved.
It is setting direction through prioritization and decision making and monitoring
performance to satisfy customers more than to better manage the project. It is the
critical activity of engaging customers, for whom the project is being developed, as
business requirements subject matter experts (SME), members of the project
development team and input authority in the project’s design.
According to a World Quality Report [WQR] commissioned by HPE, Capgemini and

Sogeti, quality assurance (QA) is more important than ever to 1,560 executives
surveyed. Top priority of these respondents was focusing on what is of value to
customers. As such CCPM aligns with International Standards (9001: 2015),
Customer Focus (5.1.2.) which is the top most item in 7 Quality Management
Principles (QMP). It is an enhancement of the defective and out of date requirements
change definition process commonly used today. Its aim is to define the vital
deliverables (functionality) or the development project’s necessary output that
customers want, expect and will use, based on the latest understanding of the

organizational strategy, business processes, capacity and capability. CCPM is about

prioritizing customer satisfaction due to delivered system functionality that facilitate
achieving organizational goals.
CCPM is not a Holy Grail that will fix all the many problems that fail projects, but it
is a solution to a specific and significant project development problem that occurs too
often and has too big an impact on organizations.
STAKEHOLDERS
Who is involved when the project management methodology is CCPM? The

stakeholders include the organization’s executives, the Project Manager (PM), the
customer or system owner who funds and is to exploit the system, and the BA who is
to facilitate customers to define their vital requirements. Each has a specific role and
accountability.
In top performing organizations [HBR, 2002] senior executives are responsible for
reengineering processes that use IT systems and for generating business value.
Executives are implicitly accountable for project success, and must authorize the use
of CCPM as it changes how changes to requirements are managed. If executives do
not ‘buy-in’ to this methodology, it will not be possible to use it. However, choosing
to not allow CCPM has to make them accountable for the missed opportunity cost of
not having or postponing the deployment of newly discovered vital requirement(s)
that would have been deployed using CCPM.
If executives do ‘buy-in’, they have to elaborate and communicate their support to the
customer, the BAs and PM involved, and describe how the impact of continuous
changes to requirements and consequently the budget and the schedule will be
handled (governance).
The customer(s), sometimes referred to as business partner, must be and is held

accountable for specifying the right thing that needs to be done and funds the project
as well as any costs resulting from the requested changes to the requirements. This
includes the return on the investment spent on making the changes to the
requirements, specifying the outputs the project needs to deliver and attaining the
desired outcome with or without the requested changes that is determined at the post
mortem analysis of accomplishments.
The PM is the third stakeholder in CCPM. PMs generally are trained and skilled in
doing things right, i.e. planning and controlling system development to deliver
projects efficiently and in spite of the many organizational constraints in their way. It
is why they have been chosen to lead and manage the development and system
implementation (not deployment) processes and entrusted with corporate resources.
In most organizations PMs are ill-equipped to balance customers’ wishes for changes
to requirements and currently used on-time and on-schedule development project

success criteria that is focused on efficiency. However, CCPM makes it easy and
convenient for customers to ask for tweaks, for PMs to listen (hear) to customers and
follow up and acknowledge their input and requests. CCPM allows the PM to manage
the development process as effectively (not only efficiently) as the organizational
capacity, capability, executive management and their own expertise allows.
Peter Drucker is quoted to have said: “There is nothing so useless as doing

[developing] efficiently that which should not be done at all.” [Drucker], which is
why the BA is the fourth and final stakeholder. BAs are the SMEs who define and
translate the customers’ business needs, customers’ expectations, the mandatory
business and regulatory requirements, and existing opportunities that align to the
organization’s strategy into a business solution and facilitate requested changes to
system requirements to be made. This not only elevates the need for qualified BAs
but also the role that the BAs can and needs to play.
To underline their importance, McConnell [McConnell. 1996] states that: "As a rule
of thumb, every hour you spend on defect prevention [making changes to
requirements] will reduce your repair time [by] three to ten hours. In the worst case,
reworking a software requirements problem once the software is in operation
typically costs 50 to 200 times what it would take to rework the problem in the
requirements stage.” This argues that BAs must spend more time to define
requirements during design and ‘tweaks’ should be encouraged, allowed or done
during project development, i.e. before not after implementation.
While today’s change management, i.e. accepting or not accepting new requirements
and changing the design of the system, is often about the cost of the changes, it often
does not include the calculation of what the cost of not making the changes will be.
Therefore the BA must be held accountable for the professional attempt to uncover
how business is done in the organization and to identify needed work processes that
do not strain the corporate culture.
THE PROPOSAL
CCPM is about continuously and more directly engaging stakeholders during the
System Development Life Cycle (SDLC), in evolving the list of requirements on
which final project deliverables are defined. It is not constrained by the estimated
time to develop, the established schedule or the estimated cost to deliver. It is often
viewed by IT as involving ‘them’ in what ‘we’ do. CCPM is not a favored
methodology of insecure PMs or risk averse organizational cultures. Nor is it
acceptable to executives, who prioritize delivering projects within the estimated
budget, in an estimated amount of time, as per the planned schedule and with the
original scope, to replace standard requirements change management processes with
CCPM. For many, the customer-centric iterative requirements definition process is
too great a shift of the culture. CCPM is for organizations where executives prioritize
the value chain and defining ‘what’ value the system’s users will be able to create, not
‘how’ work is to be done.

CCPM is centered on the concept that projects are not developed to be on-time, on
schedule or to deliver defined functionality. They are developed so that internal
customers can more easily change business results (outcomes), the original, not new,
re-discovered and the future definition of success. As such, customers must be more
directly and continuously engaged and held accountable for specifying all vital
requirements as well as for requested requirements’ costs and impact on the
organization. Assuming that these requirements are written by BAs, implies that the
BAs must be held accountable for elaborating and evolving business needs that can
be embed into the socio-organizational environment as part of Organizational Change
Management (OCM) needed for every large scale project deployment.
This approach conflicts with many executives’ views and project management
practices. In spite of the fact that CCPM is not a different way to manage our projects
but an enhancement to how to change business requirements and how the
development methodology integrates customers into the SDLC. As W. Edward
Deming said: “It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”
The concept of facilitating making changes to requirements during the project is not
new, but a cultural shift. This shift requires the organization to prioritize what the
project delivers, i.e. the output, and the eventual outcome it enables or facilitates over
how close the final cost and schedule are to the estimated budget and wished for
schedule. CCPM is not more efficient but a more effective Requirements Change
Management methodology. Its focus is on the needs of the organization and the
customers, but it is also inadvertently a better way to control total cost of application
ownership.
As a general rule business requirements evolve after they are defined in the
Requirements Definition Document. Much as a restaurant patron needs in real time to
be able to order a second bottle of wine during the meal and change his/her mind
about having or skipping desert, so too internal customers need to be able to make
changes to requirements when they realize a previously unforeseen possibility. Hence
customers need to be continuously engaged in the evolution of project requirement.
And like the restaurant patron who has to pay for the additional bottle of wine, the
customers’ ‘right to change’ is tied to his/her accountability for the extra effort
(corporate resources and capacity) expanded to make the change(s).
A second and more controversial reason for CCPM comes from the CHAOS
Manifesto [CHAOS Manifesto 2013]. It suggests that: “20% of features [of an
application] are used often and 50% of features are hardly ever or never used. …The
task of requirements gathering, selecting, and implementing is the most difficult in
developing custom applications. … 20% of the features that give you 80% of the
value … Therefore, reducing scope and not doing 100% of the features and functions
is not only a valid strategy, but a prudent one.” It does not specify who should make
the decision or how it is to be decided which part of the scope (features and functions)
not to deliver. However, as the PM is focused on IT project delivery and IT has no

domain knowledge (business expertise), the PM cannot make this currently practiced
error and mistake. Arguably, only customers who know or should know how to create
value for the organization, who are accountable for the costs incurred and who have
proper incentives, can decide to pay for the benefits that requested changes to
requirements promises to provide. Thus customers need to be engaged in the
requirements definition, design and output definition process.
CCPM balances the imperatives of what the business needs, accountability for
resources expended and what the technology and the project team can deliver. It
integrates the goals of the corporation, the needs and expectations of the corporate
customers with the capabilities of the project development team. At the same time
CCPM allocates explicit accountability for project success to the four stakeholder
groups. This idea of separating accountabilities is supported by Gartner [gartner.com]
which claims that: “Organizations that separate the ‘doing the right thing’ from
‘doing things right’ tend to be more successful in the long term.”
Is CCPM important? Some indicators say it is. IT spending is in the neighborhood of

$270 billion / year in Canada based on $2.68 trillion posted by NY Times [NY Times,
2013]. The annual cost of IT project failures is $1.2 trillion in the US and $6.2
globally [Sessions, 2009] and according to Gartner, 80-85% of IT spending is to keep
the lights on. As a generalization, the lifetime cost of an applications end up being
about 6.7 times [Outsystems] its initial cost of development and some or most of this
cost is due to what many in the profession term “The PHASE II”, meaning moving all
the requirements that are needed but are not delivered to a subsequent phase. While it
is sad that more money is wasted on maintenance than is needed, it is sadder that 80%
of the money spent on maintenance allows little development of new systems or
resource capabilities. Thus we need to learn how to develop the right requirements.
CONCLUSIONS
Organizations need to do a better job of evolving system requirements, as this

weakness is costing corporations dearly and negatively impacts the relevance of IT.
CCPM aims to make the customer as successful as possible, by engaging the
customers who are accountable for the additional costs and delays or changes to the
approved ROI caused by the changes to requirements. However, if CCPM is not to be
a career changer (end-er) for the PM, then its use has to be approved by corporate
executives prior to the start of the project. If executives have not approved it
explicitly, then they must accept accountability for the opportunity lost.

REFERENCES
Caron Carlson, 10 common causes of IT project failure, FierceCIO, April 3, 2013

Steve McConnell, CEO and Chief Software Engineer at Construx Software, Software
Quality at Top Speed, Software Development, August 1996 article
M. Gibbs, NETWORKWORLD, May 9, 2013,
World Quality Report, Capgemini: Customer experience emerges as a top QA
priority,
Peter Drucker, http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/peterdruck105338.html
Harvard Business Review, Six IT Decisions Your IT People Shouldn’t Make, Nov
2002,
CHAOS Manifesto 2013, Think Big Act Small, The Standish Group International
Gartner, www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/497088
NY Times, PMOs: One Size Does not Fit All, 2013
Roger Sessions, CTO ObjectWatch, The IT Complexity Crisis: Danger and
Opportunity, 2009 White Paper,
Outsystems, Why IT struggles to innovate and how you can fix it,

A New Research Agenda for
Project Management Communication Theory
William A. Brantley
Project Management Center for Excellence, Department of Environmental and

Civil Engineering, University of Maryland, 1173 Glenn L. Martin Hall,
4298 Campus Dr. College Park, MD 20742; [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Based on an analysis of 272 peer-reviewed articles on project management

communication, the authors found that only four percent of the articles advanced
project management communication toward a better contemporary understanding of
the complexity of communication. The authors posit that project management
communication research needs a new research agenda based on complex responsive
processes of relating. The new research agenda proposal is to use the emerging field
of complexity leadership to explain better how project managers, team members, and
stakeholders communicate during a project. Adopting the new project management
communication research agenda will help establish more effective project
management communication tools and methods. The new project management
communication research agenda will also provide new research opportunities for
communication scholars.
COMMUNICATION IS VITAL TO EFFECTIVE PROJECT MANAGEMENT
It is important to note the importance of communication in project

management before discussing the need for a new project management
communication research agenda. Estimates from the Project Management Institute
and project management researchers indicate that 80–90% of a project manager’s
work is communication (see Kliem, 2008, 2012; Crawford, 2002). Barkley and Saylor
(2001) argue “[c]ommunication is the most important tool in customer-driven project
management” (p. 274).
However, even though project management communication is considered the
key to effective project management, the concept of project management
communication is limited. Many definitions of project communication focus on the
functional aspects such information exchange or coordinating people’s actions (see
Ensworth, 2001; Longman & Mullins, 2005; Burford, 2013; Kliem, 2008). Even the
emerging field of agile project management still treats communication in a purely
functional manner (Augustine, 2005, pp. 26–29). As Cleland & Ireland (2002)
observe: “Project managers and professionals often fail to recognize that
communication on a project takes many forms: verbal in-group and individual
1
exchanges of information, and documentation such as design drawings, reports,
contracts, work orders, and the like” ( p. 482).
THE CURRENT STATE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION

RESEARCH
The Functional Model of Communication. It is almost universal among recognized

project management experts that there is only one model for project management
communication: the functional model which is also referred to as the Source–
Message–Channel–Receiver (SMCR) model. The SMCR model is based on the
Shannon-Weaver Communication Model first developed in the 1950s.
“Communication involves both receiving and sending messages” (McManus, 2006, p.
107; see also Cleland & Ireland, 2002; Kliem, 2008; Andriole, 2012; and Burford,
2013). Even nonverbal communication is limited to the SMCR model (Kendrick,
2012, p. 189). The leading project management professional association, the Project
Management Institute (PMI), advocates the SMCR model as a best practice for
project management communication in PMI’s certification exams.
The author collected project management articles from the three major project
management research journals (International Journal of Project Management, Project
Management Journal, and International Journal of Managing Projects in Business);
general business management journals; and communication and mass media journals.
Three-hundred and thirty-three articles were initially retrieved which was then
reduced to 272 articles after removing duplicates, non-peer-reviewed articles, and
three non-English language articles.
The articles were carefully read and placed into one of four categories:
• Category Zero – No or little relevance to the research question. These
are articles that mention communication once or twice at most.
• Category One – Firmly grounded in the functional communication
model. No research in project management communication other than
referencing the functional communication model.
• Category Two – Applied a contemporary research technique, method,
or perspective to the functional communication model but the purpose
was confined to exploring some aspect of the functional
communication model.
• Category Three – Introduced a novel project management
communication model or critical perspective on project management
communication not based in the functional communication model.
2
Table 1. Count of Project Management Communication Articles by Category.
Category Number of Articles Percentage of Total Articles

Zero 117 43%
One 112 41%
Two 33 12%
Three 10 4%
The author then divided the articles up into articles that appeared in one of the
three project management journals and articles that appeared in general management
or communication journals.
Chart 1. Number of Project Management Communication

Articles by Category and Type of Journal
89
Category 0 - 48%
Category 1 - 38%
71
Category 2 - 12%
Category 3 - 2%
Total - 185 articles
41
28
22
Category 0
11 Category 1
7
3
Category 2
PM Journals Non-PM Journals Category 3
Table 2 indicates that, even though the underlying communication model used
in the analysis is the functional model, the researchers were possibly attempting to
extend the analysis beyond the functional model of project management
communication. As Cicmil and Hodgson (2006) might observe, the researchers in the
Category Two articles are attempting to “open up new trajectories within the research
agenda in the field of studies relevant to projects, project performance and project
management” (112).
3
Table 2. Research Technique, Method, or Perspective
Applied in Category 2 Articles
Research Technique, Method, or Number of Articles the

Perspective Technique, Method, or
Perspective was Utilized
Actor-Network Theory 2
Complexity Theory 4
Dialogue 6
Diversity 2
Ethnographic Observation 1
Intermediate Objects of Design 1
Knowledge transfer, knowledge 3
management
Mental Models 2
New Product Development 1
Project Manager Influence Methods 1
Real options reasoning 1
Social Network Analysis 6
Stakeholder Focus 1
Storytelling 1
Visual Communication 1
Continuing in the vein of opening up new trajectories in project management

research, the ten articles in Category Three, offer new ways of studying project
management communication beyond the functional model of communication. For
example, Johannessen and Olsen (2011) introduce a five system communication
model that is designed to replace the functional model. Johannessen and Olsen argue
that their model better captures the coordinating functions of project management
communication. Koskinen (2013) and Piperca and Floricel (2012) advocate the use of
social autopoietic systems communication theory to refute the functional model’s
assumption that meaning is transmitted in whole from the sender to the receiver.
Rather, the researchers advance the theory that meaning emerges from the interactions
within the project team and interactions with stakeholders. All of the Category Three
articles point toward a new and critical research direction in project management
communication research. In the next section, the authors detail why staying with the
functional communication model perpetuates ineffective project management and
hinder the field of project management communication research.
FUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION IS NOT SUFFICIENT FOR EFFECTIVE

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
In reviewing examples of how to improve project management

communication, the emphasis is on functional methods. The Project Management
Institute and project management experts advise the creation of a communication
4
management plan that details whom to communicate to and how. There is some
discussion about content, but that is also focused on just informational or
transactional processes (Kliem, 2008, p. 75).
A prime example of the purely informational method for project management
communication is the One Page Project Management tool. This tool was created to
communicate vital project information in the most informative and digestible way.
The tool is organized around tasks, deadlines, and status updates (Campbell &
Collins, 2010). This tool essentially reduces communicating to reporting. That is also
the concept behind the use of project management information systems that are also
referred to as project management communication (Kliem, 2008, p. 25; see also
Kendrick, 2012, pp. 223–228).
Cleland and Ireland (2002) hint at more than purely informational and
transactional methods of communication in their list of channels of information:
“plans; policies; procedures; objectives; goals; strategies; organizational structure;
linear responsibility charts; leader and follower styles; meetings; letters; telephone
calls; small group interactions; and example set by the project manager” (p. 483).
Even so, the authors do not explain the communication aspects of the “leader and
follower styles,” “small group interactions,” and “example set by the project
manager,” thus missing the opportunity to expand beyond purely functional
communication.
Ignoring the relational aspects of project management communication is
detrimental to project management because the success of projects and project
managers is directly related to how well project managers communicate with
stakeholders and the project team in fulfilling the project vision and building a high-
performing project team. “[P]oor communications can have a costly impact on
projects. When communications fail at the beginning, such as when assumptions and
goals are being defined, correcting the situation later becomes more difficult and
costly. Projects gain momentum, and few people want to hold them up while ways are
found to improve communications. Any effort to rectify poor communications can
result in slowing momentum and requiring work to be over. What’s worst, however, is
that the damage may not surface until the product or service is in production, leading
to maintenance nightmares” (Kliem, 2008, p. 3).
Other project management experts agree with Kliem. Charvat (2003) writes
“[c]ommunication is the backbone on any successful project rollout. Without it,
projects have conflict, delays, and failure” (p. 181). According to Flannes and Levin
(2001) “[t]echnology, tools, and techniques are not the reasons projects fail; they fail
because of people” (p. 3). People fail through bad communication whether it results
from a lack of information transfer or lack of acceptance by the receiver (p. 92).
McManus (2006) lists the following symptoms of poor project management
communication: confusion or misunderstanding, duplication of effort, demand or
delay, demotivation, inefficiency, and lost opportunity (p. 100).
McManus (2006) further explains the poor project management
communication is in place because “[p]roject managers are not generally measured or
rewarded on their communication performance” (p. 100). Project managers are
encouraged to take the “Just Do It” approach to project management (Winter &
5
Szczepanek, 2009, p. 15). Lack of proper communication training for project
managers is another example of the need to improve the gap in project management
communication.
WHY PROJECT MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION IS COMPLEX

RATHER THAN PURELY FUNCTIONAL
“Communication of the right information is a complex process that includes

verbal and nonverbal forms of communication such as speaking, listening, observing,
writing, and reading” (Barkley & Saylor, 2001, p. 274). Even so, project management
communication is not currently seen as a complex process because the widely
accepted model of communication is restricted. The previous sections of this paper
have established that the prevailing model of project management communication is
based on the Sender–Message–Channel–Receiver model, which is purely functional.
Project managers are not measured on how well they communicate but how well they
deliver the project product on time, within budget, and to the project customer’s
specifications. The problem with this emphasis on the functional image of project
management is that it is self-defeating because it does not account for the true
complexity of managing projects.
Winter and Szczepanek (2009, p. 29) list seven different images of project
management:
1. Social Processes
2. Political Processes
3. Intervention Processes
4. Value Creation Processes
5. Development Processes
6. Temporary Organizations
7. Change Processes
The image or images a project management uses influences the project
manager’s actions. What is common to all of the images is that they are based on
complex responsive processes of relating (CRPR), which goes beyond the current
functional image of project management. “CRPR grounds the practice of managing
projects firmly in the sphere of interactions between humans” (Cicmil, Cooke-Davis,
Crawford, & Richardson, 2009, p. 76).
The value of using CRPR in developing the new research agenda for project
management communication is that it better captures the complex reality of how
project managers, project teams, and stakeholders interact with each other over the
lifespan of the project. CRPR is “a particular way of thinking . . . that focuses . . . on
how members . . . might cope with uncertainty and the unknown while these same
individuals simultaneously co-create their collective futures together on an on-going
basis” (Stacey, 2009, p. 30). It is the complex interactions (nonlinearity, evolution,
emergence, and radical unpredictability) between the project participants that makes
project management communication more than purely functional (Cicmil et al., 2009,
p. 30).
6
In the next section, complexity leadership is advanced as a way to encapsulate
the features of CRPR in managing projects. Complexity leadership captures the
complexity of interactions between the project participants and composes the new
research agenda to take project management communication out of the purely
functional model.
PROPOSED RESEARCH AGENDA FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT

COMMUNICATION
Complexity Leadership. Complexity leadership theory is a framework for

leadership that enables the learning, creative, and adaptive capacity of complex
adaptive systems (CAS) in knowledge-producing organizations or organizational
units. This framework seeks to foster CAS dynamics while enabling control structures
appropriate for coordinating formal organizations and producing outcomes
appropriate to the mission. It seeks to integrate complexity dynamics and
bureaucracy, enabling and coordinating, exploration and exploitation, CAS and
hierarchy, and informal emergence and top-down control (Uhl-Bien, Marion, &
McKelvey, 2008, p. 196).
The above concepts apply as much to projects as to organizations. This new
reality in projects compels project managers to move beyond their traditional
functional role of managing schedules, tasks, and resources to empowering the
knowledge workers that make up the project team (Stacey, 2001, p. 1). Project
managers must use dialogue to “encourage and persuade people to share knowledge
and spread it around” (p. 2), because knowledge is more than just what is stored in
artifacts and arises from conversations and relationships (pp. 4, 98). As the
communication hub for the project team, stakeholders, customers, and sponsor(s),
project managers must use more than functional communication to lead effectively
modern projects.
As with complexity communication, there are several models of complexity
leadership. Possibly the most appropriate model for project managers is Goldstein,
Hazy, and Lichtenstein’s (2011) work. Their model is an “active and constructional
model of leadership based on a highly engaged view of mutuality, interdependence,
and share accountability” (p. 4; emphasis in original). Goldstein et al. argue that the
traditional view of heroic/charismatic leadership will result in a lack of innovation
because leadership is a series of events rather than relations (p. 2). Leadership events
pairs well with Salem’s (2009) complexity communication model’s episodes as
leadership develops more focused involvement and ownership between project
managers and team members.
In Goldstein et al.’s (2011) model, effective leaders create “innovation-
friendly social networks” (p. 171) that enable interaction resonance. Interaction
resonance is essentially enriching information as it travels through the networks (p.
10). “[T]he more technical the work, the more that careful communication is needed
to clarify and deepen it. Without the common language and these disciplined
communication practices, information remains undecipherable and thereby devolves
into mere data” (p. 38). It is not enough for project managers to just communicate
7
information; they must be aware of how they communicate and the effects of their
communication on all of their stakeholders.
BENEFITS FOR SCHOLAR AND PRACTITIONERS
Like research areas such as organizational communication or health

communication, project management communication research offers benefits to
scholars and practitioners. As demonstrated above, project management has a
complexity beyond the functional aspects of management. This complexity arises
from the interactions among the people involved in the project as they work to
achieve a shared vision. Projects occur in almost every organization, encompass a
great variety of communication situations, and are often well-documented. Thus, they
can provide rich data for qualitative and quantitative analysis. On a more practical
note, the Project Management Institute hosts a research conference every other year,
and there are numerous funding sources and a large audience of practitioners eager to
hear the latest research findings.
For the practitioner, increased research in project management communication
will provide evidence-based tools and methods that will help improve their ability to
manage projects. There is a growing consensus among project management experts
that current project communication models and techniques are not effective with
today’s more complex and diverse projects.
Restating the arguments that opened this paper, communication is, at least,
one of the top three factors for project success. The models and tools of project
management communication are purely functional and transactional, which is
inadequate for complex contemporary projects, especially regarding the complex
responsive processes inherent in the interactions among project managers, project
team members, and stakeholders. Implementing a new research agenda that
recognizes the complexity of human communication will revitalize the field of project
management communication by providing practitioners with better tools and
methods. Ultimately, improving project management communication will aid in
improving the overall effectiveness of project management.
8
REFERENCES
Andriole, S. J. (2012). IT’s all about the people: Technology management that
overcomes disaffected people, stupid processes, and deranged corporate
cultures. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Augustine, S. (2005). Managing agile projects. Pearson Education, Upper Saddle
River, NJ
Barkley, B., & Saylor, J. H. (2001). Customer-driven project management: Building
quality into project processes. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Burford, L. D. (2013). Project management for flat organizations: Cost effective steps
to achieving successful results. J. Ross Publishing, Plantation, FL.
Campbell, C. A., & Collins, M. (2010). The one-page project manager for execution:
Drive strategy and solve problems with a single sheet of paper. Wiley,
Hoboken, NJ.
Charvat, J. (2003). Project management methodologies: Selecting, implementing, and
supporting methodologies and processes for projects. Wiley, Hoboken, NJ.
Cicmil, S., and Hodgson, D. (2006). “New possibilities for project management
theory: A critical engagement.” Project Management Journal, 37(3), 111-122.
Cicmil, S., Cooke-Davis, T., Crawford, L., & Richardson, K. (2009). Exploring the
complexity of projects: Implications of complexity theory for project
management practice. Project Management Institute, Newton Square, PA.
Cleland, D. I., & Ireland, L. R. (2002). Project management: Strategic design and
implementation (2nd Ed.). McGraw-Hill, New York.
Crawford, J. K. (2002). The strategic project office: A guide to improving
organizational performance. Marcel Dekker, New York.
Ensworth, P. (2001). The accidental project manager: Surviving the transition from
techie to manager. Wiley, New York.
Flannes, S. W., & Levin, G. (2001). People skills for project managers. Management
Concepts, Vienna, VA.
Goldstein, J., Hazy, J. K., & Lichtenstein, B. B. (2011). Complexity and the nexus of
leadership: Leveraging nonlinear science to create ecologies of innovation.
Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Johannessen, J.A., and Olsen, B. (2011). “Projects as communicating systems:
Creating a culture of innovation and performance.” International Journal of
Information Management, 31. 30-37.
Kendrick, T. (2012). Results without authority: Controlling a project when the team
doesn’t report to you (2nd Ed.). AMACOM, New York.
Kliem, R. L. (2012). Ethics and project management. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Kliem. R. L. (2008). Effective communications for project management. Auerbach,
Boca Raton, FL.
Koskienen, K.U. (2013). “Observation’s role in technically complex project
implementation: The social autopoietic system view.” International Journal of
Managing Projects in Business, 6:2. 349-364.
Longman, A., & Mullins, J. (2005). The rational project manager: A thinking team’s
guide to getting work done. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ.
9
McManus, J. (2006). Leadership: Project and human capital management. Elsevier,
Boston, MA.
Pipera, S., and Floricel, S. (2012). “A typology of unexpected events in complex
projects.” International Journal of Managing projects in Business, 5:2. 248-
265.
Salem, P. (2009). The complexity of human communication. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton
Press.
Stacey, D. (2009). “Complex responsive processes: An alternative interpretation of
knowledge, knowing, and understanding.” Complicity: An International
Journal of Complexity and Education, 6:1. 29-39.
Stacey, R. D. (2001). Complex responsive processes in organizations: Learning and
knowledge creation. Routledge, New York.
Uhl-Bien, M., Marion, R., & McKelvey, B. (2008). “Complexity leadership theory:
Shifting leadership from the industrial age to the knowledge era.” In M. Uhl-
Bien & R. Marion (Eds.), Complexity leadership: Part I: Conceptual
foundations (pp. 185–224). Information Age, Charlotte, NC.
Winter, M., & Szczepanek, T. (2009). Images of projects. Gower Publishing,
Burlington, VT.
10
Putting theory to practice or practising theory? How theories of practice can be
practically useful in the management of projects
Paul W Chan1
1
School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of
Manchester, Sackville Street, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
[email protected]
ABSTRACT
In this paper, I question the knowledge-practice divide by drawing
inspiration from contemporary interest in practice-based theories. I focus
on recent renewed interest in the Aristotelian notion of phroenesis (or, to
put simply, the doing of practical wisdom). Rather than to turn
knowledge into practice – as the theme of this symposium suggests – I
argue that knowledge is practice. I stress that practical knowledge is not
just what practitioners do; practical knowledge calls for deeper, more
engaged forms of practical scholarship. Such scholarship demands a
move away from ‘grab-and-go’ methods of knowledge creation depicted
by earlier scholarship that provided prescriptive guidelines and toolkits,
to consider the power of engaged scholarship (e.g. action research,
ethnography) in co-creating practical wisdom in project management. I
offer the newly-launched Professional Doctorate in Project Management
at the University of Manchester as a possible way of inviting practitioners
to become co-researchers in putting practical wisdom to work.
Keywords: phronesis, practice-relevant scholarship, professional

doctorate
INTRODUCTION
Project management has matured as a field from being “almost theory-free” (Morris,
2013b: 67) and “extraordinarily [silent] on the theoretical” (Koskela and Howell,
2002: 293), to current recognition that project management knowledge is pluralistic,
drawing on a diverse range of theories (see Söderlund, 2011, and; Morris, 2013a). In
part, this growing acknowledgement of the role of theory is due to the belief that “a
theory of projects is beneficial to the development and acceptance of the field for a
general audience” (Hällgren, 2012: 805). As Hällgren (2012: ibid.) noted, the more
established top-tier academic journals tend to make higher “demands for theoretical
contributions and scientific rigor […] than in journals in less established areas as
project management”.
The pursuit of theoretical rigour is nevertheless not without criticism. Morris

(2013b), for instance, while acknowledging the need to embrace theoretical
pluralism, also warned against the development of theory for theory’s sake. He
stressed that “[t]he problems we face in the world of projects, and the ways to
address them, are often intensely practical. […] Yet, academics too rarely experience
the reality of really managing projects” (Morris, 2013b: 69).
1
In this paper, I critically consider this bifurcation between theory and practice, along
with the debate on the role of theory in project management. In so doing, the
purpose is to question the rhetoric of turning knowledge into practice. Such a turn of
phrase implies the separation between theory and practice, an assumption that
knowledge is an entity that comes before its application in practice. In this paper, it
is argued that such a linear view of knowledge production that emphasises the
dichotomous distinction between theory and practice is outmoded. By drawing on
current interest in and scholarship on practice-based theories (see e.g. de Certeau,
1984, and; Nicolini, 2012), it is argued that the problem lies not in turning
knowledge into practice, but to situate knowledge production and reproduction in
practice. Thus, theory is not some isolated entity that precedes and juxtaposes
against practice (theory vs. practice); rather, practice and theory are both sides of the
same coin, recursively intertwined and mutually constitutive of one another.
The paper is structured as follows. The next section will trace the debate on project
management theory. This brief overview will outline the ongoing debate on the role
of theory in project management, between those who favour a normative view of
finding better or ‘best’ practice (e.g. Morris, 2013a; 2013b), and those who reject
such normative accounts and prefer to study the multiple ways in which practices
actually happen (e.g. Cicmil et al., 2006). Although the debate on theoretical
unification/pluralism has made much progress on bringing theory to the fore, the
review highlights the need to break away from the theory-practice divide. A salient
review of practice-based approach to understanding project management and what
project managers do is then outlined, with a view to reconnect theory and practice in
project management. The paper closes with an illustration of how this can be
achieved through the Manchester Professional Doctorate Programme.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT ‘THEORY’? FROM UNIFICATION TO
PLURALISM
Historically, project management is regarded as a practical field where knowledge
about managing projects was, until the 1950s, rarely institutionalised (see e.g.
Morris, 2013a, and; Garel, 2013). Garel (2013) traced the history of project
management, and noted that since the late 1950s, project management knowledge
began to go through intense rationalisation and institutionalisation. The creation of
various bodies of knowledge by institutions such as the Project Management Institute
(PMI) and the Association of Project Management (APM) marked the foundation of
‘standard’ models of project management (Garel, 2013; see also Hodgson and
Cicmil, 2007). Koskela and Howell (2002) even gone as far as to state that there is
underlying theory in project management found in the doctrine “as espoused in the
[Project Management Body of Knowledge] PMBOK Guide by PMI and mostly
applied in practice” (p. 293).
Early formalisation and professionalization of project management knowledge

stemmed from the fields of operations management and the management of
engineering projects. At its core, this early theoretical formulation was about
advancing a normative set of principles for delivering best practices in project
2
management. As Koskela and Howell (2002) asserted, “[a] theory of project
management should be prescriptive: it should reveal how action contributes to the
goals set to it. On the most general level, there are three possible actions: design of
the systems employed in designing and making; control of those systems in order to
realize the production intended; improvement of those systems” (p. 294). They
added that the ultimate goal should be seen in terms of producing products as
intended, by optimising costs and resource utilization, while satisfying the needs of
the customer through measures such as quality, dependability and flexibility.
Söderlund (2004a) commented that such normative tradition yielded a wealth of

“checklists and the optimization and critical success factors research” (p. 185), which
he argued “provide very little in terms of theory” (ibid.). Söderlund (2004b) also
called for the need to broaden the scope on researching projects, expanding what we
mean by the ‘project’ to consider multi-project contexts within a firm, inter-firm
coordination of projects and project ecologies. In so doing, Söderlund (2004b) and
other critical scholars (e.g. Winter et al., 2006, Cicmil et al., 2006, and; Hodgson and
Cicmil 2007) extended the narrow conceptualisation of the ‘project’, and went
beyond instrumental approaches of addressing execution problems in the project life
cycle found in much earlier scholarship. As Hodgson and Cicmil (2007) famously
argued, the question lies not in “What is a project?”, but “What do we do when we
call something “a project”?” (p. 432). In a similar vein, Cicmil et al. (2006) stressed
that project management practice is “a social conduct, defined by history, context,
individual values and wider structural frameworks” (p. 676; original emphasis).
In questioning the contours of what constitutes the ‘project’, and in shifting the focus
on the lived experiences as opposed to the laws of project management, these critical
scholars opened up the study of project management beyond the confines of
operational research and engineering principles of planning and control. A corollary
of this is the broadening of the relevance of project management scholarship to the
wider fields of management and organisational studies in the academy (see e.g.
Söderlund, 2004b; Kwak and Anbari, 2009, and; Jacobsson et al., 2015). Indeed,
Söderlund (2011) reviewed 305 articles and categorised project management
scholarship into seven ‘schools of thought’ (see also Söderlund and Maylor, 2012).
Marshall and Bresnen (2013), by reinterpreting the narratives of Brunel’s Thames
Tunnel, offered alternative discourses that transcended the techno-rational, planning
approach; apart from the planning discourse, Marshall and Bresnen viewed the
Thames Tunnel from the perspectives of messy practices of muddling through; a
constellation that connected people, things and ideas; a negotiation of power
relations, and; a societal construction.
These alternative conceptualisations and ‘schools of thought’ characterise

contemporary scholarship of project management which was, as Jacobsson et al.
(2015) suggested, borne out of “a reaction to PMI being a dominating institution in
terms of providing guidelines, […] prescriptions and tools” (p. 11). Lenfle and Loch
(2010) put it strongly as they argued that focussing exclusively on engineering-
execution brings damage to the project management discipline because such
3
normative approach denies companies “a powerful weapon in innovating and
evolving strategy” (p. 49). Lenfle and Loch (2010) added that “companies do apply
trial-and-error and parallel approaches in their novel projects because they have no
choice, but in doing so they go against their professional PM training rather than
being supported by it” (ibid.; original emphasis).
Thus, in theorising project management, there appears to be a debate generated

between two main camps of scholars. On the one hand, there are those calling for a
unified, general theory of project management; on the other hand, there are those
who take the view that project management can be viewed from multiple theoretical
lenses. This debate is, by no means, settled. Pinto and Winch (2016), for instance,
while acknowledging the tussle between those who favour the emergence of a single
theory and those who see project management knowledge as pluralistic, maintained
that the “[a]rticulation of the discipline as a whole requires a coherent theoretical
perspective on the discipline, otherwise bodies of knowledge become mere lists of
areas and sub-areas of knowledge with little insight into how the areas link to form a
coherent set of competencies and how their relative importance varies contingently”
(p. 241). It is this tension between the universal (objective) and the particular
(subjective) that we turn to the next section, in which more recent practice-based
based scholarship is reviewed.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICE BEYOND MODERN AND
POSTMODERN PERSPECTIVES
In a recent call to reconnect theory and practice in project management, Bredillet et
al. (2015) contrasted between the modern and postmodern turns in project
management. The former depicted by early formulations of project management
theory focuses on answering the question of what (best) practice is, while the latter
characterised by a growing body of critical scholarship considers the multiple
realities of what practitioners do. Put another way, whereas the modernist turn
produces objective knowledge about the rules of project management practices, the
postmodernist turn places more emphasis on the subjective, situated context of what
goes on when doing projects.
A practice-based approach provides a useful vantage point for breaking free from the
object-subject (Cartesian) duality (e.g. Bjørkeng et al., 2009; Bredillet et al., 2015,
and; van der Hoorn and Whitty, 2015). As Bjørkeng et al. (2009), drawing on the
phenomenologist Alfred Schütz, noted, “no practice can be understood outside its
intersubjectively created meaning and motive, which […] are socially reinforced,
constructed and ascribed” (p. 146). They added that practices “reduce the scope and
ordering power of a disembodied, asocial and acontextual (Cartesian) concept of
reason by reconceptualising reason as a practice phenomenon […] grounded in what
members find it normal to do. Thus, practice defines its own rationality” (ibid.).
There is a contemporary movement in project management scholarship that focusses

on the lived experiences of project management practitioners. Rather than to take as
given the primacy of rules and guidelines, more recent practice-based scholarship
4
opens up the inquiry to question how practitioners do and make do (improvise upon)
these rules. As de Certeau (1984) in The Practice of Everyday Life assert, an
emphasis on everyday practices calls into doubt the common assumption that
practitioners are “passive and guided by established rules” (p. xi). Nicolini (2012)
also stressed that practice precedes any theory (or theorising), as he argued
“Mundane everydayness thus becomes the received, yet necessarily indeterminate,

cultural manifold within which we are all immersed, and which meaningfully discloses
our world by way of our own un-theorized, everyday practical coping strategies […]
Practice is therefore ‘prior’ to representation. Everydayness is always already a holistic
affair and is experience as gestalt, i.e. as a meaningful whole.” (p. 35)
Nicolini (2012) traced the origins of practice-based theories, and noted that the
separation between theory and practice stemmed from classical Greek philosophy,
most notably the work of Plato, which has shaped the Western tradition. Within such
a frame, theory rules over practice, “[e]very action would in fact be conceived as the
application of general, calculable, precise, and truthful principles, while reference to
universals, such as to the universal pure idea of ‘good’, would make it always
possible to choose the best course of action” (p. 24). Nicolini (2012: 28) added that
the demotion of practice in this Western tradition is signified in differentiating
between thinkers and doers, for “[t]hose who carry out a life of contemplation are
already in contact with the divine while the many others who live a life of practice
should expect ‘contemplation’ as the ultimate reward in the afterlife.”
A practice-based approach seeks to correct the false dichotomy between thinking

(theory) and doing (practice). Much contemporary scholarship and interest into
practice-based approach owes much to the writings of Marx (see Bjørkeng et al.,
2009, and; Nicolini, 2012), who regarded thought and world as
“always connected through human activity and therefore cannot be separated: on the
one hand, man is always an actor and a produced; on the other hand, thinking is only
one of the things people do, together with running, fighting, making love, and so on.”
(Nicolini, 2012: 30)
Thus, a practice-based approach views practice and knowledge as cut out of the same
cloth. For de Certeau (1984: 69), practical “know-how (savoir-faire) finds itself
slowly deprived of what objectively articulated it with respect to a “how-to-do” (un
faire). […] Thus know-how takes on the appearance of an “intuitive” or “reflex”
ability, which is almost invisible and whose status remains unrecognized.” A classic
example used to illustrate this lies in the practice of hammering a nail; one does not
need to think and articulate the objects ‘hammer’ or ‘nail’ prior to applying such
thinking in the action of hammering a nail. Thus, a practice turn emphasises the
emergent, unconscious and spontaneous, where thinking and doing are recursively
intertwined in real time (Bredillet et al., 2015). As Bjørkeng et al. (2009) stressed,
practice signifies “how we achieve active being-in-the-world” (p. 146).
In Pierre Bourdieu’s (1977) Theory of Practice, this active being-in-the world is

encapsulated in the notion of habitus. As Askland et al. (2013) explained, habitus
5
helps us understand “the concept of culturally conditioned agency” (p. 120), and
describes “enduring, learnt and embodied principles and dispositions for action”
(ibid.). Räisänen and Löwstedt (2014), also drawing on Bourdieu, explained that
“practice is a dynamic interplay between past and present, individual and collective,
and between contexts of culture and contexts of situation” (p. 125); in this way “[t]he
objective and the subjective are fluid, continuously interacting and relational” (ibid.).
Rather than to treat practice as a result of compliance with rules and guidelines,
“habitus is better conceived as a way of knowing inscribed in bodies, acquired mostly

during upbringing […] as a by-product of participation in daily activities largely without
raising it to the level of discourse. In this sense, it is clear that for Bourdieu habitus is
not a way of understanding the world as much as a way of being in the world.”
(Nicolini, 2012: 56)
Pierre Bourdieu’s habitus has its roots from Aristotle’s idea of phronesis, crudely
translated as practical wisdom (Flyvbjerg, 2006). According to Flyvbjerg (2006),
phronesis makes up one of three intellectual virtues, the other two being episteme (or
scientific knowledge) and techne (pragmatic craft). As Bredillet et al. (2015) assert,
practice or theory alone is not sufficient. What matters is deliberate action in
context. Such deliberate action involves the passing of value judgements, or
phronesis (Flyvbjerg, 2006). Thus, Bredillet et al. (2015) argued that, in the heat of
the battle between universal theory and practices in particular contexts, it is
important never to lose sight of practical wisdom that is accumulated through
knowledge in and from practice. In laying the foundation of practice-relevant
scholarship, Antonacopoulou (2010) was keen to move beyond the labels ‘scholar’
and ‘practitioner’, preferring to consider the proposition that “we are all
practitioners” (p. 221). Rather than to co-produce knowledge between scholars
(thinkers) and practitioners (doers), Antonacopoulou (2010) urged for all
practitioners to become co-researchers. She suggested that practice-relevant
scholarship involved the dynamic interplay between practice that generates
purposeful action, phronesis (or practical wisdom) that is the result of reflexive
critique, and the practitioner who is constantly learning to connect practice and
theory. It is to this end that we offer the Professional Doctorate Programme in
Project Management as a way of accomplishing practice-relevant scholarship.
CLOSING REMARKS: RECONNECTING THEORY AND PRACTICE
THROUGH THE PROFESSIONAL DOCTORATE PROGRAMME
A brief outline has so far been presented on historical developments of project
management as a field and the roles played by theory and practice. This salient
review highlighted the shift away from the pursuit of normative, prescriptive theories
that offer ‘how-to-do’ guides to project management, towards emphasising the lived
experiences of what project management practitioners do. Despite this move from
the universal to the particular, the checklists and critical success factors type research
still prevail in the field. Consequently, Reich et al. (2013) bemoaned that “[…]
much project management research is “mired in the middle”, neither sufficiently
rigorous for the academy nor sufficiently insightful for practitioners” (p. 938). The
research dismissed by Reich et al. (2013) would fit what Van de Ven (2007) termed
6
as “unengaged or disengaged studies” (p. 273); such studies tend to raise questions
without evidence of their prevalence in practice, rely on a single theoretical model
without consideration of alternatives, be based on research design that took the
researcher out of the practical context, and bore little impact on practice.
In moving beyond the theory (episteme) – practice (techne) divide, the preceding
section highlighted a need to draw on practice-based approaches to bring to the fore
how practitioners deliberate in action using what is known as practical wisdom
(phronesis). It is in this vein that the Professional Doctorate Programme in Project
Management at Manchester is designed. This programme, to be launched in 2016,
builds on the success of the Project Management Professional Development
Programme (PMPDP), which has been running for over 15 years with some evidence
that indicate the transformative power graduates have in becoming effective change
agents in the workplace as a result (see Alam et al., 2008). The experience from the
PMPDP has illustrated how blending academic research and on-the-job practice can
benefit not only the delegate attending the programme, but also act as a powerful
means of introducing effective organisational change at the workplace. While
organisations have conventionally made use of consultants as a way of seeking
external validation to their problem-solving approaches, there is evidence to show
that such an approach often leads to failure because these consultants are normally
seen as operating externally to the organisation (see Czarniawska and Mazza, 2003).
Thus, the Professional Doctorate Programme provides a platform for practitioners to
become ‘co-researchers’ (Antonacopoulou, 2010) in order to produce knowledge
from and in action (Bredillet et al., 2015) through the interplay of purposeful action,
reflexive critique and learning to connect between theory and practice.
As far as it is known, there is currently no provision for the Professional Doctorate

Programme on a blended, part-time basis. The closest model in the field is hosted in
the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, where the
Doctorate Programme in Project Management requires applicants to have around 8
years’ of relevant professional experience (see Bredillet et al., 2013). However, the
RMIT programme allows students to undertaken research on a full-time basis,
thereby removing the researcher from everyday industrial practice while doing the
doctoral studies. The Professional Doctorate Programme in Project Management is
distinctive in that the researchers are full-time employees working in their day jobs
and building their research around real-life problems in such practical contexts. This
would allow them to pursue engaged scholarship (see Van de Ven, 2007) over a
sustained period of time (~4-6 years), and to approach their practical project
management problem in a holistic and critical way (see Packendorff, 2013).
Instead of theory before practice, delegates on the Professional Doctorate Programme

in Project Management are first and foremost practitioners who engage with ongoing
reflection and theorising. To enable delegates to learn to connect between theory and
practice, and to reflexively critique their purpose and actions, delegates will undergo
eight residential taught sessions over the course of their research. These residential
sessions principally provide the space and guidance for delegates to develop their
7
research-in-writing process, so that they can reflect and articulate continuously on
the practical and academic impacts achieved through their everyday practice. It is
hoped that these sessions would facilitate the practice-relevant scholarship that
Antonacopoulou (2010) called for. The eight sessions are summarised below:
• Introduction to the doctoral research process: this session covers basic

information as to what constitutes a doctoral level achievement, ongoing debates
around the concept of ‘doctorateness’, the typical life cycle of the doctorate
degree programme, managing the relationship between and expectations of the
supervisor(s) and the doctoral researcher, work-life-PhD balance and wellbeing.
• Managing research and development, and innovation in business: this session
allows delegates to critically reflect on how business organisations manage
research and development, creativity and innovation. The purpose is to get
delegates to think about the relevance of their doctoral research projects within the
context of managing R&D and innovation in their respective firms.
• Academic writing (1) The literature: this session is one of a series of sessions
aimed at getting delegates to critically reflect on their reading and writing. The
session will cover the importance and relevance of the literature to the research
process, and offer guidance as to how delegates can go about critically reviewing
articles for the purpose of framing their research problem and contribution.
Delegates will also explore what constitutes an academic discipline or field of
study, and how the politics of academic disciplines and fields can influence the
reading and reviewing of the literature.
• Engaged scholarship: this session introduces the concept of ‘engaged
scholarship’, and situates the discussion on contemporary concerns with research
impacts, the debate on relevance versus rigour, and the challenges of co-
production research. The session will also cover a range of methodological
approaches that can facilitate engaged scholarship, through e.g. action research,
ethnographic research (including autoethnographies) and case study research. The
purpose of this session is to introduce delegates to a range of methodological
approaches that are compatible with undertaking research at the workplace.
• Research ethics: undertaking research at such an involved level in the workplace
can be ethically problematic. The purpose is to get delegates to reflect on the
ethical implications of their work and to explore how thinking about research
ethics can improve the framing of questions and dissemination of results.
Principles such as voluntary participation and informed consent, ‘do no harm’,
confidentiality, and dilemmas of representation will be covered.
• Academic writing (2) The role of theory and interesting questions: what is theory
and how might theory help in delivering practical impacts of research? This
session focuses on the role of theory and why theory is important not only for the
PhD but also for framing interesting research questions (e.g. Hällgren, 2012).
• Research objects: this session plays on the word ‘object’, and is intended to get
delegates to reflect on the range of objects they produce as part of the doctoral
research process. These objects could include the research aims and objectives,
the end-of-year progression reports, the thesis, the briefing notes that they produce
to demonstrate the research impacts to their line managers, research articles
8
presented in a conference or published in a peer-reviewed journal, PowerPoint
presentations of their research delivered at the workplace or professional network,
research data (e.g. interview transcripts, audio/video recordings…), and so on.
The purpose is to get delegates to reflect on the range of stuff (or objects) they
produce and the power of these objects in making a difference at the workplace.
Delegates will also reflect on who stands to gain and lose from the research.
• Academic writing (3) Writing retreat: in the final session, delegates will be able to
go through a two to three-day academic writing retreat. Delegates will prepare a
short paper based on their preliminary findings and theoretical framing. The
session is intended to help delegates appreciate the intricacies of academic
writing, which will help them in structuring the thesis.
REFERENCES
Alam, M., Gale, A., Brown, M. and Kidd, C. (2008) The development and delivery of an
industry led project management professional development programme: a case study in
project management education and success management. International Journal of Project
Management, 26(3), 223-237.
Antonacopoulou, E. P. (2010) Beyond co-production: Practice-relevant scholarship as a
foundation for delivering impact through powerful ideas. Public Money and
Management, 30(4), 219-226.
Askland, H. H., Gajendran, T. and Brewer, G. (2013) Project organizations as organizational
fields: Expanding the level of analysis through Pierre Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice.
Engineering Project Organization Journal, 3(2), 116-126.
Bjørkeng, K., Clegg, S. and Pitsis, T. (2009) Becoming (a) practice. Management Learning,
40(2), 145-149.
Bourdieu, P. (1977) Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Bredillet, C. N., Conboy, K., Davidson, P. and Walker, D. (2013) The getting of wisdom:
The future of PM education in Australia. International Journal of Project Management,
31(8), 1072-1088.
Bredillet, C. N., Tywoniak, S. and Dwivedula, R. (2015) Reconnecting theory and practice in
pluralistic contexts: issues and Aristotelian considerations. Project Management Journal,
46(2), 6-20.
Cicmil, S., Williams, T., Thomas, J. and Hodgson, D. (2006) Rethinking project
management: Researching the actuality of projects. International Journal of Project
Management, 24(8), 675-686.
Czarniawska, B. and Mazza, C. (2003) Consulting as a liminal space. Human Relations,
56(3), 267-290.
de Certeau, M. (1984) The Practice of Everday Life. Translated by S. F. Rendall. Berkeley,
California: University of California Press.
Flyvbjerg, B. (2006) Making organization research matter: Power, values, and phronesis. In:
S. R. Clegg, C. Hardy, T. B. Lawrence and W. R. Nord (Eds.) The Sage Handbook of
Organization Studies, 2nd Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. pp. 370-387.
Garel, G. (2013) A history of project management models: From pre-models to the standard
models. International Journal of Project Management, 31(5), 663-669.
Hällgren, M. (2012) The construction of research questions in project management.
International Journal of Project Management, 30(7), 804-816.
Hodgson, D. and Cicmil, S. (2007) The politics of standards in modern management: making
‘The Project’ a reality. Journal of Management Studies, 44(3), 431-450.
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Jacobsson, M., Lundin, R. A. and Söderholm, A. (2015) Researching projects and theorizing
families of temporary organizations. Project Management Journal, 46(5), 9-18.
Koskela, L. and Howell, G. (2002) The underlying theory of project management is obsolete.
Proceedings of the PMI Research Conference, 293-302.
Kwak, Y. H. and Anbari, F. T. (2009) Analyzing project management research: Perspectives
from top management journals. International Journal of Project Management, 27(5),
435-446.
Lenfle, S. and Loch, C. (2010) Lost roots: How project management came to emphasize
control over flexibility and novelty. California Management Review, 53(1), 32-55.
Marshall, N. and Bresnen, M. (2013) Tunnel vision? Brunel’s Thames Tunnel and project
narratives. International Journal of Project Management, 31(5), 692-704.
Morris, P. (2013a) Reconstructing project management reprised: A knowledge perspective.
Project Management Journal, 44(5), 6-23.
Morris, P. (2013b) The trajectory of project management: Why EPOS is important.
Engineering Project Organization Journal, 3(2), 66-70.
Nicolini, D. (2012) Practice Theory, Work and Organization: An introduction. Oxford:
University of Oxford Press.
Packendorff, J. (2013) Should project management get carried away?: On the unfinished
business of critical project studies. In: R. A. Lundin and M. Hällgren (Eds.) Advancing
Research on Projects and Temporary Organisations. Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business
School Press.
Pinto, J. K. and Winch, G. (2016) The unsettling of “settled science:” The past and future of
the management of projects. International Journal of Project Management, 34(2), 237-
245.
Räisänen, C. and Löwstedt, M. (2014) Stakes and struggles in liminal spaces: Construction
practitioners interacting with management-consultants. Engineering Project Organization
Journal, 4(2-3), 123-133.
Reich, B. H., Liu, L., Sauer, C., Bannerman, P., Cicmil, S., Cooke-Davies, T., Gemino, A.,
Hobbs, B., Maylor, H., Messikomer, C., Pasian, B., Semeniuk, M. and Thomas, J. (2013)
Developing better theory about project organizations. International Journal of Project
Management, 31(7), 938-942.
Söderlund, J. (2004a) Building theories of project management: Past research, questions for
the future. International Journal of Project Management, 22(3), 183-191.
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model for analysis. International Journal of Project Management, 22(8), 655-667.
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specialization and fragmentation. International Journal of Management Reviews, 13(2),
153-176.
Söderlund, J. and Maylor, H. (2012) Project management scholarship: Relevance, impact
and five integrative challenges for business and management schools. International
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Van de Ven, A. H. (2007) Engaged Scholarship: A guide for organizational and social
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van der Hoorn, B. and Whitty, S. (2015) A Heideggerian paradigm for project management:
Breaking free of the disciplinary matrix and its Cartesian ontology. International Journal
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International Journal of Project Management, 24(8), 638-649.
10
Rare Event Simulation-based Operational Safety Analysis for Complex
Technological Projects: A Literature Review
Qianli Deng, Adiel Komey, Gregory B. Baecher*
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742-3021, U.S.
*Corresponding author: Dr. Gregory B. Baecher
Tel.: +1 202 285 3902
E-mail address: [email protected]
Abstract
Natural hazards such as hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes in most cases hold very small
probabilities of happening during a project life. Yet, evaluating the effects of such hazards on the
of complex technological systems operation such as hydropower facilities or chemical processing
plants requires prohibitively large numbers of calculations and significant computational resources.
In order to address these safety issues with efficient computational resource consumption, rare
event simulation techniques are widely adopted. This study reviews the past research on the
simulation of rare events with very small probabilities of occurrence. These techniques not only
help to accelerate the computation speed, but also increase the estimation accuracy. In the study,
two major rare event simulation techniques, importance sampling and splitting, are categorized
and compared with their respective advantages and disadvantages. Applications of them are also
summarized, especially for the safety management of such complex technological projects. Finally,
detailed reviews of the dam-reservoir systems are presented, which serves as the case study
demonstrating effectiveness of rare event simulation for complex project operations.
1
1. Introduction
Monte Carlo simulation is a computerized mathematical technique that allows people to account
for risk in quantitative analysis and decision making. To be more specific, Monte Carlo methods
present a broad class of computational algorithms that rely on repeated random sampling to obtain
numerical results (Kalos and Whitlock 2008; Liu 2008). Monte Carlo simulation performs risk
analysis by building models of possible results by substituting a range of values, a probability
distribution, for any factor that has inherent uncertainty. The results are calculated repetitively
each time using a different set of random values from the probability functions. Depending upon
the number of uncertainties and the ranges specified for them, a Monte Carlo simulation could
involve thousands or tens of thousands of recalculations before it would be complete. Based on
the possible outcome values, distributions of the final results could be reached.
Monte Carlo methods are widely used because of their flexibility and robustness. The
modern version of the Monte Carlo method was first invented in the late 1940s by Stanislaw Ulam
on the nuclear weapons projects at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (Cooper et al. 1989).
Immediately after Ulam's breakthrough, John von Neumann understood its importance and
programmed the Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer to carry out Monte Carlo
calculations (Neumann 2005). In engineering, Monte Carlo methods are widely used for sensitivity
analysis and quantitative probabilistic analysis in process design. The need of such application
arises from the interactive, co-linear and non-linear behaviors of typical process simulations
(Roebuck 2012). Analytical solutions or accurate approximations are only available for a very
restricted class of simple systems. These techniques are used by professionals in such widely
disparate fields as finance, project management, energy, manufacturing, engineering, research and
development, insurance, oil & gas, transportation, and the environment. In most cases, engineering
systems need to resort to simulation.
However, significant computational resources are usually required in the simulation to

reach the satisfied results (Bucklew 2004). Otherwise, long wait times or buffer overflows might
occur. For a discrete system of moderate complexity, there are a large number of possible system
states combinations. As is often the case, estimation of the probability of failure and consequences
of any given system state involves computationally expensive simulation. It is commonly
infeasible to analyze all possible states as the resources required (Dawson and Hall 2006).
2
In order to address the potential project safety issues with efficient computational resources
consumption, this study reviews past research on the rare event simulation methodologies, as well
as their application. The remaining paper is structured as follows: in Section 2, previous rare event
simulation methodologies, including importance sampling and splitting, are reviewed. Then,
Section 3 presents the corresponding applications in both engineering projects and projects in other
fields. In Section 4, detailed reviews on the dam-reservoir systems are presented, which serve as
the case study demonstrating effectiveness of rare event simulation for complex project operations.
Conclusions are presented in Section 5.
2. Methodology of Rare Event Simulation
Rare event simulation and quantification come from the need to insure that undesirable events will
not occur. Typically, such an event is the failure of industrial critical systems, for which failure is
regarded as a massive catastrophic situation. Usually the system is a “black box” whose output
determines safety or failure domains (Walter and Defaux 2015). A great deal of attention has been
focused on the development of Monte Carlo techniques. Today, the rare event simulation
applications range from lightwave and optical communication systems (Smith et al. 1997), to
industrial routing problems (Chepuri and Homem-de-Mello 2005), and to financial asset pricing
(Chan and Wong 2015). According to Bucklew (2004) and Rubino and Tuffin (2009), a rare event
means an event that occurs infrequently with a very small probability, but is important enough to
justify the study. Rare event simulation is thus an umbrella term for a group of computer simulation
methods intended to selectively sample ‘special’ regions of the dynamic space of systems that are
unlikely to visit those special regions through brute-force simulation (Juneja and Shahabuddin
2002). Based on the hazard-rate twisting method, Huang and Shahabuddin (2004) discussed a
general approach to estimate rare-event probabilities in static problems.
Importance sampling and splitting are the two primary techniques to make important rare
events happen more frequently in a simulation (L’Ecuyer et al. 2006). The unbiased estimator is
obtained with much smaller variance than the standard Monte Carlo estimator. Comparisons of
their respective advantages and disadvantages are presented in Table 1 below.
Table 1. Comparisons of Importance Sampling and Splitting
3
Methodology Description Drawback
Importance sampling increases the The main difficulty in general is

probability of the rare event by changing the to find a good way to change the
Importance probability laws that drive the evolution of probability laws.
sampling the system. Then, it multiplies the estimator
by an appropriate likelihood ratio to recover
the correct expectation.
In the splitting method, the probability laws Fewer variables are necessary to
remain unchanged, but an artificial drift describe the system as a Markov
toward the rare event is created by system, the better the splitting
terminating with some probability the method will work. The
Splitting trajectories that go away from it and by dimensionality of the state space
splitting those that are going in the right negatively influences the
direction. In general, an unbiased estimator performance of the splitting
is recovered by multiplying the original method.
estimator by an appropriate factor.
2.1 Principles of Importance Sampling
Importance sampling has been extensively investigated by the simulation community in the last
decade, which serves as one of the general approaches for speeding up simulations and to
accelerate the occurrence of rare events. The basic ideas behind importance sampling were
outlined by Kahn and Marshall (1953). Certain values of the input random variables in a simulation
have more impact on the parameter being estimated than on others. If these values are emphasized
by sampling more frequently, then the estimator variance can be reduced to a better accepted level.
Hence, the basic methodology in importance sampling is to choose a distribution that encourages
the important values, and to estimate the probability of interest via a corresponding likelihood ratio
estimator. Illustration of importance sampling-based simulation is shown in Figure 1. The
simulation outputs are weighted to correct for the use of the biased distribution, and this ensures
that the new importance sampling estimator is unbiased. The weight is given by the likelihood
ratio, that is, the Radon–Nikodym derivative of the true underlying distribution with respect to the
biased simulation distribution.
4
0.35
Probability to estimate
0.3
PDF of original random variable
PDF of IS random variable
0.25
Probability density
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
-10 -5 0 5 10 15
Values of random variable

Figure 1. Graphical Illustration of Importance Sampling-Based Simulation
A considerable amount of past research has been devoted to the study of importance
sampling techniques in simulation, in particular for rare-event simulation. Based on Glynn and
Iglehart’s (1989) research, the importance sampling idea was extended to the problems arising in
the simulation of stochastic systems. Discrete-time Markov chains, continuous-time Markov
chains, and generalized semi-Markov processes were covered. Shahabuddin (1995) also reviewed
fast simulation techniques used for estimating probabilities of rare events and related quantities in
different types of stochastic models. Based on the importance sampling technique, multiple
variance reduction tools for solving rare event problems could also be found in varied areas (Ding
and Chen 2013; Jacquemart and Morio 2013; Morio et al. 2010, 2013).
To be specific, Equation (1) is adopted in order to estimate the rare event probability
through the importance sampling-based Monte Carlo simulation.
( )
N IS
1
=lÎS E=
I{ S ( X ) ≥ h f }
N IS
∑I
j =1
j{ S ( X ) ≥ h f } , (1)
where lÎS stands for the importance sampling Monte Carlo simulation estimator; E (⋅) stands for
the function of expectation value; h f stands for the cutting value of the probability estimation; I (⋅)
stands for the indicator function with binary values in [0, 1]; i stands for the index of simulation
iterations; and N IS stands for the iteration of simulation.
5
As discussed before, N IS needs to be very large in order to achieve an estimation of l
within the acceptable confidence intervals. Importance sampling replaces the probability density
function from f (⋅) to g (⋅) as a new probability density. Detailed information is presented in
Equations (2) and (3).
=g ( x) I=
{S ( x )≥ h f } f ( x) 0 , (2)
where g (⋅) stands for the probability density function of the replaced random variables; I (⋅) stands
for the indicator function with binary values in [0,1]; and f (⋅) stands for the probability density
function of the original random variables.
f ( x)
W ( x) = , (3)
g ( x)
where W (⋅) stands for the likelihood ratio function; f (⋅) stands for the probability density
function of the original random variables; and g (⋅) is the importance sampling density, which
stands for the probability density function of the replaced random variables.
As a result, the original random variable { X (t )} with probability density function of f (⋅)
is replaced by the updated random variable {Y (t )} with a probability density function of g (⋅) .
Detailed information is shown in Equation (4) below.
f ( x)
l = ∫ I{ S ( X i ) ≥ h f } g ( x)dx
g ( x)
, (4)
 f ( y) 
= E=
g  I{ S ( Y ) ≥ h f }  Eg  I{S (Y )≥ h f }W ( y ) 
 g ( y ) 
where l stands for probability for rare event simulation; I (⋅) stands for the indicator function with
binary values in [0,1]; W (⋅) stands for the likelihood ratio function; f (⋅) stands for the probability
density function of the original random variables; g (⋅) stands for the probability density function
of the replaced random variables; and Eg (⋅) stands for the expectation function of importance
sampling Monte Carlo estimation.
Thus, an updated unbiased estimator of l is shown in Equation (5) below.
6
1 N IS f ( y) 1 N IS
=lÎS
=
=
N
∑ I j { S (Y ) ≥ h f }
g ( y ) N
∑ I j{S (Y )≥ h f }W ( y ) , (5)
IS j 1 = IS j 1
where lÎS stands for the probability estimation based on importance sampling-based Monte Carlo
simulation; N IS stands for the iteration times; I (⋅) stands for the indicator function with binary
values in [0,1]; W (⋅) stands for the likelihood ratio function; f (⋅) stands for the probability
density function of the original random variables; and g (⋅) stands for the probability density
function of the replaced random variables.
2.2 Principles of Splitting
The splitting methodology was first invented to improve the efficiency of simulations of particle
transport in nuclear physics. It is used to estimate the intensity of radiation that penetrates a shield
of absorbing material (Booth 1985; Booth and Hendricks 1984; Booth and Pederson 1992). Then,
these areas remain as the splitting method primary area of application. Splitting is also used to
estimate delay time distributions and losses in ATM and TCP/IP telecommunication networks
(Akin and Townsend 2001; Görg and Fuss 1999). In a recent real-life application, splitting was
used to estimate the probability that two airplanes get closer than a nominal separation distance,
or even hit each other, in a stochastic dynamic model of air traffic where aircrafts are responsible
for self-separation with each other (Blom et al. 2005).
The splitting method is based on the idea to iteratively estimate supersets of the designed
set and then to estimate the corresponding probability with conditional probabilities. Assume that
we want to compute the probability P ( D) of an event set D . The general idea for splitting is to
find a series of event sets D = D0 ⊂ D1 ⊂ ... ⊂ Dm . Then, the calculation of P( D) is successfully
transformed into P( D) = P ( Dm ) P ( Dm −1 | Dm )...P ( D0 | D1 ) , where each conditional event isnot rare.
Illustration of splitting based simulation is shown in Figure 2.
7
D3
D2
D1
D
Figure 2. Graphical Illustration of Splitting Based Simulation
For ∀Di −1 ⊂ Di , where i = 1, 2,..., m , Equation (6) stands for the calculation relations of
conditional probabilities. Here, every j satisfies m ≥ i > j .
P ( D j ∩ Di ) P ( D j ) i −1
P ( D=
j | Di ) = = ∏p , (6)
P ( Di ) P ( Di )
k
k= j
where pk stands for the conditional probability of P ( Dk −1 | Dk ) . As a result, the rare event
probability is transformed to the following calculation shown in Equation (7).
m
l = ∏ pi , (7)
i =1
where l stands for probability for rare event.
Let us define the decreasing sequence of subsets Di where i = 0,1,..., m . Then, the
corresponding rare event probability estimation is shown in Equation (8) below.
m m
Ri Rm
=
lˆSP ∏
= pˆ i ∏n = , (8)
∏
m −1
=i 1 =i 1 R i −1 i −1 ni
i =0
where Ri stands for the simulated values. Then, the estimator for the probability of reaching the
highest level shown in Equaiton (9).
 m  m m
(lˆSP ) E  ∏=
E= pˆ i  ∏ E=( pˆ i ) ∏
= pi l , (9)
=  i 1=  i 1 =i 1
8
3. Applications of Rare Event Simulation on Operational Safety Analysis
3.1 Engineering Projects
Applications of rare event simulation and importance sampling techniques could frequently be
found in the reliability engineering field in past research, in order to reduce simulation expenses
and increase estimation accuracy. According to Alexopoulos and Shultes (2001), importance
sampling in conjunction with regenerative simulation was presented as a promising method for
estimating reliability measures in highly dependable Markov systems. L’Ecuyer and Tuffin (2009)
and Dai et al. (2012) also considered the Markov chain models and simulation to represent the
evolution of multicomponent systems in reliability settings. This is based on dynamic importance
sampling and the probability that a given set of nodes was connected in a graph where each link
was failed with a given probability. According to Au and Beck (1999), an adaptive importance
sampling methodology was proposed to compute the multidimensional integrals encountered in
reliability analysis. In the proposed methodology, samples were simulated, as the states of a
Markov chain, and then they were distributed asymptotically according to the optimal importance
sampling density. Importance sampling was also adopted in structural reliability analysis (Dawson
and Hall 2006; Grooteman 2008). The case studies proposed demonstrated that the risk could be a
complex function of loadings, the resistance and interactions of system components and the
spatially variable damage associated with different modes of system failure.
Severe blackouts due to cascading failures in the electric grid are rare but catastrophic.
Consequently, the power system becomes another application focus that rare event simulation and
importance sampling concentrated on. Belmudes et al. (2008) proposed an approach for identifying
rare events that may endanger power system integrity. The approach was also illustrated on the
IEEE 30 bus test system when instability mechanisms related to static voltage security were
considered. Wang et al. (2011) also presented an effective rare-event simulation technique to
estimate the blackout probability. An IEEE-bus electric network was chosen as the application
case, and the most vulnerable link in the electric grid was detected, which has the highest
probability of leading to a blackout event. Besides, power system security analysis is often strongly
tied to contingency analysis. With variable generation sources such as wind power and due to fast
changing loads, power system security analysis has to incorporate sudden changes in injected
9
powers that are not due to generational outages. Perninge et al. (2012) used importance sampling
for injected-power simulation to estimate the probability of system failure, given a power system
grid state. A comparison to standard crude Monte Carlo simulation was also performed in a
numerical example and it indicated a major increase in simulation efficiency.
3.2 Projects of other fields
Monte Carlo techniques and rare event simulation are also widely used in many other fields.
In financial engineering, the accurate measurement of credit risk is often a rare-event simulation
problem because default probabilities are low for highly rated obligors and because risk
management is particularly concerned with rare but significant losses resulting from a large
number of defaults. To solve these problems, Bassamboo et al. (2008) derived sharp asymptotics
for portfolio credit risk that illustrated the implications of extremal dependence among obligors.
Importance-sampling algorithms were then developed to efficiently compute portfolio credit risk
via Monte Carlo simulation. Glasserman and Li (2005) also provided an importance sampling
procedure for the widely used normal copula model of portfolio credit risk. The procedure had two
parts: one that applied the importance sampling conditional on a set of common factors affecting
multiple obligors, and the other that applied importance sampling to the factors themselves. The
relative importance of the two parts of the procedure was determined by the strength of the
dependence between obligors. Besides, in the queueing system, Blanchet and Lam (2014)
developed rare-event simulation methodology for the analysis of loss events in a many-server loss
system under the quality-driven regime. Heidelberger (1995) also surveyed efficient techniques
via simulation for estimating the probabilities of certain rare events. In operational systems, Bee
(2009) used importance sampling to estimate tail probabilities for a finite sum of lognormal
distributions. And, in public health, Clemencon et al. (2013) focused, in the context of epidemic
models, on rare events that might possibly correspond to crisis situations. In biochemical systems,
Kuwahara and Mura (2008) proposed an efficient stochastic simulation method to analyze
deviations from highly controlled normal behavior in biochemical systems.
4. Case Study on Dam-Reservoir Systems
Dam-reservoir systems are a critical component of water infrastructure, providing services such as
water, power, flood control, recreation, and many economic possibilities (Vedachalam and Riha
2014). The successful performance of a dam-reservoir system depends on the aggregate
10
satisfactory performance that prevents a failure and uncontrolled release of the reservoir. However,
hundreds of dam failures have occurred throughout U.S. history that have caused immense
property and environmental damage and have taken thousands of lives. Take the Lawn Lake Dam
failure of 1982, for instance. The sudden release of 849,000 m3 of water resulted in a flash flood
that killed three people and caused $31 million of damage. In 1996, the Meadow Pond Dam also
failed with big loss. About 350,000 m3 of water was released, and resulted in one fatality, two
injuries, and damage to multiple homes. In 2006, the Ka Loko Dam burst, resulting in a flood that
caused seven fatalities and destroyed several homes. According to the Association of State Dam
Safety Officials (2015), 173 dam failures and 587 incidents were reported from January 2005
through June 2013 by the state dam safety programs. Dam failures are not particularly common,
but continue to occur (Baecher et al., 2011). The number of dams identified as unsafe is also
increasing at a faster rate than those being repaired, as dam age and population increase. In the
future, the potential for deadly dam failures will continue to grow.
Potential failure modes for dam-reservoir systems were explored by researchers.

Overtopping is one of the most common failure modes for the dam-reservoir systems with
significant consequences. According to national statistics, overtopping due to inadequate spillway
design, debris blockage of spillways, or settlement of the dam crest account for approximately 34%
of all U.S. dam failures (Association of State Dam Safety Officials 2015). Other causes include
piping, seepage, internal erosion (Curt et al. 2010), and inadequate maintenance. A similar
proportion has also been concluded by Kuo et al. (2008) and Zhang et al. (2009). In general,
overtopping is the most common failure cause of dam-reservoir systems, particularly for the
homogeneous earth-fill dams and zoned earth-fill dams. Spillways, foundations, and downstream
slopes are the potential locations of the risks. Overtopping flows can erode down through an
embankment dam, releasing the stored waters, potentially in a manner that can cause catastrophic
flooding downstream as well as a total loss of the reservoir.
Due to the stochastic nature of a dam-reservoir system, the dynamics of system operations
and corresponding overtopping risks could be modeled through Monte-Carlo simulation.
According to Wang and Bowles (2006), a simulation-based model was developed on the breach
process at multiple breach locations for a dam with an uneven crest under wind and wave action.
Dewals et al. (2010) also applied the simulation of flows induced by several failure scenarios on a
11
real complex of dams, involving collapse and breaching of dams in cascade. As an output, the
simulation provided emergency planning and risk analysis, including the sequence of successive
overtopping and failures of dams, the time evolution of the flow characteristics at all points of the
reservoirs, hazard maps in the downstream valley as well as hydrographs and limnigraphs at
strategic locations in the valley. Besides, Tsakiris and Spiliotis (2012) also developed an approach
that combined both the simulation and semi-analytical solution, in order to address the dam breach
formation caused by overtopping and the resulting outflow hydrograph. Generalized reservoir
system operation models include HEC-5, which is the most widely used reservoir operation
simulation model, IRIS and IRAS, the SWD SUPER Modeling System, and the WRAP Modeling
System.
4.1 Research Gap
Although applications of Monte Carlo methods range widely from estimating integrals,
minimizing difficult functions, to simulating complex systems, they are generally expensive and
are only applied to problems that are too difficult to handle by deterministic methods. The
overtopping events, in most cases, have very small occurrence probabilities. The standard Monte
Carlo method is not always the most appropriate tool especially when we deal with those rare
events. According to Rani and Moreira (2009), simulation without preliminary screening would
be very time consuming, in view of the very large number of options of configuration, capacity
and operating policy. Dawson and Hall (2006) also pointed out that the computational expense
serves as one of the prohibitive reasons that the simulation technique has not been widely applied
to reservoir operations. Minimizing error rates at a reasonable cost and understanding sources of
errors are consequently important aspects of these practical problems. In order to save the
computational expenses and increase estimation accuracy, rare event simulation has been adopted
for efficient estimation, especially on small probability events. As one of the most common rare
event simulation techniques, importance sampling is involved in many engineering applications in
order to achieve variance reduction.
As an extension of Monte Carlo simulation, the rare event simulation techniques have been
adopted in the dam-reservoir system operation. These researches mostly focus on the critical
factors such as peak inflow rate, which might lead to the overtopping events (Hsu et al. 2010; Sun
et al. 2012). However, overtopping is a complete process. Generally speaking, the water surface
12
elevation in a reservoir is directly tied to the whole storage volume, with either a linear or a
nonlinear relationship based on the reservoir shape. As a result, the stochastic inflow rate
integrated within a certain period of time would change the reservoir storage, assuming there is no
outflow releasing to the system. Overtopping would potentially occur due to the continuous high
inflow volumes, even when the annual peak inflow rate is not extreme. Modeling and simulating
a whole system is thus beneficial to the final overtopping estimation. Correlations between the
inflow rate and the inflow volume are also proven to exist (Goodarzi et al. 2012; Klein et al. 2011;
Poulin 2007).
Although overtopping results in significant consequences, in reality, such events have a

very low possibility of occurrence for a specific dam-reservoir system.. Those events could be
deemed as rare events. Estimation of such rare-event probabilities with crude Monte Carlo
simulation requires a prohibitively large number of trials, where significant computational
resources are required to reach the satisfied estimation results. Otherwise, estimation of the
disturbances would not be accurate enough. Accordingly, computational expense served as one of
the prohibitive reasons that the simulation technique has not been widely applied to the reservoir
operation. Minimizing error rates at a reasonable cost and understanding sources of errors are
consequently important aspects of these practical problems. In order to fill in the research gap, the
rare-event simulation technique is thus needed and plays a critical role in evaluating the
overtopping risks of dam-reservoir systems.
4.2 Future Work
Based on the current study, future efforts could be made through the following two aspects:
1) The reliable performance of dams and their appurtenant systems depends on the
interactions of a large number of natural, engineering, and human systems. More information with
available data resources, such as temperature, rainfall and snowfall, could be considered to be
involved, as well as their inner correlations, in the future. At the same time, more failure modes
would be tracked for the dam-reservoir system through both the crude and importance sampling-
based simulations;
2) High performance computing generally refers to the practice of aggregating computing

power in a way that delivers much higher performance than one could get out of a typical desktop
13
computer or workstation in order to solve large problems in science, engineering, or business. The
University of Maryland has a number of high performance computing resources available for use
by campus researchers requiring compute cycles for parallel codes and applications. Future work
can be done in order to take use of those available computation resources and improve the
simulation accuracy.
5. Conclusions
This study reviews the past research on the simulation of rare events with very small probability
of occurrence. These techniques not only help to accelerate the computation speed, but also
increase the estimation accuracy. In the study, two major rare event simulation techniques,
importance sampling and splitting, are categorized and compared with their respective advantages
and disadvantages. Applications of them are also summarized, especially for the safety
management of such complex technological projects. Finally, detailed reviews on the dam-
reservoir systems are presented, which serve as the case study demonstrating effectiveness of rare
event simulation for complex project operations.
14
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18
Sustainable Implementation of New Technologies:
A Valuation Method for Healthcare Supply Chains
Alexander Mark Ehms, A.S. Business Management, B.S. Business, M.S. Supply
Chain and Operations Management (expected May, 2016)
Email: [email protected]
Abstract
The external environment in which most business exists is volatile,
ambiguous, and ever-evolving. In the wake of the e-commerce evolution, health care
services are adapting to provide online prescription refills, in addition to sharing
patient information using database software and cloud computing. Sustainability is a
key component and critical measure to consider when implementing change and
taking on new projects. Long term sustainability is contingent on supply chain
networks (SCN) working in cooperation to produce sustainable economic, social, and
environmental outputs. In order for these networks to have successful
interrelationships, valuation methods must be used to select projects that produce
sustainable solutions. This paper reviews the pertinence of web based technologies to
the healthcare industry in order to facilitate sustainable operations, while addressing
methods of evaluation for selection of new technologies. The findings conclude that
measuring sustainability is relatively subjective and that sustainability might best be
managed as a “risk.”
Keywords: sustainability, value, healthcare, corporate social responsibility,
sustainability performance management, risk management, supply chain, IT, software
engineering, quality management
Glossary of Acronyms
AHP: analytical hierarchy process PPP: public/private partnerships
GNH: gross national happiness PV: present economic value
GRI: global reporting initative SCN: supply chain networks
GSA: general services administration SROI: social return on investment
HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability VfM: value for money
and Accountability Act
Introduction
Like most industries, healthcare providers rely on customers in order to
continue operations. In our lifetime, we have witnessed advances in modern
technology that would have at one time seemed to be the dreamed up concoctions of a
science fiction novel. We have also witnessed the rise and fall of many companies,
whose failure to implement change had far reaching consequences. “Eastman Kodak
is a picture-perfect example. It built one of the first digital cameras in 1975.” (18) For
many reasons, some perhaps well justified, the company was slow to change the once
highly successful business model. “The development of smartphones that double as
cameras, has battered Kodak's old film- and camera-making business almost to
death.”(18)
With patients and/or caregivers who are progressively becoming more tech
savvy, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device manufacturers must
tailor their services appropriately. Healthcare services such as nonprofit hospitals
have seen a downward trend in terms of revenue growth over the past several years.
“Total operating margins have remained negative from federal fiscal year (FFY) 2000
to midway through FFY07, according to the data, although the trend has improved
slightly in recent years. That means hospitals are losing money on their core business
of providing patient care.”(14) Admissions are falling due to increases in insurance
rates and the availability of alternatives such as immediate care facilities, and
telemedicine. For healthcare organizations, this means realignment of the firm’s
fundamental strategic management plan; goals, objectives, and the strategy of the
business operations, including maintaining visibility in a market where alternatives
are numerous.
Healthcare facilities share a SCN with private manufacturing, distribution, and
logistic firms. Meaning that healthcare supply chains house public/private
partnerships (PPP). “A typical PPP example would be a hospital building financed
and constructed by a private developer and then leased to the hospital authority. The
private developer then acts as landlord, providing housekeeping and other non-
medical services while the hospital itself provides medical services.” (2) Because of
this relationship, the social/environmental outputs of long term sustainability might
not necessarily align with maximizing the present economic value (PV) of the SCN.
The concern is insuring that the SCN is selecting the best whole life outcome. This
requires that “patient advocacy organizations, clinicians, medical clinics, health care
policymakers at the Federal, State, and local levels, purchasers, payers, and both
public and private insurers” (3) involved understand the importance of sustainable
operations.
The Industry
There is a very real structural shift in the healthcare industry. Patients and
caregivers are more technologically inclined. Convenience, ease of use and cost are
highly important during the decision-making process. Paul Matsen, CMO of
Cleveland Clinic is quoted as saying “about 80% of patients who are diagnosed with
an illness go on the web to find information about their condition.”(12) We know
that search engines play an important role in the use of the internet and identifying
online resources. As researchers it is important to acknowledge trends in consumer
behavior as it relates to interaction with each other, and our electronic devices.
Google conducted a study using historical search data. The company used “term
buckets” such as hospital brand, conditions, treatment, procedures, and symptoms in
order to extrapolate their findings. The results showed that “search drives nearly 3x as
many visitors to hospital sites compared to non-search visitors.”(17) This same study
also identified that mobility plays a role in the decision-making process.
Approximately 44% of patients who research hospitals using mobile devices,
schedule appointments. This statistical evidence is a good indicator of the consumer’s
increase in accessibility and utilization of healthcare-related digital information. With
76% of patients using hospital websites for research, not only does digital media have
the largest audience base of the cumulative total market, accessibility to digital media
has a significantly high conversion rate for consumer purchase. By understanding
these market trends, the importance of implementing new technologies including
web-based services becomes pertinent to the SCN’s sustainability.
Pew Internet has examined the social media trend as it relates to the healthcare
market. According to the Pew Internet survey “About one in five internet users have
consulted online reviews of particular drugs or medical treatments, doctors or other
providers, and hospitals or medical facilities.”(5) This finding illustrates the
importance of social media in relation to healthcare marketing. Firms should be
monitoring social media in order to gain feedback and address consumer concerns.
A good example of successful implementation of web based technologies is
the Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit healthcare leader, with operations in
several states. The company has been successful at implementing responsive website
designs that enable/promote a mobile friendly experience. The clinic has an app for
patients to book appointments, access information, in addition to a special pregnancy
app for expecting mothers. While other healthcare providers are losing market share
with operating revenues decreasing, “The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., reported
operating income of $347 million for the first six months of 2014.” (21) This figure
represents a 131% increase from the prior year.
Behavioral Economics
Once the concern has been identified e.g., the need for innovative services and
tailored marketing, the second step is understanding the psychological selection
process of the end-consumer. Behavioral Economics is a methodology for reviewing
human behavior relative to conventional economic models.
In making a purchase decision, consumers review the market and identify
their preferences. However with the presence of multiple choices, our brains tend to
simplify the process and make fast “executive decisions.” Advertising as a general
statement is hugely dependent on the consumer remembering and identifying with the
ad. Because there is typically a time delay between the consumer’s exposure to the ad
and the decision-making process, the memory cues are quite critical to the
advertisement’s effectiveness.
In digital advertising, an alternative is to capture the sale immediately before
the patient leaves the site/page. The typical end consumer values convenience, and
targeted products. Whether it’s creating an account, scheduling an appointment, or
refilling a prescription, ease of use is a significant variable.
Consumers tend to “suffer” from several types of phenomenon when making
decisions. “Present Bias” is when “decision makers tend to put too much weight on
costs and benefits that are immediate and too little on those that are delayed.” (9)
When we consider healthcare, there is little obvious immediate benefit from attending
an annual physical or dental cleaning. What consumers perceive rather is the
immediate cost in terms of time, energy, hassle, transportation, and monetary co-
payments. Forgoing multiple visits over an extended period of time can be attributed
to the “Peanuts effect.”(22) This is when a consumer makes repeated decisions based
on present bias, and does not perceive the cumulative consequence of their actions.
Healthcare facilities can use defaults as a means of persuasion. Utilizing
online accounts linked to patient emails, facilities may default to scheduling follow
up appointments and send email reminders. So long as the facility is HIPAA
compliant in their communication. They may guide the decision, making it harder to
opt out. This plays off the aforementioned tendency to make simplified fast decisions.
Since the end consumer has limited attention, the brain creates mental shortcuts.
There is a greater chance an individual would accept a default versus making the
cognitive decision to opt in or out.
Barriers of Entry
HIPAA was enacted in 1996 and sought to regulate the exchange of electronic
information. Doctors must be careful to abide by HIPAA regulations in their
marketing. Although Doctors are afforded the right to market to current patients,
targeted marketing is limited as patient records and information must not be
disclosed. Having patient data accessible online often requires that the data be passed
along to IT personal who manage the site.
With added technology comes increased complexities. Cybersecurity is an
important variable. Risks include both authorized and unauthorized transmission of
data. “Hospira was the first medical device company to receive an FDA safety
communication because of a cybersecurity risk.” (4) The FDA discouraged healthcare
facilities from purchasing Hospira’s infusion pump medical device because it was
vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The vulnerability would allow hackers the ability to
administer higher or lower levels of drugs to the patient. Even malware may be
transferred to medical devices if USB devices are used to transmit data from the
device and general hospital computer systems. This malware has the potential to
interrupt the normal operation of the infected medical device.
When considering digital marketing for the healthcare industry, it is not just a
question of law but also ethics. The American Marketing Association states: “1. Do
no harm, consciously avoiding harmful actions or omissions. 2. Foster trust in the
marketing system, striving for good faith and fair dealing as well as avoiding
deception, and 3. Embrace ethical values, building relationships and enhancing
consumer confidence in the integrity of marketing.”(15)
“Perceptual barriers” are the biggest concern regarding the ability to assign
value and address the importance of societal and environmental outputs among PPPs.
“Insurers may resist approving an expensive new heart drug even if, over the long
term, it will decrease their payments for cardiac-related hospital admissions.”(6) This
is a good example of “present bias”, in which the insurer only perceives the present
cost and not the future benefit.
Physical barriers are evident in all industries, and including variables such as
monetary cost of entry/implementation.
In order for healthcare supply chains to remain sustainable, they need to be
able to express the importance of their continued operation to the privately owned
partners that make up the SCN. Sustainability as it relates to the example of web
based technologies is twofold. First, the SCN needs to be aware of the need for new
technologies in order to sustain current operations. Second, in selecting which new
technologies to adapt, the SCN must evaluate the sustainability of the project,
processes, and equipment. How may the healthcare supply chain evaluate a new
technology, process, or project in the planning stage?
Risk
Risk is an uncertainty that may ultimately lead to a positive or negative
influence on a project’s objectives. Sustainability needs to be managed similar if not
identical to risk. During the initial planning process, prior to the implementation of
any new equipment or processes, a cross-functional project team should determine
possible problems. By identifying the risk event, the probability of its occurrence, and
if occurred its potential impact, the team may avoid making costly mistakes.
Sustainability as a risk has the possibility of being mitigated by first understanding
the drivers that could facilitate the lack of sustainability in a project, process, product,
or service. In the case of web based technologies drivers may include foreseen or
unpredictable changes in federal or state policy, vulnerability to threats such as
malware or malicious cyber-attacks, and an inability to add-on, or change the service
offerings and capacity of the new technology without removing it entirely and starting
over. Using the drivers, the team may identify the likelihood or probability of the
event occurring and the total loss if the event occurs. Expected loss then becomes a
function of probability of event, probability of impact, and total loss. Managing
sustainability from both present and future perspectives the SCN should also consider
the expected useful life of the new technology. By conducting a risk reduction
leverage analysis, the SCN may determine the added benefit of taking certain
preventative actions in comparison to the initial exposure of the risk.
The SCN will also need to navigate endogenous risks such as market volatility
and exogenous uncertainties such as economic volatility during both the
implementation and ongoing control stages. If sustainability is a risk, the drivers and
counter forces become risks inside of the risk and must be managed as both individual
and collective.
In order to manage sustainability as a risk, evaluation of the drivers, events,
impact, and loss must be quantifiable. Learning through association (classical
conditioning) tells us that “if a neutral stimulus (a stimulus that at first elicits no
response) is paired with a stimulus that already evokes a reflex response, then
eventually the new stimulus will by itself evoke a similar response.”(19) This means
that the relationship between economic return and sustainability is essential to
understanding its value and to relate this value to stakeholders.
Value for Money
Understanding the importance of sustainability is partially dependent on the
ability to quantify its value. Value for Money (VfM) as a method of assessment may
determine what projects within the supply chain are deemed most appropriate for the
use of public resources and those best fit for a PPP. In a sense VfM may be used in
the decision making process of whether to make or buy a product/service. Once these
relationships have been established a VfM analysis may be used as a tool to
periodically assess the value of the PPP. This valuation method may be applied to
determine what technologies to implement, and what portion of these services should
be outsourced to PPPs.
Cost Effectiveness
One method used to measure VfM is Cost Effectiveness or CE ratio. CE ratio
is the cost per unit of effectiveness, which in the case of a social infrastructural
institution such as a hospital, the unit of effectiveness may be the number of patients
treated. A low CE ratio means a low cost per patient treated. CE ratio may also be
used in order to select the most appropriate treatment method to be used in a hospital.
Take for example the Alameda County Medical Center in Oakland, California. A
“mismanaged urban safety-net hospital system in one of America's most violent
cities.”(8) Wright L. Lassiter took over as CEO in 2005, a time when ACMC was
losing over a million dollars per month. Lassiter is attributed for numerous changes
that eventually turned the hospital around. One example of the many changes was
realizing the Cost effectiveness of an umbilical-cord blood test kit used by the
hospital. The kit ACMC was using prior to Lassiter taking over cost $96.50 per unit.
A similar testing tool was available on the market that would do the same job, and
only cost $.29 cents per unit. This similar tool offered a lower cost to unit of
effectiveness ratio. “ACMC had been choosing the premium option, at a cost of
$322,000 a year. Now, the teams decided, ACMC could not afford it.”(8)
Social Return
Indicators of sustainability may be broken down into three separate groups;
environment, social, and corporate governance. Environmental indicators may
include such business practices as non-investment expenditures for environmental
protection, total emissions, consumption of renewable energy, and production of
waste. Corporate governance includes indicators such as code of ethics, stakeholder
impact, and collective agreements. Lastly, social sustainability focuses on indicators
such as monetary support of local community, gender in the workplace, diversity,
number of terminated employees, wages, and education expenditures.
Many of these indicators are critically important. For the purpose of this
paper, let us focus on social sustainability for a moment. Organizational success
cannot be defined by a single “financial” measure. Non-financial objectives play an
intricate role in driving performance. These social drivers may influence financial
performance in both positive and negative ways. Social return on investment (SROI),
looks at both financial and social impact of the corporation and may be calculated as;
SROI= (Social Impact – Investment) / Investment
Supporting local community is important to the reputation of the organization.
Employee morale is essential to both employee retention through a reduction of
voluntary turnover, and for recruitment. Especially within the healthcare industry, as
skilled labor is a limited resource and a necessary component. Making investments in
non-financial objectives, may be quantified using this method, and justified based on
the weighting criteria as it relates to the firms goals, objectives, and business model.
AHP
Through the use of the “Scale of Relative Importance” (13) the analytical
hierarchy process (AHP) allows the user to assign value similar to that of a project
selection scoring model. This ability to prioritize and assign a weighted value has
proven effective in health care related selection models. Hoechst AG, is a
pharmaceutical firm. The firm utilizes a scoring model based on a total of 19
questions developing five types of criteria. “The five categories include: probability
of technical success, probability of commercial success, reward to the company,
business strategy fit, and strategic leverage (ability of the project to employ and
elevate company resources and skills).”(11)
Economic Value Added
The purpose of SCN sustainability is to successfully satisfy major
stakeholders. This includes industry players such as “physicians, hospitals, and an
array of powerful intermediaries, including group purchasing organizations, or GPOs,
which consolidate the purchasing power of thousands of hospitals.”(6) This means
that for the private firms involved, maximizing profits is a part of the SCN success.
(Figure 1) is similar to a strategy map in that it illustrates the chain reaction from
investment to financial outcome. A firm may estimate the future economic value as to
express the importance of the investments in new technologies to maximizing the
wealth of the stakeholders involved. The goal of the SCN then should be to find a
relationship between the non-financial objectives and future financial value. Making
changes from the ground level will also allow the firm to optimize the degree of
operating leverage by taking advantage of processes that reduce costs.
Figure 1
Learning & Growth Perspective

Employee Health & Morale Technical Infrastruture
Internal Processes
Quality Control Environmentally Friendly
Customer Perspective
Image Reputation Customer Satisfaction
Financial Perspective
Increased Market Share Return on Capital Employed
Gross National Happiness
“The concept of well-being was first discussed by the Bhutan Gross National
Happiness initiative which referred to subjective well-being as central to sustainable
development.”(16) GNH is a measure of sustainable infrastructure (SI). GNH
measures well-being in terms of obesity, chronic illness, mental disorders, depression,
and insomnia. GNH recognizes the interdependencies that exist between SCs and the
SCN. Long term success of a civilization is dependent on the mental and physical
health of the population. This means that healthcare supply chains must be
sustainable. “An important objective for appraisal should be to foster learning of
more than one type and, potentially, to modify the belief systems and behavior of
individuals and organizations over time.”(10) If GNH is an indication of a country’s
sustainability, and this is dependent on SI, then GNH is an indicator of successful
healthcare supply chains. Meaning that GNH may also be used as a measure of
effectiveness. A subjective, weighted system of indicators that assigns a rank or score
to either an individual facility, or the SCN on a local, regional, national, and global
scale.
The United States’ General Services Administration (GSA) is one of the
world’s largest single procurement bodies. The GSA procures for all of the
government’s non-military related needs and spends over $600 billion annually. “The
GSA and the Department of Defense are actively involved in the management of
sustainability in their supply chains.” There is a global push for non-financial
reporting. National laws and regulations are being enacted, and the demand for
transparency is increasing. The global reporting initative (GRI) has 8770
organizations who have issued reports to their database worldwide. These non-
financial indicators are becoming more and more popular with investors and the GRI
is slowly being “integrated into stock exchange listing guidelines, requested by large
asset owners and managers and expected by large institutional customers.”
Conclusion
The Baldrige framework’s 11 foundational and interrelated core values for
health care organizations are “visionary leadership, patient-focused excellence,
valuing people, organizational learning and agility, focus on success, managing for
innovation, management by fact, societal responsibility and community health, ethics
and transparency, and delivering value and results.”(1) In order to achieve quality in
both products and services, healthcare supply chains must focus on these core values.
Many of which are addressed by the need for sustainable practices, and evaluation
methods.
It is not just the healthcare industry that needs to recognize the importance of
sustainable technology. “Surveys of published studies show over 50% of those on
sustainability in software engineering were published between 2010 and 2012,
indicating the emergence of the topic in the software-development community.” (7)
Although ISO/9126 and ISO/IEC 25010 do not consider sustainability as a property
of software quality, the Third Working Draft of ISO/IEC 42030 Systems and
Software Engineering Architecture Evaluation has much to offer software
practitioners. Assisting in “making trade-offs, not only among technical and
economic aspects of business sustainability but also in relation to society and the
environment.” (7)
This paper has looked at several varying methodologies. Many of which are
interrelated, and most of which have merit in this field. Further research would be
necessary in order to make additional conclusions regarding sustainability as a risk,
and the nature of the valuation methods that may be used. Conclusions that may be
derived from the current research show that managing sustainability as a risk allows
project managers, SCNs, and stakeholders to make educated decisions that allow for
continued growth and operations. While evaluation methods for sustainability are
primarily subjective, use of data sensitivity analysis would help assign weighted
values to the various indicators, and the use of interrelated valuation methods may
increase the success of risk management as it relates to sustainability, particularly in
the planning, selection, implementation, and control of web-based technologies for
healthcare supply chains.
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Leveraging on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for Effective Emergency
Response and Disaster Management
Faisal Arain1 and Shahab Moeini2

1
Director, AR Management Global Inc., Edmonton, Canada email:
[email protected]
2
Instructor, Construction Project Management, School of Construction, SAIT,
Calgary, Canada email: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Over the past two decades, the impact of disasters has been devastating,
affecting 4.4 billion people, resulted in 1.3 million causalities and $2
trillion in economic losses. Global climate change and worldwide
instabilities have affected urban areas. In spite of all the technological
advances, the impacts of natural and manmade disasters in urban areas
represent an increasing challenge – therefore effective mitigation and
emergency response strategies are pivotal. Concerning post-disaster
reconstruction scenario, the most significant factor is accessibility to the
disaster affected area and timely response based on best possible
information available. Effective emergency response and sustainable
post-disaster reconstruction are crucial and lie at the heart of disaster
management agencies in almost every cautious country around the
globe. The complex and multi-faceted processes of post-disaster
recovery and reconstruction extend well beyond the immediate period
of restoring basic services and life support infrastructure. While
immediate restoration of services can be a matter of weeks, full recovery
can stretch out 10-15 years. The success of the reconstruction phases,
i.e., rescue, relief, and rehabilitation, is mainly dependent on the
accessibility to the site, availability of efficient project teams and timely
information to make informed decision. Using UAV to access the
affected areas and to monitor and capture data to make well-informed
decisions, combined with the efficiency of a project team and strong
coordination, project success should increase. This paper presents
potential application of UAV for accessibility to affected areas,
monitoring, and capturing timely and useful information for enhancing
prompt and effective sustainable disaster management. The UAV with
mounted imaging device will access to disaster struck areas and capture
timely and useful information for making more informed decisions for
effective, timely and sustainable response in post-disaster scenarios.
The potential application of UAV would be helpful for emergency
response management teams to access areas that are otherwise not
accessible, take timely measures by learning from captured information,
making informed decisions related to effective emergency response and
disaster management processes undertaken by emergency management
agencies. Professionals need to have access to disaster struck areas to
respond to emergency and provide urgent and critical life saving aids.
Timely access and information will support a better and more efficient
system for sustainable disaster management. Hence, the study is
valuable for all professionals involved with research and development
of emergency response and sustainable disaster management strategies.
INTRODUCTION
The recent sudden increase of natural and manmade disasters has taught many
valuable lessons (Iglesias, 2007). Unfortunately, the need for preparedness is greater
than ever before, given the increasing frequency and worsening intensity of weather-
related storms and the escalation of technological threats (Moeini et al., 2013). No
geographical area is immune or protected from the threat of emergencies and disasters.
The importance of a proactive approach in responding to a disaster scenario in term of
learning from past projects cannot be overstated (Arain, 2008). Pre-planning with local
public safety and emergency response agencies can decrease confusion when a jobsite
incident occurs (Ahmed, 2008). A quick response due to proper pre-planning and
preparedness can expedite saving lives and rehabilitation process (Moeini et al., 2013).
Post-disaster reconstruction and rehabilitation is a complex issue with several

dimensions (Arain, 2015). Many professionals in both fields tend to focus on planning
and immediate response and have only recently begun to consider the requirements and
opportunities inherent in long-term mitigation and reconstruction (Vale and
Campanella, 2005). The complex and multi-faceted processes of post-disaster recovery
and reconstruction extend well beyond the immediate period of restoring basic services
and life support infrastructure. While immediate restoration of services can be a matter
of weeks, full recovery can stretch out 10-15 years (Pelling, 2003). Government, non-
government, and international organizations have their own stakes in disaster recovery
programs, and links must be established among them, as well as with the community.
In other words, a post-disaster rehabilitation and recovery programs should be seen as
an opportunity to work with communities and serve local needs. Relief and
development often leads to burdens on the recipient government, and also often fails to
serve the actual purpose and to reach the people in need (Shaw et al., 2003).
Environmental management professionals are now concentrating on the

sustainability of environmental quality and environmental improvement; emergency
managers and planners are re-focusing their efforts on the survivability of systems,
organizations, and communities (Vale and Campanella, 2005). Sustainability and
survivability are, in truth, two aspects of the same concept, namely: how to encourage
and achieve continual improvement in ecosystems, the built environment, and human
society (Pellow and Brulle, 2005). Both environmental management and emergency
management have much to contribute to, and to gain from, the planning and
implementation of post-disaster reconstruction.
Development is a dynamic process, and disasters provide the opportunities to

vitalize and/or revitalize this process, especially to generate local economies, and to
upgrade livelihood and living condition. Shaw and Sinha (2003) suggested the ideal
level of involvement of different stakeholders after the disaster, as shown in Figure 2.
The standard time frame of rescue, relief, and rehabilitation are defined as short term,
long term, and longer term respectively.
Increasing worldwide impact of climate change, environmental degradation from

human exploitation, urbanization and economic and social instabilities, unknown
patterns and consequences of recent type of natural and manmade disasters, social and
cultural complexity of urban residences and the aging urban infrastructures has
increased the level of vulnerability to any type and different level of disaster (Pelling,
2003). Due to the increasing urbanization and population growth, the impact of any
type of disaster (natural or manmade) in an urban area can be devastating with longer
recovery period.
Increasing discussions and debates within disaster mitigation interest groups have
raised questions regarding the practicality of adopting developmental approaches to
disaster reconstruction (Ahmed, 2008). The chaos surrounding the disaster period
following a disaster could easily lead to short-term and hasty decisions adversely
affecting the community’s ability to achieve sustainable, long term reconstruction goals
(Arain, 2015). To minimize the occurrence of these unwise decisions, it is important to
plan proactively for post-disaster restoration in order to provide general guidance for
decision-makers and a framework for the professionals involved in reconstruction
processes (Iglesias, 2007). For proactive plans and decisions, an integrated approach is
required that may empower to implement the developed reconstruction strategy and
monitor its results and progress.
The recent sudden increase of natural disasters has taught many valuable lessons
(Iglesias, 2007). Unfortunately, the need for preparedness is greater than ever before,
given the increasing frequency and worsening intensity of weather-related storms and
the escalation of technological threats. No geographical area is immune or protected
from the threat of emergencies and disasters. The importance of a proactive approach
in responding to a disaster scenario in term of learning from past projects cannot be
overstated. Pre-planning with local public safety and emergency response agencies can
decrease confusion when a jobsite incident occurs (Arain, 2015). A quick response due
to proper pre-planning and preparedness can expedite saving lives and rehabilitation
process.
It is suggested that a timely access to relevant information and disaster site will
assist in improving rescuing and reconstruction project processes, coordination and
team building process because the most likely areas on which to focus to reduce unwise
decision can be identified during the early stage of the post-disaster scenario (Arain
and Low, 2006). Tapping on the live feed of information of post-disaster scenarios, the
UAV system provides direct access to a wealth of pertinent and useful information for
decision makers and eventually enhance collaborative venture. By having the access to
timely information via UAV and a systematic way to make well-informed decisions,
the efficiency of project team and the likelihood of strong coordination and eventually
project success should increase (Arain, 2015).

measures by learning from captured information, making informed decisions related to
effective emergency response and disaster management processes undertaken by
areas to respond to emergency and provide urgent and critical life saving aids. Timely
disaster management.
UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE AND ITS APPLICATION
The UAV application supporting forest fire management is surely the most
developed and practically demonstrated activity among all disasters (Restas, 2012).
UAV can be used before fire for hot spot detection, during the intervention helping fire
management with real time information and after suppression for post fire monitoring.
The method of prescribed fire can be also in the focus of UAV use as a special
application for fire prevention (Restas, 2015).
Detecting hot spots by aerials earlier than reporting it by civilians is obviously helps
fire managers limiting the damages fires cause (Restas et al., 2014). Unfortunately the
main reason why this method is not always used is the huge costs of aerials. If this
procedure made by UAV is cheaper solution than the traditional one (manned aircraft)
means option of drone use is the better solution. Naturally this case assumes the similar
professional efficiency of different methods (Restas et al., 2014).
As pre-disaster activity, UAV following the stream of rivers can control the state
of dams. In case of any unusual recognition the responsible authority can react in time
for the problem. This activity is very flexible; the flight patrol can be optimized
depending on time or other workload. Since affected areas are usually oversized,
managing floods by aerials is always suffered from limited sources. It means drone can
support disaster management at local level. This task requires tactical or operational
UAV (Restas, 2015).
The stability of dams hangs on many conditions like the time it suffer from water
press, how structure of dams built, what materials made of it. There is yet not enough
information about it, however it can be supposed, with a procedure what is able to
analyze the state of dam as airborne is help for managers. Knowing the state of dam
managers can optimize the sources making the critic parts of dam stronger or in case
of escalated problem can order the evacuation in time (Restas, 2015).
Since floods are a slowly developing disaster UAV can help for the management in
many ways. With UAV observation can predict how flooded the area, what buildings
are in risk, where from and where to evacuate the citizens, etc. The essence of this
application is the gap of aerials what means the missing of manned aerials but UAV
can offer as a satisfied solution (Restas, 2015).
An earthquake is a rapid escalating disaster, where, many times, there is no other

way for a rapid damage assessment than aerial reconnaissance (Restas, 2015). For
special rescue teams, the drone application can help much in a rapid location selection,
where enough place remained to survive for victims. Floods are typical for a slow onset
disaster. In contrast, managing floods is a very complex and difficult task. It requires
continuous monitoring of dykes, flooded and threatened areas. UAV can help managers
largely keeping an area under observation. Forest fires are disasters, where the tactical
application of UAV is already well developed. UAV can be used for fire detection,
intervention monitoring and also for post-fire monitoring. In case of nuclear accident
or hazardous material leakage UAV is also a very effective or can be the only one tool
for supporting disaster management (Restas, 2015).
Types of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
The UAV classification is based on the military standards which have been partially
adopted for civilian UAVs. Civilian UAVs are classified into two main classes: a) fixed
wing, and b) multirotor or multicopter. Each UAV class has its unique design,
operability and advantages and disadvantages which are briefly presented below.
Fixed Wing UAV
Fixed wing UAVs have a simple and aerodynamics structure consisting of a pair of
rigid wings connected to the main fuselage. They a long flight time capacity(maximum
90 - 120 min) within both visual and beyond visual line-of-sight (VLOS & BVLOS) to
cover long distances and large operational areas in a single flight.
This type of UAV is suitable for the rapid creation of aerial orthomosaic of disaster
affected areas. Fixed wing UAVs offer a perfect platform for real-time accurate visual
assessments of areas affected by disaster and enable the emergency responders to plan
for response and recovery in large areas in a timely manner. The fixed wing UAVs are
also effective platforms for immediate visual inspection of some critical infrastructure
such as roads, railways, water, oil and gas pipe lines as well as power transmission
lines.
Modified long range Skywalker X8
Modified Fixed Wing UAVs for aerial photogrammetry and surveying, equipped with Infrared and Sonar
Multirotor or multicopter
These types of UAVs have a more complex structure and better control systems
operations compared to the fixed wing UVAs. In contrast to fixed wings UAVs
multirotors have a lower speed and much shorter flight time (maximum 30- 40 minutes)
due to their non-aerodynamics structure.
The main advantages, of multirotor UAVs are the Vertical Takeoff and Landing
(VTOL) and capability to hover and perform agile maneuvering in small
spaces. Multirotor UAVs are suitable platforms to inspect urban facilities such as
bridges, power plants (fossil or nuclear fuel based), municipal buildings, hospitals and
emergency centers. These types of UAVs are also able to carry different types of
emergency packages such as CPR and emergency first aid kits to area with limited
access. Multirotor UAVs enable the building inspectors to assess the building situation
and define the possible damages with high level of accuracy and in a timely manner.
Modified Multirotor UAVs for aerial photogrammetry and surveying, equipped with Infrared and Sonar
Arial and infrared images of the flooded areas to inspect the possible equipment damage in the construction site during the flood
CONCLUSION
Concerning post-disaster reconstruction scenario, the most significant factor is

accessibility to the disaster affected area and timely response based on best possible
information available. Effective emergency response and sustainable post-disaster
reconstruction are crucial and lie at the heart of disaster management agencies in almost
every cautious country around the globe. The complex and multi-faceted processes of
post-disaster recovery and reconstruction extend well beyond the immediate period of
restoring basic services and life support infrastructure. While immediate restoration of
services can be a matter of weeks, full recovery can stretch out 10-15 years. The success
of the reconstruction phases, i.e., rescue, relief, and rehabilitation, is mainly dependent
on the accessibility to the site, availability of efficient project teams and timely
information to make informed decision. Using UAV to access the affected areas and to
monitor and capture data to make well-informed decisions, combined with the
efficiency of a project team and strong coordination, project success should increase.
This paper presents potential application of UAV for accessibility to affected areas,
monitoring, and capturing timely and useful information for enhancing prompt and
effective sustainable disaster management. The UAV with mounted imaging device
will access to disaster struck areas and capture timely and useful information for
making more informed decisions for effective, timely and sustainable response in post-
disaster scenarios.

measures by learning from captured information, making informed decisions related to
effective emergency response and disaster management processes undertaken by
areas to respond to emergency and provide urgent and critical life saving aids.
The paper sets the foundation for future research into application of UAV for
disaster management. UAV can help managers largely keeping an area under
observation. UAV can be used for fire detection, intervention monitoring and also for
post-fire monitoring. In case of nuclear accident or hazardous material leakage UAV is
also a very effective or can be the only one tool for supporting disaster management.
UAV can also assist in transporting medical help to disaster struck areas and also
airlifting critically injured human beings to near by medical support venues. Timely
disaster management. Hence, the study is valuable for all professionals involved with
research and development of emergency response and sustainable disaster management
strategies.
REFERENCES
Ahmed, K.I. (2008). “Challenges and opportunities of post-disaster shelter
reconstruction: The Asian context.” Proceedings of the 4th International i-Rec
Conference, New Zealand.
Arain, F.M. (2008). “Knowledge management approach for enhancing prompt and
effective post-disaster reconstruction: Leveraging on information technology.”
Proceedings of the Building Abroad Conference: Procurement of Construction
and Reconstruction Projects in the International Context, Montreal, Canada, 65
– 77.
Arain, F.M. (2015). “Knowledge-based approach for sustainable disaster management:

Empowering emergency response management team.” Procedia Engineering,
118 (2015), 232 – 239.
Arain, F.M. and Low, S.P. (2006). “A framework for developing a knowledge-based
decision support system for management of variations in institutional
buildings.” Journal of Information Technology in Construction (ITCon),
Special Issue Decision Support Systems for Infrastructure Management, 11
(01), 285-310.
Iglesias, G. (2007). “Promoting safer house construction through CBDRM:

Community designed safe housing in post-Xangsane Da Nang City.” Safer
Cities, 19(02), 1-8.
Moeini, S., Arain, F.M. and Sincennes, J. (2013). “Leveraging on Geographic

Information Systems (GIS) for effective emergency response management.”
Proceedings of the 3rd Specialty Conference on Disaster Prevention and
Mitigation, Canadian Society of Civil Engineers (CSCE), May 28 – June 1,
Montreal, Canada. DIS-19-01 – DIS-19-09.
Pelling, M. (2003). “The Vulnerability of Cities: Natural Disasters and Social

Resilience.” Earthscan Publications, London.
Pellow, D.N. and Brulle, R.J. (2005). “Power Justice and the Environment: A Critical
Appraisal of the Environmental Justice Movement.” The MIT Press, Cambridge
MA.
Restas, A, Hinkley, E.A. and Ambrosia, V.G. (2014). “An Approach for Measuring the
Effectiveness of Fire Detection Systems in Different Dimensions.” Bolyai
Szemle, 23, 283-296.
Restas, A. (2012). “Unmanned aircraft system applications: firefighting. introduction

to unmanned systems: air, ground, see & space.” In: LeMieux, J., Ed.,
Technologies and Commercial Applications, LCCN 2012954516.
Restas, A. (2015). “Drone applications for supporting disaster management.” World

Journal of Engineering and Technology, 3, 316-321.
Shaw R. and Sinha R. (2003). “Towards sustainable recovery: future challenges after
the Gujarat earthquake, India.” Risk Management Journal, 5 (01), 35-51.
Shaw R., Gupta M. and Sharma A. (2003). “Community recovery and its sustainability:
lessons from Gujarat earthquake of India.” Australian Journal of Emergency
Management, 18(01), 28-34.
Vale, L.J. and Campanella, T.J. (2005). “The Resilient City: How Modern Cities
Recover From Disaster.” Oxford University Press, New York.

Creative Collaboration for the Agile Process

J. A. Hall1 and B. L. Weiss2
1
The MITRE Corporation, Decision Visualization Support Department, 7515
Colshire Drive, McLean, VA 22102; [email protected]
2
The MITRE Corporation, Collaboration and Social Computing Department, 7515
Colshire Drive, McLean, VA 22102; [email protected]
ABSTRACT
The Agile Capability Mashup Environment (ACME) methodology is an
innovative tool developed to encourage team engagement and consensus
building. ACME is based on design thinking and utilizes horizontal
collaboration to create an environment where diverse stakeholders, many with
deep technical expertise, can engage on a level playing field. ACME
combines simple low cost tools (e.g., whiteboards, cut outs, toy figurines,
webcams, etc.) that assist teams to develop and communicate their ideas in
multi-dimensional ways. This creates a collaborative space where teams can
freely explore and critique ideas, with the goal of turning individual
knowledge into a useful project team outcome.
In the Agile development process, teams work to create software and products
rapidly and efficiently across different domains. In order for Agile to be
executed successfully, individuals and teams with various skills sets (e.g.,
project management, research, design, engineering, etc.) need to communicate
ideas, plan schedules, and collaborate solutions to potential problems. The
criticality of communication and coordination in the Agile process
necessitates the need for a tool that can appropriately facilitate these activities.
When the ACME methodology is applied to Agile development, it encourages
and facilitates innovative thinking and collaboration in the early stages of the
engineering process as well as throughout product development. This process
allows Agile teams to efficiently collaborate within and across areas of
expertise to develop innovative products that provide valuable solutions to
customers and stakeholders.
1

WHAT IS ACME?
The Agile Capability Mashup Environment (ACME) methodology is an
incubator that drives innovative thinking through team engagement and consensus
building. The ACME framework (Figure 1) combines team challenges and expertise
with ACME assets and facilitation to arrive at solutions. Challenges and problems
that teams need to address can vary widely from brainstorming the future vision for a
project to defining requirements for products. Teams that are tasked with addressing
these challenges are typically made up of individuals with diverse backgrounds and
varying technical expertise. To foster innovative thinking, ACME provides an
environment where these diverse teams are encouraged to engage on a level playing
field, taking advantage of the deep technical expertise and the diversity of thought in
a democratic way. Leveraging the diverse skillsets of all team members will
encourage different approaches to solving the problem, which ultimately leads to
more innovative solutions.
Figure 1. ACME Framework.
ACME utilizes various assets and facilitation methods to encourage

collaboration and problem solving within teams. These methods are non-linear,
allowing trams to continually examine the problem and the given context in order to
reach the best possible outcomes. One unique asset used for sharing ideas is the
Collaborative Story Development Kit (CSDK). This kit helps team members
communicate complex ideas via a webcam positioned over a whiteboard. Team
members are encouraged to work around the whiteboard, expressing their ideas using
markers, sticky notes, and physical objects (e.g., blocks, toy figurines, etc.). The
activities occurring on the whiteboard can be projected in the room so all participants
can see the process as it unfolds. The CSDK is an effective tool because it provides
the ability to capture the whiteboard throughout the collaborative process. The
iterative process that leads to the final product is often as valuable as the end result
itself.
ACME IN AGILE
The Agile development process brings teams composed of individuals with
various skills sets (e.g., project management, research, design, engineering, etc.)
together to rapidly and efficiently create software and products. Collaboration has
2

been identified as a key factor to success in the Agile development process (Fowler &
Highsmith, 2001; Misra, Kumar, & Kumar, 2009). Research by Hoda, Noble, and
Marshall (2011) found that inadequate collaboration in Agile teams can lead to severe
consequences including unclear requirements, lack of feedback, and loss of
productivity. Agile teams need to communicate and coordinate frequently to be
successful, thus, creating the need for a tool that can appropriately facilitate these
activities. The ACME framework can be leveraged both early and throughout the
stages of the Agile model (Figure 2). While the ACME process can be applied at any
point in the Agile lifecycle, it has been found to be most useful in the brainstorming
and design phases. The activities in these phases include requirements shaping and
prototyping, respectively. ACME can also be leveraged at any other stage in the
process where team collaboration is necessary in order to arrive at the best possible
solution.
Figure 2. ACME in Agile.
The brainstorming phase is a critical stage where stakeholders need to come

together to identify and agree on the requirements for the product. Stakeholders can
come from many different technical backgrounds, which can all be leveraged to
address requirements from multiple perspectives. The ACME methodology
encourages all of the stakeholders to have a voice in the requirement generation
process, by putting everyone on a level playing field and encouraging all team
members to participate. This collaboration leads to better requirements because all
viewpoints are considered, which results in a more robust end product.
3

During the design phase, the team will work with the stakeholders to define
workflows, create initial designs, and test design concepts. ACME allows designers
and stakeholders to work together to rapidly ideate designs on the whiteboards. Team
members are encouraged to all work around the board, resulting in designs that meet
stakeholder needs and work within technical constraints. With all team members
involved in the process, everyone is empowered to make decisions. This allows teams
to buy into the design concepts early so development can quickly move forward
without the back and forth of a traditional process.
ACME is also useful for providing solutions to problems that occur
throughout the Agile process. For example, sometimes blockers are identified during
daily scrums that require collaboration with the stakeholders. With ACME, blockers
can be resolved quickly through a brainstorming session using the ACME CSDK and
facilitation methods, as needed. Overall, ACME can facilitate and enhance the Agile
process by encouraging efficient collaboration across areas of expertise during all
stages of Agile, but is especially useful in the early stages. See Figure 3 for examples
of ACME in action in Agile projects.
Figure 3. Examples of ACME use in brainstorming, design, and

WHY problem solving with Agile teams.
4

IT WORKS
ACME is a very simple concept, but yet it is so effective for Agile teams.
There are several factors that contribute to ACME’s effectiveness including the
breaking of norms, the horizontal nature of the collaborative space, and the ability to
accommodate rapid decision making and consensus building.
Breaking Norms. In a typical meeting room, people encounter numerous
distractions that can cause them to lose focus on their work. For example, during a
team meeting people can often be checking email on their mobile device or putting
the finishing touches on an important deliverable. Conducting ACME sessions
requires team members to break these typical meeting norms, detach from their daily
routine and take a deep dive into brainstorming and problem solving with a specific
outcome in mind. Team members are encouraged to put away their technology during
the discussion so they can give their full attention to the problem.
Horizontal Collaboration. ACME promotes collaboration by placing the
whiteboard horizontally on a table and having team members gather around it to
work. Traditionally, whiteboards are hung vertically on a wall, making it awkward for
multiple people to work on the board. When a whiteboard is hung vertically it is
typical for one person to take control of the marker and essentially control what is
written on the board. When two team members take to the whiteboard it can quickly
become a two-person conversation with the remainder of the team reduced to
bystanders. Because other team members are not empowered to write on the board,
their ideas may not be captured and considered. When the whiteboard is positioned on
the table, it levels the playing field allowing everyone to participate on equal footing,
resulting in everyone contributing their ideas during the discussion.
Rapid Decision Making and Consensus Building. The ACME assets

support rapid decision making. A positive outcome of the democratic process created
by horizontal collaboration is the ability to achieve shared understanding, agreement
and consensus. Once a problem is identified, teams can quickly to work together to
come to a shared understanding of the problem and work toward the best solution.
The ability for teams to make decisions quickly and efficiently compliments the
iterative nature of Agile.
These factors combine to create the ACME process which facilitates
collaboration between team members. The result is team decisions that promote
mutual understanding and solution buy in. ACME is a valuable tool in any setting
requiring collaboration, including Agile.
OTHER APPLICATIONS
The ACME process is used at MITRE for agile projects but has also been
valuable in other areas. ACME has been utilized for organizational change
management framework development. During these sessions, project teams come
5

together to create plans for their path forward. Another area where ACME has been
used is in the facilitation of tabletop war gaming scenarios. During these sessions,
teams work on the board to carry out war game plans and scenarios. When the
exercise is complete, teams can review the documented pictures from the session to
refine their approach.
CONCLUSIONS
The ACME methodology provides a valuable tool that Agile projects can
leverage to promote collaboration in Agile teams. ACME combines team challenges,
team member expertise, and ACME assets in order to deliver desired outcomes and
solutions. ACME is especially valuable in the early brainstorming and design phases
of the Agile process because it promotes collaboration and empowers team members
with deep domain knowledge to share their ideas with the group. ACME can also be
useful for problem solving throughout an Agile project. ACME works because it
removes distractions, promotes horizontal collaboration, and it accommodates rapid
decision making. Project managers need to promote a highlighly collaborative
environment for success on any Agile project (Coram & Bohner, 2005). ACME has
been a successful collaboration solution for MITRE project teams and their sponsors.
This simple methodology can be leveraged by any project team, all that is needed is a
whiteboard on a table and the desire to collaborate.
REFERENCES
Coram, M., & Bohner, S. (2005). “The impact of agile methods on software project
management.” In Engineering of Computer-Based Systems, 2005. 12th IEEE
International Conference and Workshops, 363-370.
Fowler, M., & Highsmith, J. (2001). “The agile manifesto.” Software
Development, 9(8), 28-35.
Hoda, R., Noble, J., & Marshall, S. (2011). “The impact of inadequate customer
collaboration on self-organizing Agile teams.” Information and Software
Technology, 53(5), 521-534.
Misra, S. C., Kumar, V., & Kumar, U. (2009). “Identifying some important success
factors in adopting agile software development practices.” Journal of Systems
and Software, 82(11), 1869-1890.
Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited. 16-1181 ©2016 The MITRE
Corporation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
6

Tangible Strategies for
Aligning Your Processes
with Agile
K. K. Hobson
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
1 Bethel Valley Rd., Oak Ridge, TN 37831
[email protected]
ABSTRACT
This paper describes a victory: how a highly functioning project team
adapted a traditional software development methodology while
staying true to the Manifesto for Agile Software Development,
converging the two to meet both process maturity requirements and
the project’s needs. The project has been an overwhelming success.
The resulting software has aided customers in not only meeting but
exceeding their mission goals, and the project team has remained
cohesive, happy, and productive.
1
Introduction
In the software development world, “process” is a dirty word. Process implies stale
unnecessary rigor that bogs down creativity and the swiftness with which products
can be delivered, potentially impairing momentum. Mention process to a software
development team and watch the resulting eye rolling. Using an Agile approach
seems so much better – the antithesis of following a cumbersome process.
Here’s something you may already know. “The Agile Manifesto” includes 12
principles, one of which is At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become
more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly (Agile Alliance,
2001). The trick, in terms of processes, is determining how the secret synergy of
processes can work best; how a project team can employ necessary rigor while letting
team members stay in the flow.
G2
Victory over the process conundrum came by way of a project funded by the US
Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
Its name is a mouthful: the NNSA Program Management Information System
Generation 2, called simply, “G2.”
In February 2007, G2 was the brain child of a meeting wherein the G2 system’s initial
functions, design assumptions, budget, and schedule were agreed upon by a federal
NNSA sponsor in Washington, DC, and an IT project manager based at Oak Ridge
National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee. The goal was to have a functioning G2
system by September 2007. At the time, G2 was a program information and
performance management system that integrated DOE headquarters and national
laboratory scope, schedule, and budget information at the project level, creating a
single repository of data. It also integrated financial data for budgeting and cost
reporting in addition to providing geographic information systems (GIS) visualization
to monitor work progress worldwide. One of the fundamental requirements of the
system was to provide DOE with a “common truth” for reporting at a time when the
program office was experiencing budget increases at a 70–80% rate. The visibility
and expectation of the program to achieve its mission, “to reduce and protect
vulnerable nuclear and radiological materials located at civilian sites worldwide,”
(National Nuclear Security Administration) was increasing, and the G2 system was
integral to the process, both for planning and progress reporting. To have data
integrity issues was unthinkable. To miss the September deadline was also
unthinkable. Imagine the pressure.
The G2 project was then, and still is today, a project that moves at breakneck speed.
Don’t be fooled though. G2 is also all about excellence. The expectation for every
member of the project from the executive sponsor through the ranks of team leads and
down through the entire project team can be put into one word: Excellence. A desire
for excellence drives the team. Retaining that excellence and staying on deadline is
tough.
2
Rooted in Agile
So G2, conceptualized and rooted in excellence, was kicked off using the Agile
development methodology. A team of developers sunk everything they had into daily
scrum meetings, working religiously with the customer to hone in on what was to
become the G2 system. Many, many, many hours of concentrated effort later
(including one particularly long and frenetic July 3rd evening prior to a July 4th
deadline), G2 v1.0 was deployed. On time. And was excellent.
The executive sponsor was happy, which meant so was the project team. Because of
the constant desire to do more and improve, the G2 project kept rolling, the focus
now turning to how to enhance G2. Make it better. Improve upon its excellence.
Nurtured by Process
As time passed and the project team had a chance to try and catch its collective
breath, little pockets of concern arose. How do you sustain momentum on a project
with back-to-back intense sprints? How do you remember what you did or why?
Someone suggests an improvement. Who? Why? When? Where is that information
kept? Does the sponsor concur? What about all those findings from testing that might
be really great enhancements? When and how would those be addressed? The G2
project team used effective but rudimentary tools for tracking: a spreadsheet for the
backlog; a project portal for defect tracking and resolution; a development tool for
decomposed requirements and sprint definition. And a lot of past history resided in
people’s heads.
Three years later, in 2010, the project team had grown, and G2’s IT project manager
decided to investigate incorporating some additional process rigor, with the caveat
that anything considered for inclusion had to be meaningful and relevant. By virtue of
being a government agency, DOE had a documented software development lifecycle
guide (DOE G 200.1-1A) known as the DOE Systems Engineering Methodology
(SEM). Since G2 is DOE-sponsored, a choice was made to adhere to SEM and make
it work. But, SEM has a reputation of being old and clumsy. It’s built for waterfall
development. Its level of rigor is high. A business analyst was brought onto the G2
project to determine a workable approach for incorporating SEM-based practices into
the project’s Agile-based processes, bearing in mind that G2 had a highly functioning
project team. The “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” axiom applied. The pressure was on
to see how a seemingly outdated methodology could be used to improve upon
something working pretty well. But remember, one of Agile Manifesto’s 12
principles is At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective,
then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly (Agile Alliance, 2001). It was time.
Let the challenge begin.
Instituting Change
There’s a trick to determining how the synergy of processes can work best; how a
project team can employ necessary rigor while letting team members stay in the flow
and it comes in the form of a question. The most important question that can be asked
when making decisions about a project’s process is, “Does this make sense for us?”
3
SEM, like any methodology, is prescriptive and attempts to serve multiple masters. It
requires 43 separate artifacts plus in-stage assessments and defined stage exits (or
gates) to move on to the next phase of development. What was the goal? Exhaustive
plans that cover everything from make/buy decisions to training? No. One
overarching project plan that has staffing, budget, risks, technical approach, and
contingency planning? Yes. Comprehensive detailed procedures? No. Key procedures
for development and deployment? Yes. The easy way out would have been to create
43 artifacts and call it done; the proverbial boxes would have been checked. But, that
wasn’t the challenge. The challenge was to find that optimal juxtaposition between
SEM and Agile.
Making It Worth It
To get the most value out of the effort, everyone had to know what was being done
and have a chance to participate. The team learned that what was critical to successful
change was ensuring team members’ concerns were not only heard but considered.
Over the course of about a year, a series of meetings were held so that the way the
project already worked could be understood and documented. What followed was a
natural upshot of each of those discussions, the keen awareness that there was room
for improvement. As the team became more self-aware that improvements were
coming from within and weren’t for the sake of “instituting a process,” so came the
affinity and solidarity for invoking change.
Defining a Process
Ironically, defining the team’s process became a process. By implementing the six
steps shown in in Figure 1, the team instituted necessary change.
Be aware of
Provide the need for
Provide a Live the
Define a opportunities iterations
conducive Include team Lessons
common for feedback and
environment members Learned
goal (and don't refinements
for change process
judge) of the
process
Figure 1 – Defining a Change Process
Table 1 lists, in practical terms, how each step was implemented on the G2 project.
4
Table 1 – The Cultural Change Process for G2
Step As put into practice on G2
Define a common goal Sensible adherence to SEM while
maintaining Agile roots
Provide a conducive environment for Ensure the leadership team is not only
change onboard but advocating change
Include team members Engage the full team
Provide opportunities for feedback Provide every opportunity for feedback
Be aware of the need for iterations and Refine the process as needed
refinements of the process
Live the lessons learned process Hold retrospectives while still listening at
all times
So what ultimately happened? You can safely assume the requisite SEM artifacts
were not created. Instead, a significant amount of time was spent understanding the
intent of all those documents and working to create a set of artifacts that would ring
true to the G2 team as well as live up to “the spirit of the law.” Seven documents
were authored that undergo an annual review, and nine others were instituted that are
maintained on an ongoing basis (see Figure 2).
Figure 2 – G2 Artifacts
Progressing through Time

The following year, in 2010, the team embarked on what it thought was the final step
of the initial process journey, this time focusing on project management, attempting
to understand the connection between the PMBOK® and SEM’s lifecycle stage
requirements as well as Agile practices. Process mappings were created to understand
compliance and address gaps. It was imperative to find a straightforward way to
document what was done and why. On G2, it is called the Process Mapping Table
(shown in Figure 3).
5
Figure 3 – G2 Process Mapping Table
The G2 Process Mapping Table correlates recommended activities in the PMBOK
with G2’s verifiable objective evidence of compliance with them. In the black column
are the PMI Knowledge Areas, and in the red header are the PMI process groups.
When a cell is shaded gray, it indicates that the PMBOK contains recommended
activities for the process group/knowledge area combination. The Process Mapping
Table lists not only plans but Agile activities, as these interactions are as much a part
of the team’s overall integrated project process as the documented plans.
Good News Bad News

In early 2011, the G2 team was flying high. NNSA received notification that the G2
team won the 2010 PMI Distinguished Project Award. The entire project team flew to
Washington, DC, and joyfully partook in the recognition ceremony and life was great,
until a monkey wrench appeared. In 2013, two things happened that would have a
significant impact on G2: (1) the G2 sponsor, the one who’d envisioned it all in 2007,
got a promotion, and (2) DOE retired SEM. The team was in shock on both counts.
First, the promotion – The G2 sponsor would be leaving his post and heading to the
NNSA executive offices…and taking the G2 project with him, meaning lots of new
project scope. Good thing the team had documented its process as there was a lot of
knowledge to impart on the newbies.
Second, SEM – DOE decided to replace SEM with DOE Order 415.1, which, as it
turned out, had as part of its guidance the option to follow practices in, of all things,
the PMBOK! Remember the Process Mapping Table? Thankfully the decision to
understand the connection between the PMBOK® and the project’s practices was a
good one.
Success – By Accident or Design

Today (March 2016), the G2 team stands at roughly 50 people (including both the
development team and product owners) and has had some growing pains. Staffing up
has been a challenge, one that the team still struggles with in areas such as
onboarding, knowledge transfer, and reinforcement of the axiom that simply adding
staff does not mean more functionality will be delivered faster (aka nine women can’t
make a baby in a month).
It took about a year to cycle through the team’s artifacts and not only remove the
references to SEM but ensure, in conjunction with that effort, that the team
documented and implemented current guidance in a meaningful way, still asking (and
answering), “does this make sense for us?”
Finally, the one constant that the team has had through the years is great people.
When working to invoke cultural change, to improve a highly functioning Agile
team: Listen, gather necessary data, and proceed with intention. Typically, highly
functioning Agile teams include subject matter experts who have unified to meet a
common goal. And they are in a battle with time. Given that, to invoke change, listen
to what the team is saying. Does it sound like “same song, different day?” How many
7
days have you heard the song? Is it just a person or two who’s voicing a concern or is
there a theme? Are people going outside the process? And if so, why? Highly
functioning Agile teams thrive on communication and trust. Listening, gathering data,
and proceeding with intention takes out that unspoken element of mistrust. For a
highly functioning Agile team to change, they have to see and accept the benefit of
the change and have a level of trust in it.
The original G2 sponsor had a saying about hard work versus luck – you need a bit of
both. By all accounts, the G2 project has been a success. The team’s hard work (and
luck) has paid off in terms of deploying and maintaining a wildly successful system
and receiving not only the PMI award but other internal and industry awards as well.
Seven years after our process journey began, we claim momentary victory.
Momentary because just as systems continue to improve, so do processes. Victory
because our esprit de corps and our commitment to Agile (and each other) are as
strong as ever.
8
References
Agile Alliance. (2001). Manifesto for Agile Software Development. Retrieved from
http://www.agilemanifesto.org/.
National Nuclear Security Administration. (n.d.). Nuclear Nonproliferation Program

Offices. Retrieved from NNSA:
http://www.nnsa.energy.gov/aboutus/ourprograms/nonproliferation/programof
fices.
9
Evaluating and Building Portfolio Management Maturity
Hostetter and Norris, UMD PM Symposium 2016
Evaluating and Building Portfolio

Management Maturity
Susan Hostetter and Sherri Norris

U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, USA
This paper is released to inform interested parties of ongoing operations and to encourage
discussion of work in progress. Any views expressed on operational issues are those of the
authors and not necessarily those of the U.S. Census Bureau.
1
Executive Summary
This paper focuses on implementation of portfolio management process in a Federal program. It
introduces a maturity model designed to evaluate and track portfolio management capability at
the U.S. Census Bureau. The authors used their collective experience implementing portfolio
management in Federal Programs to inform the paper and create the model.
The model evaluates and tracks the following program maturity characteristics:
• The portfolio management process maturity levels;
• The levels of strategic planning practiced;
• The level of organizational acceptance for the portfolio management processes.
Important topics that emerged from the development of this maturity model were the definition
of portfolio management characteristics, the value of strategic planning to the portfolio
management process, and the importance of organizational acceptance in the success of
implementing a new process.
Portfolio Management in a Federal Agency

Portfolio management is an important tool to support the fiscal accountability and transparency
of government programs. The portfolio management process allows programs to select and
prioritize projects that are essential to supporting important government programs. These
programs and agencies work within defined budgets, with the focus being on achieving program
objectives, followed by adhering to rigid standards and established protocols. Typically, agency
budget authority lies with Congress and not within the organization (agency divisions and
directorates). This uncertain budget environment increases the need for portfolio management.
Portfolio management aids governments programs by managing limited funds and ensuring that
mission critical processes remain effective and up-to-date. It also helps government programs
identify projects they should cancel or re-prioritize. Portfolio management also increases
stakeholder engagement, aids in decision-making and tracks project investments throughout their
lifecycle. Portfolio management is essential to completing important government work.
Background
According to MITRE Corporation, a recognized expert in Portfolio Management, “Portfolio
Management is a continuous and persistent process that enables decision makers to strategically
and operationally manage resources to maximize accomplishment of desired outcomes (e.g.
mission results, organizational improvements, enhancement of operational capabilities) within
given constraints and constructs such as regulation, interdependent architectures, budgets,
concept of operations, technology, and mission threads.” More simply put, portfolio
management is “doing the right things” to achieve organizational strategic goals. A portfolio is
the complete inventory of investments required to achieve strategic priorities.
2
At the U.S. Census Bureau, the agency implemented portfolio management at either the
directorate or the division level. Characteristic of a large government agency, there was variation
in implementation of portfolio management among the different work groups and subsequently,
portfolio management in some areas is more mature than in others. Previous presentations by
Hostetter et al focused on only one program, the American Community Survey, which was an
early adopter of portfolio management within the agency. Now we are interested in taking a
broader look at the portfolio management throughout the agency and evaluating the maturity of
those processes. Through our experience with the American Community Survey and other
programs, we now have better idea of what would be key indicators of portfolio management
maturity at the agency. As a natural step, we would like to apply that knowledge to evaluate the
portfolio management capability across the different work groups at the agency, assess their
maturity and classify the programs into workable levels.
Portfolio Management Maturity Model

We developed the Portfolio Management Maturity Model as a tool to evaluate the current
portfolio management processes across the agency. The model assesses organizational
performance in a structured repeatable format and produces an “apples to apples” evaluation of
the different areas. Our intent is for the model to provide the agency the ability to evaluate the
strengths and weaknesses in each portfolio management area and produce specific goals to bring
each area to an optimized level of performance.
We developed the model by identifying the characteristics of a successful portfolio management

process, defining the characteristics at each maturity
level, and identifying relevant success criteria and
questions for each characteristic and maturity level.
For the levels, we used the five-step SEI Capability
Maturity Model (CMM) (Stand-up, Informal,
Developing, Managed, Optimized) to conform to
established maturity levels. For the model, we
developed maturity criteria in three main areas:
Process, Strategic Planning and Tracking, and
Organizational Acceptance. We based our criteria on
the concept that portfolio management is one part of a
successful strategic management process and that all
the pieces interact and contribute to inform each
individual process. Figure 1 shows how portfolio
management interacts with the other strategic
Figure 1. Strategic Management Cycle
management processes. We provide details on the five
levels of maturity and their criteria on the following pages.
3
Maturity Level 1 – Stand-Up
We use the stand-up level to determine if the program area has
started implementation of the characteristic criterion we are
evaluating. Figure 2 to the right lists the indicators we have
specified for each of the three criteria areas. Below, we list the
questions we developed to assess the indicators. We designed the
questions specifically to find the presence of key process, strategic
planning and tracking and acceptance indicators. In this level, we
focus on discovering if the program area has begun
implementation of the indicators that support a successful portfolio
management process and fully expect to find that some programs
may have great progress in one indicator area and very little in
another.
Level 1 Process Questions

Has the program defined the role of the PMGB?
Has the program identified the members of its PMGB?
Has the program defined its portfolio management process?
Has the program identified all ongoing investment projects?
Has the program identified its key investment projects?
Has the program specified requirements for its investment
reviews?
Has the program identified reporting requirements?
Has the program specified project documentation standards?
Does the program have templates for project documentation?
Level 1 Strategic Planning and Tracking Questions

Does the program have a Strategic Planning and Tracking process? Figure 2. Maturity Level 1
Does the program have measures in place to track key program
performance indicators?
Does the program discuss strategic priorities?
Has the program identified its strategic priorities?
Level 1 Organizational Acceptance Questions

Does staff communicate ideas for new projects to leadership?
Does staff complete documentation for investment projects?
Does staff report progress on investment projects?
4
Maturity Level 2 – Informal
At the Informal level, we start assessing how mature the program
is on our Portfolio Management indicators. We expect to see
some activity on the major indicators but do not expect any
maturity or regularity of effort. Figure 3 to the right lists the
indicators we have specified for each of the three criteria areas.
Below, we list the questions we developed to assess the
indicators.

Has the PMGB begun to hold meetings?
Has the program educated the PMGB members on their role and
the purpose of portfolio management?
Do the PMGB members get distracted with the
technical/operational details of investment projects?
Has the program documented its portfolio management process?
Does the program have a formal inventory of its current
investment projects?
Does the program have a list of new investment?
Does the program conduct formal reviews of key investment
projects?
Do the key investment projects maintain a risk register?
Does the PMGB provide guidance to its investment project
managers?
Has the program specified investment reports?
Does the program centrally manage and store project
Figure 3. Maturity Level 2
documentation?

Has the program completed strategic planning exercises?
How long have the performance measures been in place?
Do the performance measures align to the strategic priorities? Has the program communicated its
strategic priorities to staff? Has the program communicated its strategic priorities to its
stakeholders?

Has the program educated staff on how to submit proposals for new investment projects?
Has the program provided staff templates to use for proposal submission?
Has the program provided document templates and communicated documentation expectations
to staff?
Has the program educated staff on how to complete investment project documentation?
5
Maturity Level 3 – Developing
At the Developing level, we begin to look for formal processes,
finished artifacts and cultural acceptance. We expect to see the
establishment of processes and activity occurring on a more
regular basis. Figure 4 to the right lists the indicators we have
specified for each of the three criteria areas. Below, we list the
questions we developed to assess the indicators.

What is the frequency of the PMGB meetings?
Do the PMGB members attend the meetings?
Do the PMGB members prepare for the meetings?
Do PMGB members participate in the meetings?
How often does the program review and update its portfolio
management process?
Has the program evaluated the strategic alignment of its current
projects?
How often does the program review its key investment projects?
Do the key investment projects track budget expenditures?
Does the PMGB assign and track action items to its investment
project managers?
Has the program developed investment reports?
Does the program have a platform for storing investment project
documentation?

Does the program have an up-to-date strategic plan? Figure 4. Maturity Level 3
Has the program shared the strategic plan with stakeholders?
Has the program shared its strategic plan with stakeholders?
Does leadership have a good understanding of the data going into the performance measures?
Are the measures updated appropriately (monthly, quarterly, annually)?
Has the program aligned it investment projects to its strategic priorities?

Does staff submit new investment project proposals to the PMGB before work on a project
begins?
Has the program educated the staff on how to report progress on investment projects?
What percent of the investment projects have completed documentation (appropriate to level of
progress)?
What percent of the program's investment projects have current status reported?
6
Maturity Level 4 – Managed
At the Managed level, we look for formal processes, finished
artifacts and cultural acceptance. At this level, we begin to look for
engagement and innovation of the processes. Figure 5 to the right
lists the indicators we have specified for each of the three criteria
areas. Below, we list the questions we developed to assess the
indicators.

Does the PMGB meet frequently enough to keep up with
workload?
Do the PMGB members ask probing questions about the strategic
value of investment projects?
Do PMGB members focus on investment project's scope/budget
and schedule?
Is the program's portfolio management documentation up-to-date?
How often does the program review strategic alignment of its
investment projects?
Does the program have slide templates for investment project
managers to complete for the reviews?
Does the PMGB follow up on action items with its investment
project managers?
Does the program update the investment reports on a regular basis?
What percent of investment projects meet project documentation
standards?
Level 4 Strategic Planning and Tracking Questions Figure 5. Maturity Level 4

Does the program actively use the strategic plan in its planning
activities?
Does the program use measures to baseline performance and track strategic investment efforts?
Does the program rank its investment proposals against its strategic priorities?

Do staff submit proposals for projects to begin the current year?
Do staff submit proposals for projects to begin the next year?
How frequently are the project status updated?
7
Maturity Level 5 – Optimized
Finally, at the Optimized level we define what we think would be
a highly performing portfolio management process. We expect
formal processes, finished artifacts and cultural acceptance in
addition to continuous improvement of the processes and full
engagement of leadership, the PMGB members and program
staff. Figure 6 to the right lists the indicators we have specified
for each of the three criteria areas. Below, we list the questions
we developed to assess the indicators.

Does the PMGB review proposals and status reports in a timely
manner?
Do the PMGB members evaluate and refine the portfolio
management process?
Does the program continuously improve its portfolio management
process?
How often does the program review the strategic performance of
its investments?
Is key investment project information easily available to PMGB
members?
Are the investment review actions items completed?
Are the investment reports automated?
Is project documentation easily available to the PMGB members?

Does the program regularly refresh its strategic plan?
Figure 6. Maturity Model Level 5
Does the program refresh its performance measures to support new
strategic initiatives and program direction?
Have the program's efforts realized movement on its strategic priorities?
Does the program have measures to track and measure progress on strategic priorities?

Do staff submit proposals for projects that are to begin two years out?
Are the project status updates automated?
8
Next Steps
We are at the beginning of our assessment of portfolio management and will continue our work
with the model, explore additional criteria for the model, and refine the questions. Our next
steps will include:
1. Analyze current practices of selected programs using current model. Understanding that
each directorate and division may have different needs and organizational cultures, we would
analyze the current portfolio management practices of the selected program using the
portfolio maturity model.
2. Develop an Implementation Scorecard. We will use the scorecard to document portfolio
management maturity scores for programs. Results from the scorecards will help the
programs improve their performance and identify areas needing improvement or
reassessment.
3. Grade selected agency programs. We will approach programs throughout the agency to
request completion of the Implementation Scorecard.
4. Interpret model results. We will conduct an evaluation of the models results after the
Implementation Scorecards and grade them to assess how well the identified criteria
accurately assess the programs.
5. Revise the model. After we evaluate current criteria, we will revise the model based on
analysis results. The current model is a good starting point but as we better understand how
the agency programs conduct portfolio management, our vision is to refine the model by
adding additional criteria. Areas to consider for the future criteria include:
• Project schedules
• Project Server—(A recently implemented enterprise portfolio management tool to
track project resources and costs).
• Risk assessment
• Schedule management
6. Continue to seek out portfolio management training opportunities and share them at the
enterprise level with appropriate staff.
7. Continue to monitor portfolio management corporate culture at the agency. Portfolio
management requires commitment by senior leadership. Senior management shared 10
Guiding Change Principles for success in achieving the goals in the agency Strategic Plan
which included a statement that work will be managed through the portfolio management
governance process.
8. Review the portfolio management roles of the program management offices developed
recently under reorganization to understand how they are they supporting portfolio
management at the agency.
9. Continue discussions of strategic management, including portfolio management with the
appropriate agency stakeholders.
10. Support the principles of continuous process improvement and identification of best practices
to mature and refine agency portfolio management practices.
9
Appendix: Project Portfolio Management Maturity Model
10
Transitioning Software Development and Operations Laboratory to Agile
N. Ivanov1, M. L. Pack2
1
Center for Advanced Transportation Technology Laboratory, Department of Civil
Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742; [email protected]
2
Center for Advanced Transportation Technology Laboratory, Department of Civil
Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742; [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Over the last five years, the CATT Lab at the University of Maryland
expanded its cutting-edge software development operation from five
full-time developers and 10 students to nearly 30 full-time staff and 90
students. With this growth came many organizational and software
development process challenges. In response to these challenges, the
CATT Lab implemented staffing and work-flow solutions, as well as a
tailored agile development process loosely based on Scrum. As a result
of implementation of this process, the CATT Lab is able to handle
rapidly changing priorities, maintain positive work environment, and
deliver high quality software. The key to success are ability to adopt
and tailor processes, empowering individuals, establishing clear
hierarchy, measuring performance and setting targets, and
introspection and continuous self-improvement.
BACKGROUND
The CATT Lab. The Center for Advanced Transportation Technology

Laboratory (CATT Lab) is an applied research and development lab within the Civil
and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Maryland, College
Park. The CATT Lab’s mission is to develop cutting-edge software products that aid
first responders, state and local Departments of Transportation, and researchers in
managing and analyzing both real-time and archived data.
The CATT Lab has expanded significantly within the past five years from fewer
than five full-time software developers and 10 undergraduate students to nearly 30
full-time staff and over 90 part-time students. As the Lab grew, most of the full time
developers were sourced from the large pool of graduating student employees who
were performing at a higher level than their peers.
Today, the CATT Lab supports a large number of software development and
basic research contracts with state, local, and federal agencies across the entire
country. This rapid growth exposed many deficiencies in organization, work-flow,
and project management that threatened the long-term viability of the CATT Lab.
The remainder of this paper discusses these growth challenges, the significant
changes that were implemented, and lessons learned.
Page 1 of 13
CATT LAB STRUCTURE AND PROCESS CHALLENGES
Early days of the CATT Lab. The first products to emerge from the CATT Lab
consisted of web-based tools to aid Maryland transportation operations staff in
visualizing, exploring, and computing basic stats on their own data—which consisted
of crash data, speed and volume sensor measurements, and other related data. As these
products gained interest with additional state and local agencies, the CATT Lab was
commissioned to build significantly larger software products including the Regional
Integrated Transportation Information System (RITIS) – a data fusion system allowing
many transportation agencies and first-responders to collaborate in real time during
regional incidents. With this system, the CATT Lab went beyond the development of
prototype applications to the development and support of 24/7 operational systems
with thousands of users in multiple time zones. Additional large work contracts were
initiated at the same time – further adding complexity, staffing needs, and expectations
to the CATT Lab developers and management.
Functional development challenge. As the CATT Lab staff expanded to meet

the demands of new contracts, developers organized themselves in a functional
manner – creating a number of development teams focused on individual technologies
and products. Table 1 shows the team structure and responsibilities for each of the
teams.
Table 1 - CATT Lab Development Team Structure and Responsibilities
Team Responsibility
Design, implementation, and maintenance of numerous relational
DBA Team
databases.
Extract, transform, load (ETL) tasks required to integrate new data
Java Team
sources into various CATT Lab databases.
Development of front-end components showing real-time
Web Team
transportation data.
Analytics Development of visual analytics using archived data sets using the
Team Flex application framework.
IT Team Hardware infrastructure to support development and operations.
GIS Team Geographic Information Systems (GIS) related support services.
All teams were required to work closely together to achieve the common goal of
delivering software products. However, in practice this proved to be difficult for the
following reasons:
 Diversity of process. Development processes grew organically within each team
with little coordination between other teams.
 Ad-hoc leadership. The CATT Lab organizational structure was relatively flat
without a clear chain of command. The teams were either led by the strongest
developer, the strongest personality, or in some instances had no leadership at all.
 Work-flow management. To complete a deliverable, all teams were
simultaneously required develop their individual components, perform their own
Page 2 of 13
testing, and finally produce a deliverable for system testing. However, if two
teams were working on one project, while a third team was working on a different
project based on some other external or internal priority, the individual team
components would be available at different times, which introduced delays. When
the components would finally be completed, there was no clear understanding of
who owned the integration process and testing, nor who was responsible for
fixing issues discovered during integration. This resulted in further delays and less
than desirable quality.
 Staffing distribution. Depending on focus of the management or incoming
contracts, certain teams could grow to have seven or eight full time developers
plus student developers, while other teams might shrink to only one or two
developers. This created issues related to teams’ ability to deliver their pieces of
work in a timely manner. For example, the team with eight developers would
complete their piece of the project and move on to another project, while the team
with only one member would struggle to keep up.
 Management focus-shift. Managing a functional organization where each team
behaves as an independent development group proved to be extremely
challenging. The Lab Management frequently targeted individual teams to
perform critical or time-sensitive work based on those teams’ capabilities. When a
new priority arose, these teams would be redirected, which inadvertently impacted
other teams waiting on them for a deliverable.
 Unified direction. Frequently, project managers did not share information
effectively with each other, which resulted in inconsistent directions to individual
teams. As an outcome, teams were frequently attempting to satisfy different, and
sometimes incompatible expectations.
As developers and management grew frustrated by the above issues, morale began
to decline. The dynamics within each team and even across teams also shifted and
sometimes became toxic. Despite these challenges, the Lab continued to be successful
and deliver high quality software. However, the stress that accompanied forced the
CATT Lab to evaluate alternative organization and management.
STAFFING SOLUTIONS
To remain effective, allow for growth, and to protect its employees from burn-out
and frustration, the CATT Lab needed to reorganize and become more efficient. A
small group of leaders and key developers in the CATT Lab were assembled to
evaluate and recommend solutions. The first set of recommendations included the
following:
Introduction of hierarchy and structure. In order to combat inefficiencies

created by the existing flat functional CATT Lab organizational structure the
Management Team introduced a new hierarchy as shown in Figure 1. The purpose of
the hierarchy was to establish a clear chain of command for decision making. This
new org chart decreased the number of communication channels by funneling
Page 3 of 13
priorities and expectations as well as development progress through designated team
leads and program managers.
Figure 1 - CATT Lab “Flat” and Hierarchical Organizational Charts

Initially, some developers were uncomfortable with their perception of
communication restrictiveness within this model. However, as they developed a habit
of utilizing technical team leads, the communication became more efficient and
enabled developers to focus on tasks at hand and avoid excessive meetings. The
Management Team also encouraged transparency on all levels along with “skip-level”
management – where each employee is free to talk and collaborate with any other
employee, including the management. Ultimately, staff came to love the new
organizational structure as it reduced confusion related to expectations, roles, and
communication workload.
Staff diversity. As the Lab structure changed, the hiring focus shifted from hiring
internal graduating student candidates, to a broader search aimed at bringing outside
talent. This hiring strategy led to a more diverse staff in terms of age, gender,
technical expertise, problem solving capabilities, domain knowledge, and maturity.
These new, externally sourced employees were able to recognize the Lab’s strengths
– serving as a reality check to young employees who believed the grass was always
greener on the outside. At the same time, these new employees were able to identify
the Lab’s weaknesses from a more critical perspective – using their own industry
experience to offer suggestions for improvement.
Staff empowerment. While the new structure was introduced in a top-down

manner, staff were encouraged to provide suggestions for improvement of the
structure and hiring process. As active contributors, the employees became more
invested and more critical of the process, which ultimately helped to incrementally
improve morale and provide employees with a sense of ownership unlike what they
might have had before.
Page 4 of 13
WORK-FLOW SOLUTIONS
While the above changes helped resolve a good number of organizational issues
with the staff, there still existed unaddressed challenges that affected the Lab’s ability
to meet deadlines, allocate resources efficiently, and remain flexible as an
organization. These additional pain points remained:
 Constant shifts in priority that impacted schedules
 Difficulty of coordination across functional teams and leveraging resources
 Unbalanced teams
 Lack of understanding of overall CATT Lab product goals, deliverables, and
schedules
Because of the newfound open communication lines, employees approached

management to suggest considering adoption of the Agile software development
process as a means to resolve these lingering pain points. After extensive research by
management and developers, the CATT Lab formed an Agile Implementation Task
Force whose focus was to provide guidance on how best to implement an Agile
process that would meet the CATT Lab needs and minimize disruptions caused by the
new process implementation.
One of the outcomes of this research was the realization that while the Agile
process is a well-documented theoretical concept, the individual implementations of
the Agile process vary wildly across industries and organization. With this
understanding, the CATT Lab set out to establish a tailored version of the Agile
process that would implement the relevant Agile concepts that addressed the
remaining CATT Lab work-flow pain points.
CATT LAB TAILORED AGILE PROCESS IMPLEMENTATION
The Agile Process Task Force generated a proposal that addressed all major pain
points and was implementable in a short period of time. The proposal was loosely
based on Scrum and consisted of the following changes:
 Cross-functional teams – create three equally distributed cross-functional teams
and three supporting teams
 Two week sprints – structure development in staggered two week long sprints
 Sprint planning – schedule work for sprints weekly and require management to be
present to provide guidance and priorities
 Physical team co-location
 Retrospective – run retrospective meeting at the end of each team’s sprint
Cross-functional teams. Each cross-functional team consists of subject matter

experts including DBAs, back end and ETL developers, front end developers with
web and analytics expertise, and quality control. The goal is to ensure that each team
is capable of taking on any piece of work independently of the work being done in
other teams and sprints. At the same time, exposure to multiple projects allows
developers to learn other technologies and products, and to become more versatile.
Page 5 of 13
Supporting teams include Information Technology (IT), User Experience (UX),
and Customer Service. These teams were intended to operate outside of sprint
schedule, but to be involved in sprint planning process to ensure that their priorities
match the needs of development teams.
Two week sprints. All work is performed in two week chunks, called sprints,
starting on Monday and ending on Friday of the following week. The goal is to ensure
that work is broken down and scheduled in a manner that allows developers to remain
focused and on schedule. As shown in Figure 2 the start date of each sprint is
staggered between each team to ensure that new priorities from management can
always be scheduled quickly without disrupting the schedule and deliverables of other
teams midway through their sprint. Each sprint ends on Friday, and it includes
deploying completed work, running a retrospective, and breaking down and assigning
the work scheduled for the following sprint. The deployments aren’t always visible to
the customer and could sometimes be only internal improvements. However, it is
critical that each team deploys their work packages at the end of their sprint.
Figure 2 - Sprint Staggering

Sprint planning. Sprint planning meetings occur every Thursday morning from
8am to 10am in the designated “Scrum Room.” These meetings include management,
all of the technical Team Leads (who fill the role of Scrum Masters), and supporting
Team Leads. These sprint planning meetings represent the core of the process and are
critical to success of the CATT Lab agile process. These meetings expose all known
work across the Lab, and force Management to transparently prioritize and schedule
work, expose how shifts in priorities by management would affect schedules, and
simultaneously provide developers insights as to why and how priorities are
established.
The meeting agenda for Sprint Planning is as follows:
1. Team sprint updates – each team lead goes through the list of their current sprint
tasks and provides the following information for each:
a. Is the task on target to be completed, at risk, or will it need to be pushed to the
next sprint?
b. Percent of expected effort expended on the task
c. Percent of task completed
2. Team flow-up – each Team Lead reports feedback from his or her team members
regarding process, work progress, blockers, or any other significant events.
Page 6 of 13
3. New work – anyone in the room is allowed to add new work to the board and
explain where the work comes from and why it is important.
4. Update work priority – all newly identified work is then placed in one of the
following bins:
a. Ready to be scheduled – this is work that is well defined and ready to be
scheduled. This bin is further broken down into “ASAP,” “30 days,” or “60
days” according to priority.
b. Blocked – any work that is blocked internally or externally is placed into this
bin to signify that it cannot be worked on until the block is removed.
c. Needs requirements – work that is not well defined is moved to this bin to
signify the need for additional information.
d. Needs architecture – work that is well defined in terms of requirements, but
its solution isn’t readily evident.
e. Needs art – work that requires user interface (UI) design by the UX team.
f. Needs IT – work that requires IT team resources and/or hardware.
g. Proposals – any potential work that requires estimation of effort and cost.
h. Backlog – if work is not high in priority, it is placed in the backlog which is
reviewed occasionally to reevaluate priorities.
5. Plan next sprint – work that is ready to be scheduled is taken in order of priority
and assigned to each team’s next sprint until each team is fully loaded with work
for that sprint.
6. Plan future sprints – at least one additional future sprint is roughly outlined, but
was subject to change in the following sprint planning meeting.
7. Management flow-down – the management provides any big picture changes in
terms of new potential work, or anything else that may affect the development in
the near future.
The development teams track all of the work in the Atlassian suite of tools
including JIRA and Confluence. JIRA is an issue tracking system that allows
developers to break down each task into components and assign those components to
individual developers. Figure 3 shows an example set of issues in a sprint tracked in
JIRA.
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Figure 3 - JIRA Sprint Tracking
Even with the use of electronic tools like JIRA and Confluence, the CATT Lab
desired to employ a more tactile and visual method for organizing and prioritizing
work in their tailored agile process. The CATT Lab made use of nearly 400 square
feet of wall space to their planning room to track, prioritize, and organize work using
paper sticky notes. Each note represents high level work to be performed, and they
are placed in appropriate locations on the wall: ready to be scheduled, backlog,
blocked, under a given team’s sprint, etc. Each sticky note is then moved between
these sections of the wall in real-time by Management and team-members. This visual
management approach allows teams to see work in progress and understand complex
information like processes, task relationships and risks related to a team’s ability to
complete work on time. The tactile actions and the visualization help to minimize
mistakes and facilitate team and management communicating during meetings.
Figure 4 shows an example of the team sprint definitions using paper sticky
notes. Each column on the board represents a team, and each row represents a sprint.
Each cell is the split to classify work as “on target,” “at risk”, or “push” depending on
the current progress. Also each sticky note has a percentage of effort expended and
percentage of completion.
Page 8 of 13
Figure 4- Defining Team Sprints
Figure 5 shows an example of the work bins and sticky notes in each bin. During
the meeting the team reviews each bin and moves tickets based on changes in their
priority or newly acquired information.
Figure 5 - Work Bins

Physical team co-location. Agile team members are collocated in a single room
to ensure team members are easily visible and accessible to each other. This approach
fosters tight communication and building of relationships. As team members grow
accustomed to each other, they are more likely to collaborate and ask for help when
needed. They also become more knowledgeable about their team’s strengths and
weaknesses and can leverage that information to perform work more efficiently.
Page 9 of 13
Retrospective meetings. Every Friday at the end of each sprint, teams complete
their deploys and meet to discuss the previous sprint and break down and assign the
work for the following sprint. This meeting is specifically for teams and management
attendees are there in a passive role to answer questions and provide high level
feedback. However, the focus is on the team members, students, and transparency.
The agenda is as follows:
1. What did we do well this sprint?
2. What did we not do well this sprint?
3. Other feedback.
4. Next sprint planning
a. Work breakdown
b. Work estimation
c. Work assignments
At the end of the retrospective meeting, the team members understand what made
them successful in the previous sprint and attempt to replicate that in the future. They
also outline their failures and take steps to prevent those from occurring in the future.
Finally, they leave the meeting with a clear understanding of the upcoming sprint
work and their role in the sprint.
LESSONS LEARNED
Living process and feedback loop. Since the agile process was implemented at
the CATT Lab 12 months ago, the process has evolved. The process was developed
with an understanding that continuous introspection, self-assessment, and feedback
loops are needed to improve the process. Each planning meeting is better than the
previous planning meeting, and each retrospective meeting makes the team more
effective than it was the previous week. During this 12-month implementation period
the CATT Lab team further identified new challenges, and has taken steps to address
each as outlined below:
Work estimation. Accurate work estimation is critical to effective scheduling

and sprint planning. The teams consistently underestimated or overestimated their
work which impacted their ability to reliably schedule work. To address this issue, the
CATT Lab implemented the following changes:
1. Lunch and learn presentation – the CATT Lab staff put together a lunch and learn
presentation that outlines several industry standard estimation techniques that can
be used to better estimate work.
2. Planning poker – during the work breakdown portion of retrospective, the team
members are asked to individually evaluate effort needed for each scheduled task
by assigning it a value with one of the cards with Fibonacci sequence numbers
from 0 to 55. Team members with the highest and lowest estimates are asked to
explain the reasoning behind their estimates to the team – starting a discussion
that leads to a better understanding of the complexities of the task, approaches to
solving problems, etc. This crowd wisdom approach helps the teams reach more
accurate estimates.
Page 10 of 13
3. Performance measures – the CATT Lab tracks a new measure to define the
amount of overestimation or underestimation that occurs in each sprint and to
isolate potential issues that impact those estimates.
Despite these changes, teams still struggle with estimations and require more work to
improve in this area.
Aggressive demands from management. In the effort to ensure progress, the

management assigned more work than was feasible, and the developers felt that they
were unable to effectively push back. Early sprints frequently resulted in no
deployments and majority of work being pushed to the following sprint. This had a
negative impact on developer morale as they felt that the “agile process” was just a
disguise for the same old stream of constantly changing priority work. To resolve this
issue, the CATT Lab implemented the following changes:
1. Sprints were extended to three weeks while attempting to keep the same work
load as what was scheduled in two week sprints. This helped, but it also made the
organization less responsive to changing priorities, and the extended work period
had the unintended effect of adding more risk and uncertainty to the sprint as
more work was taken on instead of an equivalent amount of work. After several
sprints, the Lab reverted back to two-week sprints.
2. The planning process was changed to ensure that only the work that Team Leads
were confident would get complete, actually gets scheduled. Team Leads are then
held to a high standard with the expectation that everything scheduled in their
sprint must be completed, unless it is impacted by an external blocker or another
event beyond their control. This approach has had a major impact and has resulted
in significantly more productive sprints.
3. The CATT Lab developed a new performance measure to track the amount of
work that gets pushed to the next sprint as a percentage of overall work assigned.
While the goal is to be at 0% at the end of each sprint, the percentages could be
analyzed over time to determine patterns that may expose specific issues causing
work to be pushed.
Changing priorities. The implementation of an agile process cannot affect

external forces that might cause Management to shift priorities, but it has helped to
make priority shifts significantly less disruptive given that the development teams are
fairly protected in their sprints. The impact has mainly been absorbed by the Team
Leads who personally take on any incoming work to ensure that the remainder of the
team continues uninterrupted. This approach works, but as Team Leads become
overloaded, they may drop or forget about certain tasks, therefore introducing risk. To
address this issue, the CATT Lab is implementing the following changes:
1. Proactive communication – the management is attempting to be as proactive as
possible and bring up new work in early stages (even if the new work has a
minimal probability of occurring) so that placeholder tasks can be created in
future sprints and expectations can be managed. However, sometimes customer
demands dictate immediate priority changes, which still presents a challenge.
Page 11 of 13
2. Reserve Team Lead capacity – the Team Leads reserve some of their time for
unplanned work and attempt to take on that work instead of disrupting the rest of
the team.
3. Reduce team size – adding a fourth team has allowed the Team Leads to work
with smaller teams and open up some additional personal capacity to address
unplanned work.
Overly diverse sprints. Cross-functional teams are capable of performing work

on many different tasks. However, scheduling too much diverse work within a sprint
causes excessive context switching for individual developers, thus affecting
productivity. Even going from sprint to sprint, if tasks are significantly different,
additional time is spent in spin-up for each family of tasks. To address this issue, the
CATT Lab implemented the following changes:
1. Assign more homogeneous work for teams for a single sprint whenever possible.
2. Designate each team as responsible for a set of logically related projects so that
teams operate on familiar code bases from sprint to sprint, even if they are
required to work on a different set of tasks, while still maintaining cross-
functional nature of the teams.
Performance measures. There is an old saying, “what gets measured gets done”
and the same holds for agile process. Without metrics, it is difficult to discern level of
success or failure. The development team may think that they work hard and
accomplish amazing amounts of work, while the management keeps seeing tickets
getting moved to “At Risk” or “Push” sections of the scrum board. Conversely, the
management may be pushing certain work, when that particular work does not lay on
the critical path. The CATT Lab developed several performance measures that the
team tracks and uses to guide process and skills improvement:
1. Percent of work not carried to the next sprint – at the end of each sprint, the team
tracks the number of sticky notes that did not have to be pushed to the next sprint.
The goal is to achieve 100% completion rate.
2. Number of deployments – this metric measures how frequently sprint ends with a
successful deployment.
3. Number of pull requests posted by Team Lead – a “pull request” is a developer
generated notification that code for a particular feature is completed. Other
developers are invited to review this feature and merge its source code into the
main source code branch. This metric is meant to measure effectiveness of
reducing team sizes with an addition of the fourth team. The theoretical
expectation is that as each Team Lead manages a smaller team, they are able to
perform more hands-on development which will result in an increased number of
pull requests.
4. Accuracy of estimates – this metric quantifies accuracy of teams’ estimates in
order to identify specific issues and address those in a meaningful manner.
5. Number of tickets resolved by developer and Team Leads – this metric allows
tracking of individual technical performance.
CONCLUSION
Page 12 of 13
Organizational change can be stressful and complex. However, when
organizational change comes from within as a reaction to the success of an
organization and employee concerns, the change can be more palatable and even
welcome. The CATT Lab’s implementation of a tailored agile process along with
adapting hiring processes and organizational restructuring addressed many pain
points and set the Lab up for long term viability. The keys to the CATT Lab success
are:
1. Adopting and tailoring a process suited to the Lab’s mission and objectives
2. Empowering individuals and allowing them to own portions of the process.
3. Establishing a clear hierarchy
4. Introspection and continuous self-improvement
5. Measuring performance and setting targets
REFERENCES
"The Agile Manifesto for Software Development - Agile Alliance | Agile Alliance."
Agile Alliance. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.agilealliance.org/agile101/the-agile-manifesto/>.
"Helping Teams Build What’s next." Atlassian. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.atlassian.com/>.
"Pull Requests." Atlassian Git Tutorial. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/making-a-pull-request/>.
"CATT Lab." CATT Lab. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cattlab.umd.edu/>.
"Planning Poker." Planning Poker. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.agilealliance.org/glossary/poker/>.
"Learn About Scrum." What Is Scrum? An Agile Framework for Completing Complex
Projects. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <https://www.scrumalliance.org/why-scrum>.
"RITIS." » CATT Lab. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.cattlab.umd.edu/?portfolio=ritis>.
Page 13 of 13

2016 Project Management Symposium
Near‐Site Agile: Scaling Agile with Real‐World Constraints
John C. E. Johnson, PMP
Co‐Founder, One Year LLC, Annandale, VA;
Masters of Engineering Graduate, Systems Engineering, A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of
Maryland, College Park, MD
ABSTRACT
This paper provides a description of Near Site Agile and it’s advantages for scaling custom software
development, especially for public sector clients. Near Site Agile splits agile teams so project managers and
business analysts work onsite with the customer, and developers and testers work from nearby delivery
centers where labor rates are significantly lower. This allows the developers to travel to client site as needed
for agile ceremonies and client relationship building, while also providing the scalability of an outsourced
delivery center for team cost, flexibility and cross‐training. The trick is staying “agile” despite the lack of
colocation and resulting pressures for both clients and contractors to matrix or departmentalize project teams.
Lessons learned will be drawn and evaluated from IBM’s project of the year winner for project management,
Electronic Records Administration (ERA) 2. This project used Near‐Site Agile to deliver cutting edge custom
cloud‐based applications to process and access petabytes of data for the National Archives (NARA) despite
significant budget, facility, and schedule constraints.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mr. Johnson was one of the two Agile Project Managers on the NARA ERA 2 case study project, while he was
working as a Senior Agile Project Manager at IBM. During the ten month duration covered in this project, he
led the scoping and contract negotiations during the transition to Near‐Site Agile. He also managed multiple
agile project teams on ERA 2 using Near‐Site Agile to deliver a cutting edge big data search application capable
of supporting discovery across hundreds of petabytes of electronic records expected at NARA by 2020.
Mr. Johnson has since left IBM to co‐found One Year LLC, a software product company operating in the DMV
area dedicated to bringing cutting edge information systems to life sciences research. He has been an agile
project manager and practitioner for over five years working as an entrepreneur, project manager at IBM, and
a management consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton, and has led multiple award winning projects for the
Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy, and National Archives.
CASE STUDY OVERVIEW
Project Title:
National Archives (NARA), Electronic Records Administration (ERA) 2, Digital Processing
Environment and Digital Object Repository Pilot Phase II
Short Description: The purpose of the NARA ERA 2 project was to continue development of the Digital
Processing Environment (DPE) and Digital Object Repository (DOR) applications for NARA’s ERA 2 program.
These applications are web‐based cloud applications that provide scalable transfer processing of electronic
records received from Federal Agencies, as well as permanent, robust preservation and access to government
records. The applications are hosted in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud environment and leverage the
latest in free and open source software (FOSS) components. The application has approximately five hundred to
one thousand potential end users once the system moves from pilot to production (as part of a future
contract).
The project started using IBM's Agile With Discipline (AWD), but was then reorganized to use a new hybrid agile
approach called "Near‐Site Agile." IBM’s Near‐Site Agile approach differs from “scrum‐agile” by incorporating
more formal and continuous planning. It starts with a short planning period during the beginning of the project
that is dedicated to architecture and initial business requirements before development begins. Teams are
made up of five developers, one business analyst, one tester, and one agile project manager (half‐time), as well
as one client tester and product owner. This “whole team” approach ensures that all parties involved
understand the requirements and testing required for the application, and the team has the authority (through
the product owner) to make decisions and self‐direct changes in scope for development. Teams work within
four‐week long sprints where one day is dedicated to planning and one day is dedicated to a team
retrospective and demonstration to stakeholders. The other 18 working days (or less) are available to develop
requirements, code, and test concurrently. All work is managed as stories which are tested fully in an
integrated testing environment across all previous work by application teams before the story is considered
“done.”
Duration:
10 Months Cost:
$15M
Project Personnel:
35 IBM Employees, 15 NARA Employees
NARA Personnel Breakdown: 3 NARA Testers, 3 NARA Product Owners, 2 NARA PMs, 2 NARA Security Officers,
2 NARA Architects, 1 NARA Program Manager, 1 NARA COTR, 1 NARA CTO
IBM Personnel Breakdown: 15 Developers, 4 Testers, 3 Business Analysts, 3 Architects, 2 System
Administrators, 2 DevOps, 2 PMO staff, 2 Agile PMs, 1 Delivery Manager, 1 Program Manager
Outcomes:
• Scoped, designed, developed, and tested a cutting‐edge cloud‐based archiving system in 10 months
• Delivered all “must‐have” functionality on‐time, under budget, and in compliance with NARA standards
• Established IBM Agile Customer Delivery Center in Rocket Center, WV
• Reduced software development labor costs by over 40%
• Winner of Project of the Year in Project Management
in 2015 global competition
HISTORY OF NEARSITE AGILE
Formalizing Agile Development
The origins of Agile are based in management principles popularized during the 1980s. These techniques that
would come to be called “Lean” were a combination of principles including Edward Deming's Total Quality
Management (TQM), Goldratt's Theory of Constraints (TOC), and Taiichi Ohno's Toyota Production System
(TPS). Lean focuses on the reduction of waste in management and production processes, by limiting the seven
sources of waste (transport, inventory, motion, waiting, overproduction, overprocessing, and defects), and
performing continuous improvement [5]. These complementary approaches along with the development of
Rapid Application Development (RAD) by IBM in the 1980s offered alternatives to the traditional “Waterfall”
management model [4]. By the mid‐1990s agile development methods were beginning to manifest in the form
of Dynamic Systems Development method (DSDM) which offered more structure to the RAD process that had
taken the IT Industry by storm [3].
The codified agile principles were established in 2001 with the Agile Manifesto. These core principles stated
that agile practitioners should emphasize the following items on the left over the items on the right [2]:
1) Individuals and Interactions OVER Processes and Tools
2) Working Software OVER Comprehensive Documentation
3) Customer Collaboration OVER Contract Negotiation
4) Responding to Change OVER Following a Plan
The first and most popular approach that fully embraced these principles was “Scrum‐Agile” or “scrum.” Scrum
emphasizes using small teams to accomplish small batches of work beginning at project start. This builds on
the lean principles that practice proves large batches result in waste from inventory and low feedback on errors
in the product process, and therefore small batches are in fact more efficient (even though this is
counter‐intuitive). In order to enable small batches, agile uses the DSDM principles of leveraging
cross‐functional teams to iteratively build software by designing, building, and testing small batches of working
code using timeboxes [3].
Agile teams are therefore usually made up of a customer representative or “product owner,” a project
manager, a business analyst, technical team members, and testers. To decrease process in a highly dynamic
environment, all interactions should be face‐to‐face to quickly provide feedback and the team should “own”
their work with the ability to “stop production” if an error is found and quickly fix it. Standup meetings occur
every morning at the beginning of the day with the entire team so everyone knows the status and what will be
done that day. This means that the purist form of agile techniques did not support off‐site or distributed team
approaches, because the distance would not allow for responsiveness needed to correct errors in requirements
or execution for agile to be effective and efficient. However, IBM pioneered new agile approaches that attempt
to get a better blend of responsiveness, predictability, and scalability.
Developing Agile With Discipline
As the largest IT services and products employer in the world, IBM needed to scale it's agile processes while
continuing to innovate the company delivery models. The first incarnation was the Disciplined Agile Delivery
(DAD) model that advocated for the use of initial planning phases that structure the architecture and product
roadmap. With the architecture and product roadmap the technical and value propositions are known well
enough to structure release points and cost estimates. This enables the agile teams to then move confidently
and work in small batches that validate planning assumptions and refine requirements through the use of
scrum agile techniques and structured reporting. DAD provided the ability to scale across multiple teams by
having better planning processes and a shared high‐level architecture [1].
The second version of this model was developed specifically for the government, called Agile With Discipline
(AWD). AWD emphasized the inclusion of clients as members of the team like traditional agile, but also
expanded starting and ending ceremonies for iterations (i.e. “sprints” or timeboxes) so larger stakeholder
groups and SMEs were systematically included. This approach worked very well for incorporating highly
departmentalized customers into a projectized delivery approach like agile.
However, AWD began to run into issues. Customer product owners worked off client‐site to be colocated with
the agile teams. This kept the product owners away from co‐workers which led to long‐time product owners
losing touch with the business they represented. Also, the government owners often didn't have space to
house the large number of agile teams on these scaled up projects, so separate facilities were procured for the
projects. This meant that government contracts needed to be large from the beginning in order to justify new
facilities dedicated to agile development. NARA was scoped tightly, had issues with available client resources,
and was a magnitude smaller than previous government projects that came before it using AWD, so a new
approach was needed.
THE NEED FOR NEARSITE AGILE
When starting the NARA ERA 2 project the original intention and contract called for using IBM's AWD delivery
approach. However, challenges emerged at the start that demanded changes to the plan:
• Lack of Product Owners – NARA had been under a hiring freeze and didn't have enough experienced
and senior staff who could be spared to be full‐time product owners for ERA 2
• Lack of Space at Client Site – NARA originally planned to have space for IBM's development teams, but
AWD requires open “agile” spaces and dedicated conference rooms to enable face‐to‐face interaction
which were not available due to a lack of space sharing and regulations on work station modifications
• Lack of Talent Near Client Site – IBM identified that NARA's location in College Park was not easily
accessible by its available developers; most of whom didn't have the skills needed for the ERA 2 project
These challenges were critical. Each challenge hobbled the ability of the team to commit to and take
advantage of the core principles of agile development: self‐direction, colocation, and whole teams.
A lack of product owners meant the project would either lack proper direction by the client or the ability for
teams to self‐direct. Teams would either have a product owner with no leverage or insight, or the team would
be severely limited so NARA could “approve” and “review.” NARA's lack of available resources also impacted
the ability to have NARA testers on each of the agile teams to enable continuous delivery of “accepted” code.
The lack of space meant that teams would not be able to communicate quickly and effectively through open
interaction and face‐to‐face communication. This would significantly slow down the teams and limit their
ability to iterate designs quickly and resolve potentially competing designs. Without colocation the teams
would be highly limited to respond to change through fast interaction with each other.
The lack of talent near NARA threatened the ability to colocate as well as put together whole teams of people
with the required skills. IBM had recruited mostly near Herndon, VA, a two hour drive in DC rush hour traffic to
NARA's College Park site. At the same time, IBM had been cutting costs through very high utilitization targets
across all departments, especially those in software development. This meant that many projects needed good
developers and resultantly the best talent could choose to work at projects close to home. The lack of
available talent was potentially crippling for IBM, since ERA 2 was scoped to include the state‐of‐the‐art
cloud‐based application development. All members of the ERA 2 had to be strong programmers capable of
learning new technology quickly, so either IBM was going to have to pay high prices subcontractors (and take
on the associated risks) or pay for developers to stay in nearby hotels to reduce their travel burden.
Faced with nearly insurmountable odds against using agile development but requiring agile per the contract,
IBM worked to devise a new strategy using what it knows best – information technology and daring project
management techniques.
IMPLEMENTING NEARSITE AGILE
It quickly became clear that there was no solution for many of the geographic and facility space constraints at
the NARA client site. At the time this became clear, there were many pressures to modify the contract and go
back to a waterfall‐style plan. Waterfall would enable the team to work remotely without great penalty and
deliver within budget. This however could not work because NARA lacked design specifications, and there
wasn't enough time in the schedule to go through NARA's governance for traditional IT projects. IBM needed to
come up with a solution that could still deliver on‐time and in‐budget using iterative development.
The IBM project executive sponsor proposed a new concept, “Near‐Site Agile” as a solution. This approach
would leverage a nearby client delivery center (CDC) in Rocket Center, WV that was performing O&M support
for NARA already and outsource the development. Rocket Center is a small town, but there was enough talent
immediately available at the CDC since IBM was the premier and only large IT employer with access to UMD's
Frostburg campus. The management team worked together with NARA and the CDC to come up with a solution
that could work. The principles were as follows:
• Colocate by Function
– Teams would split geographically between business and technical roles
◦ Project managers and business analysts would locate at client‐site
◦ Developers and testers would locate at the client delivery center (CDC) in Rocket Center, WV
◦ Teams were kept “whole” and would still maintain the power to self‐direct
• Near‐Site Team Building – teams would travel to each other's site when needed for team building
◦ Teams would start off colocated to build strong relationships before splitting by function
◦ Teams would travel to colocate monthly for iteration planning, midpoint checks, and retrospectives
• Simulated Colocation – teams heavily use video‐conferencing for meetings and quick conversations
◦ All team members would be equipped with high‐definition cameras at workstations
◦ NARA conference rooms were outfitted with HD cameras and audio equipment
“Colocation by Function” enables teams to have the delivery center benefits of training across projects and
sharing of ideas between those team members that do similar types of work. Because the customer is the
team’s source of requirements, the requirements leads (project manager and business analyst) must co‐locate
at the customer location. This enables greater responsiveness and coordination between the customer and
off‐site technical teams. It's very important to emphasize that colocating by function does not take away the
team ownership of the code, especially by the developers. Each team member remained empowered and able
to self‐direct their work despite being dispersed from the client.
The “Near‐Site Team Building” requirement ensures that when needed all team members can be co‐located for

workshops, planning sessions, and review sessions. This helps build and maintain the trust that is required with
agile delivery and the speed of communication needed for highly feedback intensive meetings.
“Simulated Colocation” makes sure that teams can move fast. Stand ups, requirements meetings, and even
simple discussions for feedback on testing or design options are close to in‐person quality with HD
video‐conferencing. Software like Google Hangouts that have one‐click conferencing abilities lowers the inertia
so no conversation requires more than a single action to initiate face‐to‐face communication.
LESSONS LEARNED
Challenges with NearSite Agile
While there are many benefits to Near‐Site Agile, there are some cautions a project manager and management

team needs to be aware of before employing the approach. These focus on the inherent multi‐site and off‐site
challenges that must be addressed directly, as well as the balance of investment in the near‐site client delivery
center (CDC):
• Travel and Communication Costs ‐ Logistical challenges with this approach are primarily rooted in
maintaining cost efficiency of distributed teams despite travel on a monthly or more frequent basis by
all team members. The Near‐Site Agile approach also requires significant setup of collaborative
technologies in both locations, which can add cost to the customer. Finally, the ability to distribute
teams is limited to a reasonable travel distance, so that teams still meet within the same or nearly
same time zone. This enables coordinated standup meetings in the mornings and self‐forming teams as
needed to support feedback loops central to agile project processes.
• CDC Incentives and Culture ‐ From a teaming perspective, the travel does help to normalize cultures
across locations, but only it's not a perfect remedy. Part of the benefit of a client delivery center is a
low‐cost labor market which is often centered around a community where the community members
have deep roots. This adds significantly to the loyalty and stability of team members on the project, but
adds the intricacies of small town politics. The biggest challenge is accurate and timely escalation of
issues and making sure that team members are not overworking themselves to compensate for bad
planning in order to bolster the CDC reputation. The PM must be actively fighting these tendencies
that could lead to team burnout and inherently exploit the CDC teams.
• Talent and Growth Rates at CDC ‐ Lastly, the benefits of using Near‐Site Agile can be great, but there is
a limit to the growth rate sustainable at a CDC in terms of available talented resources. While at first
there may be large untapped talent in a small town near a major metropolitan area, eventually the
growth rate of the projects at the CDC becomes greater than what the small town can support. This
happened within the ten months of the NARA ERA 2 project. To address this issue, CDC members need
to train each other to ramp up skills acquisitions and the PM needs to be prepared to send senior staff
to to the CDC to train and grow teams.
Benefits of NearSite Agile
The first and primary benefits of Near‐Site Agile lie in its low‐cost, stable resources. The incredible support that
was received from the Rocket Center client delivery center (CDC) was at the core of IBM's success on the NARA
ERA 2 project. However, there are also inherent advantages that a Near‐Site Agile delivery offers beyond
standard on‐site disciplined agile models by reducing client burdens. These benefits more than make up for the
challenges in employing Near‐Site Agile:
• Low‐Cost Resources – savings on software development labor can be 40‐50% or more. This more than
makes up for the additional logistical costs and can be an incredible competitive advantage. In agile,
the labor mix is heavily technical. With five out of six and a half team members from the CDC (each
time has half a PM) the net labor savings can be up to 40% compared to staffing at client‐site.
• Reliable Resources – The CDC in Near‐Site Agile is an incredible opportunity for the town where it's
located. People at the CDC stay in the town because that's where they want to live. This means that
resources are stable and the PM spends less time in‐project training or backfilling.
•
Stable Product Owners – client personnel, especially product owners, can now remain on‐site and still
be completely connected to team members using video‐conferencing. This allows product owners to
stay engaged at least part‐time in the business they represent – increasing their effectiveness.
• Reduced Facility Costs ‐because the CDC is located in a small town with a lower cost of living, the
facilities are cheaper and often flexible to be designed as true “agile spaces.” The benefits of open
designs and dedicated team rooms become quickly apparent as teams spend longer getting things
done, rather than finding each other or bouncing between conference rooms.
• Scalability of Delivery – because the Near‐Site Agile approach lowers the burden on the client for
facilities and people there is more actual room for scaling up delivery, especially in government
environments. With lower burdens on product owners more client personnel will be willing or even
want to become product owners once they see success in the first releases. And the CDC can grow
through resource sharing to meet that demand efficiently until human resources becomes a constraint.

REFERENCES

1. "Disciplined Agile Delivery : A Practitioner's Guide to Agile Software Delivery in the
Enterprise."
Disciplined Agile Delivery : A Practitioner's G...
N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.
2. "Manifesto for Agile Software Development."
Manifesto for Agile Software Development
. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
3. "A Quality Software Process for Rapid Application Development."
ResearchGate
. N.p., n.d.
Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
4. "What Is Rapid Application Development? (RAD)."
What Is Rapid Application Development?
(RAD)
. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
5. Womack, James P., and Daniel T. Jones.
Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in
Your Corporation
. New York: Free, 2003. Print.

Stakeholders and Transnational Projects
Khan, Aurangzeb1 & Skibniewski, Miroslaw2 & Cable, John3
1
Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology,
Islamabad, Pakistan; [email protected]
2
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, James A. Clark School of Engineering,
University of Maryland, College Park, USA; [email protected]
3
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, James A. Clark School of Engineering,
University of Maryland, College Park, USA; [email protected]
Abstract
The project stakeholder literature has evolved into a voluminous body of knowledge in recent
years. However, comparatively little research has focused on stakeholders in the context of
transnational projects. Transnational projects in their entirety have become ubiquitous and
very numerous over time, especially with the advent of globalization, and many exhibit an
enormous level of technical complexity and resource-intensiveness, long durations, and their
outcomes not only affect in both positive and negative ways the lives of millions of stake-
holders but can also profoundly influence the relationship between states. Hence, given the
very high economic, social and political stakes evidently associated with transnational
projects - and taking into consideration the now universal interest in and the great importance
being accorded by project theoreticians and practitioners to project stakeholder management
and engagement - there is a need to carefully study and evaluate these projects in stakeholder
perspective. Doing so can help identify and exploit existing opportunities to the fullest and
also mitigate the risk of conflict or animosity arising between states with all its ensuing
negative ramifications.
For this exploratory research the authors have selectively examined dozens of high-profile
and well documented transnational projects in the construction, transportation, energy, indus-
trial manufacturing and other fields across the globe. Four distinct categories were identified
under which transnational projects can be grouped, namely, cooperative, collaborative, inte-
grative, and divisive, along with a fifth overlapping category wherein projects simultaneously
exhibit both cooperative, collaborative or integrative, as well as divisive character. Each
category is discussed with current and prominent examples. This project category spectrum
constitutes a useful contextual framework which permits careful analysis and assessment of
stakeholders’ key attributes, notably their respective interests, motivations and concerns
regarding transnational projects, and consequently delivers important insights to the initiators,
planners and executors of such projects through which practical, effective and ethical
strategies and approaches can be devised and put into action which seek not only to ensure
fair benefit and cost sharing among stakeholders but also that as many, if not all, stakeholders
ultimately derive net benefits from the projects.
Introduction
Projects in the post-World War II era are increasingly exhibiting transnational character. Data
which can deliver a reliable current estimate of the number of and investment in transnational
1

projects at global level is non-existent but a conservative guess would run possibly into
several hundred billion, if not trillions of Dollars. Transnational projects therefore constitute a
sizeable share of the overall global portfolio and need to be examined carefully so that
insights as to what determines their performance and lowers their risk of failure can be
derived. As stakeholders are the most important consideration in every project regardless of
location and time – it is after all the stakeholders who ultimately conceive, initiate, undertake,
control and share the costs and benefits of projects – it is instructive to analyze the roles,
responsibilities and relationships of stakeholders in the context of transnational projects
especially since these projects exhibit some significant differences and pose additional
challenges when compared to projects which are undertaken in a national context.
The transnationalization of projects being increasingly observed in the past few decades can
be attributed to many inter-connected reasons, the most important of which is the pheno-
menon of globalization and its consequences which include the cross-border mobility (and
availability) of capital, human resources, services and products, information and knowledge
at a level which is unprecedented in history. The liberalization of national economic and
investment regulatory and procedural frameworks across the globe, especially since the end
of the Cold War, and the growing inclination by many states, in a regional context, to
systematically harmonize and align over time their economies, policies and institutions in
pursuit of shared goals and objectives for attainment of mutual benefit are also factors which
have encouraged transnational initiatives. Technological innovations, the erosion of tariff and
non-tariff barriers to external trade and the development of robust physical infrastructures
capable of enabling and sustaining complex transnational supply chains are further major
facilitative factors.
The term “transnational” has many definitions and is applied in a number of contexts.
Viewed in the project context, transnational projects are often mistakenly perceived as being
synonymous with high-profile complex, cost-intensive and technically challenging civil
infrastructure or construction schemes undertaken usually at the inter-governmental level and
which physically transcend national territorial borders even though such projects empirically
constitute a very small percentage of the overall number of transnational initiatives. In fact,
transnational projects span practically the entire project spectrum. For this research, the
authors therefore broadly define transnational projects as those projects involving entities (i.e.
stakeholders) from two or more sovereign states providing significant or crucial project input
in the form of, inter alia, financing, material, human and technical resources, information,
knowledge or creative input, or other forms of facilitative support including right of transit.
Their participation or involvement time in the projects is variable – they can, for instance, be
confined to the project conception phase, or extend throughout the project life-cycle or
constituent phases, and/or include the period of time subsequent to project completion when
the project benefits are realized and shared. The entities participating in transnational projects
need not necessarily emanate from the public-sector; they can also be commercial or not-for-
profit entities or any combination thereof. And it is not imperative that transnational projects
must physically transcend national territorial borders as is the common misperception. Most
transnational projects are actually confined within one state’s (i.e., the host state’s) territory.
Furthermore, the authors extend their definition of transnational projects to encompass those
projects which generate a considerable and sustained interest at the governmental and/or
public level beyond the territorial borders of the state or the states which are undertaking
them. Often this interest stems from the controversial nature of the projects in question which
are seen as constituting a national security threat or standing in conflict with human rights
and/or the natural environment and which consequently encounter vocal and severe criticism
and opposition and awareness on a broad scale which is spread through the media.
2

Transnational Projects: Opportunities and Challenges
Transnational projects deliver significant and multi-faceted benefits. At the same time they
are often comparatively more complex than non-transnational projects and can pose major
challenges which if left inadequately addressed may render their chances of failure with its
consequent loss high. Transnational projects enable the pooling of capital, technological,
managerial, human, informational and intellectual resources to an extent and at a level of
diversity which normally is not realizable in non-transnational projects in addition to
guaranteeing access to a broad gamut of inter alia experiences, ideas, strategies, processes,
quality standards and work methods which are inputted into the projects by the participating
entities. They also ensure that risks are shared among these stakeholders. Transnational pro-
jects constitute the only means through which some opportunities can be availed, for
example, for commercial companies seeking convenient access to new overseas national or
regional markets for their products and services by setting up and operating their manufac-
turing facilities in proximity to target markets. Likewise, projects aiming to facilitate mobility
of people, goods and services, information, energy (oil, gas, electricity) and water resources
across national borders are feasible only through transnational cooperation and efforts. For
the participating entities the rewards can be substantive monetarily, and in terms of image
gain, organizational and professional networking possibilities, the accumulation of specialist
expertise and experience, and so forth. For projects undertaken at the inter-governmental
level, transnational projects go hand in hand with political benefits, which in some instances
may be quite substantial, possibly contributing towards a significant reduction in tension and
the consequent potential for conflict between states which ensues from the enhanced econo-
mic, social, institutional and other modes of interaction over time which are the inevitable
consequence of transnational projects. The European Union, whose states and their societies
have been brought closer together by countless such projects, is a case in point.
Their multi-dimensional benefits aside, transnational projects also entail numerous special
challenges and obstacles for the participating stakeholders which normally they would not
encounter in a non-transnational project environment. Primarily, these challenges and
obstacles stem from the higher comparative technical and managerial complexity inherent to
schemes transcending national territorial boundaries over those which do not. Most impor-
tantly, special consideration must be accorded to judicious stakeholder management and
engagement because in comparison to the internal and external stakeholder communities of
non-transnational projects the stakeholders in transnational projects in the corresponding
category are usually more numerous and heterogeneous, and over time would exhibit a broad-
er, more diverse spectrum of interests, motivations and concerns, attitudes and behaviors,
expectations and perceptions which if inadequately and inappropriately addressed by the
project owners, planners and executors can significantly increase the risk of the projects
failing.
The individual challenges and obstacles in the transnational project and work environment
have been the subject of numerous research studies and much discussion over time. A
considerable body of knowledge now exists on the subject. Much of this work examines the
role and extent of national cultural diversity on a global scale and its impact on individuals
and organizations in different cultural environments. It is widely acknowledged that culture
can profoundly affect perceptions about many major project-relevant considerations such as
time, work attitude, professionalism, trust and relationship building, expressiveness, ethics
etc. Failure to understand, appreciate and factor in inter-cultural differences when
undertaking transnational projects thus constitutes a potential source of considerable risk and,
in several observed instances, have derailed otherwise technically sound ventures.
3

It is now universally accepted that project management and administration is mostly founded
on communication management. Communication in one language poses immense challenges
of its own and many project performance surveys conducted across the globe in different
industries from time to time have identified communicational deficiencies as a major cause of
project failure. The communication risks are amplified in transnational projects where
collectively a multiplicity of languages are often spoken by the key stakeholders whose
command of a mutually agreed upon project language may exhibit a significant disparate
level of proficiency from each other. Consequently, the risk of misunderstanding and
miscommunications and all the possible negative consequences this entails for projects is
compounded.
Culture and communication considerations aside, transnational projects encounter several
additional practical complexities which can significantly increase their risk perception among
stakeholders. Whereas one set of rules, regulations, restrictions and policies would normally
apply to non-transnational projects this can, depending on the project in question, be doubled,
tripled or even multiplied several fold in the case of transnational projects. Dealing with
different, sometimes unfamiliar public administrative, legal, economic, political, social and
other contexts requires special caution and additional resources and entails the possibility that
conflicts, intentional or otherwise, may occur resulting in complications at best and at worst
an existential threat for the projects. A host of mundane considerations, such as obtaining
travel visas, the stability of inflation and currency exchange rates, profit repatriation
assurances, incentive systems, the legal protection of contracts and contract dispute
mechanisms, political stability, policy consistency and continuity, bureaucratic behavior, fear
of arousing hostility amongst the local population and threats to physical safety – all these are
frequently occurring examples of the numerous considerations which in the non-transnational
context may play a peripheral or even negligible role but may constitute major practical
project hurdles in the transnational context.
The Five Transnational Project Categories
Based on their research of transnational projects across the globe, the authors have identified
five categories in which transnational projects can be assigned in stakeholder perspective,
namely, cooperative, collaborative, integrative, divisive and a mixed category in which
projects simultaneously exhibit both divisive and either cooperative, collaborative or
integrative character. The choice of which of these categories to assign a transnational project
to would depend on their purpose of the project and the perception stakeholders may have of
it. These five categories are discussed below:
Cooperative Projects: Most transnational projects appear to fall in this category. These
ventures span virtually the entire project spectrum and involve entities from the public,
commercial or not-for-profit sectors or any combination of these. Prominent examples
include, inter alia, corporate mergers and acquisitions, commercial industrial and service-
focused joint ventures, development programs and projects sponsored by development
agencies, joint scientific and technological research and development projects, public-private
partnerships, outsourcing, production of movies and documentaries, and (which generally are
relatively small in magnitude and complexity but collectively numerous) bi- or multilateral
joint initiatives involving schools, colleges, universities and research institutes, museums, art
galleries, theatres, hospitals and myriad other civic and professional organizations, associa-
tions and institutions. Typically also falling under this category are major events undertaken
in periodic intervals such as the Olympic Games and other transnational sporting events and
archeological excavation and even forensic exhumation projects. The motives for undertaking
4

cooperative projects can be quite diverse, for example, commercial entities seek to enlarge
their profit levels or expand their market shares, not-for-profit entities initiate schemes which
are consistent with their respective missions and fields of interest, while public-sector entities
may be interested to learn about alternative and possibly more innovative and efficient
administrative systems. In some cases the motive may be sheer practicality as in archeolo-
gical or geological expeditions which can only be undertaken on-site. As important stake-
holders, state governments primarily assume the role of onlookers and facilitators, inter-
vening directly only in occasional instances when deemed necessary in the national interest.
Collaborative Projects: Transnational projects executed in this category differ from those in
the above outlined cooperative category in one major respect, namely, that they all share a
common overriding and longer-term macro-objective which is to systematically deepen
economic, social, cultural, political, institutional and/or other relationships between states.
The states, usually at the national level, thus assume the role as the dominant stakeholders
whose responsibility, through mutual agreement, is primarily to create, consolidate and
sustain a framework of policies, regulations and incentives which encourages and facilitates
pursuit of such ventures which, analogous to projects in the cooperative category, can span
virtually the entire spectrum of projects and involve entities from the public, commercial and
not-for-profit sectors or combination thereof. The main difference between collaborative and
cooperative projects is the former’s greater emphasis on the steering function of the states and
consequent larger, active and direct role played by the public sector. Furthermore, projects in
the collaborative category necessarily include those which concern areas of immense
strategic importance and, in particular, often large, complex and costly schemes which aim to
connect the civil infrastructures between states. For example, collaborative projects in the
transportation sector would usually aim to upgrade existing or develop new road, highway
and railway networks, as well as ports and airports, for the purpose of facilitating movement
of people, goods, cargo and vehicular traffic across national borders. Similarly, in order to
transfer energy resources (oil, gas, electricity) from energy surplus to energy deficient states
projects would be needed to lay pipelines and erect complex transmission and distribution
systems, often traversing thousands of miles and necessitating passage through ‘transit states’
which themselves may utilize part of the transferred energy volume.
Integrative Projects: Transnational projects in this category are based on the goal of states
to elevate their sectoral relationships to the highest attainable level over time, i.e., usually to a
very significant extent to integrate their economies, markets, infrastructure, policies,
institutions and their societies. Achieving such multi-dimensional harmonization in practice
can prove extremely challenging and costly as well as time-consuming as experience has
shown and its realization requires a robust, comprehensive and flexible agreement
framework, an intense and sustained political commitment by the states as well as societal
interest, in addition to continual and extensive multi-layered cooperation, coordination and
communication. Such integration can occur at the bilateral level but mostly it involves
groupings or associations comprising several states. Several such clusters of states have
emerged and gradually evolved across the globe. The most prominent current example is the
European Union with its common market, open national borders, common institutions and
common currency area. Comparatively less integrationist but large groupings are the
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the North Atlantic Free Trade Area
(NAFTA), and the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Integrative projects span the
whole project spectrum with intensive involvement by the public, commercial and not-for-
profit sectors. These can range from relatively simple ventures such as the development of
secondary school and university student and teacher exchange programs and launching of city
twinning initiatives to pursuit of complex infrastructure development schemes which are
5

conceived, planned and executed on a regional scale. Key stakeholders of integrative projects
are the governments of the states who decide to what extent integration should and can be
mutually and realistically pursued. Compared to the four other transnational project
categories, the overall stakeholder community here is extremely large and heterogeneous as
almost every person, association, organization or institution in each integrating state is in
some form or the other, positively or negatively, affected by the process and outcomes of
integration.
Divisive Projects: Projects in this category differ markedly from the projects in the coopera-
tive, collaborative and integrative categories. Rather than helping bring states, their
economies and their people closer together, divisive projects do the opposite, that is, they
cause frictions or ‘divisions’ between them because their outcomes are perceived by their
opponents as constituting a real or potential threat, provocation or challenge - economic,
political, military or otherwise - which may eventually spiral out of control with potentially
severe adverse or disastrous consequences over time. Divisive projects are undertaken
unilaterally by states within their territorial borders, and sometimes beyond, and they reflect
an evident incongruity of national interests and political and strategic goals with other states,
neighboring or distant. There are numerous examples of divisive projects. Usually these tend
to be larger schemes of a technical nature where security or economics is the major
underlying concern. High profile contemporary divisive projects include the Iranian and
North Korean nuclear weapon and missile development programs, the planned construction
of large dams on major river systems in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Chinese oil and gas
exploration projects near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, and the
construction of housing settlements by the Israeli authorities in East Jerusalem. The govern-
ments of the project-implementing and the project-opposing states are key stakeholders in
this project category. The occasional imposition of sanctions in response to such projects (as
in the case of Iran and North Korea for instance) may however, depending on the scope,
duration and intensity of the sanctions applied, drastically affect the sanctioned states which
usually tend to be politically isolated and economically comparatively less developed and
more prone to disruptions, causing hardship for most of their citizens which consequently
would also inevitably become stakeholders.
Another category of projects which can be categorized as “divisive” are those projects under-
taken within or between states which encounter strong opposition from non-governmental
entities and broad sections of the general public in other states. Such is the case where
concerns such as, for instance, human rights violations or damage to the natural environment
figure prominently and information about these is made available to a global audience. The
appalling treatment of foreign construction workers in Qatar in preparation for the World
Football Championship Games in 2022 is an excellent contemporary case in point. The Ilusu
dam project in Turkey which threatened to flood an area steeped in history and ancient
archeological sites resulted in strong international opposition and the withdrawal of foreign
financers from the project. Other examples of divisive projects include those undertaken by
mining and energy corporations in the developing world and forest logging schemes which
have resulted in the murder of a number of environmental activists and caused intense
hardship for indigenous peoples.
Mixed Category: Mixed category projects exhibit dual character, incorporating both a
divisive as well as a cooperative, collaborative or integrative component. These projects are
undertaken bilaterally or multilaterally on either a cooperative, collaborative or integrative
platform between states, whereby the bi- or multilateral dimension distinguishes them from
divisive projects which are unilateral, but are opposed by other states. A pertinent current
6

example is the Iran to Pakistan gas pipeline project under which Iran would supply and sell
natural gas to its energy-starved neighbor and which constitutes the most economical and
technically the most convenient option available but which is vehemently opposed by the
United States whose intervention and threat of sanctions has so far prevented implementation
of this project. Another case in point is the 45-billion Dollar China Pakistan Economic
Corridor Project which envisages Chinese participation in several large transportation and
energy projects in Pakistan extending from the Sino-Pakistan border to southern Pakistan as
well as the development of a port on Pakistan’s Arabian Sea coast. This project, which stands
to deliver both China and Pakistan significant economic and other benefits during and
especially subsequent to its realization, is opposed by India which historically has an
adversarial relationship with both China and Pakistan and which fears that extensive
collaboration between its two antagonistic neighbors in this strategic context may ultimately
have highly detrimental economic and security consequences for India in future. Another
example from the energy sector is the competing proposed multi-billion Dollar oil and gas
pipeline projects envisaged to supply Europe with energy from production sites in Russia, the
Caucasus and Central Asia, and the Middle East. Key Stakeholders in this highly complex
regional constellation of strongly diverging political, economic and security interests and
goals, and ideologies, include the governments of Russia, Turkey, states in the Caucuses and
Central Asia, Iraq, Iran, the Arab Gulf Kingdoms and the western powers who all favor
schemes which afford them the highest leverage and energy supply control.
Stakeholder Management and Engagement in the Context of Transnational Projects
Different transnational project categories present different and significant challenges and
opportunities for stakeholder management and engagement. As discussed by the authors in
their paper on project stakeholder governance framework which was presented at the Univer-
sity of Maryland’s first international project management symposium in May 2014, the term
stakeholder management basically concerns the interaction between the project and those
stakeholders which have a contractual obligation or legal responsibility towards it (i.e. the
primary stakeholders as defined by Cleland/Ireland). Conversely, stakeholder engagement
centers on the interaction between the project and all those stakeholders which do not have a
contractual obligation or legal responsibility towards it and are not actively involved in it
though they may be affected by the project in the positive or negative sense (namely, the
secondary stakeholders).
For transnational cooperative projects – and also though possibly to a lesser extent for
collaborative and integrative projects given that the states involved in such projects are often
geographically close to each other and cultural and other differences may not be as significant
- the additional stakeholder management complexity over projects undertaken in the non-
transnational context stems largely from the intercultural dimension, which often constitutes
an immense challenge in its own right. Other complicating factors are the uncertainty brought
about by operating in a potentially unfamiliar economic, social, political, legal, administrative
and policy environment and seeking to nurture, consolidate and sustain relationships with
stakeholders whose thought, behavioral and interaction patterns may deviate considerably
from accustomed ones. For cooperative projects undertaken for the first time the unfamili-
arity and uncertainty facets can be daunting and discouraging but with increasing
transnational experience, measured by the number of projects and the length of time spent
transnationally, these can be expected to gradually diminish through a process of learning,
internalization and adjustment. Effective stakeholder management (i.e. of the primary
stakeholders) should thus become easier.
7

At any rate, elevating the chances of success in undertaking transnational cooperative
projects and minimizing the occurrence of complications with stakeholders, both primary and
secondary, requires systematic and whole-hearted pursuit of several fundamental measures
prior to project initiation, including intensive cultural training and acquisition of complete,
specific and current information about the host country and stakeholders which is relevant for
the projects under consideration. Lessons learned from previous projects and tapping the
knowledge and experience of project managers and personnel who worked and/or who are
currently working on similar projects in the host country would yield precious insights. As
key stakeholders, the states hosting cooperative projects can be expected to actively
encourage and facilitate such ventures by utilizing a variety of options available at their
disposal ranging from public declarations of approval and endorsement, to the assurance of
participation incentives (monetary and otherwise), and the simplification of cumbersome
legal, administrative and procedural hurdles, to ensured active participation by their state
corporations in transnational projects.
In the case of collaborative and integrative transnational projects, more intensive stakeholder
management and especially engagement is needed in comparison to cooperative projects,
particularly for integrative projects. This is because projects in these two categories are
pursued primarily with the concurrence and active encouragement and support of states;
consequently, the onus lies essentially with the states themselves to create, consolidate and
sustain the requisite robust enabling environment which facilitates such projects, as well as to
ensure the buy-in of such projects by their citizenry, industry and society because without
broad public understanding and continual endorsement of collaboration or integration
processes, it is doubtful whether these will be inclined to willingly or actively support or
involve themselves in such projects. A prime challenge for states and project protagonists is
hence to devise and execute an effective and flexible long-term information-driven engage-
ment strategy which convincingly specifies and communicates to all secondary stakeholders
the benefits, tangible and intangible, which result from the pursuit of such projects, and
concurrently to satisfactorily address any concerns they may have about these projects. An
additional engagement challenge for all states lies in ensuring adherence to stakeholder
engagement best practices and upholding ethics since standards may differ significantly
among states and actions which may be prohibited or frowned upon in some may be deemed
permissible in others and this may prove counter-productive over time.
A more complex and difficult stakeholder engagement situation presents itself with divisive
and mixed category projects where the projects undertaken by and within one state or jointly
by two or more states are opposed by another state or group of states. Stakeholder engage-
ment in this case may either simply be non-existent, which would be the case if the project-
implementing states decide to ignore resistance to the schemes in question and also defiantly
refuse to enter into a serious political dialogue about the projects with their antagonists, or it
may assume the form of a negotiation process wherein restrictions on, modifications to, a
deferment of or even a freeze on the projects are considered and agreed upon in exchange for
the grant of some material concessions or non-imposition of sanctions and other punitive
actions.
Concluding Remarks
Transnational projects constitute a sizeable chunk of the overall global project portfolio and,
with occasional exceptions, serve as relationship facilitators between states and societies.
This is of no small significance in today’s global village. Extending across all project
categories, they share numerous commonalities with non-transnational projects but at the
8

same time they also exhibit important differences, in particular, their higher level of compara-
tive stakeholder management and engagement complexity. The magnitude of complexity
depends on which of the five categories proposed by the authors transnational projects can be
assigned to. Overcoming the challenges and complexities is possible but can only be achieved
with determination, commitment and well planned, coordinated and executed strategies.
9

RISK ANALYSIS AND DECISION MAKING IN CONSTRUCTION CLAIMS
A. Lessani, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

University of Maryland, College Park
[email protected]
Claims in construction projects are inevitable and can result in costly litigation.
Construction contract ambiguity, overtly restrictive terms, and unfairly allocated risks
to one party increase the likelihood of disputes. The goal of this study is to introduce a
decision making framework that evaluates claim processes. This paper outlines a
comprehensive list of dispute triggers in construction projects. The causal relationship
between these triggers are analyzed using Bayesian Belief Networks. The introduced
diagrams becomes an input to a game theoretic approach which models parties’
interactions in pretrial negotiations. Then the considerations for modeling construction
claims in a game theory format are elaborated. This paper concludes that the integration
of Bayesian Networks and Incomplete Information Games is an effective tool to
analyze construction claims.
1. Introduction
This research shows how to analyze construction claims based on parties’ information
and subjective beliefs on dispute case. Section 2 introduces research objectives and the
questions to be answered in this research. Section 3 is a literature review on
construction conflicts and defines claims from both contractors’ and owners’
perspectives. Section 4 introduces various mathematical models applied to analyze
construction claims, types of claims and reasoning are discussed. Section 5 provides
the method used to create the main framework of analyzing individual project claims.
The method explains how the current categorization can be modeled in a Bayesian
Network format. Then it summarizes on game theoretic analysis of construction
conflicts and elaborates on parameters to be considered in modeling a claim. The last
section is the conclusion and future research opportunities potential contributions in
this research.
2. Research Objective
The purpose of this study is to introduce a framework to analyze claims from economic
viewpoint considering causation and reasoning as key elements for disputes.
Identifying such elements requires recognizing the causal relationship between
parameters that may be considered by dispute parties in their decision making. Then,
the significance of such parameters in the decision making process should be measured
in terms of probabilities. The product will become an input to a game theoretic
bargaining model. A non-cooperative game approach can analyze each party’s
strategies that can lead to the most desired outcomes based on their beliefs and
information on a case basis.
The result of this research will be helpful for the claim parties (contractors and owners)
to select the best strategies in pretrial bargaining processes that can result in a fair
amount for settlement. It will also help parties to understand the main considerations
in pretrial negotiation or settlement. This paper responds to the following questions:
What are the chains of causes for disputes or claims? What parameters should be
considered in modeling a claim? How to incorporate these parameters into the decision
making process?
3. Construction Conflicts
Construction contracts face enormous uncertainties resulting from imperfect contract
documents. As a result, all contract parties are obligated to collaborate conscientiously
to avoid conflicts. Any misunderstanding in such collaborations or misinterpretation of
contract terms and conditions may advance conflict between parties and lead to
disputes. The causes for such conflicts includes, but are not limited to, incomplete or
defective plans and specifications, ambiguity in contracts, overly restrictive terms, and
unfairly allocated risks to one party (Rubin, Fairweather, Guy, & Maevis, 1992). If a
dispute is not resolved between the parties, the conflict will be elevated in a legal format
such as a claim. A claim is defined as a demand asserted by one party on another party
relating to services or products specified in the contract (Barnard, 2005).
A claim can be analyzed from different traits such as engineering, legal aspects,
relationships, and project constraints. Still, approaches to the issue are fairly similar
regardless of the mentioned viewing platforms. Common elements that become
essential in claim considerations can be briefed as monetary values, responsible party
for damages, causation and reasoning, and applicable laws and contract terms or
conditions. Construction claims can be on any of the four main elements of the project:
cost, time, quality, and safety. All of these elements eventually translate into a monetary
compensation or time relief sought by the contractor.
Claims from different parties perspective
In construction, contracts project owners and contractors firms are typically the parties
involved in claims. There are some instances that involve other agencies such as
Architectural and Engineering (A/E) firms, but depending on the project type A/Es
have a separate contract with either owner or contractor. As a result, given the type of
contract claims against the A/E firm or any other agency can be analyzed identically to
the ones between owners and contractors. In general, contractors may make a claim
about changes to the work, project schedule, or work means and methods. On the other
hand, owners may have concerns about contractor’s failure to perform the work as
specified in the contract, which includes performance (time), quality, and costs.
Contractors in construction projects face a multitude of risks. Examples of these risks

are inflation, inclement weather, labor problems, material shortages, accidents, and
unforeseen conditions. Such risks have monetary consequences that may hurt
contractor’s profitability. Contractors tend to be inveterate optimists, believing that the
risk is either contractually imposed upon them, or will not occur to them; or even if the
risk occurs the contract clause will not be enforced (Rubin et al., 1992). This optimism
behavior makes contractors to be risk takers and increase the chance of conflicts.
Owners usually take the risk on time and budget and quality. There might be additional
risks beyond these three constraints depending on the complexity of the project such as
environmental or regulatory issues, or public protests. There are cases that owners
claim for damages against the contractor for failure to fully perform the contract, failure
to pay subcontractors, completion or repairs of defective work, late project completion
or costs incurred by contractor’s suspension. In most cases contractors are bonded,
therefore owners usually seek after bond and surety companies for any substantial
damages.
Construction Claim types
The construction claim is a process which begins with dispute between parties involved
in the contract (Construction Industry Institude, 1990). The study conducted by
Construction Industry Institute suggested that each party has a limited knowledge of
claim process. The knowledge includes an interpretation of facts surrounding the
dispute, the contract, and the applicable law. Parties’ knowledge on the origins of
disputes and types of claims may affect their evaluation and considerations in their
decision making process.
Unresolved disputes by either contract parties climb up the dispute ladder to become a
claim. Disputes and claims do not always rise because of a specific issue in the project
or contract. For example competitive bidding scheme and tight economic situation have
forced contractors to look further into alternative methods to recover profit after
winning contracts. The alternatives may include negotiations, change orders, disputes,
and claims. This phenomenon is often referred as Opportunistic Bidding.
Delay, directed change, constructive change, acceleration and constructive

acceleration, differing site conditions, defective and deficient contract documents,
Owner-furnished items, Impossibility of performance, Interference with performance,
Defective Inspection/ misinterpretation of the contract, superior knowledge.
misrepresentation, strikes, weather, suspension, default/nonpayment, termination, and
warranty are amongst the most common types of claims (Barnard, 2005). Each claim
for a project usually is a combination of various claim types mentioned above. This
paper grouped claims into categories based on terms generally defined in a contract.
Knowing these types helps contract parties to recognize the potential disputes early and
prevent claims by providing adequate documentation or notification.
4. Statistical Analysis on Construction Conflicts

Yiu and Cheung use catastrophe-theory-based analysis on three variables of
construction conflict, level of tension, and the amount of behavioral flexibility. (K. T.
W. Yiu & Cheung, 2006). The same authors applied Moderated Multiple Regression
(MMR) to the mentioned three variable system (T. W. Yiu & Cheung, 2007). This
model identifies thresholds for flexible individuals that are willing to avoid/resolve
construction conflicts. Aibinu et al. develope structural equation modeling technique
to demonstrate the influence of organizational justice on contractors’ dispute
tendencies and intensity of conflict. (Aibinu, Ling, & Ofori, 2011).
Cakmak used Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to determine the relative importance
of the main causes for construction disputes. (Cakmak & Cakmak, 2014). Zhang et al
rank variable by questionnaires to identify a comprehensive list of claim transaction
cost variables and their relative importance in the dispute process. (Lu, Zhang, & Pan,
2015). Yiu et al. applied fuzzy fault tree analysis (FFTA) approach to conceptualize the
root causes of construction dispute negotiation failure. (T. W. Yiu, Cheung, & Lok,
2015). Jelodar et al. uses a three-stage approach to identify sources of dispute (Jelodar,
Yiu, & Wilkinson, 2015). Nash Equilibrium on sequential offers using extensive form
games (Ho & Liu, 2004). El-adaway uses multi-agent simulation models for
construction dispute mitigation. The simulation effort resulted in a algorithmic
framework to estimate the mean amount of the settlement based on specific situations
(El-adaway, 2008).
Construction Industry Instituted (CII) has developed research to determine the

relationship between project characteristics and the likelihood of contract disputes.
This research resulted in a computerized model that identifies the Dispute Potential
Index (DPI) of a project. DPI is a tool used to anticipate the likelihood of disputes in a
construction at different stages of the project from initiation to closeout. A
complementary study has been performed by Cheung et al. on the subject matter and
diagnostic approaches to identify construction disputes. The result of this study is a
comprehensive list of causes for construction disputes with their respective occurrence
likelihood. The ranking of these causes has been determined by designing
questionnaires to ask expert opinions on the causes. (Cheung & Pang, 2013). Love et
al. developed a causal diagram with the factors that influence construction disputes.
(Love, Davis, Cheung, & Irani, 2011).
Omoto et al (2002) analyzed the dispute resolution processes as a two-sided bargaining

model with arbitration as an outside option (Omoto, Konayashi, & Onishi, 2002). Ho
and Liu propose a game theoretic based model to study people behavior in different
types of claims. This model is based on Subgame-Perfect Barough et al applied game
theory approaches including Prisoner’s Dilemma and Chicken Game to analyze
construction conflicts. (Barough, Shoubi, & Skardi, 2012).
5. Method
Defining Interdependencies between causes of claims

A comprehensive list of claim causes are gathered from previous studies such as CII
and Cheung’s researches. Then, causes are categorized into project variables that are
correlated to dispute vulnerability. The variables that impact contract disputes are
divided into three main groups: People, Process and Project. Issues involving People
affect organizational relationships, roles and responsibilities, and individual’s
expectations. Process issues include all project management activities throughout the
project lifecycle. Examples of such processes may include contractual language, risk
allocation, scope definition, communication, and dispute resolution. Project
characteristics define technical issues with the nature of the project such as complexity,
environmental limitations, and unidentified project risk (Diekmann & Girard, 1994) .
Bayesian Network is a type of statistical model that represents a set of random variables
and their conditional dependencies. Below is the graphic model for conditional
dependencies between the causes of claims in a Bayesian Network (BN) format. There
are two sets of Bayesian Networks created for owner and the contractor. The intent of
the BN model is to calculate party’s subjective belief on the probability of being held
liable at the court. In addition, each party may calculate beliefs of their opponent on
the opponent’s estimates on prevailing the case. These subjective beliefs will be used
in the Game theory model discussed in the next section for parties’ decision making.
Main causes for claims
Process factor
People factor
Project Factor
Game theory Application in Negotiations

Decision theory is a mathematical tool used to identify the values, uncertainties and
other issues relevant in a given decision, its rationality, and the resulting optimal
decision for a single agent. Game theory, on the other hand, is a tool to analyze
interactive decision making for multiple agents (also called players). In game theory
each agent has a set of available actions where each action taken by any agent may
affect the outcome of other agents. Game theory can model the behaviors of agents and
provides best strategies leading to the best possible outcomes. This interactivity
between agents is the major difference between classic decision theory and game theory
models (Maschler, Solan, & Zamir, 2013).
Pretrial settlement bargaining involves interaction between the claim parties,

contractors and owners. Therefore, game theory is a great tool to analyze these
negotiations. This type of game is often analyzed by non-cooperative games where
each agent wants to maximize its own payoff given their available options.
There has been tremendous progress on litigation decision models, where theoretical
models developed mostly based on pure economic outcomes. There are various models
used for such analysis that were briefly discussed in the literature review. Although,
the economic outcomes are considered to be a key driver to the disputes, there are other
parameters that might play a crucial role in litigation decision making. The following
section is the breakdown of all important parameters in the subject matter.
Game Theoretic Analysis of Construction Claims

There are multiple variables in the analysis of claims. I found it appropriate to define
all these variables to clarify different ways that settlement games can be modeled. The
following discusses different types of techniques used to analyze settlement games and
introduces the main variables and parameters involved in such games.
Players
The primary players of construction claims (litigants) are General Contractors

(Plaintiffs) and Project Owners (Defendants). Other players that are considered in
sophisticated models include judge or jury, attorneys, experts, and other contracting
agents (i.e. A/E firms, Sub-contractors, Consultants, Commissioning Agents, etc.).
Actions and Strategies
Action is Parties’ (players) choice on the available options at each stage of the game.
For example Contractor’s action can be submitting a proposal, filing for claim, or
asking for settlement amount. On the other hand, Owner’s actions are accepting the
proposal or offer, rejecting, or sending counterproposals. Some models allow multiple
rounds of actions or proposals and some other only consider the final action (take-it-
or-leave-it offers).
Depending on the rules of the game there are limited allowable actions at each
decision opportunity of players. Moreover, actions chosen at one point may limit
future actions or transfer private information to the opponent. The set of actions each
player takes during the game is called player’s strategy. Players choose their strategy
considering both outcomes of their own actions and their opponent’s action.
Outcomes and Payoffs
The result of the strategies played by parties is the outcome. There are a broad range
of outcomes, from the contractor not pursuing the claim and no amount transfer
between the parties, or the judge ruling an amount to be transferred from owner to
contractor.
The numerical value of the outcome associated to each party is called the payoff. In
the literature, payoffs are modeled as either dollar amounts or utility functions. Using
the utility function in the calculations allow us to model risk preference of the parties.
In other words, by using utility function a party can be considered risk averse or risk
taker.
Timing
The sequence of play and duration of the claim are the two topics of interest of the
timing parameter. The early settlement models are developed mostly based on general
theoretical models of bargaining processes. These models are called axiomatic, which
were initiated by Nash (1950). After developments and improvements of these
models, a strategic approach was suggested to capture more details of the settlement
negotiations.
In the strategic approach, parameters, such as sequential versus simultaneous offers,

play an essential role in the analysis. In the sequential model, each party may offer
and wait for the other player’s response. In simultaneous offers, actions from either
party cannot be observed by their opponents, or it may not have influence on the
opponent’s decision for game strategy.
Another way that time can affect the settlement analysis is the duration of the claim.
Disputes and claims in reality have a finite length of time. In other words, there is
always a termination to the claim either by court date, settlement, dripping the case,
or even by a statute of limitations (not filing the suit in a timely fashion). As a result,
there are different analyses in the literature that consider multiple phases for pretrial
negotiation.
Information
The information that contractors and owners have at each stage of the project can
vary due to obtaining it from different sources, perceiving the current situation
differently, or receiving updates on the subject matter. Information can be either on
the facts of the case, opponent’s estimation and beliefs, Judges’ verdict, or type of the
players.
If players are exactly sure about a judge’s verdict in a given case being reviewed in
the trial, the game is called perfect information. In reality none of the players can
exactly predict the verdict, which is called imperfect information. In such games if the
information is shared knowledge between contractor and owner the analysis of the
game is Symmetric. In cases that each party obtains private information game is
considered to be Asymmetric. Asymmetric games can be one sided (only one party
has private information) or two sided.
Prediction
The main purpose of settlement models is to make a prediction about the outcome of
bargaining. In the recent literature, the notion of equilibrium has been used for
modeling. Most of the simplified models and earlier works in the literature used the
notion of cooperative game theory, where the solution to the game should be efficient
(no money is wasted in the process). Nash Bargaining Solution (NBS) is an example
of axiomatic solution that applies to cooperative games. However, claims and disputes
are non-cooperative conflict between the parties, and it is reasonable to analyze them
with the notion of non-cooperative games. In the strategic format of non-cooperative
games, players predict the payoffs conditional to the opponent’s belief.
When there is uncertainty about the information, as in incomplete information games,

typically each player may consider their opponents’ knowledge in addition to their own
knowledge on a situation; they also may consider their opponent’s knowledge about
their own knowledge, and so on. This notion is defined as hierarchies of beliefs in
context of incomplete information games.
In this context, the Bayesian approach has been recognized as the most widely accepted
statistical decision making approach for games with incomplete information (Maschler
et al., 2013). In this method, players have probability distribution over parameters that
are unknown to them. Actions taken by each player are based on their beliefs defined
in that distribution. Players also have beliefs about each other’s probability distribution,
which updates their prior belief on the subject matter. As a result, an infinite number
of hierarchies of beliefs form between players. The challenge of the theory is to
incorporate these hierarchies of beliefs into a model.
6. Conclusion
The two main variables in claims are liabilities and damages. Liabilities often depends
on the specifics of the case and contract. In other words, the probability of owner being
held liable in the court is defined by project characterization. The proposed Bayesian
Belief Network is an effective tool to measure the liability element. On the other hand,
damages is defined by parties’ behavior in the dispute process. In other words, initial
proposal for the original dispute amount, settlement offers and any responses such as
acceptance, rejection, or counteroffers are indicators of the damages incurred. The true
amount of damages and liabilities are to be determined by the court in the discovery
and decision processes; however, parties’ belief on the liabilities and damages defines
their expectations amounts to be paid to either settle or pursue the case in the court.
Each party may have private information about the liabilities and damages of a specific
claim. The information difference causes different beliefs on parties’ estimate on these
two parameters. Larger belief gaps often causes parties go to the court rather than the
settlement process. The information can be acquired at any point in the dispute process.
As a result the belief gap created prior to the dispute may vary over time during the
dispute by acquiring additional information. Bayesian game theory is an effective tool
to model such interaction between the claim parties.
Contractor and owners may not have a common prior belief over the probability of
prevailing at trial and the amount of damages. The asymmetry in initial beliefs may be
due to differences in each party’s perception of the information they have or optimistic
opinion of their lawyer on obtaining favorable verdict. These assumptions increase the
probability of failing to reach an agreement in the settlement process. During the
bargaining process either or both parties may learn new information revealed from
discovery process or their own investigation. The new information becomes a basis for
parties to update their beliefs on the amount of damages and prevailing at trial. The
updated probability is calculated in the proposed Bayesian Network by defining
scenarios within the model in the form of subjective beliefs. The beliefs of party on its
own case and beliefs on the opponents case becomes an input to the proposed game
theoretic approach. The game theory approach is being used to analyze parties’
threshold in acceptable settlement ranges and to define best strategies to avoid claims
and maximize outcomes given the available information.
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Collaboration Networks for Megaprojects: The Case for Skyscrapers
Yongkui Li1 and Yujie Lu2

1
PhD and Associate Professor, School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, China
200092; Email: [email protected]
2
PhD and Assistant Professor, Department of Building, 4 Architecture Drive, School of Design and
Environment, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117566; Email: [email protected]
Abstract: This study aims to investigate the dynamics of project networks composed by megaprojects
(i.e. skyscrapers) and their collaborations of stakeholders, and to analyze the influence attributed by
past collaboration experience, locations, and roles of stakeholders. In particular, a dynamic network
model that includes key project features and stakeholder characteristics was developed based on 43
completed skyscrapers taller than 300 meters in China. Based on the project network, the quantifiable
network relationships, the dynamic evolution, and its influence by different geographic locations were
analyzed. The findings suggest a growing trend of the collaboration and help AEC companies make
better decisions in selecting future collaborators.
Keywords: Collaboration networks; Megaproject management; Dynamic network; Network analysis;

Project organizations; Social Network Analysis
INTRODUCTION
Megaprojects can be viewed as complex networks of actors, or heterogeneous stakeholders,

including owners, designers, contractors, and so on. Lack of previous cooperation experience and
dynamic organizational relationship over time within a megaproject team may further increase the risk
of project failure (Flyvbjerg, 2014; Han et al., 2009; Lundrigan, Gil, & Puranam, 2015; Ruuska, Artto,
Aaltonen, & Lehtonen, 2009). Therefore, how to construct an efficient collaborative team and an
effective organizational network have become critical to improve megaproject performance (P. S.
Chinowsky, Diekmann, & O’Brien, 2009; Ruuska et al., 2009). Meanwhile, identifying and retaining
competitive in the emerging markets have become important strategies of architecture, engineering,
and construction (AEC) companies, owing to the increasing competition in the AEC industry. Those
strive to enhance their market competitiveness by building flagship megaprojects, developing
strategic partnerships with other organizations, and increasing social capitals (Castro, Galan, &
Casanueva, 2009; P. S. Chinowsky et al., 2009; Skaates, Tikkanen, & Alajoutsijärvi, 2002). Therefore,
clients, design firms, contractors, and sub-contractors may form inter-organizational partnerships and
1
collaboration networks for short-term project-based performance targets and long-term market
competitiveness (Dubois & Gadde, 2000; Sedita & Apa, 2015).
Nevertheless, the formation process of an inter-organizational network is rather complicated.

The network evolves dynamically over the course of project plan, design, and execution. Current
research primarily focuses on stand-alone projects or cross-project collaborations of a single
organization, as well as social network, communication network, and information sharing in static and
homogeneous networks (Bygballe, Jahre, & Swärd, 2010; P. Chinowsky & Taylor, 2012). More
research is needed to empirically analyze the dynamic networks in the AEC industry from larger inter-
project and inter-organizational perspectives, in order to understand the formation mechanisms and
evolution characteristics of inter-organization collaboration networks of the megaprojects under
different influences.
Therefore, a case study of skyscraper projects (more than 300 meters in height) was selected
to investigate the formation process and dynamic evolution of inter-organizational collaboration
networks in megaprojects. Skyscraper projects are challenging due to the heavy investment, tight
construction schedule driven by return on investment, applications of new technologies, and so on,
and also involve hundreds of organizations that demand tremendous organization and coordination,
thus is typical of the megaproject (Ireland, 1985; Kaming, Olomolaiye, Holt, & Harris, 1997; Le & Li,
2013; Wood, Tsang, & Safarik, 2014). So this study attempt to investigate the formation process and
evolution characteristics of the inter-organizational collaboration network in skyscrapers.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Inter-organizational project teams or coalitions are commonly formed in the AEC industry in
order to accomplish the project target. For larger projects, such temporal inter-organizations may
involve a number of stakeholders. The successful delivery of an AEC project is dependent on two
fundamental elements: the ability to plan and manage the technical components, and the ability of
project participants to effectively form a high-performance team (P. S. Chinowsky et al., 2009).
Effective communication, coordination, and information sharing are also important between each
project sub-teams.
In order to reduce the trust risk and shorten the learning curve for a collaborated project,
organizations expect to cooperate with competent teams with more collaboration experience.
Organizational capability and collaboration experience are the key factors that influence the
complexities of a megaproject. Lack of competence is a common barrier to adopt and implement
relational transaction practices (Erik Eriksson, Nilsson, & Atkin, 2008), which may subsequently
cause delays and cost overruns (Bosch-Rekveldt, Jongkind, Mooi, Bakker, & Verbraeck, 2011). To
the organizations that seek for collaboration, previous alliances can be considered active information
exchange networks in which the organizations understand the reliability and specific abilities of their
2
present and potential partners. Moreover, previous empirical findings confirmed that the form of
coalitions in the AEC industry is principally based on past collaboration experience in order for better
commitment and trust (Bygballe et al., 2010; Castro et al., 2009). Research has also demonstrated that
trust, including companion trust, competence trust, and commitment trust, is one of the most
important social factors in inter-organizational collaborations (P. S. Chinowsky et al., 2009; Newell &
Swan, 2000). Repeated collaboration practices among coalition members that are likely to share the
same objectives, working methods and values. Over time, these members are able to build a
collaborative community, eventually reinforced by co-location and collaborative intensity. Inter-
organizational relationships between project network actors, developed over the course of multiple
projects, may also lead to opportunities for learning, reduced supervisory costs and a reduced risk of
project failure (Sedita & Apa, 2015). Therefore, repeated collaborations have become industry norms
and best practices in constituting effective project organizations.
However, no AEC project is carried out in a vacuum situation without consideration of

specific project contexts (Engwall, 2003). There may be different connections between projects, while
companies are not only involved in a single project (Engwall & Jerbrant, 2003). Thus, the cross-
project and inter-organizational collaboration research at macro-level is equally important as a
project-based micro-level study (Phua, 2004). Such greater perspective of inter-organizational
collaboration has shaped the specific supply chain relationships in AEC industry. Comparing to a
supply chain in the manufacturing industry, a construction supply chain is more complex, highly
specialized, and involves a larger number of key participants, such as project clients, consultants, the
main and specialist contractors, and various suppliers. As the core of the project organizations, their
competencies, and interests to put resources in the process and carry responsibilities are essential are
successful project deliveries (Meng, 2012; Ruuska et al., 2009).
METHODOLOGY
Inter-organizational collaboration relationship is more complicated as the project become

more complex. As a result, the network features of such project networks become more representative.
Skyscrapers are clearly complex and large-scale projects that involve many organizations and vast
financial investments. Therefore, we choose skyscraper projects as representatives of complex
megaprojects in this study, to analyze the characteristics of the inter-organizational collaboration
network.
We firstly created a skyscraper dataset that contains all the built skyscrapers over 300 meters
in China. Over the last several years, the build of skyscraper has become an emerging megaproject
market in China. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) reported that 13 skyscrapers
that are over 300 meters were completed in the year of 2015 globally, while 9 of them were built in
China. In 2016, 6 of 10 skyscrapers that are expected to erect are from China, all of which are above
3
300 meters’ tall. For each skyscraper project, project attributes (height, geographical location, start
and complete time, etc.), core project organizations (project client or investor, design company,
general contractor, specialty sub-contractor, engineering supervisor, etc.), and organization attributes
(headquarter location and organization ownership property) were collected. Secondly, different
network models were built based on the dataset. Using the completion date of individual skyscraper
projects as the longitudinal time stamp to indicate the different formation stage of the network, the
dynamic change of the whole network and individual networks were modelled and calculated through
SNA. Network density, network centralization, and centralization index were examined in the whole
network.
Parameters of whole networks and individual networks of SNA are usually used to study
inter-organizational network. For the analysis of whole networks, indices such as density, network
centralization, and centralization index are used to measure the proportion of all possible ties that are
actually present, quantifies the dispersion or variation among individual centralities and betweenness
centralities, and some other structural properties of whole networks. The collaboration index Rd is also
proposed as follows to measure the level of collaborations based on previous performance.
𝑅𝑅𝑑𝑑 (𝑛𝑛) = (∑𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑖=1 ∑𝑚𝑚 ′ ′

𝑗𝑗=1 𝑆𝑆𝑖𝑖,𝑗𝑗 − 𝑆𝑆𝑛𝑛 )/𝑆𝑆𝑛𝑛 (1)
Where, n represents the year; m represents the number of projects; Si,j represents the number
of construction organizations for project j in a given year i; Sn‘ represents the real accumulated number
of construction organizations until the year n.
The data used in the study is resourced from Skyscraper Centre of CTBUH and the Mega
Projects Case Study and Data Center (MPCSC) database developed by the Research Institute of
Complex Engineering & Management (RICEM) of the Tongji University in China. Design
organizations include architectural firms, structural firms, and mechanical and electrical firms, while
contractor organizations consist of general contractors, curtain wall sub-contractors, steel structure
sub-contractors, and mechanical and electrical subcontractors.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Collaboration Based on Past Experience
Collaboration index Rd of different types of organizations from 1996 to 2015 is shown in

Figure 1. Experienced organizations started to award another skyscraper project until the fifty year.
On average, the collaboration index that based on previous experience increased gradually. The
characteristics of design firms, contractors, and supervisors are different despite their similar overall
growth trends. Contractors have the highest index, almost twice as high as designers and supervisors.
This indicates that experienced contractors have a higher chance to win new projects in Chinese
skyscraper AEC market, making more difficult for new contractors to enter in the market. On the
4
contrary, designers and supervisors have a similar trend of slow progress, indicating that there is still
room for newcomers to enter the market. For instance, foreign designers constantly participate in the
design competition for skyscrapers in China, reflecting the intense competition in this market.
Rd Number of Skyscraper 45
1.2
40
1 35
30
0.8
25
0.6
20
0.4 15
10
0.2
5
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Number of Skyscraper Design Contractor Supervisor
Figure 1. Collaboration index (Rd) of different types of organizations from 1996 to 2015.
In addition, the relationship of the collaboration index Rd and the number of skyscrapers
shows certain correlation. The result of linear regression demonstrates that the repeated collaboration
indices and the number of skyscrapers are linearly correlated, with R2 values 0.8995, 0.9113, and
0.9547 (p-value less than 0.001), respectively. Such correlation denotes that organizations with
similar project experience are easier to acquire new project opportunities as skyscraper projects
increase.
Inter-organizational Collaboration Network
Typical parameters including density, network centralization, and centralization index are
used to analyze the formation process, main characteristics and network evolution in the whole
network. Figure 2 illustrates the trends of network centralization and centralization index over time.
Network centralization of the whole network reached 7.84% in the second year and the peak 11.97%
in the seventh year (Year 2009). It stayed at 8.75% averagely with a standard deviation of 0.0203
despite small fluctuations, showing the smaller differences between individuals of the whole network.
This result of network centralization is reasonable when compared with other megaprojects. It is
smaller than inter-organizational collaboration networks in a stand-alone megaproject, like 23.23% in
the Shanghai Expo construction (Li et al., 2011), but larger that in a wider range of metropolises or
megacities, such as 6.75% in a three-year (2008 to 2010) inter-organizational collaboration network of
infrastructure projects in a major city of China (Li, et al., 2013). On the other hand, centralization
index reflects the degree of dependence on an intermediate in the whole network. Such indicator has
an overall upward trend with larger fluctuations. The peak value of the centralization index is 24.05%
in this study, similar to the value in the study of Shanghai Expo (23.59%) (Y. Li, Lu, Kwak, Le, & He,
5
2011). The most recent value of 18.99% in this study is slightly higher than the value of 17.18% in a
city-level infrastructure megaprojects in China (Y. k. Li, Chong, He, & Guo, 2013). Due to the high
dependence on an intermediate in the network, the network may have “structural holes” that emerge
when two separate clusters possess non-redundant information (Burt, 2009). Thus, a network that
bridges structural holes can provide additional value to the network as well as the social capitals in the
network.
25.00% 23.42%
24.05%
20.00% 18.99%
17.55%
19.59%
15.00% 15.56%
11.56%
10.45% 10.52%
10.00% 11.97% 9.70%
7.84% 7.84%
10.47%
7.26% 8.66%
5.00% 5.16% 6.78%
5.98% 6.52%
2.77%
0.00% 0 0 0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Network Centralization Centralization Index
Figure 2. Trends of network centralization and centralization index of in the skyscraper case study.
We further analyzed the relationship of the number of skyscrapers with network centralization,
centralization index, and network density, and the results are shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5. As the
number of skyscraper projects grew, network centralization increased during the first several years,
and decreased after reaching the peak number in the seventh year (year 2009), showing a polynomial
function (R2=0.86) between the two variables (Figure 3). Centralization index and the number of
skyscrapers also correlate with a polynomial function shown in Figure 4 (R2=0.88). The centralization
index drops after the eleventh year (Year 2013) in which the maximum value was 25%. In Figure 5,
network density and the number of skyscrapers shows an exponential relationship (R2=0.96). The
density value reached a stable 0.07 as project number increased. However, the density value of the
whole network is lower than aforementioned two reference parameter, 0.3106 of Shanghai Expo and
0.1332 of infrastructure network, respectively (Y. Li et al., 2011; Y. k. Li et al., 2013), possibly
owning to the loose connection between participated organizations and the disperse geographical
locations of skyscrapers in China.
6
Network Centralization
12%
10%
8%
6%
R² = 0.8559
4%
2%
Number of Skyscraper
0%
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Figure 3. The relationship between network centralization and the number of skyscrapers.
Centralization Index
25%
20%
R² = 0.8779
15%
10%
5%
0%
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Figure 4. The relationship between centralization index and the number of skyscrapers.
Density
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
y = 0.7253x-0.684
R² = 0.9644
0.2
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Figure 5. The relationship between network density and the number of skyscrapers.
CONCLUSION
In a specific kind of megaprojects, inter-organizational collaboration networks are gradually

formed. Previous experience not only help organizations to possess important positions in the network,
but also provide a better opportunity to accumulate social capitals and to increase market
competitiveness. Owners and clients of megaprojects tend to choose their collaborators that have
7
strong past experience, leading to a “winner takes all” phenomenon. At the same time, contractors are
easier to be connected to better network positions comparing to design firms and supervisors which
have more competitive markets.
Although several key organizations exist in the inter-organizational collaboration network of

a specific kind of megaprojects, there are not much centrality differences among individual
organizations and no significant change of network centralization over time, indicating that new
organizations are constantly entering the market and striving to become strong competitors. However,
centralization index of the whole network demonstrates an upward trend, and positively correlates
with the number of the skyscraper projects, signaling possible structural holes in the network that
need to be carefully examined to avoid information manipulation.
This study of inter-organization collaboration networks extends the previous emphasis on

static networks and limitation of a stand-alone engineering project, to dynamic and evolutionary
collaboration network. The research findings help to further understand the form and evolution of
inter-organization collaboration networks in megaprojects. It will not only provide suggestions to
project clients on how to constitute high efficient project team, but also offer guidance to AEC firms
on how to enter and remain competitive in the megaprojects market.
REFERENCES
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Engwall, M., & Jerbrant, A. (2003). The resource allocation syndrome: the prime challenge of multi-
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Flyvbjerg, B. (2014). What you should know about megaprojects and why: An overview. Project
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Han, S. H., Yun, S., Kim, H., Kwak, Y. H., Park, H. K., & Lee, S. H. (2009). Analyzing schedule
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Le, Y., & Li, Y. (2013). Chinese Skyscraper Construction& Development Research Report. Beijing,
China: China Architecture & Building Press.
Li, Y., Lu, Y., Kwak, Y. H., Le, Y., & He, Q. (2011). Social network analysis and organizational
control in complex projects: construction of EXPO 2010 in China. Engineering Project
Organization Journal, 1(4), 223-237.
Li, Y. k., Chong, D., He, Q., & Guo, Y. (2013). Projects Network and Effects on Enterprise
Competitiveness in Construction Industry: From Project Cooperation Viewpoint. Operations
Research and Management Science, 22(1), 237-243.
Lundrigan, C. P., Gil, N. A., & Puranam, P. (2015). The (under) performance of mega-projects: A
meta-organizational perspective. Paper presented at the Academy of Management
Proceedings.
Meng, X. (2012). The effect of relationship management on project performance in construction.
International journal of project management, 30(2), 188-198.
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1287-1328.
Phua, F. T. (2004). The antecedents of co‐operative behaviour among project team members: an
alternative perspective on an old issue. Construction Management and Economics, 22(10),
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success in winning public procurement projects: The case of the construction industry in the
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and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).
9
2016 UMD Project Management Symposium
How much important is IT project management for Olympic Games success?
Rio2016 Case Study
F. A. Lima12, Ph.D*, PMP, PMI-RMP
1
Business Research Unit, Lisbon University Institute, Lisbon, [email protected]
2
Cluster Venue Technology Manager, Rio2016 Olympic Games Organizing
Committee, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Information technology has an important role in many businesses and in Olympic
Games is not different, but when we think about IT project management, immediately
a question comes up. How much important is IT project management for Olympic
Games success? Information technology department in general has the second biggest
budget in the Organizing Committees for Olympic Games (OCOGs). Due to the
improvements in sports and consequently their dependency from technology, we can
say that is almost impossible to realize games without a huge technology set of
products and services. Considering as well, that technology is one of the infrastructure
areas that provides services to the others functional areas, manage professionally a
portfolio of projects became mandatory, not only for technology, but also to the entire
committee in order to achieve the games organization goals. Olympic Games is a
megaproject which needs to be planned and managed based on recognized best project
management practices. Scope, time, cost, and quality are the minimal aspects that
must be managed for functional areas in an integrated manner. Manage IT projects it
is not an easy thing, especially because IT projects are the ones with the highest rate
of failure, which means that usually these projects do not achieve their goals and
realize the benefits planned usually affecting companies businesses.
Keywords: Project Management, Olympic Games, Information Technology, Major

Sports Events, Megaproject, Rio2016
1 INTRODUCTION
Olympic Games are a megaproject that involves and integrates many companies and
resources, which means hundreds of stakeholders. Information technology in this
environment has a main role providing goods and services to support stakeholders
operation. Technology project management has been discussed broadly, and for
Olympics success, it shows up more crucial. Organizing Committee for Olympic
Games (OCOG) functional areas depend on technology goods and services to work
and support their operation. Technology is one of the six Games infrastructure
providers that support all functional areas, as shown by figure 1 below:
Technology
Containment
Logistics
Security
Energy
Venue Development
Figure 1 - Venue infrastructure providers
To provide its services to internal and external clients technology needs some suppliers
and partners, which must be integrated, and aligned with Olympics project
management practices, assumptions, tools, timeframes, and goals. This scenario
demands more professionalism in project management, and makes it more critical to
the Olympics goals achievement.
Technology has one of the biggest budgets in the OCOGs. For an example, in Rio2016
the budget is distributed according to the table 1 given below:
Table 1- Rio2016 Budget Distribution
Area Percentage
Administration and Commercial 26%
Technology 19%
Infrastructure Projects 13%
Sports and Ceremonies 10%

Area Percentage
Accommodation 10%
Games Services 8%
Marketing Rights and Contingencies 6%
Transport 4%
Engagement 4%
As shown in the table 1 above, technology has the second biggest budget in Rio2016
demonstrating the investment in IT and its importance to The Games (Rio2016
Organising Committee of Olympic and Paralympic Games, 2016). Without
Technology supports, Games are almost impossible to be performed nowadays.
As demonstrated in the figure 1, technology depends on Venue Development, Energy,
Containment, Logistics, and Security to implement its services on the venue level.
This means that align assumptions, scope, and time with these areas must be the main
Information Technology project management objective to turn Technology Functional
Area able to provide its products and services on time, on budget, and according to the
scope aligned. All of the venue infrastructure providers must have a portfolio of
projects aligned among them, but the issue presented here is the timeframe of each
functional area conception and its maturity on the project management. Integration it
is not easy in a regular project and in a megaproject like as Olympics shows up more
complex and difficult to reach, due to the quantity of stakeholders, projects,
assumptions, and constraints to cope with. Another variable that comes up in the
context is that IT project management must be as simple as possible to ensure its uses,
and to make it possible to standardize.
In order to analyze the Information Technology project management in Olympic
Games this research will try to answer the research question “IT project management
impacts on Olympics Games success?”
According to the structure of this paper it will present research methodology applied,
a literature review that covers project management, Olympic Games, IT project
management, and project management success. It will discuss the impacts of IT
project management on Olympic Games success using Rio2016 as a case study.
2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The methodological approach of the research was qualitative and the main technique
to collect and analyze data was content analysis from the literature review of papers
on project management, IT project management, project management success,
Rio2016 and Olympic Games. It was used a systematic analysis to identify keywords
contained in papers selected from the scientific databases. The search of articles was
based on the keywords "project management", “Project Management Success”,
“Rio2016” and "Olympic Games” and the period being considered was the last 5 years.
The other technique of data collection was observation and participation of researcher
and interview IT Project Managers with Games previous experience and IT clients of
the Rio2016 Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games to understand the
importance of IT Project Management to The Olympics business.
3 LITERATURE REVIEW
3.1 Olympic Games

Olympic Games are the most important multi-sport event in the world, which are
divided in summer and winter editions. There are adults and youth Games, both of
them have summer and winter editions. Summer and Winter Games happen every
four years, which means that every 2 years an Olympic event happens. Future games
editions are shown in the figure below:
Figure 2 – Future Games Editions
International Olympic Committee is the owner of Olympic Games rights. To host one
edition of The Olympics cities have to participate of the bidding process. The host
city election takes place seven years before the Games, but the actual candidature
process is launched 10 years before and lasts for a period of approximately three years
(International Olympic Committee, 2016). Olympic and Paralympic Games happen
in the same city, one after another. For example, in summer Games, Olympic Games
happen in August and Paralympic in September. Olympic Games in general must
demand a huge investment from the host city to build venues according to the
Olympics requirements (The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games
and Paralympic Games, 2013).
Olympic Games are complex and demands project management usage since bid
process (GARGALIANOS, TOOHEY, & STOTLAR, 2015).
At least, time, cost, scope, and quality must be managed in Olympic Games project in
a professional manner (EAGER, 1997).
Olympic Games have been increasing every edition in cost, size, and complexity,
which creates difficult to have many candidates as host cities (CHAPPELET, 2014)
(MÜLLER, 2015).
3.2 Megaproject
According to (FLYVBJERG, 2014) Megaproject is a type of project that cost at least
1 billion dollars, takes many years to be developed, involves many stakeholders, and
affects many people. Olympic Games project fits 100 percent on this concept.
Megaproject demands a huge investment, is risky, scope changes significantly over
time, usually has public and private entities participation, and, often creates legacy,
such as venues, bridges, airports, seaports, and others.
Megaprojects are well known as infrastructure projects, complex projects are another
possible name, and its planning process is complex and tough to do.
Megaprojects usually become extremely complex due to the quantity of stakeholders
involved in and as a result there a lot of challenges, surprises, issues, and problems to
deal with (GIEZEN, BERTOLINI, & SALET, 2015).
Many projects managers have tried to keep megaproject planning as much as simple,
understanding that this strategy creates a good advantage for them (GIEZEN, 2012).
3.3 Project Management

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to
project activities and tasks to meet the project requirements (PROJECT
MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE, 2013).
Currently, project management knowledge and skills has been more expected and
demanded from professionals especially in Information Technology field.
At least, the content of project management published by Project Management Institute
via Project Management Body of Knowledge is expected to be used to manage
projects.
Project management has been widely applied worldwide. Information Technology and
its professionals are one of the biggest areas that invested a lot of money on tools,
training, and, methodologies to improve their project management competencies.
3.4 Project Management Success

The concept of project management success is related to achieve project goals
established in Project Management Plan. Usually, time, cost, and scope aspects
achievement are considered in project goals and objectives. This means that if a
project time, cost, and scope variables were achieved according to the project
management plan, the project success is reached.
3.5 Rio2016
For the first time, South America hosts an edition of Olympics. Rio de Janeiro was
chosen in 2009 to host the 2016 Olympics edition, and since there the city and
Organizing Committee created by plan the Games have been working on Olympic
Games planning.
Rio2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be performed in four regions of the city:
Barra da Tijuca, Copacabana, Maracanã, and Deodoro. In these regions competitions
will be performed. Main Press Center, International Broadcast Center and Athletes
Olympic Village are located in Barra da Tijuca region (Rio2016 Organising
Committee of Olympic and Paralympic Games, 2016).
Rio de Janeiro city is responsible to provide the public infrastructure to the Games,
such as transportation. City is also responsible to build some Games venues in a legacy
mode.
Rio2016 Olympic Games will be performed from 5 to 21 August, and Paralympic
Games will be performed from 7 to 18 September 2016.
According to (Rio2016 Organising Committee of Olympic and Paralympic Games,
2016), Rio2016 numbers show the magnitude of the project, as given below:
• 10,500 athletes from 206 countries, 42 sports, 32 competition venues spread
across for regions of the city, 39 test events, 2 technical rehearsals, 7.5 million
tickets, 100,000 chairs, 11 million meals, 60,000 clothing hangers, 34,000
beds, 45,000 volunteers, 6,500 employees, 85,000 outsourced staff.
3.6 Rio2016 Technology Department

Rio2016 Technology Department is divided into 6 functional areas, as listed below:
• Technology Program Office (TPO)
• Service Delivery (SDE)
• Technology Systems (TSY)
• Results (RES)
• Telecommunication (TEL)
• Venue Technology Services (VTS)
Functional areas listed above are responsible for providing products and services based
on a catalogue, which is presented to all OCOG functional areas.
Technology Program Office is the area responsible for controlling the portfolio of
projects, provides support in project management to the other technology areas,
develops process and procedures, creates the department governance rules and
procedures, and mobilizes technology teams.
Service Delivery is responsible for technology service desk, and to provide products,
like as computers and printers to the entire committee.
Technology Systems is responsible for providing applications and systems to the entire
committee.
Results is the area responsible for Results Systems Test, Sports Timing and Scoring,
and Results processing and distribution on the venue level.
Telecommunication is responsible for providing Fixed and Mobile
Telecommunication products and services to the committee.
Venue Technology Services is responsible for collecting functional areas requirements
on venue level, venue project management, requests infrastructure services, such as
spaces and commodities to host technology goods and services, containment, power,
security, logistics, for technology operation on the venue level
Technology department provides goods and services in competition and non-
competition venues (hotels, airports, transport garage, logistics distribution center,
accommodation villages, athletes village, press and broadcast center)
To provide goods and services to the others functional areas and clients, technology
uses many partners and contractors, which are managed by projects.
For technology purpose, each venue is considered one project per type of event Games,
Test events, and, Technical Rehearsals.
Technology goods and services provided for functional areas and clients includes:
desktops, laptops, printers, radios, mobile phone, landlines, wired and Wi-Fi internet
connectivity, network services, TVs, TV signal, videoboards, public and sport
scoreboards, projectors, audio systems, intercom, software’s, games applications
(Commentator Information System, workforce planning), timing and scoring
equipment, 3G dongles, tablets, Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) units, service desk
service, and others.
4 RESULTS AND FINDINGS

Information technology provides a lot of goods and services to OCOG functional areas
and clients. To deliver its goods and services Information Technology department
uses project management largely. Technology tries to apply as much as possible the
knowledge published in PMBOK in its projects. IT projects are managed using CA
Clarity, MS-Project, and standardized documents, and have been achieving its
objectives and goals. Researcher observed that some projects were postponed, and
presented delays, as often seemed in IT projects, but without significant impacts on
functional areas services and deliveries.
For example, Venue Technology Manager (VTM) has a deployment plan that shows
all spaces in a venue that requested technology goods and services, and TEC
dependency of VED (space, air-conditioning), NRG (power), LOG ( furniture), SEC
(venue perimeter security) and containment. VTM is able to see the project critical
path, and understand the effect of a postponing or delay in a specific cause on the
project as whole. Basic project management techniques like as WBS, critical path
method, PERT, resource constraints, assumptions and constraints reviews are applied
in venue technology project planning.
Every Olympic Edition, functional areas are more dependent of IT goods and services,
and this could be seemed clearly in Rio2016 Organizing Committee. To work on
venue level since the beginning of construction Functional Areas needs to have mobile
services available, at least, but usually they request much more IT support for their
operation.
Time, Cost, and Scope aspects have been consistently managed by IT project managers
in order to keep the projects on track. OCOG establishes that over cost usually
experienced in a megaproject like this (PATEL, BOSELA, & DELATTE, 2013) is
unacceptable situation, and based on that IT projects have been led to achieve the cost
goal, at least, but ideally, projects must have savings. OCOG functional areas, clients,
partners, IOC, and technology project managers interviewed considered IT project
management highly important to Olympic Games success due to the broadly usage of
IT by clients, and, the sports competition technology dependency. There is no
functional area without technology support, as well as, sport that could be performed
without technology support.
5 LIMITATIONS
The study was conducted only in Rio2016 Organizing Committee, which makes
difficult the extrapolation of results and findings. A study including more OCOGs
must be performed in order to extrapolate the results.
6 CONCLUSION
Organizing Committees for Olympic Games have been increasing their dependency of
Information Technology goods and services every Games edition, due to the
improvements in sports and clients and customers demands by information
availability. Information Technology departments, companies and professionals have
been investing a huge amount of money to improve their project management
competencies and Olympic Games business has been following this tendency. In
Rio2016 researcher observed that Information Technology issues could impact on the
entire committee, and because of this Information Technology department has been
applying modern project management techniques to ensure to its clients that IT
projects will be delivered according to the objectives and goals established and agreed
with clients. A small failure in IT projects can stop sport competition, impact on
ticketing sale, generate errors on timing and scoring results capturing, processing and
publishing, as well as, all mobile, radio, and network telecommunication services. Due
to, the importance of IT services and products and it is largely impact on Games
services, OCOGs executive boards have been demanding more professionalism to the
IT departments. Technology project management success or failure affects directly on
Olympic Games success and OCOG, partners, and sponsors image. By this reason, IT
project management has been considered highly important to the Olympics, by
OCOGs and IOC.
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(pp. 349 – 357). Crete.
Managing Owner’s Cost and Developing Earned Value Metrics
Prath Mehta, PE, PSP ([email protected]) and Andrew Kosiba ([email protected])
JMT Inc.
72 Loveton Circle, Sparks, MD – 21152
Abstract
The presentation is focused on the development of a total project cost management system for an
owner using a case-study of a local DOT agency. The paper outlines a set of processes that were
implemented to manage costs from the design stage transitioning to construction and closing out the
project. The presentation further discusses several data points tracked from an engineer’s estimate
(developed during design phase) that are used to derive a conceptual cost estimate for future projects
with similar items. The item costs during the construction phase is validated using quantities
summarized on a monthly basis in the form of a ‘Progress Estimate’. The progress estimate costs are
utilized to develop the burn-rate used to forecast the project’s health, calculate earned value metrics
and pro-actively manage contracts and change orders. Additionally dashboard style reports were
developed to display earned value metrics using real-time project information. Our discussion involves
challenges faced in areas of cost management concepts, communication, information sharing, and the
consistent use of defined processes by sections within departments.
Contents
Abstract ...................................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction: ............................................................................................................................................... 2
Organization Challenges: ............................................................................................................................ 3
Owner’s Perspective: .................................................................................................................................. 3
Establishment of UCC: ............................................................................................................................ 4
Implemented Solution: ............................................................................................................................... 5
UCC ......................................................................................................................................................... 5
Account Codes: ....................................................................................................................................... 6
Technology:............................................................................................................................................. 7
Cost Management: ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Operational Costs: .................................................................................................................................. 8
Design Costs:........................................................................................................................................... 8
Bid Costs and Evaluation: ...................................................................................................................... 11
Construction Costs: ............................................................................................................................... 12
Earned Value Metrics:............................................................................................................................... 16
Dashboards: .......................................................................................................................................... 17
Conclusion: ............................................................................................................................................... 18
References: ............................................................................................................................................... 19
Page | 1
Introduction:
AACE International defines total cost management (TCM) as follows:
“Total cost management is the effective application of professional and technical expertise to plan and
control resources, costs, profitability and risks. Simply stated, it is a systematic approach to the
managing cost throughout the life cycle of any enterprise, program, facility, project, product, or service.
This is accomplished through the application of cost engineering and cost management principles,
proven methodologies and the latest technology in support of the management process.” i
There are several publications including Project Management Institute (PMI) that provides guidelines to
support an owner/agency in developing a framework to support cost management through the lifecycle
of capital improvement projects.
Owner/agency organizations supported by civic tax funds are faced with challenges that include the
implementation of defined internal processes, assigning staff resources with required skills and
communication protocols that must be seen to be transparent. Total Cost Management for an
organization touches almost every aspect of its operations including managing projects/programs
(project management), managing internal and external resources (resource management) and costs
accounting (finance/fiscal management). In this case study the existing internal process for obtaining
additional funding when a contract exceeds its budget is both time consuming and paper intensive.
Having the ability to estimate project costs and establish more accurate budgets and Engineer’s
estimates greatly enhances successful outcomes for the agency’s program. A cost management system
that uses data for bid items from previous similar projects will provide that ability.
Prior to establishing a Cost Management, and eventually a Project Management Information System it is
necessary to understand the culture of the organization. The culture defines the degree to which the
PMIS will be combined with existing tools and placement of resources with needed skill sets. It is
equally important that such initiatives are supported by the highest levels of an organization and backed
up with robust training and skills enhancement plans. Dependent on the organization, a project is
conceptualized in multiple ways and sometimes takes years to materialize. This article is a discussion
and a record of experience in establishing a cost management system for an organization that is
engaged in regional public works projects using traditional (design – bid – build) project delivery
method.
Figure 1 | Project Life Cycle for the Organization:
Planning Design Construction

(Conceptual Estimate) (Engineer's Estimate) (Bid Costs)
•Conceptual Planning •Bridge Design •Bridges

•Traffic Impact Studies •Pavement Designs •Reconstruction
•Community Outreach •Sidwalks and •Resurfacing
Reconstruction •Allys and Footways
Page | 2
Organization Challenges:
Owner agencies are mandated to maintain a transparent and auditable accounting of all project costs,
including conceptual costs during the planning stage, an engineer’s estimate at the design stage and bid
costs during the construction stage. The following is a list of challenges faced during each stage while
implementing a cost management system.
Planning Stage
- Planning phase estimates are performed in isolated silos and are conceptual at the best. These
estimate or goals are not clearly communicated to the next phase. Usually planning initiatives
results in multiple projects generated for design and construction phase.
- Engineering designs are performed by design consultants; who are required to utilize uniform
cost category (UCC) values to identify project items. However the lack of enforcement in using
the UCC codes leads to inconsistency with bid items for construction phase.
- Inconsistency in using UCC creates during design phase leads to delays in identifying bid items
(pay items) with issues during construction phase.
- Design Stage
- The design project manager lacks resources to develop project estimates during the design
phase and lack the ability to validate a project estimate prior to the advertisement for
construction. This is a major budgeting issue for an agency in forecasting a construction budget
which is dependent on an engineer’s estimate and has to be finalized prior to the
advertisement.
- Construction Stage
- The construction supervisor lacks the tools and resources to track and compare prices on on-
going construction costs. The contractor submits the progress payment on a monthly basis
along with their schedule update. The internal process to approve a contractor’s progress
payment takes more than 30 days and therefore on a mid to small size project at any given time
the approved cost data is lagging almost 60 to 90 days from the current date.
- The legacy processes and tools caused delays in reporting real-time project status. This leads to
the organization reacting to manage project issues rather than being pro-active to address real
concerns.
- Weekly and monthly project status meetings do not provide any useful information and the lack
of real-time project data prevents the organization from managing costs efficiently.
Owner’s Perspective:
The goal was to develop or update a cost management system and to bring current business processes
up to speed in time for project delivery while being able to utilize current technologies to support cost
management through the project life cycle. The intent is to develop an integrated system. The system
includes modifying business processes and deploying tool sets to streamline development of project
costs from an engineer’s estimate, then tracking project bid costs through the award process and
tracking actual costs through the construction phase.
Page | 3
Objectives to develop a cost management system are includes the following:
- Utilization of UCC from the design phase to standardize cost items for tracking managing
through construction phase.
- Develop and modify business processes to manage and track project costs and funding sources
from planning to construction phase.
- Develop internal resources and training plans to support and educate users with cost
management concepts and benefits to overall organization.
- Provide a set of tools for the design project managers to review the engineer’s estimate using a
combination of data points collected from past engineers’ estimates, contractor’s bids as well as
actual construction costs.
- Provide and develop a system to allow the construction inspector to record pay items through
the use of a daily report and the construction supervisor to approve recorded pay items on a
monthly basis to develop project estimate.
- Develop reports and dashboards to provide current project status with cost and schedule
comparison along with the ability to forecast cost projections.
- A three phase approach was taken to develop cost management system for the client.
Figure 2 | PMIS Phase
- Establish UCC and - Implement web - Reports supporting

Phase 1 (crawl)
Phase 2 (walk)
Phase 3 (run)
account code based system. engineer's estimate.
standards. - Roll-out system to - Project status reports
- Standardized support construction (weekly/monthly)
Engineer's Estimate documentation. - Electronic approval of
using UCC. - Mentoring and progress estimate and
- Define and document training session to invoices.
business processes. support end-users. - Business process
- Standardized project - Refine processes refinement and
close-out. based on user improvements.
feedback.
Establishment of UCC:
The uniform cost category (UCC) existed in the agency in different forms. The three digit item codes
were established almost 20 years ago to group project items with construction divisions. The following
table provides list of general items grouped by cost category.
Table 1 | Cost Categories
Cost Category Description

100 General Requirements Items
200 Excavation and Concrete Items
300 Storm Drain and Utilities Items
400 Bridge Items
500 Asphalt Concrete Items
Page | 4
600 Miscellaneous Concrete Items
700 Landscape Items
800 Signs and Signals Items
The agency defined higher levels of cost categories. Design consultants on their discretion further
identified cost (pay/bid) items as related or needed for the work scope. There was no consistency by
design consultants in organizing cost items. The method adopted was different between consultants and
between projects designed by the same consultant. The lack of consistency made it almost an
impossible to generate an agency wide cost control system using cost categories. We found that the end
product was achieved by a mixing of cost codes. The consultants used code numbers from a past
project or a number that was available from a numerical sequence. Items numbers used consistently on
project by a consultant A would not match with similar scope items designed by consultant B.
The agency internal accounting (fiscal) was managed using a 26 character cost account code associated
with each project. The 26 character cost account code was divided in to the following categories.
Table 2 | Account Codes
Account Code Categories Description

Segment 1 (4 character) Department ID
Segment 2 (6 character) Project ID
Segment 3 (4 character) Section ID
Segment 4 (6 character) Funding Source ID
Segment 5 (6 character) Type of Cost ID
Implemented Solution:
In order to implement a permanent solution and to achieve the desired goal, our first step was to
identify characteristics and requirements for both UCC and account codes. The UCC code is also called
bid codes, bid items, and cost items; these terms are used interchangeably in this discussion.
UCC: The UCC codes define items with a desired measure of units associated with each item. Such a
system is not new and has been adopted by several local and state agencies throughout the nation. The
purpose of publishing a UCC is to provide a uniform (consistent) value or a code that can be tracked
across multiple projects as well as throughout a project life cycle.
Page | 5
The agency adopted a hybrid version of a UCC structure that keeps the old cost categories as pre-fix and
suffix of 3 digits would allow identification of a specific items.
Figure 3 | UCC Categories
The UCC process resulted in a list of 3,600 standard items used by the agency in the past 20 years. This
list consisted of line items, its description and units of measure. Design consultants were asked to utilize
similar lists in preparation of an engineer’s estimate; which is a requirement of design submissions. The
agency followed up with several training sessions for design consultants as well as in-house design
project managers (agency staff) to educate and promote the use of UCC codes for future projects.
Initially there were several challenges faced as the change was a daunting task for the agency. However
quick adoption by design consultants eased the transition to the use of UCC. During initial roll-out there
were several items that needed to be modified and added to the list to accommodate items missed
during the prior internal review. Design consultants used ‘other’ as a type of cost category quite
frequently. As a result, several iterations were required to revise and fine tune the engineer’s estimate
classified by UCC. As mentioned earlier the Engineer’s estimate is now a requirement for Project Scope
and Estimate (PS&E) deliverable. It required consistent efforts from the agency project managers to
curtail the old practice and drive the use of the correct UCC to support cost management throughout
the project life cycle.
The benefits of utilizing a UCC includes a readily available standard code for items of work, which can be
used to track costs through project development life cycle. It allows an agency to record estimated
costs of a project at various design stages, record costs of bids, calculate the spending rate through
actual costs as well associated change order costs. Recording these various data points allows an agency
to develop certain project specific trends to improve the accuracy of the Engineer’s estimate and budget
planning for project delivery. The integrated system stores costs at all data points in a centralized
system which is then used in various reports to support the owner agency decision making.
Account Codes: It was envisioned that six characters of the UCC code will become part of a 26
character account code. However, due to requirements of the accounting system and processes of the
accounting department; it was determined to tag cost items in an integrated system. This allowed
flexibility of assigning one or multiple account codes. There was no change proposed to the accounting
system or account codes during the implementation. Several reports to support the accounting
Page | 6
department and processes to award contracts and payment estimates were modified so that account
codes are included in the integrated system.
Technology:
As the UCC and account codes were finalized; the agency invested in a web-based system using an off-
the-shelf product. The integrated system is defined as the Project Management Information System
(PMIS). The products selected included Oracle-Primavera Contract Management - Release 14.1 (PCM)
and Oracle-Primavera P6 - R 8.4 (P6). The proposed systems were integrated using custom development
to support certain functionality required by the agency. It reported data collected by these applications
using Oracle – BI-Publisher – a default reporting tool. The following infographic displays the integration
of the various applications to support cost management.
Figure 4 | PMIS Components
The PMIS consisted of off-the-shelf product, however each application was customized and configured
specifically to meet the agency’s requirements. One aspect of such configuration change involved
renaming some of the native fields in PCM including a module such as Bids and Award for agency’s
utilization. The Bids and Award module allowed the agency to record engineer’s estimate linked with
accounting codes and UCC code values to establish basis for the contract and subsequently consumption
in IDR and progress payment. After the advertisement, the module is used to record contractor’s bid to
be compared against each and with engineer’s estimate. The module also allowed to generate or create
a contract document between the agency and the selected contractor with contract line items. These
contract line items carried the association with UCC code established at the time of preparation of
Page | 7
engineer’s estimate. Such built-in functionality allowed the agency to promote the use of UCC code
across departments thorough the life of a project.
Cost Management:
To develop a complete cost management system for an agency, several modules of these applications
were used and a few custom solutions were embedded to support the agency practices. The use of
these application in development of cost management solution is the focus and not on implementation
of PMIS.
Figure 5 | PMIS and Project Phases
In addition to the phasing of the project life cycle, the cost break-down structure for the agency includes
three distinct silos.
Operational Costs:
At the time of this implementation, the agency’s finance system would record agency’s direct or indirect
costs related to the design or construction projects under the operational budget for the agency. There
are several factors that needs consideration prior to including operational costs associated with the
project within the project costs accounting. The focus of the agency is to be able to manage project
costs and eventually include operational costs distribution with project costs.
Design Costs:
The design costs are estimated by the design project manager at the start of the project. However, due
to the nature of the work these estimates are actually an estimate at the best and are often modified
due to specific design aspects of the project. The account codes are generated at the time of award of
design of a project. The codes are used to track the award costs, associated addendum (change order)
and invoices (actuals) costs for the design portion of the project. The design disbursement of payments
Page | 8
includes funding for advertisement and the award phase of the project. This forms the basis of cost
tracking for the project.
Figure 6 | Project Costs
The design costs continue to accrue through the life of the project. During the award phase design costs
are associated with preparation of contract item addendums, response to bidders, organizing pre-bid
meetings and participation of construction bid evaluation report. The relative accuracy of an engineer’s
estimate is needed to establish the budget for the construction phase.
The challenges faced to track project specific design costs are listed below.
- Design consultants more often combine invoices for multiple design tasks awarded under a
single design contracts. To mitigate this issue a unique task identifier was generated at the time
of design task award. The consultants were required to submit separate invoices for each task
including hours associated with the task. This resulted in accurate accounting of actual design
costs associated with the project.
- Design consultants would not submit an invoice if the amount for the invoice is negligible or the
amount is included in an invoice for another project. This issue is understandably a concern for
both design consultant and the agency; however in order to support accurate project reporting
it was mandatory that design consultants submit design invoices on a monthly basis when the
invoice amount is greater than $500. In the event an invoice amount is less than $500;
consultants were allowed to carry forward the amount in a future invoice for the project.
The future phase of PMIS implementation would include design consultants uploading/emailing the
monthly invoice to be captured and stored in the PMIS.
The design costs also includes costs associated with the advertisement of the project, community
outreach activities and construction contract award activities. This phase includes all associated costs
up to when the construction contract is awarded. The costs incurred by the agency related to
Page | 9
advertisement and award falls under operational costs while costs incurred by the design consultants
are included in the design phase. This separation was not desirable due to minimal amount associated
with the ad and award process.
The PMIS would provide an interactive tool to a design project manager to generate a report based on
UCC code information to verify the accuracy of the engineer’s estimate. This report ties the UCC code
value with costs from different phases, different bids, schedule of values and change order costs to
derive an estimated cost for any of the selected UCC codes. The deliverable from a design consultant
includes engineer’s estimate as part of PS&E package, which is recorded in PMIS along with account
codes and UCC values in the Bids and Award module. The record from the engineer’s estimate forms
the base for recording bids, schedule of values and change orders for the project and managing costs for
construction project.
Estimate Validation Tool:

The custom developed report through a window allows users to enter one or multiple UCC codes for an
engineer’s estimate validation. The unit costs are derived based on the average unit costs of historical
records depending on the quantities entered in the input form. The report identifies all items (including
contract items, change order items, and forced account items) that has quantities within a 20% range of
quantities entered. This method provides additional check for accuracy in validating the engineer’s
estimate and eliminates any fluctuation due to outliers. The following flow chart indicates the reporting
process utilized to develop a validation tool for the engineer’s estimate.
Figure 7 | Projects Flow for Validation Tool
Page | 10
The analysis utilizes a method which accounts for estimated quantities thus improving accuracy of the
estimated costs. Once the unit costs are derived, the estimated costs are simply calculated using
multiplication with the quantity entered in the validation tool. The following is an image of a sample
report of validation tool.
Figure 8 Validation Report
The general formula to derive unit price is based on standard weighted average of available units and
unit costs.
Equation 1 Weighted Mean Average
∑𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑖=1 𝒲𝒲𝒲𝒲𝒲𝒲𝒲𝒲
𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊ℎ𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 (𝑋𝑋) =
∑𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑖=1 𝒲𝒲𝒲𝒲
Bid Costs and Evaluation:

The Engineer’s estimate along with account codes and UCC values are recorded in the Bids and Award
module in the PMIS. Bids from the contractors are verified for its compliance with the contract
requirements and then recorded in to the PMIS alongside of engineer’s estimate for each contract line
items. The PMIS allows cost comparison between bids within the project. However additional reporting
functionality allows the project manager to compare bid items using a UCC code alongside costs from
other projects from same contractor or average of costs to date. Such a comparison allows the agency
to develop a trend and identify uneven pricing for unit price items.
The following is a report with attributes that were generated to support informed decision making
process for contract award.
Figure 9 | Bid Costs Comparioson Report
Page | 11
Reports similar to shown earlier supported DOT’s project manager’s to compare cost items across all
projects and across all companies using past bids and actual project costs. Such reporting allowed DOT
to develop long-term trending for cost analysis not available previously and to identify uneven and
unbalanced bids. An unbalanced bid is one containing lump sum or front end loaded bid items which do
not reflect reasonable actual costs plus a reasonable proportionate share of the bidder’s anticipated
profit, overhead costs, and other indirect costs, which the contractor anticipates for the performance of
the items.
There is no prohibition per se against a contractor submitting an unbalanced bid unless the agency has
adopted a specific contract requirement precluding heavy percentages of cost on items performed early
in the project. Such unbalanced bids may appear to be the lowest ultimate costs to the agency,
however it may not be accepted due to uncertainties and reasonable doubt in performance of work and
intention of the contractor.
The availability of on-demand reports to provide trend analysis allowed the agency to either reject the
unbalanced bid or develop supporting documents for negotiation. Such trending allowed the agency to
be better informed in negotiation of change orders, force accounts and review of engineer’s estimate.
The data warehouse of cost information tagged with a unique value in terms of UCC codes provides a
tool that the agency would leverage for costs related project decisions.
The following is an example of trending report developed for regularly used construction items.
Figure 10 | Trending of Item Pricing
Avg Item Pricing

$600.00
$500.00
$400.00
$300.00
$200.00
$100.00
$-
Nov-13
Nov-14
Nov-15
Jul-13
Jul-14
Jul-15
May-13
May-14
May-15
Jan-13
Jan-14
Jan-15
Mar-13
Sep-13
Mar-14
Sep-14
Mar-15
Sep-15
Construction Costs:
The construction costs are derived from the winning bid for the construction of the detailed design in
the bid drawings. The agency has an internal process to advertise, collect bids, bid review and notice of
award for each construction project. The PMIS plays a vital role in the agency’s effort to manage and
control costs providing real-time costs information linked with schedule activities. The challenge for the
agency is to have the ability to reconcile installed costs with budgeted costs in real-time, usually
Page | 12
installed costs are not available. The agency relies on approved progress estimates along with approved
schedule updates to track and monitor progress; thus the agency relies heavily on the contractor to
provide information for estimate and schedule updates.
Installed Costs:
Collecting and reporting installed costs on real-time basis is the real challenge for the agency. The
solution using PMIS relied heavily on inspector’s daily report (IDR) data to develop real-time costs
information. Pay items of the awarded contract are made available in the IDR module for field
inspectors; that allowed inspectors to record daily installed quantities on a daily basis.
The quantities recorded by inspectors are summarized in the report and combined with the unit price
from the budgeted contract to provide real-time installed costs. UCC code values of each line item was
configured to be a primary key linking budgeted cost items with installed items. The IDR module would
allow a record using quantities that are in budgeted contracts and approved change orders. The total
available quantities for installation is current using this method.
CPM Schedule:
The agency specification required the contractor to submit cost loaded schedule and monthly status
updates to support progress estimates. However, due to the complexity involved in reporting directly
from the contractor developed P6 schedule, the agency maintains an in-house milestone construction
schedule cost loaded using UCC code. These schedules are utilized to manage the agency program and
projects in Primavera P6. The following attributes are used to maintain current information in the
program schedule.
- Resources in P6 are coded using the UCC value to enable use across projects. The $1/hr unit
costs is configured for each resource (represented by UCC code) allowed the agency to use
either resource units or costs for reporting and comparison purpose.
- Data sharing between PCM and P6 is used to transfer the costs data between applications. This
allowed reconciliation of budgeted costs and actual costs between the two applications. This
functionality subsequently allows us to generate earned value metrics for all levels of project
participants including field engineers, resident engineers and the agency management.
- CPM schedules were imported in a separate P6 database for review and analysis of monthly
updates submitted by the contractor. An approved monthly schedule is a requirement to
process the progress payment.
- The baseline of approved program schedule is created using contractor’s approved cost loaded
ICPM to develop and manage cash-flow for the agency.
Page | 13
Actual Costs:
Since the CPM schedules are developed by contractor, it is difficult to incorporate actual costs from
contractor’s schedule in to the PMIS managed by the agency.
Figure 11 | Costs Reconciliation
However, this issue was resolved leveraging PCM using the following process steps.
- Contract pay items (budgeted contracts and approved change orders) are available in IDR
module in which field inspector records daily installed quantities. These installed quantities and
pay items are linked using UCC codes across the PMIS.
- The actual recorded daily pay quantities are signed and accepted by the contractor at minimum
on weekly basis using internal work-flow.
- The accepted quantities are then used to process and approve a monthly progress estimate that
is in-line with accepted monthly schedule update.
The reports using the installed quantities and costs are usually the latest and therefore provides near
real-time update on the project progress. Such reporting allowed the agency to report on installed
quantities within 7 days of installation as IDR’s are required to be approved by the contractor. The data
sharing between PCM and program schedule in P6 resolves the issue of the inability to connect the
contractor developed P6 schedule with the agency maintained program schedule.
Page | 14
The following is a sample of report that collected schedule data from P6 to display time percent
complete and installed costs from PCM to display installed costs.
Figure 12| Project Status Report
Additional reports provides a tool for field inspectors and resident engineers that would provide on-
demand comparison of project items to display contracted quantities and installed quantities to-date.
Page | 15
Earned Value Metrics:
An Earned value management system is project management and control system that integrates work
scope, schedule and resources to enable objective comparison of the earned value to the actual cost and
the planned schedule of the project ii.
In a single integrated system EVM is able to forecast performance issues early to effect timely decision
making. At the agency the purpose of developing earned value metrics was to support the reporting of
standard key performance indicators (KPIs) for the program. The metrics would forecast project
performance and be used as a tool that allows the agency to monitor and accumulate Earned Value on a
weekly or monthly basis. EV is used as a KPI in this case not an indicator to the project status.
Figure 13 | Report with Status and EV Metrics
The metrics include a combination of schedule and cost indicators. Schedule indicators include schedule
delays, time used in comparison with original duration and duration with change orders. Schedule
Variance calculated as the difference between planned and earned value (PV-EV) was used in
conjunction with the project’s CPM schedule to measure on time completion. This is because the Critical
Path ultimately determines the project’s duration, and big dollar activities that are not critical have the
propensity to hide the impact of poor performing small budget critical activities.
Cost indicators included cost variances, percent of costs completed in comparison with original costs
and costs with change orders. Composite indexes included baseline execution index and various ratios
of cost and time to derive performance indexes.
Page | 16
Dashboards:
Standard P6 EPPM dashboards were also used to communicate project status information to the
agency’s management. Dashboards in P6 EPPM were customized to meet the agency’s needs by using
the specific thresholds for performance indexes. The use of dashboards eliminated the need of printing
ad-hoc reports, and provided the management a unified source of real-time information on project
status.
Figure 14 | Schedule Performance Dashboard in P6 EPPM
Figure 15| Earned Value Performance Dashboard in P6 EPPM
Page | 17
Conclusion:
The development of any cost management system needs to be customized to meet the client’s
requirement. In our case study, the cost management system was designed and developed using a
combination of applications and customized reports to support the agency. Some of the lessons learned
from development of a cost management system that provides a holistic approach for an agency using
the traditional project delivery model to execute construction projects follows:
- The proposed system requires a disciplined approach in data entry, data validation especially
during the design and construction phases to maintain checks and balances of the system.
- Several challenges including a lack of documentation on institutional knowledge and the clarity
of responsibility by project stake holders can provide non-technical problems.
- The communication system needs to be focused on project delivery. Historically it was
dependent on using email clients, and disconnected from any project referencing.
- The proposed system must be scalable so it can be further developed based on required
complexity and analytical requirements for the client.
- Due to lack of skilled internal resources and contractual arrangements, the agency faced a
challenging task to maintain the system. A single consultant was not engaged and resulted in a
lack of consistency in development.
- The owner agencies are uncertain about required roles to manage a cost management system
and struggle to utilize the skill sets of inter-departmental resources.
- Project participants lack the ability to see the big picture and establish long term goals for the
continuous development of a cost management system.
The following is a list of benefits achieved by the agency during the process.
- The process allowed to standardized cost items under UCC across the department in each phase
of the project.
- Improved the quality of engineer’s estimate to support to increase accuracy in the budget for
the construction projects.
- The implementation of PMIS allowed to record actual costs during construction phase to
develop earned value metrics.
The process with focus on total cost management is important because for publically funded agency
additional funding for the change order takes long time; however having an accurate budget due to
improved engineer’s estimate reduces the need for the change order.
Page | 18
References:
i
Definition of Total Cost Management – Total Cost Management Framework – Second Edition published by AACE
International
ii
Definition of Earned Value Management – Total Cost Management Framework – Second Edition published by
AACE International.
iii Earned Value Project Management – Quentin W. Fleming and Joel M. Koppelman – 2006
iv – Oracle – Primavera Contract Management R -14 – Support Files and Knowledgebase.
v – CPM Scheduling for Construction : Best Practices and Guidelines – Christopher W. Carson -2014
vi – 2008 Standard Specifications for Construction and Materials – State of Maryland
vii – 2001 Standard Specifications for Roads and Bridges Construction – State of Delaware
Page | 19
Analyzing the Effectiveness of Project Management Course:
A case study of American College of Dubai, UAE
Dr. Mario M. Pallada1 (DM) , Dr. Ravikiran Dwivedula2(PhD) , Dr. Enrique

Guevarra3 (DM), Dr. Poonam Singh4(PhD) and Ms. Aamina Rauf5 (MA)
1
Dean of Business Department, American College of Dubai, U.A.E., P.O. Box
12867, [email protected]
2
Research Coordinator, American College of Dubai, U.A.E., P.O. Box 12867,
[email protected]
3
Business Department, American College of Dubai, U.A.E. P.O. Box 12867,
[email protected]
4
Dean of General Education & VPAA(acting) , American College of Dubai,
U.A.E. ,P.O. Box 12867, [email protected]
5
Institutional Effectiveness Coordinator, American College of Dubai, U.A.E.,
P.O. Box 12867, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of project management

instructional methodology and course content on achievement of course learning
outcomes. We present the case of project management course taught at the
undergraduate level in American College of Dubai, UAE. This course is run as a
specialization course in the Bachelor of Business Administration Program. The
pedagogy includes a range of techniques such as traditional lectures, case studies, and
team based projects, which are used as assessments. The course learning outcomes
are aligned with the QF Emirates , as required by the UAE Ministry of Higher
Education & Scientific Research and correspond to Knowledge, Skills, and
Competence dimensions. Achievement of the course learning and overall student
satisfaction with the course is investigated through a survey. Furthermore, we analyze
student success on the course. Specific recommendations for improvement of course
content, and pedagogy is presented.
INTRODUCTION
The larger purpose of business education is to prepare future managers, educators,
and entrepreneurs who can perform in a dynamic business environment (Bratianu,
2015). In doing this, business education focuses on various learning outcomes such
as knowledge transfer, development of specific skills, and critical thinking (Gosling,
& Mintzberg, 2003; Roglio, & Light, 2009). Furthermore, this successful delivery of
learning outcomes largely depends on the effectiveness of the instructor who facilitate
the development of mental models in the students. The students then are aware of the
reality and the context in which they are operating, and process all information/ data
necessary to make effective decisions.
The development of such mental models requires the instructors to apply active
learning styles. Active learning requires the students to perform meaningful activities,
and reflect on what they are doing. Specifically, the instructors would employ
techniques such as collaborative learning (students working together to achieve
common goal), cooperative learning (students engaged in learning activities that
promote mutual accountability to achieve common goals, and face-to-face
interactions to develop interpersonal skills, and self-development).
The teaching techniques in project management education closely reflect these trends.
According to Austin et al (2013) managers in healthcare related projects need to rely
more on "soft skills" as they need to be more people focused rather than process
oriented. Smith et all (2008) in Poston and Richardson (20..) state that universities
are responding to this need by developing project management courses, offering
project management degrees and certificate programs. Poston and Richardson (20..)
propose that collaborating with the industry itself as one of the effective tools of
teaching and learning will give students a “real world” hands-on experience. Poston
and Richardson (20..) emphasize on exposing students to “soft skills” such as
communication skills, critical thinking, leadership, collaboration and team-work, as a
part of classroom activities so that they learn to develop, practice and apply these
skills in the “real world” when managing projects.
On the other hand, educators also need to reflect on the learning outcomes that are
intended to be achieved at the end of the course. Various outcomes such as
development of applied knowledge & skills, interactional abilities, personal attributes
(Toohey, 2002), influences on student behavior, and cognition from collegiate
experiences (Cheng, 2001), and problem-based learning (Hager & Butler, 1996) have
been proposed.
For the purpose of the study, we use Qualifications Framework Emirates (known as
QF Emirates) developed by National Qualifications Authority -NQA, brought into
effect through Federal Decree Number 1 ‘Establish and Maintain National
Qualifications Authority by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al
Nahyan of United Arab Emirates. While the QF Emirates comprehensively and
objectively compares all qualifications delivered in the United Arab Emirates, it also
specifically describes specific learning outcomes to be achieved in terms of
knowledge, skills, and competence. These three strands of learning outcomes
comprehensively cover cognitive abilities, application of knowledge to specific
contexts, development of specific skills, and development of competence leading to
demonstrable professional and personal development.
Thus, the objective of this paper is to investigate the influence of instructor’s
effectiveness and assessment tools on the achievement of three specific learning
outcomes- knowledge, skills, and competence.
In the subsequent literature review, we reflect on specific pedagogy applied in
teaching project management courses, especially in universities.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Various pedagogical tools that can be used in the effective delivery of project
management course. We find that techniques that promote collaborative working and
reflection have been increasingly used by the instructors so that students gain
knowledge, and acquire skills, and develop competence in project management. The
most relevant studies from extant literature has been summarized in Table 1 below.
Table 1. Summary of Literature Review
Author (Date) Variables Methodology Findings

Kriger, Thomas Teaching pedagogy, Case study on the Promoting
J; Scheuermon, pedagogical innovation, use of project collaboration
William E. info technology tools, management tools among students
(2016) across several
courses is a
conceptually
sound and
valuable idea.
Robin S. Poston, Project management A case study on Greater
Sandra M. educational program, the collaborative collaboration
Richardson Project management effort between a between
(2011) skills, university and professional
Degree offerings, local chapter of bodies of project
Technical skills, the PMI. management such
General project as Project
management skills Management
Institute (PMI),
mentoring of
student by faculty,
and project
professionals, and
providing regular
feedback to the
students on their
performance in the
program
Ssegawa, Joseph Student’s perception of Students' “Prayer” as a
K.; Kasule, the acquisition of perceptions were technique to teach
Daniel(2015) knowledge in the obtained by project
following area & the means of a self- management
assessment of learning administered allowed students
outcomes using the questionnaire to better
learning technique containing open- understand
prayer was used for ended questions. concepts of project
project management Content analysis management,
was used to communication,
analyze the and presentation
responses. skills through the
application of
collaborative
learning
techniques
Caroline Bayart, • Interactivity The research is an This research
Sandra Bertezene with teachers exploratory shows indeed that
and David Vallat, • Interest of investigation the use of “serious
Jacques students resorting to the games” improves
Martin(2014) • Perceived use the knowledge
quality of of a serious game acquisition and
pedagogy to evaluate the management
• Performance of evolution of the competencies of
learning process students’ the students with
competencies in the evidencing of
project significant factors
management, contributing to this
through improvement.
questionnaires
processed using a
structural
“learning model.”
Mgr. Dušan This research This paper
Kucera, discusses the discusses the need
MBA(Dec 2013) requirement of for introducing
project project
management at management and
the secondary project thinking at
schools level so secondary schools
that students have
already developed
critical thinking
when they enter
higher education
institutions
METHOD
The objective of this research study is to understand the influence of instructor’s
effectiveness on the achievement of student learning outcomes in project
management course delivered at the undergraduate level in the university. Hence, in
line with this objective, we have adopted a positivist stance, and quantitative research
methodology.
Items
A survey instrument comprising of two independent variables – Lecturer
Effectiveness (LT), and Assessment & Feedback (AS) was developed. Lecturer
effectiveness was measured using five items while Assessment & Feedback was
measured using three items. We have considered five dependent variables-
Knowledge (K, measured using six items), Skills (S, measured using four items),
Autonomy and Responsibility (AR, measured using four items), Role in Context (RC,
measured using four items), and Self Development (SD, measured using four items).
The items used to measure the two independent variables- LT and AS were based on
the instrument developed by Wilkins and Balakrishnan (2013) who investigated the
effect of student experiences with the quality of teaching, academic program, and
resources provided on the overall student satisfaction. The items for the dependent
variable ST was also based on Wilkins and Balakrishnan’s work to measure overall
student satisfaction (ST). The items to measure the three learning outcomes-
knowledge, skills, and Competency (comprising of Autonomy and Responsibility,
Role in Context, and Self Development) were based on the National Qualification
Framework United Arab Emirates QF Emirates.
Sample and Procedure
100 students of the American College of Dubai who were pursuing their
undergraduate program in business administration were identified. These students had
studied project management as a part of the program. The students were identified by
the Office of Institutional Research, and the survey instrument was handed out to the
students by the instructors in the class room. Instructions on how to complete the
questionnaire were provided to the students along with the instrument. Out of the 100
questionnaires administered to the students, 41 instruments were returned which we
found to be complete, giving us a healthy response rate of 40%.
The reliability of the items was established using Cronbach alpha. SPSS version 16
was used for the analysis. Table 2 summarizes the items
Table 2. Internal Reliability of Items
Construct Items Cronbach

Alpha
Independent Variables
Lecturer (LT) • Makes the subject interesting 0.82
• Are experts in the field
• Used language that I understand
• Student has contact with lecturer as needed
• Lecturer sympathetic towards students’
problems
Assessment & • Variety of assessment methods used 0.70
Feedback (AS) • Involved on-going assessment
• Student received detailed and helpful feedback
•
Dependent Variables
Knowledge (K) • gained specialized knowledge related to project 0.85
management
• developed an understanding of theories and
knowledge in other fields related to project
management
• developed a comprehensive understanding of
methods and problem solving techniques
related to project management
• understand the critical approach to develop new
concepts in project management through my
knowledge of project management
• am familiar with the latest research and current
practices in project management
• familiar with the latest research and current
practices in project management
Skills (S) • developed technical, analytical, and creative 0.90
skills to solve problems in managing projects
• have developed skills to evaluate, select, and
apply the appropriate methods to solve
problems and identify solutions
• developed research skills related to project
management
• developed advanced communication and
information technology skills to explain and
evaluate project management concepts
Autonomy & • take responsibility to develop and manage 0.84
Responsibility complex work procedures in project
(AR) management
• can manage technical or managerial work in
complex work environments
• can work effectively as an individual or a team
member when working on a project
• can accept responsibility for my views and
decisions when I start work
Role in Context • can work independently without lot of 0.81
(RC) supervision
• can take responsibility for setting the goals for
myself and for other members of my team at
work
• am able to collaborate with other qualified
experts and work in their group
• can take responsibility for professional
development and mentoring of individuals
working in my team
Self-Development • undertake regular professional development 0.69
(SD) and keep myself updated about new knowledge
in project management
• am able to learn new knowledge or concepts
related to project management independently
while I am working
• can contribute to development of ethical
standards and resolve ethical issues when I am
working
FINDINGS
It is to be reiterated that this is an exploratory research, and the purpose of this paper
to is to present the initial findings that indicate the relation between the instructor’s
effectiveness in the class room and the achievement of student satisfaction and
learning outcomes in project management course. As such, we have used descriptive
statistics and specifically cross-tabulations for data analysis. Table 3 summarizes the
cross tabulation results between the lecturer effectiveness (LT as independent
variable) and Overall Student Satisfaction (AS), and Learning Outcomes (knowledge,
skills, and competence as dependent variables).
Table 3. Lecturer’s Proficiency and Achievement of Learning Outcomes
Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

Disagree achievement (%) achievement agree
achievement of learning of learning achievement
of learning outcome (%) outcome of learning
outcome (%) (%) outcome
(%)
Knowledge
Lecturer’s 2.2 4.3 39.1 39.1 15.2
Proficiency Skill
2.2 19.6 28.3 39.1 10.9
Competence-Autonomy & Responsibility
2.2 6.5 26.1 37.0 28.3
Competence- Role in Context
0.0 8.7 19.6 54.3 17.4
Competence- Self Development
2.2 4.3 39.1 39.1 15.2
It may be inferred from the above table N that lecturer’s proficiency may significantly
affect the achievement of learning outcomes. While 54.3 % of the respondents
believe that the lecturer’s proficiency effects them acquiring project management
knowledge, 50% of the respondents agree or strongly agree that it helps them acquire
project management skills. Interestingly, the strongest influence of lecturer’s
proficiency is on developing project management competence among the students,
where 65.3% of the respondents report acquiring autonomy and responsibility
competence to manage projects, 71.7% of the respondents strongly agreed or agreed
to have developed competence specifically to work in project contexts, and 54.3 % of
the respondents strongly agreed or agreed that lecturer’s proficiency in the course
lead to their self -development.
Discussion
As the data have shown, majority of the respondents strongly believe the lecturer’s
proficiency has a significant impact on their learning ability which also implies that
the lecturer has sufficient knowledge and understanding of the subject he/she is
teaching and is well equipped in terms of his preparation for classroom instruction,
i.e., has a comprehensive understanding of methods and problem solving techniques
in project management and uses research and current practices in project
management. The lecturer is encouraged to select his/her pedagogy to deliver the
course. His/her effectiveness is evidenced by the high percentage (65.3%) of the
respondents’ response that they have acquired the competency-autonomy and
responsibility as required. It is indicated that 71.7% of them have acquired this
competence in managing projects.
Table 4. Quality of Assessment and Feedback; and Achievement of Learning
Outcomes
Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

Disagree achievement (%) achievement agree
achievement of learning of learning achievement
of learning outcome (%) outcome of learning
outcome (%) (%) outcome
(%)
Knowledge
Assessment 2.2 19.6 28.3 39.1 10.9
and Feedback Skill
4.3 15.2 28.3 32.6 19.6
Competence-Autonomy & Responsibility
4.3 15.2 28.3 32.6 19.6
Competence- Role in Context
0.0 8.6 19.7 54.2 17.5
Competence- Self Development
2.2 4.3 39.1 39.1 15.2
It may be inferred from the above table N that quality of student assessment and
feedback may significantly impact the achievement of learning outcomes. While 50
% of the respondents believe that the assessment and feedback facilitates acquisition
of project management knowledge, 52.2% of the respondents agree or strongly agree
that it helps them acquire project management skills. However, 47.9 % of the
respondents remain neutral or disagree that the quality of assessments and feedback
helps them to acquire project management knowledge.
Interestingly, the strongest influence assessment and feedback is on developing
project management competence among the students. This is similar to the above
where 52.2 % of the respondents report acquiring autonomy and responsibility
competence to manage projects, 71.7% of the respondents strongly agreed or agreed
to have developed competence specifically to work in project contexts, and 54.3 % of
the respondents strongly agreed or agreed that lecturer’s proficiency in the course
lead to their self -development.
Discussion
As the table shows, 52.2% of the respondents generally agree that the assessment may
be an indication that only more than half of the respondents believe that the
assessment and feedback significantly affect the achievement of learning outcomes
but almost half of them say otherwise. This is corroborated by almost 50% of the
respondents who stayed neutral or not sure enough, which may imply that the quality
of the assessment tool may need some improvement in terms of meeting the learning
outcomes. However, in terms of providing feedback, majority of the respondents
(71.7%) strongly agree or agree that they have developed competence significantly
which may imply that the quality of the assessment may have achieved the leaning
outcomes coupled by their strong belief that the lecturer is proficient enough ( 54.3%)
in delivering the course.
The course is using a range of assessments such conventional written exam, case
analysis, reflection papers and comprehensive project work which form a significant
weightage of the total assessment. These assessments provide an opportunity for the
students to practice concepts of project management, reflect on such learning and
apply this knowledge to produce deliverables such as project proposal or to conduct a
project audit. In order to achieve these outcomes the students will be required to
develop specific technical, analytical and problem solving skills.
Apart from developing project management skills and acquiring conceptual
knowledge the students also develop project management competence. The case
studies challenge the students with complex real world situations where one is
required to make decisions as a project manager. Furthermore, through assessments
such as comprehensive project work, the students are encouraged to work
independently with minimal supervision from the faculty. As a part of the
comprehensive project work the students based on their learning and interest the
students are encouraged to select project topic. Furthermore, the students assume
responsibility to be current in their field of interest by referring to project
management journals, books and other learning resources available at ACD. Being
engaged in such continuous learning process also leads to their self-development.
CONCLUSION
In this study we have investigated the role of the lecturer and quality of assessments
in achieving course learning outcomes pertaining to project management knowledge,
skills and competence. The result of these study shows that there is a significant
impact of the role of the lecturer and the quality of the assessment in delivering
effective learning. The study provides an important input to the curriculum design
and process of selecting the appropriate faculty. Furthermore, this investigation
serves as a pilot study where we have attempted to evaluate the achievement of
learning outcomes along a standard framework; QFEmirates. Thus we have an
opportunity to replicate the research design to other courses being offered in the BBA
program. This will enable us to have a comprehensive framework to evaluate the
courses objectively. This will lead to overall improvement of the BBA program
quality offered at ACD.
REFERENCES
Kriger, T. J., and Scheuerman, W.E. (2016) Edubusiness comes to the academy: The
virtual university and the threat to academic labor, Report Information from
Proquest (February 16, 2016)
Poston, R.S. and Richardson, S.M. (2011-) Designing an Academic Project
Management Program: A Collaboration between a University and a PMI
Chapter) Journal of Information Systems Education;Spring2011, Vol. 22 Issue
Bayart, C., Bertezene, S., Vallat, D., and Martin, J. (2014) "Serious games: leverage
for knowledge management", The TQM Journal, Vol. 26 Iss: 3, pp.235 – 252
Kucera, D.(2013) The Introduction of Project Management and Project Thinking at
Secondary Schools, Central European Business Review, 2013. V.2, no 4,
p.56-57. URL: http://cebr.vse.cz/cebr/article/download/102/75
Ssegawa , J., and Kasule, D. (2015) "Prayer: a transformative teaching and learning
technique in project management", International Journal of Managing
Projects in Business, Vol. 8 Iss: 1, pp.177-197
Bratianu, C. (2015). Organizational Knowledge Dynamics-Managing Knowledge
Creation, Acquisition, Sharing, and Transformation, IGI Global, Hershey
Gosling, J., & Mintzberg, H. (2003). ‘The five minds of a manager’, Harvard
Business Review, November, pp. 54- 63
Roglio, K. D. and G. Light (2009). ‘Executive MBA programs: the development of
the reflective executive’, Academy of Management Learning and Education,
8(2), pp. 156–173
Poston, R.S. and Richardson, S.M.(2011) Designing an Academic Project
Mnagement Program: A Collaboration between a University and a PMI
Chapter. Journal of Information System Education, v22nl p55-72 Spr 2011
Austin, C., Browne, W., Haas, B., Kenyatta, E., and Zulueta, S. (2013) Application of
Project Management in Higher Education, Journal of Economic Development,
Management, IT, Finance and Marketing, 5(2), 75-99 Sept 2013 75

Program Management Improvement Team: A Best Practice Based Approach to

Process Improvement and Program Governance
at the National Nuclear Security Administration
Wayne Abba1, Russell Archibald2, Michael Haase3,

David Pells4, Miles Shepherd5, Marc Zocher6
ABSTRACT
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-autonomous agency

within the U.S. Department of Energy, applies technical capabilities to global nuclear
security challenges. NNSA’s strategic goals are to maintain and enhance the safety,
security, reliability and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without
nuclear testing; work to reduce global danger from weapons of mass destruction;
provide the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and respond to
nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad. NNSA’s Office of
Safety, Infrastructure and Operations (NA-50) plans, directs and oversees the
maintenance, operation and modernization of infrastructure and facilities at eight
NNSA sites. With an annual budget of approximately $1.5 billion, NA-50 plans,
funds, directs and oversees many projects ranging in size and complexity each year.
In September 2015, NA-50 established a Program Management Improvement Team

(PMIT) to enhance program, portfolio and project performance through the
identification, development and sharing of best practices and to help ensure the
achievement of cost-effective, timely, measurable and quality results in support of the
NNSA mission. The PMIT is comprised of a small cadre of private industry program
management experts who meet with NA-50 federal program managers quarterly to
discuss and share successful leading-edge program management practices. This
paper will describe the purpose, activities and results to date of the NNSA’s PMIT.
SCOPE OF NNSA'S INFRASTRUCTURE RESPONSIBILITIES
The NNSA enterprise consists of more than 6,000 facilities located at eight sites in
seven states. The primary NNSA sites are:

1
Abba Consulting, 6421 Lyric Lane, Falls Church VA 22044‐1220, [email protected]
2
Archibald Associates LLC, 220 N. Zapata Hwy, Laredo TX 78030, [email protected]
3
M‐Con Strategic Solutions, 2301 Yvonnes Way, Dunn Loring, VA
22027,[email protected]
4
PM World Services, Inc., 3829 Canot Lane, Addison TX 75001 [email protected]
5
Miles Shepherd Projects Ltd., Salisbury, England, UK, miles.shepherd@msp‐ltd.co.uk
6
BayForge Co., 7253 NE New Brooklyn Rd., Bainbridge Island, WA 98110, [email protected]
1

• Kansas City National Security Campus (Missouri)
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (California)
• Los Alamos National Laboratory (New Mexico)
• Nevada National Security Site (Nevada)
• Pantex Plant (Texas)
• Sandia National Laboratories (New Mexico)
• Savannah River Site (South Carolina)
• Y-12 National Security Complex(Tennessee)
The$12.9 billion FY 2017 President’s budget request for the NNSA represents an
increase of $360 million, about 3 percent over the FY 2016 appropriations level.
With an annual budget of approximately $1.5 billion, NA-50 is responsible for
enabling safe operations, ensuring effective infrastructure and providing enterprise
services to NNSA programs and national laboratories, plants and sites to meet the 21st
Century needs of the NNSA Nuclear Security Enterprise now and in the future.
NNSA INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, PROGRAMS, AND PORTFOLIOS
NA-50 plans, directs and oversees the maintenance, operation and modernization of
infrastructure and facilities that comprise a complex enterprise. With over $50 billion
in real property assets, 41,000 employees, 36 million square feet of buildings
including 400 nuclear facilities and 2,000 miles of roads on 2,160 square miles of
land, the scope of NNSA infrastructure is vast. This enormous effort requires the
planning and execution of hundreds of projects within a smaller number of programs,
all managed within portfolios of facilities. These facilities include production,
fabrication, testing, and secure transportation and storage of nuclear/radioactive
materials and equipment, plus very advanced laboratory, computing and
communications facilities.
NNSA has the complex challenge of safely operating and modernizing the nuclear
security enterprise, a challenge made more difficult as NNSA’s infrastructure is
failing at an increasing frequency due to its age and condition. Half of NNSA’s
facilities are over 40 years old, 30 percent date to the Manhattan Project era of 70
years ago, and 12 percent are excess to current needs. Nearly two-thirds of NNSA’s
aging and brittle infrastructure is less than adequate to meet mission needs. Deferred
maintenance is at an all-time high of $3.67 billion, posing an increasingly
unacceptable risk to the safety of workers, the public and the environment. NNSA’s
capability to achieve programmatic goals obviously depends upon safe and reliable
infrastructure.
2

NNSA INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES AND
SOLUTIONS
NNSA's sites are managed by experienced private contractor companies, in some

cases in partnership with major universities, under the direction of Federal
Government personnel in NNSA's Headquarters and Field Offices. The major
infrastructure management challenges include:
• The safety of employees, the general public and the environment related to
both active and excess facilities, some of which are contaminated
• Allocation of available funds to satisfy conflicting priorities between the
overall NNSA mission demands and enterprise safety and operational
demands
• Aging facilities, with some buildings dating to the 1940s, combined with a
large backlog of deferred maintenance across all sites
The analytical methods and performance measures NNSA used for the 70 years prior
to 2015 to drive infrastructure investment decisions were based on financial metrics
that did not capture the relative importance or actual condition of facilities.
Furthermore, these investment decisions were stove-piped to individual sites, and in
some cases individual facilities, resulting in projects that were prioritized based on
site-specific criteria rather than being screened systematically at the enterprise level.
While this approach did result in maintenance and upgrades for some facilities, it did
not factor in or prioritize supporting infrastructure and facilities that are critical to the
mission. The deferred maintenance on critical facilities added fragility to mission
objectives and the need to find better ways of performing the right maintenance on
the right facilities.
NNSA’s long term goals include ensuring that infrastructure investments are
prioritized at an enterprise level to enable mission results and reduce enterprise risk.
In short, the current strategy is to fully consider the long term health of NNSA as an
interdependent unit rather than following the historical, sub-system (site-by-site)
approach. An enterprise view considers the health of the organization when making
investments and NNSA needed to change the processes and develop new tools to
support an enterprise-wide prioritization model.
In 2015 NNSA developed innovative management tools to facilitate a data-driven

process that leads to risk-informed investment decisions at the enterprise level. These
efforts include deploying, for the first time, an NNSA infrastructure Enterprise Risk
Management (ERM) methodology that better measures the “consequence to mission”
and the “likelihood of the consequence occurring.” To measure “consequence,”
NNSA created a Mission Dependency Index (MDI), combining the impact to mission
3

if the asset were lost, the difficulty to replace the asset, and the interdependency of
assets, to calculate a score from 1 to 100. To measure “the likelihood of the
consequence occurring,” NNSA is deploying the knowledge-based condition
assessment tool BUILDER to compare inspection data against known failure curves
to predict system wear and identify the optimal time to invest. The keystone to
NNSA’s ERM is the G2 Enterprise Management Information System, which NNSA
developed to capture and analyze its enterprise information and topology.
NNSA'S AWARD-WINNING G2 ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT

INFORMATION SYSTEM
The Project Management Institute (PMI®) awarded the initial version of the G2
system a Distinguished Project Award for 20107 (the first ever bestowed on a
government IT project), in recognition of the speed with which it was created, the
uniqueness of the “Agile” development methods used in its creation and refinement,
and the management usefulness of the resulting information system. Over the next
five plus years the G2 System continued its advanced development and its application
to the total NNSA enterprise. It is noteworthy that the Association for Enterprise
Information (AFEI) also awarded its 2015 Excellence in Enterprise Information prize
to NNSA for the G2 System.8
Figure 1. NASA's G2 Enterprise Management Information System uses best-in-class

business practices to prioritize and manage scope, schedule, and cost.

7
http://www.pmi.org/en/About‐Us/Press‐Releases/PMI‐Honors‐National‐Nuclear‐Security‐
Administration.aspx
8
NNSA press release, dated Feb 17, 2016
4

It is a monumental effort to change how a $1.5 billion per year program is managed.
The G2 System has helped NNSA revolutionize its infrastructure management and
decision-making processes. Each month, G2 enables NNSA to review and analyze
data in new and holistic ways. People are empowered, processes are innovative, and
technologies are revolutionized. Using the Agile approach, the G2 System is
upgraded every 8 weeks to incorporate new and more powerful features.
For example, the G2 project prioritization tool resulted in a new, innovative process
to deliver value and ensure NNSA meets long-term/strategic goals to arrest the
declining state of its infrastructure. NNSA reengineered its Recapitalization program
management processes, resulting in major improvements in performance and safety.
Before G2, it took NNSA months to provide Congress with a complete picture of its
Recapitalization program projects. Using G2, NNSA now produces clear, complete
and accurate quarterly reports that are sent to Congress within days of each quarter’s
end. NNSA developed a risk-based Recapitalization prioritization method that the
program applied for the formulation of the FY 2017 budget. This was important
because NNSA only had enough funds for one-third of the proposed infrastructure
projects and needed to make sure the highest priority projects received the limited
funds.
THE NA-50 PROGRAM MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT TEAM (PMIT)
Based on a previous successful experience using independent program management

experts, the NNSA Deputy Associate Administrator for Infrastructure established the
PMIT in 2015 to support NA-50’s management improvement initiatives. In order to
highlight executive sponsorship and to ensure enterprise-wide support, the PMIT was
announced in a memo from the NA-50 Associate Administrator to NNSA sites and
headquarters leaders in September 2015. That memo included the PMIT charter, as
shown below.
PMIT Charter
Purpose
Enhance program, portfolio and project performance by sharing best practices

including methods, processes and tools for planning, executing and controlling scope,
schedule, costs, risks and opportunities. This continual, self-driven improvement will
assure that NA-50 achieves cost-effective, timely, measurable and quality results in
support of the NNSA mission.
Process
The PMIT is comprised of a small cadre of private industry program management

experts who will meet with NA-50 federal managers quarterly to discuss and share
5

successful leading-edge program management practices. NA-50 may invite M&O
Partners, Field Office experts, and others as needed to participate in PMIT meetings.
The PMIT will not score/rank NA-50 or M&O Partner performance/practices nor
establish new requirements. The PMIT will serve as a no-fault, non-attribution, safe
forum to share experiences, discuss examples of successful initiatives, and provide
opportunities to link participants to help one another improve their project, program
and portfolio management performance. NA-50 and M&O Partners are encouraged
to increase cross-communication and group-learning by openly sharing lessons with
the PMIT – both the ones that worked and the ones that didn’t work and why.
Products
A Management Best Practices List will be created to identify and share notable best
practices. This document will be discussed and updated at PMIT meetings. The “best
practices” that will be compiled are meant to be superior and/or unique approaches,
not merely good or adequate approaches. If management practices at specific sites
are not documented as “best practices” it should not be interpreted to mean those sites
are doing less than good sound management practices. Furthermore, the defined
“best practices” are not meant to be requirements to be adopted by every site for
every situation, but rather a road map that could be used for improvement if
applicable to a site.
A PMIT Meeting Report will be developed following each meeting by the PMIT
members. The PMIT Meeting Report should include a record of topics discussed and
any findings and recommendations the PMIT members may have.
Meetings
PMIT Meetings will be 3-4 times each year, lasting 2-3 days. A draft agenda will be
prepared in advance of each PMIT meeting to allow NA-50 to comment on and
suggest timely topics and meeting participants. Participants must feel free to openly
share management challenges within their respective organization as well as best
practices. The host M&O Partner/entity will be given time on the agenda to highlight
issues/efforts unique to them.
Membership
The Executive Sponsor for the PMIT is Kenneth Sheely9 and the Executive Director
for the PMIT is Jessica Kunkle10. The Executive Sponsor and Executive Director will
approve the meeting dates, agendas, locations, and determine what additional
participants will be invited to each meeting.

9
NNSA Deputy Associate Administrator for Infrastructure (NA‐52)
10
Director of the NA‐50 Program Management Office (PMO)
6

The PMIT member list is as follows:
Wayne Abba – Private sector management expert

David Pells – Private sector management expert
Miles Shepherd – Private sector management expert
Marc Zocher – Private sector management expert
Michael Haase – Executive Secretariat 11
RESULTS TO DATE
Meeting Number 1 – December 2015: The first PMIT meeting was held in
December 2015 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, with approximately
20 participants. Presentations and discussions covered NA-50 mission and plans,
tools and systems being employed, enterprise risk management and other topics. In
their Outbriefing report, the PMIT highlighted the following very positive
observations: strong leadership and teamwork; standardization of processes;
excellence of G2 program management information system; and impressive system
tools, including MDI, BUILDER, MAP and AMP. They also commended NA-50 for
the enterprise perspective, especially related to multi-site planning, stakeholder
participation and supply chain management, and for promoting agility as a philosophy
and culture. The PMIT recognized NA-50’s organizational program and project
management (P/PM) maturity, suggesting that NA-50’s management approach might
also be recognized as a P/PM best practice.
The PMIT identified some potential issues, including sustainability, documentation

and institutionalization. Suggestions for consideration included expanding enterprise
planning to the strategic level, consideration of long-term strategy for G2, and
strategizing for dealing with P/PM on larger projects.
Meeting Number 2 – February 2016: The second PMIT meeting was held at
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California, in conjunction with
“Deep Dive” planning meetings of NA-50 leadership with LLNL managers.
Meetings included more than 50 participants. Presentations and discussions covered
status, issues, needs and plans associated with facilities and infrastructure at the site.
In their Outbriefing report, the PMIT highlighted the following positive observations:
Best practices at LLNL
• Visible engagement/support of LLNL leadership

• Integration of infrastructure with programs
• Space optimization modeling

11
These members are authors of this paper.
7

Other positive observations demonstrated by LLNL
• Clear support of NA-50 goals and initiatives

• Active site/lab participation in development of NA-50 tools and solutions
• Use of multiple tools for analysis, prioritization and planning
• Involvement of program staff (critical stakeholders) in infrastructure planning
• Emphasis on future work force and external community during planning
Best practices by NA-50
• The Deep Dive approach to engaging with sites (increasing knowledge and
teamwork)
• Excellence Awards (NA-50 presented awards to LLNL individuals and teams)
• Enterprise level supply chain management (for cost savings and efficiencies)
Other positive observations demonstrated by NA-50
• Visible involvement and commitment of NA-50 leadership

• Active engagement with multiple stakeholders
• Open and frank discussions and communications
• Long term planning rather than focused on annual budgeting
• Enterprise-wide planning rather than individual sites
• Visible emphasis on program, portfolio and project management
• Visible emphasis on risks and risk-informed decisions
• Emphasis on sustainability
• Recognition of tool limitations
• Breaking large projects into smaller sub-projects to reduce risks and facilitate
annual budgeting
• Engagement with sites on tool development and pilot projects
The PMIT identified some issues, including potential roadblocks, funding,
stakeholder involvement and project management resource availability. Suggestions
for consideration included expanding enterprise supply chain management, expanding
sustainability to incorporate health and safety, investigation of additional tools, use of
six-sigma approaches for selected process improvements, continued emphasis on data
quality, expansion of project planning to cover entire facility life cycle, additional
emphasis on resilience, more attention on organizational sustainability and possible
use of site project management offices.
CONCLUSIONS AND LESSONS LEARNED THAT MAY BE USEFUL TO
OTHERS
The PMIT for NNSA’s Office of Safety, Infrastructure and Operations is just getting
started, but the experience to date suggests some useful lessons that may apply to
other organizations and programs.
8

Positive results have been reinforced from employing traditional best practices such
as visible leadership support, active stakeholder engagement, effective
communications, emphasis on risk management, thorough planning, and use of good
modern software tools and project/program management methodologies.
The independence of the PMIT has also been a positive factor resulting in increased
NNSA cross-complex communication and an understanding that PMIT members are
looking to share “good practices” rather than an audit or assessment posture at NNSA
sites.
More importantly, we have already seen evidence of NNSA implementing several

best management practices:
¾ Enterprise-wide approaches to planning, prioritizing and budgeting projects

across a large organization involving thousands of facilities
¾ Enterprise-wide supply chain management, implemented practically through
use of pilot projects, selected system procurements and national suppliers
¾ Adaptation and effective use of best-in-class software tools, some developed
by other government agencies, to support both enterprise and site-specific
characterization, analysis and prioritization of facilities and infrastructure
¾ Effective proactive long term planning by a government agency rather than
relying on the reactive planning associated with annual budgeting
We think these approaches could be useful to any large government or private
enterprise that maintains, upgrades, operates and then disposes of a large number of
facilities, buildings or infrastructure.
The PMIT is helping to highlight good practices by NNSA and its site contractors,
along with other program management issues that might warrant additional attention
in the future.
REFERENCES
Archibald, Russell D., Wayne Abba, David L. Pells, Miles Shepherd, Marc Zocher,
"A Team-based Approach to Continuous Improvement in Program, Project and
Portfolio Management1: The U. S. Government’s Global Threat Reduction
Initiative," PM World Journal, Vol. II, Issue XI – November 2013.
http://nnsa.energy.gov/
9

Embrace Conflict: Using Conflict to Build Constructive Teams
By Evan Piekara
Abstract
Conflict can occur in any environment, and the success of a project is dependent on how leaders
manage and resolve conflict. Issues can occur with various stakeholders (project team, client, and
other influencers), and addressing these problems head-on can be the difference between meeting
project demands and escalating tensions to the point of damaging the project outcome and team
and client relationships.
This presentation and paper will address how to build teams that harness the positive aspects of
conflict and mitigate issues before they metastasize into project and relationship-damaging
discord. The paper will review common sources of conflict, the conflict lifecycle, and strategies
for resolving conflict.
Conflict as an Opportunity for Communication and Growth
Since its inception, IBM has been regarded as an innovative and evolving company. Big Blue’s
ability to anticipate and adapt to conflict has contributed to the company’s longevity and success.
In the 1990s, IBM bundled products and reintegrated divisions in an effort to provide customers
with fuller products and services. 1 This transition fostered greater complexity and conflict among
sales and delivery, as well as among previously independent divisions. Managers were not
escalating or addressing conflicts across units leading to a loss of service and the erosion of
competitive advantages that IBM had taken decades to forge. 2 Without greater accountability
and communication, IBM would continue to suffer losses in market share and customer
satisfaction.
IBM recognized that setting and communicating expectations and collaborating across units was
critical to resolving conflicts. IBM developed the Market Growth Workshop that brought
managers, salespeople, and frontline specialists together to identify, discuss, and develop action
steps to address conflicts across business units. 3 The company developed a simple template that
clarified expectations and forced people to document and assess issues discussed during the
Market Growth Workshop. Documenting, tracking, and clarifying these issues helped to hold
people accountable and manage expectations. What could have been a catastrophic spiral of
coalitions between silos, finger-pointing, and selling of business units, ultimately become a way
for IBM leaders to communicate, take action, and use processes and personnel to address high-
stakes and highly-visible conflicts. Today, Forbes has ranked IBM as one of the world’s most
valuable brands.
Embrace the Inevitable: Working with Conflict
1
https://hbr.org/2005/03/want-collaboration-accept-and-actively-manage-conflict
2
3
By Evan Piekara
Generational differences, tight deadlines, and the need for getting more done with less has made
conflict an inevitable part of the work environment. Coupled with these demands is our innate
desire to be liked, which has created a tendency to avoid conflict. While sidestepping conflict
may avoid arguments, this tactic is not always constructive. Think of the person who repeatedly
turns in work past deadlines. While not addressing this conflict upfront may enable the tardy
coworker to save face, it lowers team morale, particularly of those who are working overtime to
meet deadlines. It also enables the tardy coworker to continue their practice of missing deadlines,
and it adds strain to the project manager who cannot rely on deadlines to be met. In today’s
increasingly connected society, conflict no longer can be avoided. Countless sources facilitate
opposition and place the project manager in the difficult position of navigating diverging views.
Table 1: Sources of Conflict 4
• Basic needs
• Values
• Resources
• Interests
• Perception
• Love
Today’s project manager not only needs to be able to identify the type of conflict, but also have a
range of techniques in their toolkit to mitigate, address, and harness it.
Defining Conflict
Conflict is “the result of disagreement caused by perceived or actual opposition of interests,

needs, and value. 5” Conflict, in its essence, causes tension and stress and has many harmful
effects that can damage a team.
Table 2: Harmful Effects of Conflict 6
• Lower productivity
• Increased stress
• Frustration due to time lost to address conflict
• Reduced trust
• With us or against us mentality
• Win/Lose mentality (Someone wins while someone loses)
• Lose/Lose mentality (we both lose no matter the outcome)
4
Management and Strategy Institute
5
6
By Evan Piekara
Conflict can hinder efforts, damage relationships, and lower productivity when warning signals
are not identified and project leaders do not effectively channel these warning signals into
productive dialogue. However, conflict, when balanced appropriately, can strengthen team
dynamics, enhance creativity, and lead to better solutions.
Table 3: Positive Effects of Conflict 7
• Table 3. Positive Effects of Confl

Energizes teams
• Increases creativity
• Encourages stronger emotional skills
• Enhances negotiations
• Questions status quo
• Discovers others’ needs, values, and perspectives
Project managers today must be adept at reading personalities, assessing situations, and using a
range of tools and techniques to prevent conflict from metastasizing into a toxic situation.
Assessing Conflict
The extent that conflict will impact the project often depends on the personalities and degree to
which the conflict has grown. Conflict tends to follow a lifecycle and addressing conflict earlier
often leads to a higher ability and willingness of all parties to reach a win-win resolution. At
first, conflict might start small as people mask their emotions and feelings. They will likely seek
win-win resolutions, have mutual respect for the other participants, and be willing to reach a
resolution before conflict escalates. Additionally many people have not become entrenched in
their opinions, deadlines may be further away, and there is less pressure to reach a resolution.
Project managers should attempt to instill a culture where issues are discussed openly,
perspectives are shared, and positions are not hardened. For instance, removing ambiguity by
explicitly setting and documenting deadlines and expectations is one way to ensure
communication and clarify needs. 8
As conflict devolves, it becomes important to identify the initial warning signals of hardening
positions, intense debates, and the forming of coalitions in order to mitigate conflict from
becoming full-blown. As conflicts continue, debates become more intense, actions rather than
words are shared, and coalitions begin to form. In these stages, conflict becomes win/lose as one
7
8
http://www.forbes.com/sites/augustturak/2012/09/10/the-3-secrets-to-conflict-resolution/
By Evan Piekara
side looks to gain at the expense of the other. It is important during meetings to take minutes or
notes and review these notes, document requests and timelines in email so that there is a paper
trail where expectations can be reviewed and re-visited. 9
When conflict reaches maturity, participants take a lose/lose approach by seeking victory at all
costs. This stage is when discussions break down, threats are made, people are separated, and the
conflict could eventually end in a complete impasse or breakup. Project managers must adeptly
direct conflict at this stage or face a war of attrition.
Table 4: Warning Signals of Unproductive Conflict 10
• Emotions dominate facts

• Fear and mistrust increase
• Perspective is black and white
• Information is restricted
• Solutions not based on logic
Project managers must actively monitor conflict to ensure that disagreement remains productive
and does not devolve into all-out war. Several warning signals should such as the intensifying of
debate, actions as opposed to words, and forming of coalitions, should alert the project manager
that the group should take a step back and re-assess the situation, communications, and review or
set ground rules for future discussion.
Table 5: Conflict Lifecycle 11
9
http://www.forbes.com/sites/augustturak/2012/09/10/the-3-secrets-to-conflict-resolution/
10
11
By Evan Piekara
Managing Conflict
As one goes through the conflict lifecycle, one must be mindful of the personalities involved and
the approaches that can be used. Approaches may vary depending on your personality, who is
involved, and the situation. Below are several approaches, when they tend to successfully work,
and when they might exacerbate the situation:
Table 6: 6 Conflict Management Approaches 12
Approach Successfully Use Backfires

Accommodation • Care little about the outcome • Resent position after
• Are wrong • Appear weak
• Have little power • Make others appear strong
Avoidance • Time is short • Care about the relationship
• Have less power • Use repeatedly
12
By Evan Piekara
• Relationship has no value • Creates a future expectation
• Desire to block progress • Harms image
• Issue is trivial
Collaboration • Desire to preserve relationship • Ethical or moral issues
• Critical to reach ideal solution • Time sensitive
• Prefer to cooperate as a • Trivial issues
strategy • Irresolvable irreconcilable
• All issues can be addressed differences
• Need a win/win outcome • No mutual respect
Compromise • Need a non-optimal solution • Resents later
• Time and resources are limited • Negatively impacts
• Equal power relationship
• Only way win/win solution • Negotiations take time
• If you can still collaborate
Domination • More important to be right than • Used too often
preserve relationships • Anticipate adverse response
• Have the authority • Haven’t attempted to
• Issue is trivial collaborate first
• Emergency
Revenge and Self- • Seek revenge • Opportunity to collaborate
Harm • Opposition wants revenge • Losses outweigh gains
• Need to win no matter what • Damages reputation,
• Willing to face loses relationship
• Need to negotiate with
opposition in the future
Relationships, personalities, and circumstances may influence which approach works best for a
given situation. The shrewd project manager is able to assess the people involved, their actual vs.
perceived power, and devise a strategy based on this information. At times, the project manager
may need to shift between approaches to adapt to the opposition. While this may not work in
every circumstance, the project manager can follow these basic steps when addressing conflict:
Table 7: Six Steps to Managing Conflict 13
Step Description Statement

1. Confirm Paraphrase to show “Yes- I understand that…”
understanding
2. Empathize State the other person’s “I understand why you
perspective feel…”
3. Prepare Pivot from their perspective “I think that we may need to
consider…”
13
By Evan Piekara
4. Provide reasons Build a case for an Outline rationale
alternative perspective
5. Deliver negative statement Show you do not agree “I think we should…”
6. Offer compromise Provide an alternative “This is why I feel that we
solution need to….”
These steps may vary depending on the reactions and approach of the opposition, what is at
stake, and whether the opposition adopts a win/win, win/lose, or lose/lose mentality. For
instance, if the opposition takes a lose/lose mentality, there may not be the opportunity to offer a
compromise and one may need to take on more of a domination approach to reach an outcome.
This approach is often taken in hostile takeovers, and while not ideal, it is often the only
approach available given the personalities, situation, and timeline.
Building a Conflict-Embracing Culture
There are several strategies to employ in order to foster a culture where perspectives are freely
shared and people can respectfully disagree. At the outset, project managers should seek to build
rapport, establish camaraderie, and develop a culture where people are comfortable with each
other before conflict even arises. Thus, when conflict does arise, it is easier to get people to share
their points of view and respectfully disagree. Moreover, teams and businesses should begin to
design processes before conflict even surfaces so that there is a defined path for addressing
conflict. 14 On the one hand, team-building at the beginning of the project forges connections, and
enables the project manager to assess personalities. On the other hand, establishing processes
creates formal paths for conflicts to follow so that expectations can be appropriately managed. 15
As conflict arises, one point to emphasize is that the team is looking for the optimal solution and
that this is merely business rather than personal. Doing so shifts thinking away from personal
attacks and toward exploring alternatives. 16 Another way teams build conflict-embracing
cultures is by regularly scheduling “challenge events” where there is open discussion on the
status quo and how processes can, and should, evolve over time.17 Doing so highlights the need
for change and creates an opportunity for people to share and explore alternatives. A third
approach is recognizing employees who regularly challenge norms by highlighting their
ingenuity, providing positive reinforcement, and viewing questions and comments as teachable
moments. 18 Finally, setting procedures and ground rules for addressing conflict in your team can
prevent people from drawing disagreement into danger areas. 19 For example, firms may end with
14
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/feb2011/sb2011024_744270.htm
15
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/feb2011/sb2011024_744270.htm
16
https://hbr.org/2013/10/nice-managers-embrace-conflict-too/
17
18
19
By Evan Piekara
a “start doing, continue doing, stop doing” assessment at the end of each meeting or feedback
session so that positives along with feedback can be shared.
Conflict can be healthy and provide an opportunity to learn, build better solutions, and grow.
Warning signals should foster discussion that prevents conflict from becoming toxic. Periodic
meetings where people can express ideas in a safe environment can be one tool that fosters
conflict-embracing cultures. 20 When facilitating these meetings, it is important to ensure
everyone participates and that opinions are shared, respected, and valued. 21
Conflict Provides Perspective
In today’s interconnected society, conflict is unavoidable, and today’s project manager must
come equipped with the tools and skills to embrace conflict. While many fear or avoid conflict
because they feel that it could damage relationships or take too much time to overcome, many
others are learning that conflict can be healthy and should be embraced. Conflict provides
perspective, and addressing it up front may prevent friction from developing to the point where
relationships are damaged, ideas for improvement are not shared, and even more time will need
to be devoted to meeting demands or re-building relationships. Fostering a culture that questions
that status quo, is comfortable sharing opinions, and that is curious learning about ideas and
perspectives will create a dynamic team that is more able to adapt to the multiple conflicts that
inevitably will come. Be ready to embrace it with open arms.
About the Author: Evan Piekara is a Project Management Professional (PMP), Change
Management Specialist (CMS), and Certified Conflict Manager (CCM). After earning an MBA
from Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business (MSB), Evan joined BDO USA, LLP,
where he is currently a Manager supporting the launch of BDO’s Public Sector Management
Consulting Practice. He has supported public sector clients in transformational efforts involving
change management, strategic planning, performance management and evaluation, and
organizational design.
20
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-tenney/embracing-conflict_b_4136135.html
21
http://www.terihill.com/archives/751
Assessing habitats of vulnerability in African cities: A case of poverty housing in
Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria
R.O. Salami1, J.K. Von Meding2 and H. Giggins3
1
School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Newcastle,
Australia; [email protected]
2
3
Most cities in developing countries have witnessed unprecedented rapid urbanisation

and urban growth which many researchers have likened to ‘urbanisation of poverty’.
The physical manifestation of this phenomenon has triggered urban residents’
exposure to disaster risk due to the proliferation of unplanned, informal settlements,
insecurity of tenure, and inadequately maintained essential/infrastructural services.
Lack of good practices in urban planning/housing development and risk reduction
initiatives have increased the vulnerability of city dwellers, as more than a billion
urban residents are living in deplorable conditions. This study aims to assess the
housing and urban vulnerability of an African city to natural and man-induced hazards.
A well-structured questionnaire survey administered to 156 households in Bere, a pre-
colonial community in the core area of Ibadan metropolis, to provide a clear picture of
the degree of residents’exposure to disaster risks and their coping capacity. The study
advocates the strengthening of local institutional capacity and provides policy
recommendations on how to mitigate disaster risk and reduce vulnerability.
Keywords: Cities, Developing countries, Disaster Risk Reduction, Vulnerability,
Urbanization, Housing, Urban poor.
1.0 Introduction
The unprecedented pace of urbanisation and urban growth have made developing
nations’ cities vulnerable to multiple disaster risks due to the high concentration of
people, overstretching of the city’s inadequate resources such as essential services,
urban infrastructure and economic assets (Mitlin & Satterthwaite, 2013). Like many
other cities in developing countries, Nigerian cities are being confronted by what many
authors describe as urbanisation of poverty (Ravallion, Chen, & Sangraula, 2007),
characterized by substandard housing, inadequately maintained basic and
infrastructural services (WHO/UNICEF, 2012).
Most urban residents and their assets in Nigeria are increasingly vulnerable to natural
and human-induced hazards (I. Adelekan et al., 2015) as a result of low income,
insufficient resources and their inability to secure protected lands. These low-income
neighbourhoods usually located on marginal lands near flood plains, steep slopes,
seashores and other hazardous areas (Hardoy, Mitlin, & Satterthwaite, 2001).
There is a need to develop a better understanding of the underlying causes and
influence of a multitude of disaster risks emerging from natural and man-induced
hazards in vulnerable cities in Africa, so as to provide policies that will lead to a
reduction of disaster risk and vulnerability. This study focuses on the assessment of
poverty housing and urban poor’s vulnerability characteristics in Bere communities
located in the core area of Ibadan metropolis through households’ survey, measuring
the conditions of physical, social, economic and environmental characteristics of the
selected community. It provides a better understanding of root causes, the degree of
vulnerability, exposure to disaster risk and coping capacity. The study concludes by
advocating policy recommendations in view of scaling up efforts to reducing the
vulnerability of the urban community and its inhabitants through disaster risk
reduction strategies.
2.0 Housing quality and urban vulnerability
Most cities and urban areas of developing world are identified by unplanned
urbanization and poorly managed urban growth. This uncontrolled built environment
creates issues that are compounded by the impact of climate change on inhabitants,
housing and infrastructure (I. O. Adelekan, 2012). The exposure of city dwellers to
environmental risk and vulnerability are due to the intersections of the physical
processes—ineffective urban planning, inadequate housing/infrastructural
development, and attitudinal actions of urban poor—consumption patterns and
lifestyle choices (Blaikie, Cannon, Davis, & Wisner, 2014).Also, Parry (2007) affirms
the challenges of high concentration of people with increased social and physical
vulnerability (poor socioeconomic conditions and lack of reliable basic services and
infrastructures) are aggravated by the impacts of climate change and hazards.
In Ibadan metropolitan city, for instance, an evaluation of housing and urban
environmental quality by Coker, Awokola, Olomolaiye, and Booth (2008) confirm the
precarious conditions of seventy-two percent of houses in the core area of the city.
They are structurally unfit for habitation and also lack basic amenities such as clean
water, sewage disposal and proper drainage system. They are susceptible to floods and
other risks because they settle in an array of substandard houses, poorly designed and
constructed close to flood plains or riverine areas. It is evident that in the developing
world, most of the urban poor are residing in risky places as a result of lack capacity
and fewer resources.
3.0 Urban planning and development management in African cities
In most developing countries, cities are facing challenges of rapid urbanisation and
urban growth with corresponding inadequate municipal services and failed
infrastructures, as well as the spread of illegal housing development. For example, over
sixty percent of the urban residents living in slums in Africa (UN-Habitat, 2013), and
their assets are most susceptible to disaster risks (I. Adelekan et al., 2015), as a result
of failure to strictly adhere to appropriate planning and land use management. This
development trends usually lead to land use conflicts, slum proliferation, increase
vulnerabilities and disaster risk (Pelling & Wisner, 2012). Regardless, (Wamsler,
2006) affirms that urban growth, whether planned or unplanned, rarely plays a distinct
role in reducing disaster risk.
In most African cities, the urban planning policies and building codes guiding the land
use/development are not regularly updated to meet urban growth’s new direction. The
local planning authorities are ineffective, ill-equipped to enforce planning regulations
and ultimately lack the capacity to oversee urban development management so as to
reduce disaster risk (Parnell, Simon, & Vogel, 2007). For example, the local authorities
that are responsible for monitoring and enforcing urban development planning and
building codes in all the urban districts in Ibadan fail to meet expectations (I. O.
Adelekan, 2012).They have limited resources and power to play these important roles
(Satterthwaite, 2011). In other to revitalize urban planning processes, concerted
actions must be taken by all levels of governments, and respective local communities
with the collaboration of the relevant international institutions so as to build
sustainable resilience for city residents particularly in developing countries.
4.0 Research methods
The research is based on primary data drawn from questionnaire administration and
field observation. Secondary data were sourced from academic journals, textbooks and
government documents. A household survey of housing, its neighbourhood
characteristics and urban vulnerability to disaster risk in Bere, an urban indigenous
community situated at the core of Ibadan metropolis. The study employed systematic
random sampling technique to choose each household in the selected study area.
A semi- structured questionnaire was carried out to understand how vulnerable the
human settlements and, their residents to natural and man-induced hazards. The
questions were centred on households’ socio-economic and demographic
characteristics of respondents, housing quality; physical/structural conditions of the
housing stock, as well as assessment of basic/infrastructural services, residents’
environmental conditions and, flood risk perception /coping capacity.
This research was carried out in Bere, a traditional community located at the heart of
the metropolitan city of Ibadan-Nigeria. The Bere community is under the category of
highest density areas, one of the three major classifications of residential land use
characteristics in urban areas Ibadan (Adigun, 2013; Afon & Faniran, 2013). A random
sampling was adopted to select one of the traditional communities from high-density
residential areas of the heart of Ibadan city.
4.1 Overview of the study area
The city of Ibadan, the administrative headquarter of the old western region of Nigeria
and now Oyo state’s capital. Ibadan (Figure 1) is the third largest metropolitan area,
by population in the country, after Lagos and Kano with a population of 2.55 million
people with about 634.3 kilometre square and equivalent of 828 persons per square
kilometres, one of the highest densities in the country. Out of this population figure,
the core area of Ibadan has 1.34 million residents (I. O. Adelekan, 2012; Ayeni,
1994).The urban growth and urbanisation witnessed in the city are widely attributed
to the influx of rural-urban migrants, due to the availability of economic opportunities
such as the presence of industries, an array of institutions and infrastructural services
(Owoeye & Ogundiran, 2014). This unprecedented development overwhelmed the
little resources available, and inadequately maintained services (Salami, Von Meding,
Giggins, & Olotu, 2015).
Ibadan metropolitan city is known as flood prone area with several cases of flooding
records since 1902. The unprecedented flood incidences that killed hundreds of people
and destruction of properties of residents worth millions of naira. More than 500
hundred, and 130 people lost their lives in flood disasters that occurred on 31st of
August 1980 and 26th August 2011 respectively (Agbola, Ajayi, Taiwo, & Wahab,
2012).The poor sewage disposal of domestic and industrial waste largely contributed
to flood incidences due to blockages in river channels.
Figure 1: Map of Ibadan showing the urban core of the city.

Source:(I. Adelekan, 2010)
5. Results: Housing and urban vulnerability characteristics of Bere community
5.1 Demographic features
In this study, the results indicated that 108(69%) of the 156 households’ respondents
surveyed were male while 48(31%) were female (Table 1). Sixty-six (42%) of the head
of households sampled were between the ages of 41 and 50 years while (25%) were
above 50 years old. Fifty-one (33%) were below the age of 40 years.
Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of Households’ head in Bere Community
Parameters Frequency Percentage
(n=156) (%)
Gender
Male 108 69.2
Female 48 30.8
Marital status
Single 13 8.3
Married 131 84.0
Widowed 9 5.8
Separated 2 1.3
Others 1 0.6
Age
18-20 2 1.3
21-30 28 17.9
31-40 21 13.5
41-50 66 42.3
51 above 39 25.0
Total 156 100
Source: Fieldwork (2015)
5.2 Socio-economic profile of the respondents
Household size: Majority of the households’ respondents (64%) had between 4 and
six persons while (16%) and (15%) of the sampled residents had between 1 to 3 and 7
to 9 persons respectively. Only (5%) of the inhabitants surveyed in the study area were
10 and above in their households.
Households’ head: Out of 156 head of the households sampled (Table 2), 149(95%)
of them were male, and just 7(5%) are a female head of the homes. This indicated that
the community is dominated by the male head of the household.
The level of education and occupation: Most of the residents surveyed (85%) in the
selected population had very low education qualifications. While just 9(6%) of the
head of households had post-secondary school education, fourteen (9%) did not have
formal education. The households’ education status mostly affected the nature of their
occupation or employment, as the majority of respondents engaged in the informal
economy. Seventy-two (46%) of sampled population are traders, (37%) and (5%) are
farmers respectively while (1%) each are civil servants and professionals.
Monthly income: The study shows that the (74%), the majority of the respondents’
earnings in a month in the study areas is less than N20, 000. While (17%) of sampled
households’ monthly income are between N20,000 and N40,000, nine (6%) of the
households’ head are jobless with no monthly income.
Land tenure security: Only 29 homes (19%) of the respondents approved their
properties while (59%) of all the buildings sampled were not approved. Another (21%)
of respondents were not sure of the tenure security status of their houses.
Table 2: Socio-economic characteristics of Households’ head in Bere Community
(n=156) (%)
Household’s head
Male 149 95.5
Female 7 4.5
No of children
None 2 1.3
1-3 76 48.7
4-6 72 46.2
7-9 3 1.9
Above 10 3 1.9
Households’ size
1-3 25 16.0
4-6 99 63.5
7-9 24 15.4
10+ 8 5.1
Total 156 100
5.3 Physical/structural characteristics of building stock
Age of the buildings: The research indicates (Table 3) that most of the buildings (95%)
were timeworn and years of construction are between 10 years and above. Five percent
(5%) of the respondents’ houses were aged between one and nine years.
Wall construction materials: As shown in Table 3, most of the buildings sampled
(95%) in the selected community utilised substandard building materials like mud for
their houses with less than (5%) used quality materials such as cement blocks. This is
responsible for a higher proportion of timeworn, run-down buildings and large
numbers of indigenous people living in low-quality housing that cannot protect
inhabitants under hazard conditions.
Structural conditions of the buildings: The structural stability of the sampled houses
are in deplorable conditions. The results indicated that (57%) of the Bere households’
dwelling units need major repair, and another (35%) need minor repair. Also, only
twelve buildings (8%) of the surveyed houses are in good conditions. Therefore, most
of these houses and their inhabitants are susceptible to natural hazards such flooding
and heavy windstorms.
Table 3: The physical/structural characteristics of Households’ dwellings
(n=156) (%)
Age of the building
1-3 1 0.6
4-6 1 0.6
7-9 6 3.8
Ten years and above 148 95.0
Wall construction materials
Mud 114 73.1
Cement block 15 9.6
Sun-dried brick 6 3.8
Bamboo with mud 21 13.5
Structural conditions
Needs minor repair 54 34.6
Needs major repair 89 57.1
In good condition 12 7.7
Others 1 0.6
Total 156 100
5.4 Basic/infrastructural facilities conditions of the neighbourhood
Access to water: The results (Table 4) indicated that limited access to essential services
such as access to clean water, as (69%) of the residents walk to fetch water in about
200 meters away from their homes. While around (30%) of Bere community only have
access to water in the well.Toilet facilities and waste disposal: Also, the majority of
households’ surveyed (85%) only have access to a pit latrine. Poor drainage
systems/garbage collections (72%) and indiscriminate open dumping of refuse,
leading to blockage of drainage channels and causing houses to be flooded, as well as
jeopardizing environmental landscape and public health.
Table 4: Basic/infrastructural facilities conditions of the neighbourhood
(n=156) (%)
Access to water
Borehole 12 7.7
Well 48 30.8
Outside my yard (<200m) 86 55.1
Outside my yard (>200m) 9 5.8
Through water tanker 1 0.6
Access to toilet facilities
Water closets 9 5.8
Pit latrine 133 85.3
Public toilet 4 2.6
Bush 1 0.6
Dumping ground 3 1.9
others 6 3.8
Waste disposal
Very inadequate 50 32.1
Inadequate 62 39.7
Fair 18 11.5
Adequate 25 16.0
Very adequate 1 0.6
Total 156 100
5.4 Flood risk perception and adaptation strategies
In Table 5, the results indicated that (79%) had records of flood-related damages to
their properties. While (24%) were severely damaged, fifty-five percent were not, as
(21%) had no history of the flood disaster. Also, regarding the root underlying causes
of floods in the sampled areas, about (54%) believed it was as a result of blockage of
waterways/river channels and (44%) chose prolonged rainfall as the second cause of
flood disasters. Previous research by Agbola et al. (2012) corroborate the outcome of
this study. Coping and adaptation strategies adopted by respondents are the
maintenance of buildings (25%), use of quality construction materials (17%) and (4%)
for support from family and friends. More than half (54%) of the heads of household
believed that seeking for spiritual interventions from Almighty God as their first
coping measure. In the research on the cyclone occurrence in coastal Bangladesh by
Haque and Blair (1992), more than (70%) of inhabitants relied on prayer as an
important adaptation strategy.
Table 5: Flood risk perception and adaptation strategies
(n=156) (%)
Flood-related damage
before
No 33 21.0
Yes, but not severely 86 55.0
Yes, severely 37 24.0
Causes of floods
Heavy rainfall 68 43.6
Blockage of waterways 84 53.8
Building on flood liable 4 2.6
plains
Improper planning and poor 1 0.6
land use
Adaptation strategies
Maintenance of building 39 25
Use of quality construction 27 17.2
materials
Support from family/friends 6 3.8
Prayers 84 54
Insurance 0 0
Total 156 100
6.0 Discussions
This study has evaluated the housing and urban vulnerability of Bere, one of the pre-
colonial communities in the core centre of Ibadan metropolitan city. This was achieved
through households’ survey of the exposure and susceptibility of human settlements,
basic physical and neighbourhood infrastructure to disaster risks such as floods and
weather storms. The assessment of socioeconomic profiles of heads of household in
the selected society revealed that the majority of respondents involved in the only
informal sector of the economy for survival. Most of the households sampled also had
very low level of educational qualifications.
According to the outcome of this research, the residents of Bere community are slum
dwellers by the housing quality and their neighbourhood characteristics. The
households share the same features of slums as defined by United Nations; lack of
essential services, substandard housing and poor building structures (UN-Habitat,
2004). Previous researchers have also affirmed that those who live in poverty housing
in low-income communities without adequate infrastructure services are most
vulnerable to environmental hazards and climate (Peduzzi, 2011; UN-Habitat, 2011).
Based on the results of the vulnerability assessment, Bere community fits into the
categories of inner city slums such as in Cairo, Dhaka as described by Baker (2012).
Situated in the historic core of Ibadan city, facing series of disaster risks range from
the life-threating condition of the structures, inadequate basic services to records of
the high density of inhabitants and challenging of vehicular access to narrow roads in
case of emergency. It is evident that most of the urban residents in the study area are
facing a great deal of variety of disaster risks such as physical vulnerabilities; flood
hazards, weather storms and social vulnerabilities; informal economy, low education,
lack of skills and social exclusion from local institutions (UN-habitat, 2011).
7.0 Policy recommendations: Local institutions as a focal point
Local authorities have significant roles to play in reducing disaster risks and
vulnerabilities of human settlements, as a result of local governments’ constitutional
responsibility of providing basic infrastructure services, development of urban
planning and strict adherence to building codes (Johnson, 2011). In the case of Ibadan
city and most of the urban areas in African cities, the efforts are counterproductive due
to limited resources and power (Satterthwaite, 2011), ineffective urban planning, bad
governance, and lack of tools/skills to monitor urban development (Myers, 2011; UN-
Habitat, 2009). Also, for instance in Nigeria, the only public sector for risk
management is National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). NEMA approach
to risk management is more reactive than proactive because of inadequate funding,
equipment and skills (I. O. Adelekan, 2012; Olorunfemi & Adebimpe, 2008).
Therefore, for local institutions and disaster risk management agency in cities of
developing countries to be effective in reducing vulnerability, a continuous, collective
collaboration by the international community, civil organisations and NGOs to
develop initiatives to assist cities and urban residents build resilience to mitigate the
impacts of natural and human-induced hazards.
8.0 Conclusion
Globally, in African cities, urban residents and their assets are most vulnerable to
disaster risk due to the exposure to various hazards (I. Adelekan et al., 2015).
According to Hanson et al. (2011), there are three distinctive characteristics of their
vulnerability; inadequate planning, low quality of housing with poor disaster
resistance, and informal economy and insufficient resources. Bere, a traditional urban
community in the core area of Ibadan metropolis is vulnerable to hazards such as
floods, weather storms and other environmental risks that are health related with the
low adaptive capacity to any future disaster. This inner city slum is characterised by
tenure insecurity, very low quality, structurally weak and inadequately maintained
dwellings, lacking essential services and occupied by low-income residents. The
residents’ physical and socioeconomic characteristics coupled with inadequate urban
planning and bad governance contribute to the limited community resilience. It is
crucial to integrate disaster risk management into urban planning/development, and
strengthening institutional capacity so as to achieve sustainable risk reduction.
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Przemyslaw Sekula, University of Economics, Katowice, Poland
Project Management Challenges in Road Infrastructure Development in Poland
Introduction.
Large investments in Poland’s road transportation infrastructure began in 2007 and they are planned
to continue till 2023. The scale of hitherto and forthcoming investments is presented in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Motorways and highways in Poland in 1989, 2007, 2014 and 2023 (planned) 1
Due to the scale and importance of road infrastructure investments in Poland, the decision support
process in the field of road infrastructure management turns out to be very significant. This process
may be supported by numerous tools and solutions. The most popular are economic models, financial
analyses, multi-criteria evaluation methods, decision diagrams, risk sharing by cooperation in public-
private partnership etc. They are described by numerous authors in numerous publications. For
instance, the economic aspects of public investments planning and modeling were considered by D.
Felstenstein, R. McQuaid, P. McCann and D. Cheltenham (2001) 2. T. Zhao S. Sundararajan and C. Tseng
(2004)3 presented a model for decision making in highway development, operation, expansion, and
1
Source: Based on Resolution No. 156/2015 of the Council of Ministers of Republic of Poland, 8 September
2015 - Establishing a multiannual program under the name "National Road Construction Programme for the
years 2014 to 2023 (with the prospect of 2025)” and
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Historia_budowy_autostrad_i_dr%C3%B3g_ekspresow
ych.gif
2
D. Felstenstein, R. McQuaid, P. McCann and D. Cheltenham (ed.), Public Investment and Regional Economic
Development (2001), Edward Elgar Hardback, 271
3
T. Zhao, S. Sundararajan, C. Tseng, Highway Development Decision-Making under Uncertainty: A Real Options
Approach., J. Infrastruct. Syst., 10.1061/(ASCE)1076-0342(2004)10:1(23), 23-32.
rehabilitation. This model bases on Monte Carlo simulation method. E. Mongo (2008) 4 in his study
about the decision-making process in road infrastructure development examined the problem that
policy and planning decisions have led to limited navigable roads in Cameroon. W. Brauers, E.
Zavadskas, F. Peldschus and Z. Turskis (2008) 5 presented a methodology for multi-objective
optimization of multi-alternative decisions in road construction. This methodology bases on Multi-
Objective Optimization on the basis of the Ratio Analysis (MOORA) method. A review of multi-criteria
decision-making methods for infrastructure management was presented by D. Jato-Espinoa, E.
Castillo-Lopezb, J. Rodriguez-Hernandeza and J. C. Canteras-Jordana (2013) 6. The problems of decision
support in road infrastructure are still up-to-date and are explored by numerous authors such as R.
Haigh (2014) 7, L. Chen, T. Henning, A. Raith and A. Shamseldin (2015) 8 and others.
One of the areas where the decision-making tools and solutions should be implemented concerns the
cooperation between central and local governments. The process of building the new road
infrastructure led to numerous expectations from Poland’s local governments. On one hand, the
communities crossed by motorways claimed negative impact of these roads on local businesses, on
unemployment rates and on other economic performance factors. On the other, jurisdictions which
have no direct access to the motorways need funds in order to ensure sustainable development. In
Poland a significant amount of local government funds are derived not from property taxes or income
tax from local residents, but from redistribution of central government tax revenues.
As a result, if the demands of local governments were met, the costs of economic development would
have been charged to the central government budget and - in consequence - to the budgets of projects
undertaken by the central government.
Due to the fact the expectations of local governments are not cohesive, it is necessary to determine
objective criteria for funding allocation. To do this, it is essential to find the answers to the following
questions:
• What is the nature (and spatial range) of impact of motorways on local municipalities?
• How to predict this impact in order to allocate the development funds?
Determining the impact

Preparing data
4
E. Mongo, The Decision-Making Process in Road Infrastructure Development in Cameroon Since 1980, Walden
University, 2008
5
W. Karel, M. Brauers , E. K. Zavadskas , F. Peldschus, Z. Turskis (2008) Multi‐objective decision‐making for road
design, Transport, 23:3, 183-193
6
D. Jato-Espinoa, E. Castillo-Lopezb, J. Rodriguez-Hernandeza, J. C. Canteras-Jordana, A review of multi-criteria
decision-making methods for infrastructure management, Structure and Infrastructure Engineering:
Maintenance, Management, Life-Cycle Design and Performance, 2013, 10.1080/15732479.2013.795978, 1176-
1210
7
R. Haigh , (2014) "Enhancing resilience of critical road infrastructure: bridges, culverts and floodways",
International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, Vol. 5 Iss: 3
8
L. Chen, T. Henning, A. Raith and A. Shamseldin, Multiobjective Optimization for Maintenance Decision
Making in Infrastructure Asset Management, J. Manage. Eng., 10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000371,
04015015., 2015
As an illustration of the premise of this study, Świecko - Nowy-Tomyśl section of A2 motorway was
selected. This selection was made due to the following reasons:
• This section is relatively long (107 km), so it is easier to detect the spatial distribution of
economic impact.
• The section was build in 2011, so in spite of being relatively new it is possible to obtain data
necessary to assess its economic impact.
• The section is not in a close proximity to big cities. The proximity to a large economic center
could skew the results.
The next step was to measure the distances from the motorway to all municipalities. The distances
were measured to the centroids of municipalities, using QGIS software. The distances to the motorway
and distances to the closest motorway intersection were both measured. The distances were put into
MS Access database in order to combine them with data from the Polish Statistical Office. The database
comprised the following data:
• change in the population of municipalities;

• change in the number of microenterprises (0-9 employees);
• change in the number of small enterprises (10-49 employees);
• change in the number of medium and big enterprises (50 employees and more);
• change in the unemployment level;
• change in the proceeds of individual income tax to local budgets;
• change in the proceeds of corporate tax to local budgets;
• distances to the motorway.
Each of the tested indicators is described as a change. The changes were calculated in "year on year"
mode according to the formula:
𝑣𝑣𝑦𝑦 − 𝑣𝑣𝑦𝑦−1
𝑣𝑣𝑦𝑦−1
Equation 1
where 𝑣𝑣𝑦𝑦 is a value of an indicator in a year "𝑦𝑦".
Data analysis
The next stage was to determine whether the dependence between the selected factors and the
distances to motorway exists. To determine this dependence, the Pearson correlation coefficient was
used. The data were sorted out by distance to the motorway. Then, for each municipality, Pearson
correlation coefficient was calculated, including the calculations for all the municipalities, which are at
least as close to the motorway as the selected municipality. For instance, if municipality of Buk is
situated 29.5 kilometers away from the motorway, to calculate the Pearson correlation coefficient one
included all the communes, which are no more distant from motorway than the municipality of Buk. It
was done in order to assess the character and spatial range of the impact on the tested factor. The
example charts which present correlations between the distances from motorway and changes of
various parameters are presented in Figure 2.
a) Microenteprises b) Population
c) Income tax d) Corporate tax
Figure 2: Correlations between distances from motorway and changes in number of microenterprises, population and
proceeds of income and corporate tax
As one can see from Figure 2a, example on the chart with microenterprises, the correlations were quite
high in close proximity from the motorways and then they started to decrease. In the beginning the
charts are serrated. This variety is caused by a small amount of data (there are not many municipalities
in such proximity of the motorway). Analysis of all the charts and previous research 9 shows that if
impact of the motorways on the examined factors exists, it has a range of about 40 kilometers.
However, one can notice the vast variety of correlations calculated for particular municipalities. That
means that it is necessary to introduce additional conditions in order to ensure that the calculated
correlations are statistically significant. For each factor all the correlations for communes which are
between 30 and 35 kilometers from motorway were taken, and then the average, median and standard
deviation of these data were calculated. The average value of correlation coefficients allows to flatten
the serrated charts. The median value of correlation coefficients helps to eliminate the cases, when a
few large values significantly overstate the average. Standard deviation, if it is too large, testifies that
the chart is excessively serrated, and the correlations are changing too fast to become a creditable
source of information. These three measurers were used to determine the existence and character of
9
Results of previous research presented in report "Wpływ projektów infrastrukturalnych na rozwój lokalnej
tkanki gospodarczej" (the Impact of Infrastructure Projects on Development of Local Economies), University of
Economics, Katowice, 2014, unpublished
impact of motorways on the examined factors. To recognize an impact as being of significance the
following conditions should be fulfilled:
• average correlation ≥ 0.2

• median of correlations ≥ 0.2
• standard deviation < 0.1
The same procedure was repeated for correlations between selected factors and distances from
motorway intersections, and for the data taken from all communes between 25 and 40 km. The results
are presented in Tables 1 and 2.
Table 1: Results of calculations for frame 30-35 km
For range 30 - 35 km
For distances from motorways For distances from intersections

2009- 2010- 2011- 2012- 2013- 2009- 2010- 2011- 2012- 2013-
Dates
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Microenterprises Microenterprises
Average -0.09 0.37 0.29 -0.04 0.14 -0.01 0.35 0.38 0.10 0.14
Median -0.12 0.38 0.29 -0.06 0.15 -0.10 0.36 0.38 0.08 0.15
Std. dev. 0.08 0.03 0.04 0.06 0.04 0.13 0.03 0.02 0.04 0.02
Small enterprises Small enterprises

Average -0.10 0.14 0.13 0.16 -0.16 -0.13 0.14 0.12 0.22 -0.16
Median -0.09 0.14 0.13 0.16 -0.16 -0.15 0.13 0.13 0.24 -0.15
Std. dev. 0.10 0.03 0.04 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.05 0.03 0.03
Medium and large enterprises Medium and large enterprises

Average -0.08 0.04 0.17 -0.14 -0.02 -0.09 0.04 0.08 -0.11 -0.12
Median -0.09 0.03 0.16 -0.13 -0.02 -0.08 0.04 0.07 -0.13 -0.14
Std. dev. 0.06 0.02 0.05 0.02 0.08 0.06 0.02 0.04 0.03 0.07
Unemployment Unemployment
Average 0.15 0.08 0.11 -0.18 No data 0.15 0.00 0.05 -0.14 No data
Median 0.14 0.09 0.10 -0.18 No data 0.15 -0.01 0.05 -0.14 No data
Std. dev. 0.06 0.02 0.03 0.04 No data 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.05 No data
Corporate tax Corporate tax

Average -0.10 -0.12 -0.02 -0.23 No data -0.06 -0.14 0.02 -0.24 No data
Median -0.09 -0.13 0.00 -0.23 No data -0.09 -0.13 0.01 -0.25 No data
Income tax Income tax

Average -0.01 0.01 -0.27 0.23 No data 0.04 0.06 -0.35 0.20 No data
Median 0.00 0.01 -0.27 0.25 No data 0.02 0.07 -0.36 0.18 No data
Population Population
Average -0.10 0.15 0.24 -0.06 No data -0.09 0.19 0.31 0.01 No data
Median -0.09 0.13 0.23 -0.06 No data -0.09 0.18 0.31 0.02 No data
Table 2: Results of calculations for frame 25-40 km
For range 25 - 40 km
For distances from motorways For distances from intersections

2009- 2010- 2011- 2012- 2013- 2009- 2010- 2011- 2012- 2013-
Data
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Microenterprises Microenterprises
Average 0.06 0.32 0.30 0.03 0.12 0.06 0.34 0.38 0.09 0.13
Median -0.03 0.33 0.30 0.04 0.14 0.00 0.34 0.38 0.09 0.13
Std. dev. 0.19 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.05 0.18 0.03 0.04 0.04 0.03
Small enterprises Small enterprises

Average -0.08 0.13 0.10 0.11 -0.17 -0.08 0.11 0.12 0.19 -0.17
Median -0.09 0.14 0.12 0.14 -0.16 -0.10 0.13 0.13 0.23 -0.16
Std. dev. 0.13 0.09 0.08 0.08 0.04 0.09 0.10 0.07 0.08 0.04
Medium and large enterprises Medium and large enterprises

Average -0.11 0.05 0.15 -0.11 -0.04 -0.13 0.06 0.15 -0.08 -0.07
Median -0.14 0.03 0.15 -0.13 -0.02 -0.16 0.04 0.16 -0.07 -0.05
Std. dev. 0.08 0.04 0.06 0.04 0.07 0.08 0.05 0.07 0.03 0.09
Unemployment Unemployment
Average 0.16 0.12 0.08 -0.12 No data 0.15 0.05 0.02 -0.14 No data
Median 0.14 0.12 0.08 -0.13 No data 0.15 0.03 0.04 -0.14 No data
Corporate tax Corporate tax

Average -0.05 -0.14 -0.01 -0.16 No data -0.01 -0.17 0.01 -0.17 No data
Median -0.09 -0.13 0.00 -0.23 No data -0.08 -0.15 0.01 -0.23 No data
Income tax Income tax

Average 0.05 0.02 -0.27 0.20 No data 0.08 0.06 -0.32 0.16 No data
Median 0.00 0.03 -0.28 0.20 No data 0.03 0.07 -0.32 0.14 No data
Population Population
Average -0.11 0.12 0.26 -0.02 No data -0.10 0.17 0.30 0.05 No data
Median -0.12 0.13 0.27 -0.04 No data -0.09 0.18 0.31 0.04 No data
For both, the distances from motorways and distances for intersections the results were similar. For
both frames (30-35 and 23-40 km) the requirements necessary to recognize the impact as significant
were fulfilled for the following factors:
• change of number of microenterprises in 2010-2011 (just after the opening the motorway to
use);
• change of number of microenterprises in 2011-2012 (a year after opening the motorway to
use);
• change of population of communes in 2011-2012;
• change of proceeds of income tax for individuals to local budgets in 2011-2012.
In the case of ‘Change of corporate tax in 2011-2012’ the requirements where fulfilled while calculated
in the frame of 30-35 km, but not in the frame of 25-40 km.
The positive sign of standard deviation means that the examined values are growing with the distance
from the motorway. So the impact on motorway on the number of microenterprises and population is
negative. These factors are decreasing (or the rate of increase is diminishing) when the distance from
motorway decreases. The negative value of correlation coefficient in case of income tax indicates the
positive impact of the motorway. This also means that the motorway has a positive impact on the
income tax in general and, in consequence on the income level of citizens. In summary, both positive
and negative impact of the highway has been detected.
Predictions
The next question formulated in the goal of research was "how to predict the economic impact in order
to allocate the development funds?". The first attempt to arrive at an answer based on computing
linear regression using the least-square method. As the dependent variables, the distances to
motorways, the distances to intersections and both (multiple regression) consecutively were taken. To
assess the results the coefficient of residual variation 𝑉𝑉𝑒𝑒 was used.
𝑆𝑆𝑒𝑒
𝑉𝑉𝑒𝑒 = ∗ 100%
𝑌𝑌𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎
Equation 2
where:
𝑛𝑛 0.5
1
𝑆𝑆𝑒𝑒 = � �(𝑦𝑦𝑖𝑖 − 𝑦𝑦�𝑖𝑖 )2 �
𝑛𝑛 − 𝑚𝑚 − 1
𝑖𝑖=1
Equation 3
𝑌𝑌𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 – average independent value
𝑛𝑛 – number of observations (communes)
𝑚𝑚 – number of dependent values
𝑦𝑦𝑖𝑖 – real independent value
𝑦𝑦�𝑖𝑖 – estimated value
The values of coefficient of residual variation are presented in Table 3.

Table 3: Linear regression - coefficients of residual variation of values predicted by linear regression.
Dependant
Microenterprise Microenterprise Income tax Population
variables (distances s 2010-2011 s 2011-2012 2011-2012 2011-2012
from)
Motorway -557.91% 82.20% 109.52% 333.09%
Intersection -560.69% 82.42% 110.06% 333.31%
Both -557.14% 80.79% 110.02% 331.02%
The value of the coefficient of residual variation indicates how strong is the impact of factors omitted
in the model (including random error) on the independent value. In every case, even in analyses of
changes of number of microenterprises in 2011-2012, this coefficient is relatively high. This means that
the proposed models are insufficient to predict the real outputs. The possible reasons of poor fit of
models to reality may be as follows:
• Phenomena are not linear. To increase the fit, non-linear models should be used.
• Initial conditions should be taken into account. For instance it is possible that the communes
with strong economic base are getting stronger while the weak communes are getting weaker.
It is also possible that for the weak communes the positive impacts are large while for the
stronger ones they are weaker.
• Some spatial information should be taken into account. The results may be disfigured by big
factories, economic centers etc. The results may be also distorted by the road infrastructure,
which is not included in this research. If this problem occurs, it may be partially solved by
including information about mutual proximity of communes into model.
• Lack of data or lack of data accuracy. It is also possible that the data are insufficient or to
general to obtain better results. The data about communes are focused in points (centroids)
and all the information about the spatial deployment of this data inside the communes are not
taken into account. Moreover it is possible that the data such as traffic information should be
included in model too.
If the first three reasons occurs it is possible to improve the quality of the model by using machine
learning computations and a locally weighted linear regression method.
Locally weighted linear regression.
Locally weighted linear regression algorithm is a modification of Least Mean Squares (LMS) rule. Let us
assume that we have values x1, x2, …, xn included in a model. If the model is linear, it can be represented
as in Equation 4:
ℎ(𝑥𝑥) = 𝜃𝜃0 + 𝜃𝜃1 𝑥𝑥1 + 𝜃𝜃2 𝑥𝑥2 +. . . +𝜃𝜃𝑛𝑛 𝑥𝑥𝑛𝑛
Equation 4
The θ’s are the parameters (or weights) of model. Function ℎ(𝑥𝑥) is called hypothesis. To simplify the
notation the value 𝑥𝑥0 = 1 is introduced, so the hypothesis may be written as in Equation 5.
𝑛𝑛
ℎ(𝑥𝑥) = 𝜃𝜃0 𝑥𝑥0 + 𝜃𝜃1 𝑥𝑥1 + 𝜃𝜃2 𝑥𝑥2 +. . . +𝜃𝜃𝑛𝑛 𝑥𝑥𝑛𝑛 = � 𝜃𝜃𝑖𝑖 𝑥𝑥𝑖𝑖 = 𝜃𝜃⃗ 𝑇𝑇 𝑥𝑥⃗
𝑖𝑖=0
Equation 5
The training set which X and Y is given. The goal is to pick (learn) the parameters θ in order to minimize
the errors of hypothesis. To formalize it the cost function J(θ) is defined:
𝑚𝑚
1 2
𝐽𝐽(𝜃𝜃) = ��ℎ𝜃𝜃 (𝑥𝑥 (𝑖𝑖) ) − 𝑦𝑦 (𝑖𝑖) �
2
𝑖𝑖=1
Equation 6
Where:
𝑚𝑚 – number of training examples
𝑥𝑥 (𝑖𝑖) – the dependent values in row 𝑖𝑖
𝑦𝑦 (𝑖𝑖) – the independent value in row 𝑖𝑖
ℎ𝜃𝜃 �𝑥𝑥 (𝑖𝑖) � – hypothesis (now 𝑥𝑥⃗ ’s are known and 𝜃𝜃⃗ is searched).
To minimize the cost function it is possible to use gradient descent algorithm. In this algorithm the
subsequent values of θ are computed using the formula:
𝜕𝜕
𝜃𝜃𝑗𝑗 ≔ 𝜃𝜃𝑗𝑗 − 𝛼𝛼 𝐽𝐽(𝜃𝜃)
𝜕𝜕𝜃𝜃𝑗𝑗
Equation 7
𝑚𝑚
(𝑖𝑖)
𝜃𝜃𝑗𝑗 ≔ 𝜃𝜃𝑗𝑗 + 𝛼𝛼 ��𝑦𝑦 (𝑖𝑖) − ℎ𝜃𝜃 (𝑥𝑥 (𝑖𝑖) )�𝑥𝑥𝑗𝑗
𝑖𝑖=1
Equation 8
where:
𝛼𝛼 – learning rate: relatively small value responsible for speed and accuracy of algorithm.
Using this formula each θ is calculated repeatedly until obtaining convergence (the changes of θ are
negligible).
In the locally weighted linear regression (LLWR) algorithm the entire calculations are made not to find
the general function, but to find the predicted independent value for one particular 𝑥𝑥. The intuition is
to reduce non-linear effects by paying attention mostly to these data examples, which are in the
proximity of 𝑥𝑥. This is presented in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Locally weighted linear regression
LLWR adds weights to the cost function.

𝑚𝑚
1 2
𝐽𝐽(𝜃𝜃) = � 𝑤𝑤 (𝑖𝑖) �ℎ𝜃𝜃 (𝑥𝑥 (𝑖𝑖) ) − 𝑦𝑦 (𝑖𝑖) �
2
𝑖𝑖=1
Equation 9
A standard choice of “𝑤𝑤” is:

2
(𝑖𝑖)
�𝑥𝑥 (𝑖𝑖) − 𝑥𝑥�
𝑤𝑤 = exp �− �
2𝜏𝜏 2
Equation 10
And if 𝑥𝑥 is a vector:
𝑇𝑇
(𝑖𝑖)
�𝑥𝑥 (𝑖𝑖) − 𝑥𝑥� �𝑥𝑥 (𝑖𝑖) − 𝑥𝑥�
𝑤𝑤 = exp �− �
2𝜏𝜏 2
Equation 11
𝜏𝜏 is the parameter responsible for the behavior of algorithm. For a small values of 𝜏𝜏 the algorithm pays
attention mostly on the data in proximity of searched value. For a big 𝜏𝜏 the algorithm tends to behave
like Linear Regression.
The entire algorithm to find predicted value for a single data example is presented as follows:
(𝑖𝑖)
Repeat until convergence { For each j { 𝜃𝜃𝑗𝑗 ≔ 𝜃𝜃𝑗𝑗 + 𝛼𝛼 ∑𝑚𝑚 (𝑖𝑖)
𝑖𝑖=1 𝑤𝑤 �𝑦𝑦
(𝑖𝑖)
− ℎ𝜃𝜃 (𝑥𝑥 (𝑖𝑖) )�𝑥𝑥𝑗𝑗 } }
Calculations and results
Originally, the LWLR algorithm was supposed to deal with the nonlinearity of analyzed functions.
However, the possibilities delivered by this algorithm are wider. The weights do not have to base on
the distances of dependent values, but they may be selected due to other reasons. For instance - if we
assume that the results should depend on the initial income of commune per capita, the weights could
represent this income. Predicting the results, algorithm will take account mostly on this communes,
which have similar level of income per capita.
During the research three different types of weights were taken into account. In the first type the
"classical" weights, based on the dependent values (distances from motorway and closest
intersection), were calculated. By using these weights it was possible to check, whether the searched
function is significantly non-linear. The second type of weights were based on the initial values of
searched variables. The data used to calculate the weights were as follows:
• population
• number of microenterprises per 1000 inhabitants
• communes budgets revenues from the income tax per capita
The third type of weights comprises spatial information - the data about mutual distances of
communes. The distances were calculated using QGIS. This time, weights were used to check whether
the spatial information about mutual position of commune can influence the accuracy of predictions.
Before calculating the weights, data were normalized in columns to scale [0..1]. For the second type of
weights the normalization was necessary in order to make the different types of data comparable. The
first and third type of data may be used to calculate weights without normalization, but normalization
facilitated adjusting the proper value of 𝜏𝜏.
The entire algorithm used to calculate the predicted values looked as follows:
For each type of weights and for each independent value {
For each data example {
Remove data example from data set;
Normalize the data_for_weights set;
calcualate the weights;
Predict independent value using LWLR;
The calculations were implemented in c++ 10. Due to the fact that the real values of the independent
variables were known, it was possible to calculate the coefficient of residual variation in order to assess
the improvement of employing LWLR algorithm with various sets of weights. The values of coefficient
of residual variation are presented in Table 4.
10
Source code on http://przemeksekula.eu/motorways2015/, (access: 2016/03/15)
Table 4: Locally weighted linear regression - coefficients of residual variation
Type Dependant
Microenterprises Microenterprises Income tax Population
of Tau variables
2010-2011 2011-2012 2011-2012 2011-2012
weights (distances from)
Based on independent
Motorway -575.82% 84.33% 111.66% 339.70%

0.5 Intersection -582.08% 84.57% 113.03% 336.95%
values
Both -607.77% 90.01% 119.54% 341.07%

Motorway -573.60% 83.99% 112.98% 340.18%
1 Intersection -579.45% 84.43% 113.60% 339.09%
Both -594.44% 90.35% 117.59% 347.06%
Motorway -577.06% 83.45% 113.98% 340.90%
Based on initial
0.5 Intersection -583.24% 83.83% 114.21% 339.60%

conditions
Both -593.46% 90.78% 119.00% 351.35%

Motorway -574.24% 83.70% 113.82% 340.65%
1 Intersection -580.10% 84.16% 114.09% 339.98%
Both -589.81% 90.62% 117.95% 351.87%
Motorway -591.57% 84.61% 126.27% 345.86%
between communes
Based on distances
0.5 Intersection -598.25% 85.20% 126.33% 342.01%

Both -593.50% 90.28% 119.49% 347.47%
Motorway -590.86% 85.26% 125.20% 346.42%
1 Intersection -597.28% 85.73% 125.38% 343.59%
Both -590.10% 90.44% 117.67% 351.89%
None of the coefficients has a satisfactory value. Moreover, in any case the value of coefficient of
residual variation has not improved (decreased). This leads to the following conclusions:
• Simple non-linear models cannot predict the searched values better than linear ones.
• Inclusion of information about the initial values of searched variables does not improve the
accuracy of the model.
• Inclusion of information about the relative position of communes does not improve the
accuracy of the model.
Taking into account the conclusions from the subsection “predictions” the biggest obstacle in acquiring
the accurate predictions is insufficiency of data. The most obvious, and probably the only possible, way
to ensure the satisfactory level of predictions is inclusion into the model more data, especially data
connected with particular geographic locations, instead of data aggregated to centroids of
municipalities.
Conclusions
The presented approach allowed the research undertaken herein to find answers to some of the
questions formulated in the goal of the research.
1. The impact of motorways has not only a national character, but also a local one. For the
examined section of the motorway the following phenomena were found:
a. The motorway had negative impact on a change of number of microenterprises. This
impact took place both in the year of finishing the motorway construction (2011) and
in the subsequent year.
b. The motorway had negative impact on the change of population in municipalities. This
impact took place one year after the completion of the motorway construction project
(2012).
c. The motorway had positive impact on a change of incomes of society (measured by
change of income taxes). This impact took place one year after completion the
motorway construction project (2012).
2. The local impact of motorway projects after lasted no longer than 2 years. After this time the
local character of impact on local economic was not possible to detect.
3. The local scale impact is discernible at a distance of about 40 km from the motorway.
4. The simple linear regression is insufficient to predict the impact in particular communes.
5. The usage of LWLR algorithm in order to include non-linearity in a model did not improve the
results.
6. The local-scale impact does not depend on the initial level of independent values.
7. Inclusion of distances among communities into model did not improve the accuracy of
predictions.
8. It is most likely that to make the predictions sufficiently accurate one has to use more detailed
data. The assignment of data to the centroids of communes turned out to be sufficient to
estimate the nature of impact, but it did not allow to make accurate predictions.
According to presented conclusions the next step of research should be focused on including the
detailed data (associated with particular places) in the prediction process.
References
1. L. Chen, T. Henning, A. Raith and A. Shamseldin, Multiobjective Optimization for Maintenance
Decision Making in Infrastructure Asset Management, J. Manage. Eng.,
10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000371, 04015015., 2015
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Regional Economic Development, Edward Elgar Hardback, 2001
3. R. Haigh , Enhancing resilience of critical road infrastructure: bridges, culverts and floodways,
International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, Vol. 5 Iss: 3, 2014
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of multi-criteria decision-making methods for infrastructure management, Structure and
Infrastructure Engineering: Maintenance, Management, Life-Cycle Design and Performance,
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for road design, Transport, 23:3, 183-193, 2008
6. E. Mongo, The Decision-Making Process in Road Infrastructure Development in Cameroon
Since 1980, Walden University, 2008
7. Resolution No. 156/2015 of the Council of Ministers of Republic of Poland, 8 September 2015
- Establishing a multiannual program under the name "National Road Construction Programme
for the years 2014 to 2023 (with the prospect of 2025)
8. T. Zhao, S. Sundararajan, C. Tseng, Highway Development Decision-Making under Uncertainty:
A Real Options Approach., J. Infrastruct. Syst., 10.1061/(ASCE)1076-0342(2004)10:1(23), 23-
32, 2004
A Graduate-Level, Competency-Based Curriculum for Project Management
Gordon Green, DM, PgMP, PMP, PE

Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Maryland University College
Donna M. Karch, PhD, PMP
Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Maryland University College
Janaki Krishnamurthy, PhD
Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Maryland University College
Moe Shahdad, PhD
Professor and Program Chair, Project Management, University of Maryland University College
ABSTRACT
The new economy that is emerging from the most recent recession demands
graduates who are ready to add value to organizations’ business strategy as soon
as they graduate. This demand has spawned interest in creating educational
programs that emphasize a student’s competency, rather than knowledge alone.
These programs are competency-based education programs, which differ from
the traditional style of education. This paper presents a brief discussion of
traditional versus competency-based educational programs and the design
process and suggested program contents for a graduate-level, competency-based
curriculum for a master’s degree in project management. Issues related to
migrating from the current knowledge-based curriculum to a competency-based
curriculum and the new role of faculty in a competency-based program are also
discussed.
A GRADUATE-LEVEL, COMPETENCY-BASED CURRICULUM FOR PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
The new economy that is emerging from the most recent recession demands graduates who
are ready to add value to organizations’ business strategy as soon as they graduate. Ahsan, Ho,
and Khan (2013), list the following as the top five skills for project managers, across industries
and countries, which can add value to an organization’s strategy:
• Communication
• Technical skills
• Stakeholder management
• Cost management
• Time management
This market demand has given impetus to the competency-based style of education in which
the emphasis is on skills, as compared with the traditional style in which the emphasis is on
knowledge.
The major difference between the two styles of education is that, in the traditional style of
education, program mission motivates course design, which is primarily focused on the subject
matter knowledge. In the competency-based style of education, program mission first drives the
1
design of required competencies. To ensure learners meet program competencies, each
competency is assessed through multiple assessments. As a final design phase, assessments are
then packaged into program courses. In the competency-based style of education, subject matter
knowledge has a supporting role, which is introduced in support of competency assessment.
This paper presents the design process and suggested program contents for a graduate-level,
competency-based curriculum for a master’s degree in project management. Issues in migrating
from the current knowledge-based curriculum to the revised competency-based curriculum are
also discussed.
BACKGROUND
The basic framework for competency-based education (CBE) has been around more than a
decade, and is currently offered by many colleges. In addition, according to the US Department
of Education (n.d.), several states have initiatives, plans, or legislation that support CBE:
• “New Hampshire - The state is initiating high school redesign that replaces the time-
based system (Carnegie unit) with a competency-based system focused on personalized
learning, strong teacher-student relationships, flexible supports, and development of
21st century skills.
• Michigan Seat Time Waiver - Michigan passed legislation in 2010 providing a seat time
waiver to districts that want to offer pupils access to online learning options and the
opportunity to continue working on a high school diploma or grade progression without
actually attending a school facility.
• Ohio’s Credit Flexibility Plan – This plan, adopted by the State Board of Education in
2009, allows students to earn high school credit by demonstrating subject area
competency, completing classroom instruction, or a combination of the two. Under this
plan, subject area competency can be demonstrated by participation in alternative
experiences including internships, community service, online learning, educational travel,
and independent study.”
Accordingly, Inside Higher Ed (2013) reports a number of colleges have been offering CBE
programs, including:
• Western Governors University
• Kentucky Community and Technical College System
• Capella University
• College for America
Competency-based education contrasts with time-based education (TBE); in the TBE
model the student acquires credit hours by spending a certain amount of time in each course of
study. In the CBE model, the focus is on acquiring specific competencies. In its purest form, the
CBE model does not have credit hour requirements, grades, or deadlines. The student acquires
credit by demonstrating mastery of competencies at his or her own pace, which makes CBE very
suitable for online learning and the online style of teaching. Overall, a CBE program will “allow
for accelerated learning, boast a lower cost because the learning is accelerated, and employ an
innovative approach to curriculum and pedagogy that is typically more flexible than what is
offered at a traditional college” (Franklin & Lytle, 2015, p. 8). As an example of reducing costs
to the student, a CBE program of study may not require hard-copy textbooks when online
educational resources are used instead.
2
Proponents of CBE claim that seat time, expressed in terms of credit hour, is not a proper
measure of learning. Grades are supposed to measure learning, but there is evidence that even
this measure is less effective, because of grade inflation (Rojstaczer & Healy, 2012). Another
weakness of TBE is that it does not accommodate students who learn faster than others.
Furthermore, seat time cannot be easily applied to the online method of education.
The above factors have prompted colleges, such as Capella and College for America, to
adopt a variation of CBE, direct assessment, in which there is no linkage between competencies
and the credit hour standard.
MOTIVATION FOR COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION
The economy that emerged from the Great Recession of 2008 demands graduates who
are not only knowledgeable, but are skilled to immediately contribute to business value of the
organizations where they are employed (O’Halloran & Gordon, 2014). Additional pressure on
these new recruits is reflected in Federal student loan default rates (US Department of Education,
2016). The default rates are calculated for both public and private colleges. The average rate
through 2012 for all colleges is presented in Table 1.
With the total cost of US student debt exceeding one trillion dollars, and with mounting
default rates, colleges are trying to make it easier for their graduates to find jobs, and also to
reduce the cost of education. Although CBE does not necessarily decrease the cost of education
for all students, it has the promise of reducing the cost for those who can acquire the necessary
competencies in a shorter time. Another cost-reducing initiative has been migration to online
educational resources (OER) to reduce or eliminate the cost of textbooks for students.
Table 1
US Department of Education reported student loan default rates through 2012.
Year Rate
2007 6.7%
2008 7.0%
2009 8.9%
2010 9.1%
2011 10.0%
2012 11.8%
An impediment to CBE has been Federal student financial aid, which is based on credit
hours, not competencies. In March 2013, the US Department of Education issued a letter,
providing guidance for institutions that seek financial aid based Direct Assessment CBE
Programs. Following issuance of the letter, the Department authorized Southern New
Hampshire’s College for America to implement the Direct Assessment method of CBE.
Similarly, Capella University received U.S. Department of Education approval to “offer and
provide federal student financial aid support to students in competency-based direct assessment
programs at the bachelor’s and master’s level” (Gilligen, 2014, p. 2). As the cost of education
continues to increase more colleges and universities, private and public, will likely explore
competency-based education as an alternative to their traditional, credit based programs
(Ordenez, 2014).
3
ADULT STUDENT PROFILE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
This paper is based on our experience in designing a new master’s degree program in
project management at University of Maryland University College (UMUC), a component
university of the University System of Maryland. Since this is a new degree program, there are
no existing students in the program to assess their profile. However, a specialization in project
management (PMAN) has been offered by The Graduate School since 2004 in two degree
programs: Master of Science in Management and Master of Science in Information Technology.
The profile of these students, as shown in Figure 1 through Figure 5, is a good proxy for the
profile of future incoming students.
Figure 1. PMAN Headcount by Race Fall 2010 - 2014 Figure 2. PMAN Headcount by Age Fall 2010 - 2014
Figure 5. PMAN Headcount by Full or Part-Time Status

Fall 2010 - 2014
Figure 3. PMAN Headcount by Gender Fall 2010 - 2014 Figure 4. PMAN Headcount by Geographic Origin Fall
2010 - 2014
These figures illustrate that the PMAN
Program attracts an exceptionally diverse
student body in age, ethnic background, and
socio-economic circumstances. About 98
percent of the students attend the Program on a
part-time basis, as a substantial number of
students are employed. Adult students who are
already working are suitable candidates for the
CBE model. Competencies that they acquire
through the CBE model will help them
transition to new careers or enhance their
Figure 5. PMAN Headcount by Full or Part-Time Status existing careers.
Fall 2010 - 2014
4
Since the students have a diverse background, it is critical to place all students on the
same footing when they start their program of study. This consideration is reflected in the design
of the CBE curriculum; the first course of the curriculum is focused on essentials of their
graduate study, such as communication, critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and leadership.
Once the students have a common foundation, they will proceed to specific subject areas, i.e.,
project management.
INSTITUTIONAL CURRICULUM REQUIREMENTS
In 2014 UMUC decided to migrate its graduate programs to the CBE model. Later in
2015, the decision was extended to all undergraduate programs. In The Graduate School, a
common structure was put into place for all master’s degree programs, in that each program
curriculum consisted of 36 credits, distributed over six courses. The academic year would consist
of 4 semesters, each 11-weeks long, with a first course common across all master’s degree
programs, which focuses on the essentials of a graduate-level program.
Furthermore, a common process was put into place for designing all master’s degree
programs. In traditional program design, program curriculum is first distributed among several
courses. The content for each course is then designed. In the CBE model, the competencies are
designed first. Competency design is followed by the design of assessments, which are mapped
to competencies in a matrix fashion. The purpose of mapping is to ensure that students exercise
each competency multiple times during the course of their study. Assessing student competency
multiple times during the course of their program ensures the student is proficient in that
competency.
Once competencies are finalized, they are then allocated to program courses. This process
ensures that:
• The student masters a set of cohesive competencies.
• Mastery is achieved by repeating the exercise of competencies.
• The collection of all competencies are in support of overall program goals.
The next step in the process is to identify a list of topics for each competency. The student
has to learn these topics in order to be ready to perform the assessments mapped to that
competency. Once the learning topics are identified, reading resources, software tools, and other
material which cover the topic can be identified.
As a final step, model classes for each course is designed. These model classes eventually
map to individual semester classes to be used by the faculty for each course.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT CURRICULUM REQUIREMENTS
A project management curriculum must meet current and future requirements of the
project management profession. Professional project managers must be proficient in the
managerial aspects of project management, the industry in which they manage projects, and the
policies and procedures of the specific organization where they are employed. The managerial
aspects of project management include performance, knowledge, and behavioral competencies,
as described in detail in the Project Manager Competency Development Framework (PMCDF)
(PMI, 2007).
Performance competencies include the ability to initiate, organize, track, and bring
projects to completion in a manner that satisfies the business needs of the client.
5
Knowledge competencies cover the underlying information, in support of performance
competencies. They include managing project scope, cost, schedule, quality, risk, as well as
managing stakeholders, vendors, and human resources who support the project.
Behavioral competencies include ability to lead, manage, communicate, and operate with
professional integrity.
A careful study of the competencies described in PMI’s PMCDF revealed that the
competencies have a substantial overlap with examination requirements for the following PMI
credentials:
• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®
• Project Management Professional (PMP)®
• PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)®
• PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)®
In total, the competencies provide a foundation for the student to prepare for the
professional credentialing examinations in the field of project management, and also to grow in a
variety of roles. The competencies support the following program goals, which have a broad
range of application:
• Lead and work in teams
• Persuade and influence others
• Delegate tasks
• Communicate clearly
• Perform quantitative analysis
• Solve problems and make decisions
• Learn how to apply technology to solve problems
• Plan, organize, and prioritize
Although the curriculum cannot provide the foundation for every industry and enterprise,
the curriculum, through a capstone course, can meet the needs of specific students. This capstone
course can also address specializations in project management, such as program management,
portfolio management, agile project management, etc.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT CURRICULUM
The PMCDF (PMI, 2007) defines competency as “a cluster of related knowledge,
attitudes, skills, and other personal characteristics that affects a major part of one’s job…
correlates with performance on the job, can be measured against well-accepted standards, and
can be improved by means of training and development” (p. 73). In other words, competencies
are characteristics that graduating students should demonstrate to indicate that they are prepared
to perform and function independently in professional practice. This section outlines the process
and steps used for developing a framework for a competency-based PMAN program.
As noted by Marrelli, Tondora, and Hoge (2005), the competencies could be organized in
many ways depending on the needs of the organization/institute. In case of designing CBE, (i)
one approach could be to identify core competencies that are critical to master a specialized
course or (ii) to organize the competencies based on their types, such as leadership, personal
effectiveness, communication, critical thinking or technical capacity or (iii) to develop a
6
framework based on specific job level. The PMAN Program CBE development team used a
combination of the approaches and identified the following five steps for developing the CBE
framework.
1. Identifying the Learning Goals
2. Creating Competencies
3. Identifying Descriptors
4. Designing Performance-Based Assessments
5. Creating the Rubric
Learning Goals
What should students be able to do? This list becomes the LEARNING GOALS.
Competencies
Learning Goals get broken down into COMPETENCIES; the discrete skills students will need to
demonstrate in order to claim mastery of the Learning Goals.
Descriptors Assessments
DESCRIPTORS are the granular steps of To determine if students have met the standards
Competencies; the good, defining characteristics of set out in the competencies, design or choose
each. Identify Descriptors to define Competencies authentic ASSESSMENTS. Assessments should
and to determine if students perform well on replicate meaningful, real-world tasks.
ASSESSMENTS. Descriptors may be designed Assessments may be designed before, after, or
before, after, or contemporaneously with contemporaneously with Descriptors.
Assessments.
Rubrics
How well did your students perform? To discriminate among student performance across criteria,
you will create a RUBRIC. The minimum level at which most students should perform is the
BENCHMARK. Information from the Rubric gives each student feedback and allows you to adjust
instruction.
Figure 6. PMAN Competency Model (Adapted from Mueller, J. (2013) Authentic Assessment Toolbox. Retrieved from
http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/index.htm)
Identifying the learning goals. A Learning Goal is a very broad statement of what students
should know or be able to do. The purpose for crafting a set of goals is to give a brief and broad
picture of what the program expects its students will know and be able to do upon graduation. In
identifying the Learning Goals related to project management, the PMAN program also includes
university-wide goals, such as Communication, Critical Thinking, Quantitative Literacy and
Leadership. An example of a PMAN program Learning Goal would be:
• Project Risk Management: Students demonstrate competency in identifying, assessing,
and mitigating project risks, while taking advantage of opportunities.
Creating competencies. A competency is a measurable human capability that is required for
effective performance. A competency may be comprised of knowledge, a single skill or ability,
a personal characteristic, or a cluster of two or more of these attributes. Competencies are the
building blocks of work performance (Marrelli, Tondora, & Hoge, 2005). In developing
competencies for the PMAN program, the team considered the following questions:
• Why do we think this knowledge or skill is important?
• Realistically, are students ever going to have to know this/do this/use this?
7
• Can we really assess this? Should we assess it?
• Is this knowledge or skill essential for becoming a professional? How? Why?
• Is this knowledge or skill essential for program mastery?
For a competency to be amenable to assessment, it must be observable and measurable.
For example, “Students will correctly add two-digit numbers” IS observable and measurable;
however, “Students will understand how to add two-digit numbers” is NOT observable and
measurable. While a student’s understanding cannot be observed directly, it can be observed
through performance. Related competencies are rolled up to a learning goal. The team made
sure that a competency does not mention any specific task by which students will demonstrate
what they know or are able to do. For example, asking to “Identify cultural differences between
two cultures using a Venn diagram” is too specific; specifying “Venn diagram” in the
competency requires the teacher create exactly that assessment, even though others certainly
could work.
Examples of competencies related to the Learning Goal of Project Risk Management:
Students demonstrate competency in identifying, assessing, and mitigating project risks, while
taking advantage of opportunities would be:
• Plan Risk Strategy.

• Engage Stakeholders.
• Facilitate Risk Management Process.
• Monitor and Report Risks.
• Analyze Specialized Risks.
Identifying the descriptors. A descriptor further defines a competency. A competency
can have more than one descriptor. The team kept the number of descriptors to the essential
elements of the task. The assessments (or Learning Demonstrations) are mapped to particular
competencies and descriptors. Taking the same Learning Goal and list of Competencies for
Project Risk Management, the following are examples of descriptors that were developed:
Plan Risk Strategy
• Develop risk assessment processes and tools that quantify stakeholder risk
tolerances in order to assess and determine risk thresholds for the project and set
criteria for risk levels.
• Update risk policies and procedures using information such as lessons learned
from projects and outputs of risk audits in order to improve risk management
effectiveness.
• Develop and recommend project risk strategy based on project objectives in order
to establish the outline for the risk management plan.
• Produce risk management plan for the project on the basis of inputs such as
project information, external factors, stakeholder inputs, and industry policies and
procedures in order to define, fund, and staff effective risk management.
• Establish evaluation criteria for risk management processes based on project
baselines and objectives in order to measure effectiveness of the project risk.
8
Selecting performance-based assessments. Performance-Based Assessments (Learning
Demonstrations) give students the opportunity to demonstrate that they are capable of meeting
the competency. We will consider the same example from above: Competency: Plan Risk
Strategy. A risk management strategy provides a structured and coherent approach to identifying,
assessing and managing risk. It builds a process for regularly updating and reviewing project
risks based on new developments or actions taken. Risk management is both a quantitative and
qualitative approach to determine impact, probable likelihood and overall project impact of risks
to scope, schedule and costs in any project.
Students will play the role of project risk managers to demonstrate competencies in
project risk management for a given project context. Students will be expected to first identify
the stakeholders, and then evaluate and identify project risks in order to create a preliminary risk
breakdown structure (RBS) for the project. Using the risks identified, students will then move on
to developing a risk assessment (with inputs such as stakeholder tolerances, lessons learned from
past similar projects, benchmarking data), developing risk response management and finally risk
control development as described below:
• Risk Identification. In this step, students will:
o Identify project primary risk sources and risk events
o Determine project stakeholder tolerances on project risks
o Develop Risk Register
• Quantitative Risk Analysis. Students will assess risks in terms of:
o Investigating the likelihood that each specific risk will occur and its potential
impact on the project objectives such as schedule, cost, quality or performance
• Qualitative Risk Analysis. Students will numerically assess the risks on the overall
project. Some tools and techniques include:
o Risks’ Expected Monetary Value
o Risk Analysis using simulation
• Risk Response Planning: Students will:
o Develop a strategy to reduce possible damage and enhance opportunities to
project objectives
o Develop a Risk Management contingency plan
• Monitor and Control Risks. Students will:
o Implement the risk response plan via Risk Register documentation
o Track the risks identified and monitor any new risks
o Evaluate the effectiveness of the risk management process
Students will be introduced to essential project risk management concepts, tools, and
techniques as they apply them to the given project context. All performance based assessments
are developed as a set of scripted activities involving real life scenarios with built in feedback
checkpoints (Figure 7).
9
Learning Goal: Project Risk
Management: Students demonstrate Competencies:
competency in identifying, assessing, • Plan Risk Strategy.
and mitigating project risks, while taking
advantage of opportunities. • Engage Stakeholders.
• Facilitate Risk Management
Related competencies “roll up” to create Process.

a learning goal. • Monitor and Report Risks.
• Analyze Specialized Risks.
Learning Goal: Leadership, Facilitation
and Collaboration. Leaders lead,
facilitate, and collaborate with a variety
of individuals and diverse teams to
achieve organizational objectives.
Related competencies “roll up” to create

a learning goal.
Authentic Assessments enable learners to
demonstrate the competencies specified.
The City of Baltimore, Department of Recreation and Park, and Department of Planning have over the past few
years begun a beautification project that will clean up the city and bring new life to areas that were once
deteriorating. For fiscal year 2016, the city has proposed tearing down an old industrial area and transforming it
into a thriving, 150-acre community park, that is within a 3-mile radius of Bayview community. A major design
requirement is that it meets the environmental standards set by the Building and Environmental Research
Assessment Method (BERSM). The local council has proposed a factory site; a car build industrial estate.
Although the site is now derelict and requires cleaning before any construction can take place, it is just 2 miles
from the community providing ease of access between sites. The site is close to a recently extended main road
connecting the city town center with the Bayview community, which has a reliable and frequent public transport
service. The business community sees the increase in civilian population as very positive while residents of
Bayview community are concerned that the increased traffic will cause excessive congestion. However, a local
environmental group has raised the problem of site clearance saying that the car parts manufacturing plant had
been used for the disposal of undocumented hazardous material.
You are the new risk manager for the project and have been asked to implement a realistic risk management
process with the stakeholder consensus. Since this community park project is in its early planning stage, estimates
of cost and time are considered unreliable, a complete project risk assessment is needed, and guidance on more
reliable cost estimates are needed from stakeholder(s).
Figure 7. Learning Demonstrations to assess students’ proficiency in the specific competencies.

Creating a rubric. In the first step, we identified what the program wants the students to
know and perform: This is the Learning Goals. Next, we created observable, measurable
competencies that support the Learning Goals. By defining Descriptors, we then ask the students
how they could demonstrate that they had met the Competencies. In devising these activities, we
created the Performance Based Assessments and identified the characteristics of good
performance on the Performance Based Assessment. Finally, for creating the rubrics, we
translate our Descriptors into the means by which the students will be evaluated. A good analytic
10
rubric needs at least two criteria and at least two levels of performance. We used the Descriptors
as basis for the rubric criteria; in that way, the goals, the assessments and the rubrics will be
aligned. As an example (Figure 8), this is how the PMAN Project Risk Management Goal’s first
competency Plan Risk Strategy looks in a 3-level rubric:
Risk Mgt. Outcomes Low/No Proficiency Proficient Highly Proficient
After reviewing the given Addresses only some of Identifies some basic risks Provides a
project context, the categories of risks; in each category comprehensive list
comprehensively identifies Addresses only obvious of all risks; Not only
and assesses all risks risks. identifies the primary
associated with the event or risks, but clearly
activity understands
the various kinds of
associated risks
Clearly identifies Stakeholder list and the Identifies complete list of Provides complete list of
stakeholders and develops techniques are not stakeholder, but lacks in stakeholders and clear
techniques to gather comprehensive. defining the techniques for techniques for
stakeholder tolerances. gathering stakeholder stakeholder tolerances.
tolerances. (or) Identifies
incomplete list of
stakeholder list, but
defines clear techniques
for gathering stakeholder
tolerances.
For the given context, Over or under estimates Gives some logical Realistically estimates
realistically assesses all the probability and/or consideration to the the probability and
risks, considering the severity of the risks probability and severity of severity of all risks
probability of occurrence identified. the risks identified. identified.
and severity of
consequences.
Comprehensively explores Minimally explores Brainstorms options to Thoroughly considers
and examines actions that options to mitigate risks; mitigate most of the risks. various options to
can be taken to mitigate Only explores options for mitigate all risks
each risk. the most basic risks. identified.
Selects the most Selects some Selects mostly appropriate Selects appropriate
appropriate mitigating inappropriate mitigating actions; mitigating actions for
actions for each risk. mitigating actions; may Somewhat considers the each risk based on the
select actions solely based prior risk identification prior risk identification
on cost or ease of and assessment. and assessment.
implementation.
Develops thorough Minimally plans for Establishes basic plans for Develops clear and
contingency plans. emergency response. managing emergencies. thorough contingency
plans.
Figure 8. Sample rubric. Adapted from Student Leader Learning Outcomes Project at Texas A&M University.
In developing a competency-based curriculum for the PMAN program, a thorough

modelling process was considered. The PMAN CBE team determined what the model should be
and decided the student learning experience would be centered on project-based learning in a
sequenced set of performance based assessments. As described above, the first step in the
program redesign was to define Learning Goals or Objectives. Then the team worked on
determining all the competencies students would need to demonstrate project management skills,
starting with general competencies such as written communication, critical thinking, and
quantitative reasoning. The competencies were rolled up into the Learning Goal.
11
Finally, the team ensured that the competencies are not discrete skills, but are embedded
in several assessments so they build on, and reinforce, each other.
THE ROLE OF FACULTY IN COMPTENCY-BASED EDUCATION
Pace and Worthen (2014) stated simply that “a highly trained and engaged educator
workforce will be the single most important driver of a successful competency education
system” (p. 5). The role of the educator in a CBE environment will transition from one of simply
instilling a body of knowledge in a student to one of helping the student use that knowledge to
master critical competencies. This will require that educators “work individually and collectively
to design customized pathways to graduation for every student”. Additionally, educators will
have to acquire new classroom skills to help students with varying levels of skill, knowledge,
and ability to succeed.
Competency-based education programs typically contain two common elements: (1) a
framework of competencies that are mapped to and aligned with learning demonstrations or
assessments, and (2) methods to assess progress toward mastering the competencies (McClarty
& Gaertner, 2015). Inherent in each of these common elements are activities associated with
developing and maintaining the course materials and activities associated with using the
materials in a classroom setting.
Developing and maintaining course materials. Educators play a primary role in
defining required competencies and mapping those competencies to one or more assessments.
Competencies must be explicit, measurable, and relevant to the skills and knowledge needed in
the chosen career path (McClarty & Gaertner, 2015). Assessments typically identify learning
objectives, the learning activities that must be completed, study and reference materials, and
assessment methods and rubrics.
Where alignment with national professional organizations, such as the Project
Management Institute (PMI), is required or desired, competencies may be derived from
professional certification standards published by such organizations. Where national guidelines
are not prescribed, competencies may be derived from consultation with external stakeholders,
such as employers, unions, or other subject matter experts. Additional competencies may be
derived from internal standards required by the learning institution (Ott, Baca, Cisneros, &
Bates, 2015).
Another challenge for educators is developing competency mastery assessment methods
that are valid and reliable (Schuwirth & Ash, 2013; Ott, Baca, Cisneros, & Bates, 2015).
Schuwirth and Ash (2013, p.555) suggest assessment methods should:
• “Support development of an integrated competence.
• Be organized around content domains rather than test formats.
• Value all forms of information, quantitative and qualitative.
• Combine summative and formative functions to inform and guide student learning.
• Be equitable through a balance of assessments that are standardized and tailored to the
individual and by focus on improvement of competence rather than solely on detecting
incompetence.”
Finally, educators must be sensitive to changes in the internal and external environments
that affect the relevance and usefulness of identified competencies and assessments and
proactively propose updates to learning materials to keep pace (Ott, Baca, Cisneros, & Bates,
12
2015). For example, project management educators must ensure that course materials keep pace
with changes to PMI certification standards and industry demands on project managers as well as
changes to university graduation standards. One way this can be done is through continuous
interaction with practicing project managers and participation in PMI symposiums and chapter
meetings.
Using the material in the classroom setting. Educators, successfully transitioning from
time-based education to competency-based education, report increased opportunities for
authentic learning as power is transferred to the student and educators assume more of a
facilitator, coach, or guide role than a traditional teaching role (Sullivan & Downey, 2015).
In line with this shift from a traditional teaching role to a facilitator, coach, or guide role, Pace
and Worthen (2014) suggest educators will need new skills to maximize competency-based
education outcomes. In summary, these skills include:
• Providing timely and personalized instruction, aligned to explicit, and measurable
learning objectives and based on individual learning needs, so students can progress to
mastery along individual trajectories at a sufficient pace to achieve career readiness in
time for graduation.
• Using performance-based formative and summative assessments with high validity and
reliability to evaluate individual student progress to mastery.
• Supporting student development of lifelong learning skills and social and emotional
competencies.
The last skill listed – supporting development of lifelong learning skills and social and
emotional competencies – may be more germane to early-stage (e.g., K-12) competency-based
education than graduate-level competency-based education.
CONCLUSION
The new economy demands project managers that can successfully manage projects
immediately upon entering the workforce as a project practitioner. These project managers must
have skill in communicating and managing stakeholder expectations, along with technical skills,
and competency in managing project cost and duration.
This paper has outlined a methodology for developing a curriculum that meets the above
requirements. The methodology is based on the development of learning goals, competencies,
descriptors, assessments and rubrics to ensure graduates of the program have the knowledge,
skills, and abilities required to successfully manage projects in a wide range of organizations and
industries.
REFERENCES
Franklin, C., & Lytle, R. (2015). Employer perspectives on competency-based education. AEI
series on competency-based higher education. American Enterprise Institute for Public
Policy Research.
Gilligan, K. (April 2, 2014). Keeping College Within Reach: Meeting the Needs of
Contemporary Students. House Education and Workforce Committee Testimony of
Kevin Gilligan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Capella Education Company
House Education & the Workforce Committee Hearing. Retrieve from
http://edworkforce.house.gov/uploadedfiles/gilligan_written_testimony_final.pdf
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Marrelli, F. A., Tondora, J., & Hoge, A.M (2005). Strategies for developing competency models.
Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 32(5).
McClarty, K. L., & Gaertner, M. N. (2015). Measuring mastery: Best practices for assessment in
competency-based education. AEI series on competency-based higher education.
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research.
O'Halloran, K., & Gordon, M. (2014). A synergistic approach to turning the tide of grade
inflation. Higher Education, 68(6), 1005-1023. DOI: 10.1007/s10734-014-9758-5
Ordonez, B. (2014). Competency-based education: Changing the traditional college degree
power, policy, and practice. New Horizons in Adult Education & Human Resource
Development, 26(4), 47-53.
Ott, M., Baca, E., Cisneros, J., & Bates, E. (2014, December). A competency-based approach to
the master's degree preparation of higher education professionals. Journal of Case
Studies in Accreditation and Assessment, 4.
Pace, L. & Worthen, M. (2014, October.). Laying the foundation for competency education: A
policy guide for the next generation educator workforce. International Association for K-12
Online Learning. Retrieved from
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only a radically different holistic method of assessment will work. Six things we could
forget. Medical Teacher, 35(7), 555-559.
Sullivan, S. C., & Downey, J. A. (2015). Shifting educational paradigms: From traditional to
competency-based education for diverse learners. American Secondary Education, 43(3),
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learning
14
Would Joint Ventures affect Market Competition?
Lucia Lu SHEN and Sai On CHEUNG
Construction Dispute Resolution Research Unit
Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering
City University of Hong Kong
Abstract
Purpose
The construction activities in Hong Kong are at un-precedent high level as the Hong Kong
Government is rolling out major infrastructure projects. The tender values of these projects
exceed budget substantially. With the rocketing tender value, major concerns have been raised
over the market competitiveness. Contract packaging approach such as forming joint ventures
may have effect on market concentration. This study aims to investigate the effects of using joint
ventures on competition intensity with reference to the Ten Mega Projects programme in Hong
Kong.
Methodology
At the time of the study, there were 81 contractors involved in the Ten Mega Projects
programme. Among them, 33 are in the form of Joint Venture. Based on the respective contract
values, both four-firm concentration ratio (CR4) and Herfindahl-Hirschman Indice (HHI) are
used to analyze. The effect of forming joint ventures is also analyzed in terms of the frequency of
different contractors’ winning contracts. The characteristics of “active contractors” and “inactive
contractors” are compared.
Findings
The study offers the following key findings. For the active contractors, due to the network of
joint venturing among them, forming joint ventures did not reduce the number of competitors. In
fact, when joint ventures are considered as separate and independent entities, the concentration
level is lowered as a result. For contractors that have only one contract, forming joint venture
increases the concentration level. For contracts that are less technically demanding or of lower
value, segmenting sized projects into smaller separate contracts would enhance competition and
lower concentration level.
Introduction
After the 2008 global market tsunami that hit on many economies around the world, the
Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) adopted a series of
measures including rolling out Ten Mega Infrastructure Projects, to boost the local economy.
Hong Kong’s construction market has thereby been energized by this series of infrastructure
projects. The gross value of construction works in 2014 has reached HK$199.7 billion,
increasing by year-on-year 13% compared with 2013 (HKTDC 2015). However, budget overrun
has become a notable problem for many of these projects. The statistics from Civil Engineering
and Development Department of HKSAR revealed that the construction cost index is rising
markedly less than the tender price is, indicating that the cost increase cannot fully account for
the surge of tender prices obtained for the construction mega projects. Insufficient competition in
the market can be one of the key determinants for the soaring construction prices. A number of
research studying the market competitiveness in the construction industry focus on the collusion
behavior and bid rigging problems (Gupta, 2001, Dorée, 2004). Aside from these practices, joint
ventures are also frequently practiced in the construction industry. However, there is relatively
few research conducted on the impacts of contract packaging approaches such as joint venture
bidding on the market competitiveness (Tong and Reuer, 2010). Researches studying
construction joint ventures have been focused on risk assessment, managerial practices and
economic efficiencies of joint ventures (Walker and Joannes 2003; Hong and Chan, 2014). The
primary aim of this research is to investigate the effects on the use of horizontal joint ventures on
market competitiveness with reference to the Ten Mega Projects programme in Hong Kong.
Literature Review
Definition of joint venture
Since a joint venture can be used to include all situations where more than one company unite
their resources to achieve a common goal or shared interest (Pitofsky, 1969), the difficulty in
defining joint ventures lies in the “lack of sharp definition that would distinguish joint ventures
from other interfirm contractual agreements” (Brodley, 1982). To define the distinctive features
of a joint venture, Kitch (1985) suggested that compared with a merger, a joint venture involves
fewer restraints on competition but offers more efficiency gains than a cartel or a price fix.
Bernstein (1965) suggests that the difference between mergers and joint ventures is that
participants in mergers combine all of their assets while in joint ventures, participants only
combine parts of their assets. However, Mead (1967) believed that the distinction between joint
ventures and mergers proposed by Bernstein (1965) overemphasizes the form at the expense of
substance, because joint ventures and mergers can share very similar characteristics. Another
difference identified by Mead (1967) and Brodley (1982) is that a joint venture creates a business
entity separate from its parents. Meanwhile, Werden (1998) distinguished a joint venture from a
mere cartel by suggesting that true joint ventures should achieve efficiency-enhancing economic
integration. Brodley (1982) provides that a joint venture is “an integration of operations between
two or more separate firms and is characterized by : a) Parent firms jointly control the enterprise;
b) A substantial contribution must be made by every parent firm; c) The venture firm is
established as a new entity; and d) The joint venture creates significant new capability in terms
of output capacity, technology and product advancement, or market expansion.
Effects on Competition
Joint ventures can be pro-competition by creating a new competitive force especially where a
joint venture is formed by two smaller firms to enter the market without precluding the potential
entry of the parent firms. Large amounts of capital can be accumulated through joint ventures so
as to enable small firms to undertake projects that are too extensive for them to complete alone
(Kitch, 1985, Pate, 1969, Mead, 1967, Pfeffer and Nowak, 1976). In addition, a joint venture can
intensify competition because economies of scale can be achieved and transaction costs can be
reduced thereby, e.g. information costs (Kitch, 1985, Pfeffer and Nowak, 1976, Werden, 1998,
Pitofsky, 1969, Mead, 1967). Notwithstanding, Mead (1967) reminded that even though a joint
venture may cause potential anticompetitive hazards, such interfirm link may still be preferred
where the parents are too small to finance entry or undertake risks.
The anticompetitive hazards of horizontal joint ventures including potency of collusions and
increasing entry barriers are widely recognized in many studies (Pfeffer and Nowak, 1976,
Pitofsky, 1969). There have been great concerns over whether joint ventures are de facto mergers
because joint ventures can have similar anticompetitive effects as mergers but can enjoy much
relaxed regulations (Pfeffer and Nowak, 1976, Pate, 1969). Competition can be lessened or
eliminated by horizontal joint ventures in the following three directions:
a) Actual competition between parents (Bernstein, 1965, Pfeffer and Nowak, 1976).
b) Actual or potential competition between either one of the parent firms and the joint
venture enterprise (Bernstein, 1965, Pitofsky, 1969, Brodley, 1982, Pfeffer and Nowak,
1976).
c) Potential competition by the entrances of the parent firms but for the existence of the
joint venture (Pfeffer and Nowak, 1976, Mead, 1967, Pitofsky, 1969).
For a) and b), horizontal competition can be restrained due to the change of competitive
incentives and/or collusions.
The change of competitive incentive

Kitch (1985), Werden (1998), Pfeffer and Nowak (1976), Mead (1967), and Bresnahan and Salop
(1986) have observed that joint venture partners are unlikely to compete at arm’s length. Joint
ventures connect the interests of actual or potential competitors, which inevitably affect the
independent decision making and the competitive incentives of all the relevant parties (Werden,
1998, Mead, 1967, Bresnahan and Salop, 1986). In addition, it is found that firms bid
significantly less against their former partners than against non-partners over a two-year interval
and the impacts can even extend to matters outside of the joint venture (Mead, 1967, Pfeffer and
Nowak, 1976), meaning that the change of competitive incentive that makes parent firms
unwilling to compete vigorously with each other can last beyond the actual period of joint
venture.
Collusion
A joint venture may encourage or facilitate implicit or explicit collusion (Kitch, 1985, Pfeffer
and Nowak, 1976, Mead, 1967, Werden, 1998, Brodley, 1982, Pitofsky, 1969). Information
exchange and continuous cooperation are almost inevitable in every joint venture no matter how
small it is, and may lead to information spillover or provide great convenience to cartelization
(Werden, 1998, Kitch, 1985, Brodley, 1982, Pfeffer and Nowak, 1976). Especially in the case
where a joint venture is formed all by fully capable parent companies, the anticompetitive effects
of eliminating potential bidders can be apparent and indifferent to explicit collusion (Mead,
1967).
For c), Potential competition can be lessened because it is possible that the establishment of a
joint venture precludes the parent firms from being involved in the same competition (Pfeffer
and Nowak, 1976, Mead, 1967, Pitofsky, 1969). The number of independent firms competing in
the market can be reduced or left unchanged if one or more parent firms could have entered the
market (Pitofsky, 1969). Such a preclusion of entry can be the desired or intended objective of
forming a joint venture (Mead, 1967). Furthermore, a joint venture may even raise the entry
threshold in terms of the financial and technical resources offered by the joint ventures (Pfeffer
and Nowak, 1976, Pitofsky, 1969).
Joint ventures and market structure

In general, the potential of having anticompetitive behaviors is found to be positively related to
the market concentration level (Berg and Friedman, 1981, Pfeffer and Nowak, 1976, Bresnahan
and Salop, 1986, Mead, 1967, Tong and Reuer, 2010). Nonetheless, Pfeffer and Nowak (1976)
found a negative correlation between the proportions of horizontal joint ventures over all types
of joint ventures and the difference between the particular concentration level and the cross-
industry median value, which means that the closer the market concentration level is to the cross-
industry median concentration level, the higher the anticompetitive risks of joint ventures can be
The rationale behind is that with numerous competitors in the market, horizontal joint ventures
only have very limited impacts on reducing the uncertainty associated with competitive
interdependence, while with very few competitors in the market, other forms of interfirm links
can be more efficient (Pfeffer and Nowak, 1976). Therefore the argument that the higher the
market concentration level is, the more likely that joint ventures can lead to anticompetitive
behaviors is true provided that the concentration level is still within the intermediate range of
cross-industry concentration level.
Market Competitiveness
There is limited reported research that investigates the market competitiveness of the
construction industry. The most commonly recognized and widely observed anticompetitive
behavior in the construction industry is collusion (Gupta 2001, Doree 2004). However, there is
relatively few studies done to assess the competitive consequences of joint bidding in the
construction contracting market. Drew and Skitmore (1997) argued that the competitiveness of
every bidder is dependent on both the size and type of the contracts. In the construction
contracting market, it is possible that the variation of contract size can change the
competitiveness of firms of varying sizes and hence alter the overall competition level by the
market.
Methodology
Concentration measures can be used to indirectly gauge competition level. Dimensions of market
structure can be captured to indicate the competitiveness in an industry (Perloff et al., 2007). One
of the most commonly used concentration measures adopted by the U.S. Bureau of Census and
the U.S. Government Accountability Office is the four-firm concentration ratio (CR4). Another
measure that has been widely used is Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (“HHI”). Both the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) use HHI as a quantitative
indicator of market structure.
Four-firm concentration Ratio (CR4) is the sum of the market shares accounted for by the top
four firms in the market (Perloff et al., 2007) and can be expressed as below:
CR4 = S1 + S2 + S3 + S4 （1）
This index approaches zero where there is infinite number of firms in the market and equals one
where four firms’ market shares have made up the entire industry (Bikker and Haaf, 2002).
Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (“HHI”) is the sum of the squared market shares of all the firms in
the market. (Perloff et al., 2007)
2
i
（2）
Where Si is the market share of the ith firm. HHI value ranges from 0 to 1, when HHI equals 1,
the market structure will be considered a monopoly (Hirschman, 1964).
In this study, the results obtained from CR4 and HHI need to be compared with the standards
used by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in
the United States. Where HHI is below 0.15 or CR4 is below 40%, the market is considered as
un-concentrated. Where HHI is between 0.15 and 0.25 or CR4 is between 40% and 60%, the
market is considered loosely concentrated. Where HHI is higher than 0.25 or CR4 is higher than
60%, the market is considered highly concentrated. In order to reflect the market structure in a
more comprehensive way, the presence of major firms, the number of firms, and the inequality of
market share distribution shall all be taken into account besides HHI in assessing market
structure (Rhoades, 1995).
Data Analysis and Findings

In this study, the contract value each firm obtained in the ten mega projects market in Hong
Kong from 2010 to 2015 are used to represent their market shares. As the most important
infrastructure development projects in Hong Kong, Ten Mega Projects have involved almost all
the active contractors in Hong Kong. At the time of study, six of the Ten Mega Projects that have
commenced were analyzed in this study. The contract values obtained by the firms may not be
final, as all the projects are still in progress and many works haven’t been awarded. In total, there
are 81 contractors involved, and 35 contracts have been awarded to construction joint ventures.
There is only one joint venture which has repeatedly bid in three different projects while each of
the remaining joint venture entities only obtained one contract. In addition, one third of the joint
venture parent firms formed more than one joint ventures with different partners.
Two tests were conducted to analyze the effects of joint venture bidding. In Test I, joint venture
entities are counted as contractors independent of their parents. There are in total 81 firms with
the largest one having 14.76% market share. In Test II, each contract awarded to a joint venture
entity is viewed as being split into several smaller contracts, of which each was awarded to one
parent firm. There are altogether 86 firms with the largest two companies having market shares
of 13.28% and 11.07% respectively. It is suggested in both tests that instead of being dominated
by one monopoly firm, the mega project market in Hong Kong is composed of several sized
firms and a number of fringe firms. (see Table 1)
TEST I TEST II
Market Share No. of Firms Market Share No. of Firms
10%-15% 1 0%-1% 2
5%-10% 5 5%-10% 4
1%-5% 14 1%-5% 12
0%-1% 61 0%-1% 68
Table 1: Firm Size Distribution
Prior studies suggest that joint venture can be an effective device to facilitate fringe firms to
enter the market while greater convenience is provided to fully capable firms to reduce
competition (Mead, 1967, Kitch, 1985, Pfeffer and Nowak, 1976). In this study, the effects of
joint ventures will be analyzed separately for inactive firms and for active firms.
There are altogether 7 contractors which obtained 6 or more contracts and 9 contractors which
obtained at least 5 contracts. Among the total 81 firms, they represent the first ten percent of the
most active players in the market. Meanwhile, there are in total 50 firms only getting one
contract, representing the most inactive players in the market. Therefore Test I and Test II will be
conducted again for most actively bidding firms and the fringe firms which can barely get
awarded. Table 2 and Table 3 give the details of the market share distributions among 7
contractor market.
Contractor Contract Value % %^2

Firm A 12,534,750,236 14.79% 218.6904335
Firm B 2,053,440,949 2.42% 5.868983012
Firm C 9,428,533,146 11.12% 123.733324
Firm D 4,249,549,964 5.01% 25.13531287
Firm E 13,500,369,140 15.93% 253.6820292
Firm F 4,904,890,611 5.79% 33.4855216
Firm G 2,887,054,080 3.41% 11.60134265
Firm A – Firm E Joint Venture 5,869,282,300 6.92% 47.94776998
Firm A – Firm B Joint Venture 8,400,000,000 9.91% 98.21028877
Firm A – Firm C Joint Venture 11,793,608,604 13.91% 193.5939751
Firm C – Firm D Joint Venture 3,368,442,219 3.97% 15.79270852
Firm D – Firm B Joint Venture 1,422,000,000 1.68% 2.814476383
Firm F – Firm E Joint Venture 4,350,000,000 5.13% 26.33764441
SUM 84,761,921,249
CR4 55.75%
HHI 1056.89381
Table 2: Test I for 7 most active contractors
Contractor Contract Value % %^2
Firm A 25,566,195,688 30.16% 909.7679507
Firm B 6,964,440,949 8.22% 67.51043971
Firm C 17,009,558,558 20.07% 402.7026628
Firm D 6,644,771,073 7.84% 61.45517535
Firm E 18,610,010,290 21.96% 482.0495063
Firm F 7,079,890,611 8.35% 69.76723494
Firm G 2,887,054,080 3.41% 11.60134265
SUM 84,761,921,249
CR4 80.54%
HHI 2004.854312
Table 3: Test II for 7 most active contractors
For the market of 7 most active contractors and the market of 9 most active contractors, the
numbers of market participants in Test I are higher than those in Test II, because the joint venture
enterprises formed between each other are counted as new entrants.
Test I (7 firm) Test II (7 firm) Test I (9 firm) Test II (9 firm)

CR4 55.75% 80.54% 55.70% 75.72%
HHI 1056.89381 2004.854312 1116.355113 1616.725451
Table 4: Concentration Level Change for most active contractors
Comparing the results for both 7-firm and 9-firm market in Table 4 , the market concentration
levels increase in both Test II, suggesting that with joint venture, the market appears to be more
competitive than without joint ventures.
For the market of 50 most inactive contractors, contrary to the active player market, the number
of competitors increases in Test II. Among 50 inactive market competitors, 24 of them get
awarded with contracts in the form of joint ventures, but only six of the joint ventures are formed
exclusively by the 50 inactive contractors. The remaining 18 joint ventures are formed by at least
one sizable company and one inactive firm. Since the six joint ventures are all formed by small
contractors, in Test II where the parent firms are counted as individual participants, the number
of participants increases. Table 5 shows that the HHI decreases slightly in Test II while CR4
remains the same, suggesting that the market appears to be less concentrated where the contract
package is split into smaller parts for small firms.
Test I Test II
CR4 42.45% 42.45%
HHI 740.6297 684.4039
Table 5: Concentration Level Change for 50 most inactive contractors
Discussions and Limitations

The findings suggest that the use of joint ventures in the ten Mega Projects has lowered the
concentration level for active large firms. However, for inactive fringe firms, joint ventures are
found to have the effect of lowering competition.
The following explanations are offered. First, instead of operating as independent firms entering
the market, most joint ventures in the construction contracting market are only formed to bid for
one particular contract and such joint ventures usually exit the market as the project ends. In this
study, only one joint venture enterprise among the 33 joint ventures in total bidding for multiple
contracts and it is found that contractors are used to forming joint ventures with various firms at
the same time, meaning that such joint ventures are unlikely to lead to extremely close
relationship or collusion. Walker and Johannes (2003, pp.41) suggested that forming joint
ventures becomes “a means to temporarily merge strategic assets” so as to meet the requirements
of the client, and such characteristic can influence the relationship between joint venture
partners. Since these joint ventures are only project based, it is less likely that the parent firms
can develop such a “close and continuous relationship”, as previous literature described.
(Brodley, 1982, Werden, 1998, Kitch, 1985, Pfeffer and Nowak, 1976).
In the active contractor market, with only 7 contractors, there are already 6 joint ventures formed
among them. In other words, the additional six joint ventures are only formed to overcome their
“competitive interdependence” and reduce the competition among them rather than to create new
competitive force. Meanwhile in Test I, due to the presence of the additional six joint ventures,
the market is comprised of 13 firms while in Test II, there are only seven companies, which
contributes to the higher HHI and CR4 value in Test II. However, this finding cannot be
interpreted as proving that contract fragmentation increases market concentration for active
contractors because these joint ventures are not in fact competitors in the market. It is suggested
that construction joint venture is unlikely to have pro-competition effects by introducing new
competitive force to the market. On the other hand, construction joint venture can hardly have
significant anti-competition effects as well when there is no dominant firm in the market.
Because where the large contracts are split into smaller ones Instead, sizable contractors which
choose to form joint ventures to bid for larger contracts can always bid solo.
As for inactive contractor market, 24 out of 50 contractors obtained contracts by forming joint
ventures, suggesting that it is an effective approach for many smaller firms to enter the market.
Meanwhile, 18 of the joint ventures are formed by at least one sizable company and one fringe
firm. Hendricks and Porter (1992) reported similar observations in the oil leasing auction market
that fringe firms participate, through joint bidding with large firms rather than with each other.
Mohanram and Nanda (1996) explained that a joint venture with a large firm signals the invisible
value of the small firm. Another reason could be that the prior experience large contractors
acquired in previous sizable projects seem to increase the barriers to entry to such a height that
prevent small firms to bid alone or exclusively with each other (Hendricks and Porter, 1992).
Since the sizable firms that many fringe firms form joint ventures with are not in the inactive
contractor market, data from these 18 joint ventures are not included in this study. For the
remaining contracts awarded to joint venture entities formed exclusively by small contractors, it
is found that contract fragmentation has pro-competition effects, demonstrated by the decline in
HHI value in Test II. Because when these contracts are divided into smaller packages so as to
allow small contractors to bid solo, the number of bidders inherently increases and the market
competitiveness can be enhanced. Moreover, it can be inferred that contract fragmentation has
the same pro-competition effects for joint ventures formed by fringe firms and sizable firms,
because where the contracts are so extensive that small firms have to form joint ventures with
larger companies, their entrances are contingent on the needs of sizable firms. In contrast, when
contracts are sized down to smaller ones which can be bid by joint ventures formed by small
firms or even by solo effort, much more bidders are then available.
In order to understand different features of active and inactive contractor market, the work
natures of the contracts in both markets are studied. It is found that most jobs bid by larger and
more active contractors are more technically demanding, such as tunneling and construction of
bridges, roads and buildings. As for inactive contractor market, only nine contracts are for
tunneling and among them, 8 are undertaken by joint venture enterprises, which mostly involve
at least one sizable contractor. Generally speaking, the technical requirements of the jobs bid in
the inactive contractor market are lower.
The HHI of the inactive contractor market is only 684 and hence, the inactive contractor market
is considered highly competitive while the HHI value of the active contractor market reaches
2004 and the market is considered moderately concentrated. In total there are 50 contracts
awarded to inactive contractors while there are 52 contracts awarded to 7 most active contractors,
which means that the active contractors get awarded 7 to 8 times as many as the inactive
contractors do. The average contract value in the active contractor market reaches 1.6 billion
while the average value in the inactive contractor market is only 451 million. Nonetheless, the
technical requirements of the contracts bid in the active contractor market are more demanding
than in the inactive contractor market.
Concluding Remarks
This study uses the data of the Hong Kong Ten Mega Projects to illustrate the effect of forming
joint ventures on market competition. Concentration Ratios (CR4) and Herfindahl-Hershamann
indice (HHI) are used to assess concentration. It is found that a joint venture in construction is
more like a temporary agent synergizing the resources from multiple parties rather than creating
a new entity or new entrant. Projects of high value and sophisticated technical requirements are
usually bid by joint ventures formed by two or more large contractors already active in the
market, and thus sizing down these contracts into smaller ones may not have significant impact
on the market competitiveness. Moreover, the joint venture activities by the inactive contractors
raise the market concentration. It is therefore suggested that sizable contracts of smaller contract
value and less technically complex can be further split into smaller contracts so as to allow more
fringe contractors to bid solo.
Acknowledgements
The work reported in this paper was fully supported by a HKSAR RGC General Research Fund
(project no. 11201914).
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th th
PM Symposium 12 & 13 May 2016
Project Management Centre of Excellence, University of Maryland
Authors: Hariharan Subramanyan & Krishna Moorthy
Designing and Evaluating Simulation Games For Professional Project

Management Education
Hariharan Subramanyan & Krishna Moorthy
1. Faculty, L&T IPM, Vadodara, India. Email: [email protected]
2. Former Dean, L&T IPM, Vadodara, India Email: [email protected]
Abstract
Simulations and serious games are often considered to be efficient for professionals training.
Experiential learning makes simulation a good pedagogical tool for educating working
professionals. But the success of game based delivery depends on various factors such as the
right blend of simulation and traditional theoretical lessons, concept and content of the
simulation, link between the simulation and professional activities etc.
Paper proposes a simple model representing links of the simulation with other relevant
elements of professional training. The model has been tested in the specific case of project
management education where the authors offered training to professionals having experience
of 5 to 25 years. The qualitative responses of participants were processed using Analytic
Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the findings are presented in the paper. The study reveals that
concept based learning need to be complemented with application based simulation software
and identified three significant characteristics of simulation game, which are referred as 3R’s
(i.e. Reality, Relevance & Reliability) of simulation based pedagogical practice that trainers
have to focus on while designing and delivering serious games.
Key words: Project management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), professional training,

experiential learning, Synthetic learning environment, Simulation, PM Game, 3R’s, Analytic
Hierarchy process (AHP).
th th
Designing and Evaluating Simulation Games For Professional

Project Management Education
1. Introduction
Two factors that can significantly influence simulation based project management training
are the design of the game & its effective administration. Experts in the industry across
various businesses who were interviewed by the authors are of the opinion that an effective
training can enhance project management capabilities of practicing professionals and such
trainings need a good combination of class room delivery and activity based learning.
Early in the 20th century Case studies based approach was accepted as effective practice in
project management pedagogy. Modern projects being complex require more robust
techniques to meet the project challenges. This led to a wide range of project tools and
techniques to plan control and schedule our projects. Bowers (2012) in their research
observed that “Applied correctly, technology can be a great tool in improving education and
training at all levels.” A number of techniques such as case studies, serious games, role plays
& simulation games are in practice to create a better learning environment for the learners.
Though the techniques have matured, the projects are not benefited fully and timely project
delivery within the budgeted cost remains an area of concern. Present research attempts to
identify the extent to which simulation based trainings can help in enhancing effectiveness of
such trainings.
Organizations investing in large projects prefer to have project managers who have
undergone a formal training in project management and are able to develop a holistic
approach in managing projects. Training is generally challenging and more so in an
environment where it has to match with the requirement and expectation of practicing
professionals. Traditional teaching-and-learning environments are often too predictable and
do not impress the participants as they fail to bring in “real-world” environments (Ruben B.
D, 1999).
Authors of this paper being trainers themselves have tested simulation based software as a
training tool for practicing project managers and realized that the observations are worth
sharing with academic community.
The paper in the subsequent sections attempts to answer following questions.

• What could be the best project management pedagogy for practicing professionals?
• To what extent simulations are effective in training professionals?
• How to choose the right simulation?
• How to design the right simulation for professional project management training?
• Is there a simple framework that can link simulation with other elements of learning?
The paper addresses issues related to Project Management pedagogy and will be of interest to
those professionals who design PM simulation games and those who teach Project
management for practicing professionals.
th th
2. Objective
The objective of present research is to evaluate the effectiveness of simulation-based training

for practicing project professionals and to present findings. Paper also suggests a simple
framework that can be of use to both designers & trainers of simulation games.
3. Literature Review
This section presents a detailed literature review highlighting various techniques adopted in
in the past. Several key factors were recorded by researchers in the literature. Case study, role
play, simulations are widely referred by various researchers as effective training techniques
that create scenarios similar to real time projects. This motivates the learner to participate
actively in the class room. Motivation, interest and role-play are found to enhance learning
process and have been reported by many of the researchers in the past. One way to create
better motivation is to provide scope for the learner a role playing opportunity in a real
project environment (Drappa, A., Ludewig, 2000, Dantas, A.R., et al 2004). Problems can be
structured with different alternatives and presented to the learner who will then be allowed to
make decisions. Learner can evaluate the quality of decisions under a specific scenario and in
the process will have a better learning experience. This is similar to case study approach
introduced in 1950s. (Forrester J.W 2004, Dantas, A.R., et al 2004). Many researchers have
attempted to identify unique characteristics of various experiential learning techniques. Henry
Ellington recorded significant observations related to games, simulations, case studies and
role-plays. “Learning is at its best when it is goal-oriented, contextual, interesting,
challenging, and interactive” (Clark N.Q 2005).
Few definitions are available in the literature. Early use of Game as educational tool can be
referred to “Serious Games”, a book written by Clark Abt (1970). Abt explored methods to
use games for training and education. Abt also gave a clear definition of “Serious Games”.
Serious games are those that have an explicit and carefully thought-out educational purpose
and are not intended to be played primarily for amusement. However this should not be
construed as serious games are not, or should not be, entertaining (Djaouti D. et.al 2011).
Abt, (1968) also explained the need for two basic characteristics, namely overt competition
and rules in an exercise for it to qualify the context of “Game”. For the exercise to fit into the
definition of simulation it also needs to have a real situation and it must be on-going (Henry
Ellington). A detailed examination of real –life or simulated situation can be seen as a case
study. (Percival and Ellington, 1980) A role-play requires a design that allows participants to
act out the parts of other persons (Ellington, Addinall and Percival, 1982). Kolb (1984) stated
that “Learning is a process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of
experience” (Collin, 2013). Experiential learning refers to the process of human cognition as
stated by Fenwick (2000). Experiential education refers to learning activities that engage the
learner directly in the phenomena being studied (Cantor, 1997). Adult experiential learning
broadly speaking is a process of reconstruction performed by individual learner (Malinen,
2000).
th th
Fig.1 Kolb’s learning cycle.

Experiential learning is the preferred design and it suits the adults learning as it is a learning
process implying reflection on doing and thus "learning from experience". Experiential
learning is the current way of learning for professional in their all day practice, following the
Kolb’s learning cycle model (Kolb 1984). Figure1 shows Kolb’s learning cycle. Six main
perspectives on learning i.e. behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, social learning,
humanism and cognitive neuroscience were identified by Wilson.
The first reported functional simulation game is the GREMEX game (Rowe, Gruendeman et
al. 1968, Hussein B.A 2007) aimed to provide a synthetic experience illustrating the types of
problems that can come up in an R&D project and possible control strategies. He classified
the simulation games into two main categories namely functional & leadership Simulation.
While functional simulation targets problems such as balancing cost, time and scope etc,
leadership simulation deals with softer issues such as developing project strategy, negotiation
and decision making in pursuit of several objectives. These findings also helped the authors
in evaluating team performance.
Pioneers in Simulations & Games such as Bradford, Gibb, & Benne, 1964, Schein & Bennis,
1965; Rogers, 1967; Boocock & Schild, 1968; Gamson, 1969; Tansey & Unwin, 1969,
Coleman, 1969; Abt, Egan,1970; Budd, 1972; Pfeiffer & Jones, 1969-1977; Greenblat &
Duke, 1975; all recognized effectiveness of simulation tools (Ruben B. D, 1999).
Veshosky D and Johannes H. E (1991) used a simulation game to teach project management
to civil engineering students at Lehigh University and found that the game was successful in
teaching project management functions and the importance of a systems approach to project
management. However they observed that simulations were less successful in teaching those
concepts that are associated with financial and technology management. Authors of this
paper also identified that areas such as financial and technology management, contract
negotiations are still not explored fully. Only in very few cases we could see simulation
games in contract related areas during our literature survey. In 1998, Dudziak. W and Chris H
of Carnegie Mellon University applied simulation games based techniques as training tools
for contract negotiations.
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Adults develop resistance to pure theoretical concepts over a period of time and are not
generally motivated to participate in a training that focuses only on concept without creating
a connection with what they do in practice in real world or project scenario. Dantas A.R
(2004) identified two vital attributes namely adult training and complexity as significant
aspects that are to be covered by a simulation game based training for project professionals of
software projects (Knowles M, 1984). Doyle identified two key challenges. i.e Replicating
complexity of adequate nature & creating scope for the learner to connect the past experience
to make future decisions are critical to the success of simulation based training. Conventional
class room training is found not sufficient to meet such challenges (Dantas; Doyle, J.K et.al
2003).
Simulation-based games are well suited to be introduced for practicing professionals as these
games enable the learner to experiment the consequences of executing or neglecting project
management actions. These games also enable learners to adopt different approaches and
experience the consequence (Dantas A.R 2004). Hence, professionals' trainings may require
specific design. Hussein B.A (2007) presented the evolution of simulation
games. Simulations are found to create a better learning environment (Boocock & Schild,
1968; Farran, 1968; Stembler, 1975) (Woodward J et.al.1988). Hemmasi, M and Lee A. G
(1991) found simulation based training more effective for practicing professionals in
enhancing specific skills such as teamwork, planning, and problem solving/decision making
etc. Seidner (1978), Bredemeier & Greenblat (1981) and Dorn (1989) claim that there is a
significant improvement in learner’s interest level with the introduction of simulation based
games. Use of games in education is recognized as a factor for increasing motivation (Dorn
1989), this may be right both for children, pre-graduate or postgraduate learners. Many other
researchers like Boocock, & Schild (1968), Wentworth & Lewis (1973), Coleman (1973),
Seidner (1978), and Bredemeier & Greenblat (1981). Dorn (1989), Clegg (1991) and Randel
et al. (1992) agree that simulation games when presented correctly can increase the learner’s
motivation.
While some experts favour case study based training many others consider simulation as a
better option. (Egenfeldt N S 2004). Some researchers also opine that the team size, group
cohesion, game environment also can significantly influence the motivation of learning
groups. (Clegg, 1991; Bredemeier & Greenblat, 1981; Wellington & Faria, 1996; Egenfeldt N
S 2004).
4. Overview of the research problem
Training of practicing project engineers involves few challenges that differentiate it from pre-
graduated education. Those characteristics include motivational aspects, strong link between
training and prevailing professional problems. This leads to the requirement of specific
design & delivery. Experiential learning is one kind of training design that is suitable for
adult learning. It is a learning process implying reflection on doing and thus "learning from
experience". Consequently, simulation games may be a good way of supporting experiential
learning, as they provide an experience that is derived and analyzed during the training
session.
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4.1 Professional training- A combination of soft and hard skills.

Project management is a good example of adult training. Project management courses are
mostly offered to post-graduate students or professional. These are sometimes included in
bachelor or master programs, but nearly never to younger students. Project management in
practice requires a combination of a multitude of different skills, which are generally divided
between soft skills (leadership, negotiation, conflict management, stakeholder integration,
communication, motivation, etc.) and hard skills (planning, risk management, financial
analysis, control, etc). One of the difficulties with traditional education is that it mostly
focuses on hard skills, as it is more difficult to teach soft skills. The other difficulty is about
integration. Traditional education is mostly divided in chapters, and different aspects of
project management are not integrated in a whole concept. Simulation-based training can be a
way to include both soft and hard skills (for example by integrating role plays during the
simulation) and be an effective tool to develop the systemic view needed for project
management.
4.2 Challenges associated with simulation-Games design
Simulation-based training for professionals is often considered to be efficient. But efficiency

may depend on various factors like the right blend of simulation and traditional theoretical
lessons, concept and content of the simulation, link between the simulation and professional
activities etc. There are a number of research papers about serious games and simulation
games as tools for education, but only few about simulation design, and even less about
simulation design for professional education. Designing the right simulation game requires a
good analysis of learners’ knowledge, environment and background. In order to continually
improve simulation games design, it is mandatory to evaluate their effectiveness and rely on a
standard assessment model.
Though it is widely agreed by researchers that concept based learning need to be

supplemented with application based simulation software there is no precise information
available in the literature describing the design requirements for a good simulation based
learning that can serve as the right blend and a perfect fit for project management training.
Earlier researchers like Egenfeldt have also cautioned that one may run a risk of not realizing
the full potential of games if we try to put them into a procrustean bed. Teachers need to be
specific about the learning outcome and find ways in which they can measure learning. This
is very important failing which there is a risk of learning being repetitive, undocumented,
confusing and pointing in different directions (Elder, 1973, Egenfeldt N S 2004).
Simulation games combine both theory and games aspects and provide the concrete
experience to reflect on. Consequently, simulation games may be a good way of supporting
experiential learning training sessions, as they provide an experience that may be derived and
analyzed during the training session. Even if effectiveness of simulation games is still
unclear, Chuda (1996) argue that well-conducted simulation games can provide excellent
atmosphere for students. The above aspects of simulation game design is discussed by Cano
and Sanez (2003) who argue that simulation games are widely used in project management
education, but conditions needed to obtain optimal learning through simulation are still
unclear. Hussein (2007) presented that simulation games are about solving well defined
problems such as network calculation or cost estimation.
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A closer look at the simulation games leads to a belief that these games shall be used for
more than just solving well defined problems and the extent of application shall then depend
on how the simulation is designed. The success of a training results in not imparting
knowledge but to create scope for translating this knowledge into behavior (Ruben B. D,
1999). The pedagogical objectives have to be at the basics of the definition of the simulation
with scope to include integration aspects where the focus is on solving global problems in a
systemic perspective. All the above strategies were considered by the authors while carrying
out the research and were built into the training sessions.
5. Project Management Pedagogical Practice-Present scenario

This section focuses on present practices adopted in training project managers. Authors of
this paper are engaged in project management training to practicing managers and have tested
effectiveness of simulation based games by including them as part of the training program. At
present it is observed that most of the professional training programs are designed with
lecture sessions and a case study approach. A number of concepts are introduced in the
classroom and these are taught as standalone concepts while the trainee is expected to
perform his role as project director/manager/team member in a holistic project environment.
For example when a series of scheduling concepts such as Barchart, PERT, CPM etc are
introduced on one day and a series of monitoring and control techniques such as progress
charts, EMV are introduced on the other day, there are challenges to the trainee in integrating
the concepts of project management.
Trainers also face a similar challenge when it comes to evaluation of performance of teams.
Conventional evaluation methods reveal the understanding of the knowledge areas by the
trainee but not the application capability. Project managers learn this concept of integration
while they are actually executing projects with risk of time and cost over-run in projects.
Project management training in a conventional classroom environment involves imparting
knowledge on relevant tools and techniques of a specific knowledge area and has limited
scope for integration of concepts within the training duration. Simulation based training
focuses on specific scenarios. Activities are in the form of games played in a virtual
environment and helps improving the overall learning experience to a reasonable extent.
Authors evaluated few games before finalizing the specific game. While some of the
simulation tools are based on animation the others allow interactive environment. The game
used for the purpose of this study (Name of the game not disclosed in this paper) is based on
a pluri-annual experience in project management education in various environments
(undergraduate and master levels, technical and managerial syllabus of academic and
professional institutions). The specific game is chosen for this study as it allows much of user
participation and reflects participant’s performance on various scales. This is not scheduling
software like MSP or Primavera but a simulation based game, which creates a virtual project
environment and allows participants to evaluate their ability in converting their learning into
actions in managing projects in a dynamic environment. The structure of the game helps
participants to evaluate quality of their actions in meeting stakeholder’s expectations and
managing time, cost and quality of decisions during the course of project planning and
execution.
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The game displays various project phases and performance measurement scales and updates
the same as participants play. Game consists of four phases (Initiation, planning, Execution
and Closing) of project and five scales of evaluation (Management, User, Schedule, Cost and
Quality of performance). The participant is expected to perform actions based on the project
scenario with some constraint on efforts and resources. The paper restricts its scope only to
evaluating effectiveness of the simulation game as a training tool and does not elaborate the
various aspects or features of the game.
The game was introduced to participants as part of their formal training course in project
management. The training was conducted for three different groups. Each group comprised of
18 participants who had experience in the range of 5 to 20 years. The game was introduced to
the participants in a structured way and the participants were allowed to play in teams of two.
Participants were reasonably familiar with the basics of project management as they were put
through conventional classroom training before start of the game. At the end of the game
participants were asked to fill a questionnaire and the responses were further analyzed for
arriving at suitable simulation game design.
5.1 Test Measures

When it comes to evaluation of a simulation design it was observed that direct measures are
not possible as it becomes difficult to directly measure link between knowledge and
simulation, simulation and reality or simulation and participants. It was therefore decided to
get the indirect measures. Indirect measures are those that derive conclusions based on the
perception of participants. A questionnaire has been developed in order to have questions
linked with the criteria that covers 3R’s of simulation based training i.e relevancy, reality and
reliability.
5.2 Development of questionnaire
In order to understand the requirement of good design of simulation based training it was
decided to capture the participant’s perception on effectiveness of training and
other related features through a carefully structured questionnaire. Accordingly, a
questionnaire was prepared and was circulated to the participants and the consolidated
response is presented in Annexure B. Out of 56 participants who were given the
questionnaire 23 responded leading to a response rate of 41%. The present research involves
a questionnaire survey, which covers most of these concerns presented by the previous
researchers. The concepts presented by early researchers were further reduced to three critical
criteria namely Reality (closeness to reality), Relevance (Educational relevance) and
Reliability (reliability of the results) and presented in the following section.
5.3 The 3R’s of Simulation Game
Based on the study of various elements in Annexure A, Authors derived three dimensions
that can sufficiently reflect the success of the simulation-based training. This resulted in
identification of three significant characteristics of simulation game, which shall be referred
as 3Rs of Simulation based pedagogical practice. These three core features 3R’s i.e.
Annexure A shows core features of Simulation Game & their grouping under 3R Model.
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Figure 2: Link of the simulation with other components of the training session.
This specific model for simulation-based training session highlights the links of the
Simulation with Learners, Knowledge and Professional activity. Figure 2 presents the link of
the simulation with other components of the training session.
This model referred as the “3Rs model”, relates Reliability, Relevance and Reality.
Reliability is about the simulation behavior and its dependability in terms of
changing variables and associated decisions in a dynamic environment.
Relevance is for “education relevance”, how the simulation help the participant to better
understand the subject and acquire the knowledge.
Reality is about the reflection of scenarios that can closely resemble challenges that the
professionals face in their projects. As link between simulation and reality is difficult to
measure in a multi-criteria scenario, we undertake a pair-wise analysis
The teacher is not included in the model. Of course, the teacher is present during the
traditional acquisition of knowledge (training, teaching or supporting learning). For this part,
the traditional pedagogical triangle may be used and very much has already been written
about it. During the simulation part of the training session, the teacher acts more as a
facilitator or an actor of the simulation than as a teacher. The 3R model focuses on the
simulation part of the training session and on its articulation with the others parts of the
course.
5.4 Simulation link with others training aspects
For choosing how to organize the acquisition of content centric knowledge, the traditional
pedagogical triangle offers a good reference. This triangle focuses on the link between
teacher, learners and knowledge. The pedagogical triangle does not include simulation. In
other words, simulation-based activities are on the “learning” side, with learner acquiring
knowledge through the simulation, in an experiential learning mode. But this triangle does
not help to design simulation-based training session.
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Figure 3 Pedagogical Triangle

For designing simulation-based training session one requires a specific model. This model
should include simulation, its characteristics, the link between simulation and knowledge. As
for adult training, link between knowledge and current professional activities is a main factor
for learning motivation and knowledge integration and the model includes this aspect. Figure
3 presents the link of pedagogical triangle. The research in the following section attempts to
identify the extent to which this link is established in the present simulation game
6. AHP analysis of PM knowledge areas
Pair-wise comparison method was introduced by Fechner in 1860 and developed by
Thurstone in 1927. Based on pair-wise comparison, Saaty proposed the Analytic Hierarchy
Process (AHP) as a method for multi-criteria decision-making. Many researchers have later
picked up the AHP method as a tool to solve multi criteria decision making problems as it
provides a way of breaking down the general method into a hierarchy of sub problems, which
are easier to evaluate. Hence authors adopted a similar strategy to evaluate participant’s
perception on various factors listed in PMBOK. Participant’s qualitative responses were
scaled and converted into quantitative values. (A.J. Antonio, and M. T.Lamata 2006). The
evaluation process involves one to one comparison of each of the knowledge area under
discussion. The factor weights were decided on a scale of 1 to 9. Knowledge areas that were
more prominent as perceived by learners were given higher weights on a scale of 1 to 9 with
1 referring to low level of significance and 9 referring to very high level of significance.
All the knowledge areas of PMBOK were presented to the participants in the questionnaire.
i.e. Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, HR, Communication, Risk, Procurement, Meeting
stakeholder’s expectation and Integration. Participant’s responses to the questionnaire were
analyzed. The questionnaire and consolidated response are shown in Annexure B. Filled in
responses were then consolidated before evaluation. The responses being qualitative it was
found necessary to have an evaluation strategy that can be useful in managing a multi criteria
assessment. Saaty’s Analytic Hierarchy Process is found suitable in evaluating responses on
PM knowledge areas and their reflection in the simulation games as perceived by the
participants. Pair- wise comparison of these values resulted in the following PMBOK matrix.
Figure 4 shows the AHP Matrix for PMBOK with weights derived for various knowledge
areas
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Figure 4: AHP Matrix with weight factors

6.1 Consistency check
The response matrix was also put to consistency check for evaluating reliability of the results
while converting qualitative assessment into quantitative dimensions.
RI (n=11) is taken as 1.5 as RI (n=10) is 1.49 and the earlier research has shown that RI is an
increasing and convergent function with increasing values of n. (A.J. Antonio, and M.
T.Lamata 2006).
λmax = 11.066; CI= (λmax -n)/(n-1) Where n=11 & RI= 1.5
CR= CI/RI = 0.004 < 0.1 Hence, accepted
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Figure 5: Consistency check

The consistency in the analysis results as shown in Figure 5 reveals the participant’s
perception on various knowledge areas and the same is consistent with their performance
scores. Performance score here refers to their performance scale that gets updated based on
participant’s decisions and actions while playing in the virtual environment.
6.2 Results of AHP & Findings
On evaluating the matrix by AHP method, following results were achieved.

a. Few PM areas were found to be more prominent and often reflected in the game.
b. Many of the participants opined that they were able to appreciate the concept of time
and cost to a greater extent followed by communication and stakeholder’s expectation.
c. It is interesting to note that many of the project managers were not able to appreciate
the reflection of attributes such as HR, scope and risk etc.
The instructors are of the opinion that the participant’s inability to appreciate the above
factors during the planning phase had actually resulted in challenges in meeting schedule and
cost requirements during execution phase in the project. The results of AHP analysis reveal
that all knowledge areas of PMBOK are not reflected equally in the present simulation game
that is used as case study. This difference can be attributed to the game structure,
participant’s perception and the way they played the game. While time & cost attributes are
reflected at 30% level communication & meeting stake holder expectation was seen at 13%.
Many of the other knowledge areas such as scope, quality, HR, Risk, Procurement and
Integration were much below 5% as can be seen in Figure 6.
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Figure 6: Level of reflection of PM Knowledge area
AHP analysis results reveal that project managers need more training in the area of functional
and leadership roles before being presented with simulation based training. Participants found
many challenges during execution and the same was attributed to lack of integration of
behavioural and functional based inputs in managing the projects.
6.3 Observations on game features & team performance

Participants were given literature sheet that briefed project related information as reference
material at the starting of the game. It is found that the participant’s motivation level
increased with the introduction of simulation game. The trainer’s role reduced gradually
during the training. However the trainers were focusing on various aspects of the play and
behavior of team members during the training and few interesting observations are discussed
in the following section.
• Each team tried to interpret the scope with the help of literature provided to them
followed by a discussion with the team members.
• While scheduling the task, some of the teams used paper pencil, others resorted to
tools such as Excel or MS Project.
• Activities were scheduled as per the technical requirement with very little scope for
buffer durations.
It was interesting note that the teams focused more on schedule, cost, communication and
stakeholder’s expectation and in the process ignored other aspects such as employee training,
motivation and their personal requirements (HR functions). Teams also did not consider
factors such as engaging all team members, identifying standby requirements etc in the
planning stage (HR functions). It was also observed that the inadequate planning lead to risk
of losing control over factors such as scope, time and cost in the execution phase.
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Participants found the way in which the project schedule and cost scale were reflecting their
project scenarios is close to reality and are able to better appreciate knowledge areas
concerning time and cost more compared to other knowledge areas. The learners were able to
better connect 3Rs when it comes to cost and time. However communications and stake
holder management were not clearly coming out through the games. Participants were not
able to appreciate the link “Reliability” the way they appreciated time and cost factors.
Scope, Quality, HR, Risk, deliverables were found to be even less reflected.
Annexure B shows consolidated response of participants indicating the need for a content
centric training coupled with simulation game. While content centric training shall create
interest in the game as the participants know what they are expected to do, the simulation
game can create motivation by allowing them to transform their learnings. It is therefore clear
that theoretical sessions are effective but incomplete if not complemented with experiential
learning techniques such as simulation game.
The game made participants to appreciate the role of HR functions, leadership capability, and
motivation, risk of inadequate planning, ability to convince management in decision-making
etc in a project and correlate the same with their current project environment when the game
was over. A good level of motivation and participation of team was observed throughout the
training. This kind of learning environment is difficult to articulate in a typical classroom
session and hence supports the proposition that experiential learning is essential and not just
desirable component in professional training.
Following section summarizes the trainer’s evaluation of the teams and the ability of
teams to integrate and convert their learning into actions under real time conditions.
• While the participants gave more emphasis on meeting project needs during all the
phases, they showed little attention on employee need. (For example HR Role such as
employee motivation, training needs, employee availability etc.)
• Teams scheduled their tasks as per the literature information on project which explains
only the estimates of duration by the technical teams and as a result ended up with
having no provision to accommodate time contingencies arising out of managerial
decisions.
• Critical activities were identified in terms of schedule during the planning phase and
the participants realized that activities became critical in terms of resources in the
execution phase.
• Mechanically assigning resources based on their availability or cost criteria does not
ensure project delivery. Though theoretically one is correct in assigning resources that
are available during a particular point in time, productivity may not be up to the mark.
This may be attributed to factors such as poor motivation of the resource.
• Allocating a poorly motivated staff in the initial activities can potentially delay the
whole project. For example activity 1 in the case example is delayed due to poor
motivation thereby delaying subsequent activities. There are two adverse outcomes
that are possible
• The project can suffer as the resources were idle for the planned period of subsequent
activity. Same resources may be required for some other activity that was scheduled
during the delayed period.
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• Project managers should also know that selecting highly motivated individual alone
cannot solve the problem but there should be continuous effort in keeping them
motivated and making them available for the project.
• While selecting a highly motivated resource can facilitate smooth project execution
one should also appreciate the fact that highly motivated ressources may also be
wanted by the management for the very same reason that they are highly motivated!
• Participants were logical in sequencing their activities and using scheduling software.
However the success lies in allowing floats not as per the information available but
based on brain storming possible scenarios. But none of the teams did this and it
resulted in teams performing poor in those cases where no provision for buffer time
was kept. Although theoretically they were correct, practically they were not able to
meet the schedule targets.
• Planning should also involve provision for alternate resources. There are possibilities
that resources are moved from project and the project manager has few options when
it comes to the authority of retaining resources.
• It is also to be noted that the project manager has the responsibility of managing the
project team by engaging each member of the team. It is the responsibility of teams
who play the game to check whether all individuals are assigned some tasks and no
one is idle for the whole duration of the project. However it was found that the teams
never attempted to see whether all the manpower is utilized. While project can
progress by allocating resources in a theoretical sense unutilized resources can
become a potential threat to the project environment. It also reflects poor capability of
project manager in engaging human resource available to him and can adversely affect
the progress.
• Functional & Leadership classification of resources were clearly reflected in the
team’s performance. While most of the teams performed well on the functional aspect
a similar level of performance was clearly missing on the leadership capabilities.
• The learner’s knowledge about learning (meta-cognition) and self-regulation skills
also reflected through the games and thereby making them more effective in an adult
learning environment.
7. Recommended frame work of a professional training session
The study makes it evident that concept based learning need to be complemented with
application based simulation software. In project management pedagogy of planning, while
the content centric conventional scheduling techniques answer the question of “How” the
simulation when introduced can answer “How effectively” there by adding completeness to
the training. This confirms the idea that “Theoretical sessions are effective but incomplete if
not complemented with experiential learning techniques such as simulation games”. For
example, conventional training emphasizes on resource allocation with resource availability
while the simulation-based games allow participants to look at other dimensions such as
resource motivation, resource optimization and other issues concerned with project interface
thereby enhancing the understanding of learner.
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Design and evaluation are complementary in developing a simulation game and there should
be sufficient scope for both the academicians and designers to continually evaluate the game
for its relevance, reality and reliability. This shall be enabled by a strong delivery and
feedback mechanism between those who design and those who take it forward in a class
room environment.
A good simulation game training shall have the following features
 Sound theoretical concept orientation and discussion prior to simulation training
• Game should focus on covering all knowledge areas to the extent possible.
• Motivate and help project managers in understanding the knowledge and application
requirements in a project and thereby connecting hard and soft skills.
• Both academic relevance and professional practice in terms of reliability embedded in
a game shall allow the learner to connect the concepts well to their projects and make
the game more motivating for the learners. (Relevance and Reliability)
• Games must have a provision to create more scenarios that suit their specific business
environment of those undergoing training (Reality).
• Simulation game design therefore must reflect 3Rs of a project scenario. (Reality,
Relevance and Reliability)
Figure.7 explains the recommended framework for professional training program.
Fig.7: Recommended framework for professional training program.

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8. Conclusion
Findings of the research lead to the development of simple framework that shall be referred
while designing a simulation based training. The design of such framework should link the
simulation with others elements of training. While the participants agree that the game can
contribute in improving the interest levels and motivation to participate they also look for
provisions to create more scenarios that suit their specific business environment. This
confirms the discussion put forward by the authors that 3R’s of simulation
based pedagogical practice. i.e. Reality, Relevance and Reliability are equally significant in
success of a simulation based project management training.
A simulation is not good or bad in itself, but its effectiveness depends on the learning
environment and how it is linked with the training context. The paper presents the learner’s
and instructor’s perspective on effectiveness of the game as a training tool and suggests a
framework that may be of interest to both trainers and professionals who are engaged in
designing and developing the simulation games. Based on the study it is concluded that
professional training in project management requires theoretical inputs supported with
simulation based learning. Structure of the game should cover all knowledge areas of
PMBOK to the extent possible. Designers of simulation games shall note that there is good
scope for simulation based pedagogy in the developing soft skills, negotiation, contract
administration and leadership competencies.
With the introduction of more simulation games created to the requirement of specific
scenarios, there is a good scope to integrate various aspects of project management that can
strengthen the learning process and improve the effectiveness of project management
pedagogical process in the years to come.
Acknowledgements
Authors also thank Larsen & Toubro Institute of Project Management, India for facilitating the sessions at
various locations and support the research initiative.
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Annexure A: Core Features of Simulation Game & their grouping under 3R Model
Core
Feature
Concept Definition Reference Response
(As
reflected
through
concepts)
Accuracy Does a simulation game

accurately mirror the Dukes and Waller,
reality it is supposed to 1976
represent?
Conceptual Does the model Pegden,

adequately represent the
Validity Shannon and
real-world system?
Sadowski,1995
Criterion Does the model Babbie, 1992, As per 81% of

effectively predict real- Carmines and
(predictive) respondents the
world situations? Zeller, 1979
Validity Game reflects 50
Closeness to
to 80% of real
Event Validity The degree to which a Reality time project
simulation’s predicted scenario.
responses correspond to Participants also
Mihram, 1972 suggested that the
actual data from the
organization being game requires
simulated some modification
to suit the specific
Empirical Does a simulation game scenario.
exhibit a closeness of fit
Validity
to other measures of the Boocock, 1972
phenomena it is designed
to simulate?
External Does the simulation

Cook and
model represent actual
Campbell,1979
external phenomena?
Plausibility Does the simulation

model appear to
Boocock, 1972
represent real-life
Phenomena?
Realism Does the simulation

represent the business
Norris, 1986
environment it is
designed to simulate?
th th
Verisimilitude Does the simulation

model appear to
(face validity) Kibbee, 1961
represent real-life
phenomena?
Educational Does the 57% participants

simulation say that simulation
provide a valid based learning can
learning Educational replace classroom
experience? theory sessions to
Relevance a certain extent
Feinstein, (ranging from 20
Andrew Hale, to 50%) 100% of
and Hugh M. participants felt
Cannon,2002 that the simulation
game can be useful
as a training tool
subject to due
modification to
suit their business
needs.
Algorithmic Does the model return

appropriate values? Wolfe and
Validity
Representational Jackson, 1989
validity.
Believability Does the simulation

Pegden, Shannon
model’s ultimate user
and Sadowski,
have confidence in the
1995 Reliability of
model's results?
Simulation Game While some
respondents agree
Construct How correctly are the
that the evaluation
variables in the model Babbie, 1992,
Validity scales are closer
related to each other to
Carmines and others think that
form strategic and
Zeller, 1979 the actual scales
environmental
are better than
constructs?
what is reflected.
Content How complete is the
simulation model, Babbie, 1992,
Validity
relative to the demands
imposed by the purpose Carmines and
for which the model was Zeller, 1979
developed?
th th
Convergent How well do simulation

performances results
Validity Cannon and
compare with other
Burns, 1999
measures of comparable
competencies?
Operational Are the model-generated

Validity behavioural data Pegden, Shannon
characteristics of the and
real-world system’s Sadowski,1995
behavioural data?
Internal Do a model’s
Cook and
Validity relationships represent
Campbell,1979
true causality?
Representation Does the simulation

Pegden, Shannon
al Validity provide a valid
and Sadowski,
representation of a
1995
desired phenomenon?
Verification Does the model do what Pegden, Shannon

it intends to do? and Sadowski,
1995
th th
Annexure B: Details of Questionnaire response
Summary of Participants response
Qn: Have you played a simulation game for project management in the past? If yes, then please specify name
of the game?
Ans: Out of 23 participants only one had played a PM Game Earlier. Transversal Project – Global remote
assistance system from Transversal Project team
Qn: Was the duration (one day) sufficient for you to complete the PM- game?
Ans: 74% of respondents say that the duration of one day was sufficient. However they responded more time
could have improved their performance.
Qn: What was the tool that you used for planning while playing the game?
Ans: 60% of participants used MSP as tool for their scheduling. It was noted that the team that used
MSP planned their resources better compared to those who used Excel or paper pencil.
Qn: Do you think some project management conceptual inputs are required to be briefed to
participants before they start the game? If yes then specify few.
Ans: 60% of respondents say that some Project management conceptual inputs need to be briefed before
starting the Game
Qn: Do you think a game of similar nature can substitute theory lectures completely or partially? If
yes then please specify to what percentage?
Ans: 57% participants say that simulation based learning can replace classroom theory sessions to a certain
extent. (ranging from 20 to 50%)
Qn: Does the game depict the actual project scenario? If yes, then to what extent?
Ans: 81% participants say that simulation game depicts the real time scenario. While 81% participants agree
that it is close to 50 to 80% of real time scenario, 19% are of the view that it only captures 20 to 50% of real
time scenario
Qn: Which of the PM knowledge area relevant to real time application you think is more emphasized during
the game?
Ans: Schedule, Cost etc are covered as per all the participants. Procurement Management is one area,
which the participants say is not covered.
Qn: Do you think the scales of performance that you got in the end are reflecting your team’s actual
ability? If no then what are your self-assessment scales for all five-performance measurements.
Ans: There are contradicting views. While some respondents agree that scales are closer others think that the
actual scales are better than what is reflected.
Qn: Did you focus on all parameters during all the phases of project management? (Parameter refers to
schedule, cost, Management, User & quality of decisions)
Ans: While 50% of respondents said that they focused on all scales, 90% of respondents focused more on
schedule and cost scales
th th
Qn: How many members should be in a team typically to play the game more effectively?
Ans: 81% participants say that a 2 member team should be fine.
Qn: Do you think your team’s scale is same as your scale or how do you compare your performance with
your team’s performance?
Ans: While 70% of respondents agree that the individual scale is same as team scale, 30% of respondents said
their scales can be different from team scales.
Qn: During which phase of the game you were more interactive with other member of the team?
Ans: Planning & Execution
Qn: Which of the Five scales was more realistic in projecting your actual PM capability?
Ans: More varied response
Qn: Do you think this simulation game can be effective if taken further to suit your business scenario through
new scenario development?
Ans: 100% of participants felt that the simulation game can be useful as a training tool subject to due
modification to suit their business needs.
Facilitative Leader and Leadership development during a mega project
implementation phase: A case study
Chrisjan R van Wyk
M. Eng. (Project Management), Institute of Transdisciplinary Development,
PO Box 1413, Hatfield 0028; [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Organisations are turning to project managers to deliver one-of-a-kind or complex
initiatives required to remain competitive. Despite the formalisation of the project
management profession up to 65% of industrial capital projects fail to meet business
objectives. Research literature suggests that project managers require leader and
leadership skills to contribute to the successful completion of projects, meeting
business objectives and ensuring customer satisfaction throughout the project life
cycle. Fortunately, leader and leadership skills can be developed, but due to the
uniqueness and temporary nature of projects different methodologies are required to
develop these skills.
This study utilised a case study research approach and evaluated the benefits of
facilitative leader and leadership development of the project management team on a
mega project over a two-year period. Facilitative development combined the benefits
of on-the-job training linked to a strategic business goal, action learning, coaching and
the development of the emotional intelligence of the project management team.
This research shows that the development of the emotional intelligence of the project
management team during the project contributed to both the personal development of
each team member and enhanced the efficacy of the management team. The two-year
development process entrenched the learning and development of the leader and
leadership skills of the project team members. This development contributed to the
successful completion and ramp up of the project. The model developed from this
research can contribute to the continuous development of project managers and project
teams to enhance the success rate of capital projects.
INTRODUCTION
As organizations are required to change and adapt in the new millennium project
management is seen as the “new” form of general management used to scope, plan and
deliver one-of-a-kind or complex initiatives (Pant and Baroudi, 2008). Despite the
formalization of project management as a profession and the development of systems
and tools to assist projects and project managers, 65% of industrial projects with
budgets larger than $1 billion 1 failed to meet business objectives (Merrow, 2011).
1
In 2010 real terms.
The current mostly used standard approach to project management is the Project
Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) (2013a) guide, developed by the
Project Management Institute (PMI). Although the PMBOK® guide states that
“effective project managers require a balance of technical, interpersonal, and
conceptual skills that will help them analyze situations and interact appropriately…”
they offer little in how to acquire or use interpersonal and leadership skills effectively
on projects. Project leadership is required to influence management, peers and
stakeholders to buy-in to the vision of the project and ensure alignment in defining the
project objectives (Cleland, 1995). The uniqueness and temporary nature of projects
and project teams imply that traditional leader and leadership development will not be
as effective as what is used for operational organizations. The question is therefore not
“is leadership development required?” but rather “how must project leadership
development be approached in project organizations?” A balanced approach to
teaching the technical (hard) and interpersonal (soft) skills of leadership will contribute
to more successful project outcomes (Cleland, 1995; Pant and Baroudi, 2008; Day,
2000; Thompson, 2010). Leaders learn and develop through challenging work, solving
complex problems and leading teams (Hirst et al., 2004).
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The research objectives are: (1) to investigate and determine the benefit of leader and
leadership development of the project management team during the implementation
phase of a mega mining project as a case in South Africa, and (2) to determine if the
leader and leadership development approach had a sustainable impact on the leader
and leadership skills of the project management team.
THEORY AND CONCEPTUAL MODEL

Project leadership and project management
Project managers are required by their organizations to acquire a professional
accreditation through training and learning activities to ensure the successful delivery
of projects. The Project Management Institute (PMI) reports that they have over
500,000 PMI certification holders in over 180 countries (PMI, 2013b). Despite these
numbers, more and more projects fail to deliver on their objectives mainly as a result
of the lack in human or soft skills of project managers (Cooke-Davies, 2002). Project
management is about leading and managing people and not controlling them, which
makes their human interpersonal skills more important than just their technical skills
(El-Sabaa, 2001; Pant and Baroudi, 2008; Thompson, 2010).
Leadership, unlike management, is an informal position without authority or an
occasional activity from where the leader uses his ability to influence others to action
(Du Plessis, 2014). Although project managers are appointed by organizations to lead
and manage a project to ensure organizational objectives are met, they need leadership
skills to lead a team and have the ability to influence others. Turning technical project
managers into effective project managers is a multidimensional and complex process
that requires the development of technical and interpersonal skills in context, moving
beyond traditional learning, to learning and development that can adapt to project
environments (Ramazani and Jergeas, 2014; Thomas and Mengel, 2008; Turner and
Lloyd‐Walker, 2008).
Development of leader and leadership skills
Leader development is defined as the human capital, “the individual leadership model
of the organization” and leadership development as social capital, “the relational
leadership model of the organization” (Day, 2000). Leader and leadership
development focusses on the development of soft skills like self-awareness, self-
regulation, self-motivation and how you see others in terms of social awareness and
social skills. Leadership development enhances the collective capacity of the
organization developing leaders at all levels (Osborn et al., 2002; Dalakoura, 2010).
Effective leader and leadership development occurs in the context of the employees’
work, especially when tied to strategic organizational objectives or business goals
(Dalakoura, 2010; Dotlich and Noel, 1998; Hirst et al., 2004). Practices used for leader
and leadership development include 360-degree feedback, coaching and mentoring,
networking, action learning, specific job assignments, experiential learning and
classroom-type leadership training (Cacioppe, 1998; Day, 2000).
Project leadership competencies
Projects are temporary endeavors with temporary teams, therefore project managers
require a high level of emotional intelligence to develop interpersonal relationships in
order to establish trust and commitment within the project team (Müller and Turner,
2007; Tyssen et al., 2014). The skills linked to enhancing project success are listening,
trust, motivation, empathy and conflict resolution. In investigating the competency
profiles of project managers it was found that emotional competencies were associated
with project success as opposed to managerial or intellectual competencies (Müller
and Turner, 2007). For project leaders to lead and manage mega project teams they
need emotional intelligence in order to be inspiring and refreshing through the different
phases of the project.
Development of emotional intelligence
Salovey and Mayer (1989) described emotional intelligence as “the ability to perceive
accurately, appraise, and express emotion; to access and/or generate feelings when
they facilitate thought; to understand emotion and emotional knowledge; and to
regulate emotions to promote emotional and intellectual growth”. Various studies have
shown that people can develop their emotional intelligence skills to increase emotional
awareness and control their emotions in order to achieve better results (Dulewicz and
Higgs, 2004; Druskat and Wolff, 2001; Allio, 2005; Goleman et al., 2013).
Project managers and project teams must develop their emotional competencies in
order to communicate effectively, establish trust, develop interpersonal relations,
improve participation and collaboration in order to deal with the complexity and
changes within projects. Emotional intelligence enhances the management of conflict
due to misunderstanding, miscommunicating and stress on the project, leading to better
decisions, more creative solutions and higher productivity (Clarke, 2010b; Druskat and
Wolff, 2001). Goleman (2004) developed the mixed model of emotional intelligence
in the work place which focusses on four dimensions; self-awareness, self-
management, social awareness and relationship management. The project manager and
team can improve their emotional intelligence by consciously practicing these aspects.
Leader and leadership development model
Leadership is required to enable the successful completion of projects and ensuring
customer satisfaction throughout the project life cycle. The uniqueness and temporary
nature of projects and project teams suggest that traditional leadership development
methods will not be effective in a project environment. The research proposes a
conceptual model whereby facilitative leader and leadership development is used to
develop the emotional intelligence of project team members through on-the-job
training on a strategic project, thereby enhancing the learning experience and
benefitting the organization. The conceptual model for development of leader and
leadership is depicted in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Conceptual model for leader and leadership development on projects
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHOD

Qualitative research based on a case study was used to research the model and answer
the research questions. The case study research answered the following questions; (1)
how did the individual benefit from the leader and leadership development during the
project? (2) how did the leader and leadership development during the project benefit
the outcome of the project? (3) which development strategies/techniques were the most
beneficial and how were they used during the project?
The propositions that support the research questions are:
• Facilitative leader and leadership development during the project implementation
phase contributed to the emotional competence of the team members and the team
as a whole.
• The increase in emotional competence contributed to the project being completed
successfully.
• The leader and leadership development on a strategic project for the organization
enhanced the training which benefitted the individuals and the organization in the
long term.
The unit of analysis was a mega project, a new open cast mine, which was implemented
for a mining company based in South Africa during the period 2008 – 2012. The
evaluation of the leader and leadership development focused on the project
management team that was responsible for the delivery of the project. The project
management team consisted of a project manager, assistant project manager,
engineering manager, construction manager, controls manager, financial manager,
human resource manager, procurement manager and the health & safety manager.
The project management team assembled was a very competent and experienced team.
The team members had more than 45 years’ project experience between them. The
project manager had previously completed two mega projects. The management team
had 15 post graduate degrees between them of which two was at masters’ level. Three
members of the team completed a mega project together. The team consisted of eight
males and one female.
The data gathering for the research was done through data mining and structured
interviews. Data mining was done on the information that was gathered by the
facilitator during the development phase of the project. Structured interviews were
conducted with seven 2 of the nine project management team members and the
facilitator.
RESULTS AND FINDINGS

Project Background
The project was approved for execution in July 2008. Project team mobilization started
in early 2008. A strategic company decision was taken to replace the project manager
of the feasibility phase with the project manager that just completed another mega
project for the company. He brought with him a core group of people, to implement
the lessons learnt from the previous project. The merging of two teams with different
experiences, backgrounds and cultures caused disruption within the team. The high
pressure and deadline driven environment resulted in conflict, unproductive tension
and dysfunctional team behavior. The team culture was one of distrust and blame
(Kumba, 2013; Roux, 2011). In January 2010, eighteen months into the 40-month
project, the project was 3 months behind schedule and the management team was in
disarray. The executive head of projects decided to appoint the facilitator to break the
cycle of conflict within the team.
During the conflict resolution process, the facilitator identified the potential in the team
and shifted his focus from only defusing tension and breaking the cycle of conflict to
2
The construction manager passed away during the project and the finance manager could not be traced
after leaving the company.
the development of a group of “extreme achievers” and “brilliant individuals” into an
efficient team. The facilitative development was done through (1) individual coaching,
(2) inter-personal coaching and (3) team coaching. A narrative approach with a focus
on leadership development through discussions and reflective thinking was utilized.
Through the various facilitation sessions, the team dynamics improved through
development of interpersonal relationships, improved trust and communication
between members. The team provided mutual support to reach project goals and to
take responsibility and accountability for their actions, thereby developing a winning
team culture (Kumba, 2013; Roux, 2011). The growth and development was achieved
as a result of frequent interaction and inclusive problem solving, open and respectful
communication and personal feedback within the group and, elimination of triangular
relationships. This lead to an increase in self-belief and growing self-confidence within
the team and understanding the “soft issues” and how that impacts on the team and
individual performances.
The end result of the two-year development process was that the project was able to
rail the first ore from the new mine to port in November 2011, five months ahead of
the project date of April 2012. The project was completed under budget and managed
to ramp up to design capacity by July 2012 and has been producing above that capacity
up to 2015 when the research was conducted.
Findings
The following section provides a narrative of the feedback from the team members
during the interviews conducted in 2015.
How did the project management team members benefit from the leader and
leadership development during the project?
The team members had very little leadership training and development before the
project. Most training was general management training and class room based, with
little to no “on the job experience”. This is in-line with the research done by Allio
(2005) which states that this type of training is ineffective. The development process
improved the emotional intelligence of the individuals by developing their self-
awareness and self-management. Through the facilitation the team members
understood their own emotions and how to control that in order to build relationships
and trust within the team. The development of trust within the team was not fully
established due to relational distrust between members. The team did trust each other
in terms of technical competence and accountability to do what was required. The
emotional intelligence of the team was further enhanced through the development of
social awareness and relationship management. The development of empathy was the
biggest breakthrough for the team especially on a project that had ups and downs in
terms of emotional impact. The development of communication (listening) improved
dramatically after the initial phases.
In terms of developing others, the team commented that the relationships that were
developed enabled the team to move at a faster pace and contributed to achieving
milestones (teamwork & collaboration). Under pressure the team operated more
effectively (service orientation) and bonded on a deeper level (building bonds). The
team acknowledged that in 2010 they did not have the emotional intelligence to resolve
the initial issues between team members. The facilitator managed to develop the group
efficacy (teamwork and collaboration) through creating a vision of an efficient team
where each other’s strengths were acknowledged and developed.
How did the leader and leadership development approach during the project
benefit the outcome of the project?
The project team felt the leadership style was autocratic and dictatorial, which
contributed to the conflict within the team. The project had an extremely low chance
of being completely successful based on the situation after 18 months. The comments
from the team reflected the transactional leadership style of the project manager. In
times of uncertainty and change, a transformational leadership style was seen as more
effective in aligning people needs with project goals (Tyssen et al., 2014). Developing
the emotional intelligence of the team improved the trust and efficacy which
contributed to the cohesion and improved participation between team members. The
project teams’ leadership style preferences are indicated in Figure 2 (Goleman et al.,
2013).
Figure 2. Project team leadership styles preferences
The combined team represented all the various styles. The team understood the power
of influence whereby a leader with limited positional power could influence a team
and take responsibility for specific aspects through the phases of the project. The
collective leadership style of the team enhanced the leadership of the project team to
complete the project five months ahead of schedule, under budget and to the specified
quality.
Which development strategies/techniques were the most beneficial and how was
it used during the project implementation?
None of the team had previously been exposed to this type of facilitation on a project.
In fact, one member found it strange that it was required. They did, however,
experience that the development was deeper, more emotional than expected. The focus
on an emotional level brought the team closer by building relationships and trust
between members. The involvement over a long period (2 years) in good and bad times
benefitted the process. The reflection and feedback, identified blind spots and helped
people understand issues and the effect it had on team members. Although the
development focused on the soft issues, the facilitator held the team accountable and
was robust in how he handled issues.
The benefit of having a personal coach for the team was positive as the facilitator
understood the context and could give feedback on relevant issues. The focus was
always on the individual contribution and individual accountability within the team.
He developed the individuals’ understanding of their opportunity to influence
decisions and impact on team members. The project manager raised the concern of
team members rather confiding in the facilitator which could undermine the authority
of the project manager. The team therefore had to be mature and the facilitator
impartial to make the process effective.
Emotional development
The team rated themselves in terms of emotional development on the five components
of emotional intelligence at work (Goleman, 2004) on a 5 point scale. All project team
members, except for two, showed an increase in self-awareness after the project. The
members who experienced a decline stated that they disconnected their feelings
towards some members as a coping and survival mechanism. The average score
increased from 3.6 to 3.9. Five of the seven members showed an increase in self-
regulation with two members remaining constant. The average score increased from
3.0 to 4.1. Three members showed an increase in motivation with four members
remaining constant. The average score increased from 4.0 to 4.4, which showed high
levels of motivation. Four members showed an increase in empathy, two remained
constant and one showed a decline in empathy. The individual stated that the decrease
in empathy was used as a coping/survival mechanism towards some people on the
team. The average score increased from 3.6 to 3.7. Five members showed an increase
in social skills with two remaining constant. The average score increased from 3.3 to
4.1. Overall the team confirmed that the facilitation developed their emotional
intelligence.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Having technical competent project managers and teams does not guarantee successful
projects. Turning technical project managers and teams into great project managers
and teams is a multidimensional complex process that should be done in context and
address both the interpersonal and technical skills. The research showed that through
facilitative development the emotional competence of the project members had
increased due to the training that lasted two years, which in turn contributed to the
effectiveness of the project management team (Druskat and Wolff, 2001). The increase
in emotional competence contributed significantly to the successful completion of the
project. This supported the research done by Du Plessis (2014) - emotionally
intelligent project managers (or project teams) are more effective leaders (or have more
effective leaders in their team) and deliver more successful projects. The experienced-
based development assisted the team members to gain insight in what it took to lead,
develop leadership skills and become an effective leader (Thomas and Cheese, 2005).
The development of the project management team on the most important and critical
project for the company enhanced the experience of the individuals and supported the
research by Dalakoura (2010) that development should occur in the context of their
work and tie to strategic organizational objectives (projects) and everyday life at work
of the employees. The training must adapt to the complexities of project environments
(Ramazani and Jergeas, 2014). The benefit of having a personal coach on the team
enhanced the learning by tailoring the development of the individual to match their
experiences, skills and learning styles on a one-on-one basis, supporting the findings
by Solansky (2010).
The research supports the conceptual model that a strategic project is the ideal
opportunity to develop leader and leadership skills of project managers and their teams
through development of emotional intelligence. Projects provide (1) action learning
linked to strategic goals, (2) finite duration whereby development can be measured
and assessed, (3) job assignments that benefit the individual and company (4) high
pressure environment with constant change, (5) quick feedback on decisions taken and
impact on team and project, (6) efficient and effective leadership is required to be
successful, and (7) opportunity to develop a new team to become efficient.
Recommendations
The research project was an extreme case in terms of the dysfunctional behavior within
a management team. The full potential of the development was therefore not realized.
Further research is required whereby practitioners that do emotional intelligence
development can partner with industry to develop programs whereby learners can be
assigned to projects and taken through a more structured developmental process based
on the initial gap analysis of their emotional intelligence. More work is required to
make industry and project organizations and project directors aware of the potential
benefit of developing the emotional intelligence of their project managers and project
team members.
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The Missing Link – Risk Identification
David Hall Laurie Wiggins
Hall Associates CEO, Sysenex, Inc.
159 Golightly Spring Rd 47766 Mariner Court

Toney, AL 35773 Sterling, VA 20165
[email protected] [email protected]
Abstract. All risk management standards, guides and process descriptions note that risk
identification is a key component of a robust risk management framework. Further, an
effective risk identification process should identify all types of risks from all sources across
the entire scope of the program/enterprise activities. However, no document or solution
provides sufficient guidance for identifying a comprehensive set of risks – a risk management
baseline. Further, risk identification as it is practiced today is a subjective, ad hoc, non-
comprehensive and non-repeatable process resulting in continuing failures and overruns in all
types of product and service development and modification programs.
A radical new approach to risk identification is presented to overcome this serious

shortcoming. A large analysis of over 500 programs called the Risk Identification Analysis,
its conclusions and the tool developed from those conclusions, Program Risk ID, are
discussed in this paper.
The Risk Identification Analysis and Its Conclusions

A fundamental question prompted the performance of the Risk Identification Analysis.
“Why is risk management the only Systems Engineering (SE) process that does not require a
baseline to be developed?” All other SE processes - configuration management,
requirements management, design, architecture, etc. - require that a baseline be developed for
each program as one of the first steps after a program is established. This requirement does
not exist for risk management. Risk management standards and guidelines 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 do
indicate that risk identification is a very important step in the RM process, but do not require
that a risk baseline be developed. We define risk to be potential problems that can affect
program cost, schedule and/or performance. The term program also includes projects,
activities and operations.
There is a widespread belief that each program has a unique set of risks. This is false, based
on the results of our Risk Identification Analysis (herein known as the Analysis). It has been
determined that every program inherently has the same risks as every other one. Of course,
the specifics of the risks vary. For example, “Technology Risk” will change from program to
program depending on what technology one uses or what skills personnel possess or require.
These change as do the assessments and the impact(s) depending upon the specific program.
But the overall baseline of technical, enterprise, operational, management, organizational and
1
external risks that should be considered remains the same. There are no unknown unknowns
or Black Swans12, only unconsidered risks. All risk management standards and guides fail in
this regard: they do not require that all risk management processes/programs use the same
basic set of risks for identification, thus creating a risk baseline for each program.
The risk management process has been fairly well standardized over the past 50 years – most
risk management standards, handbooks and guidebooks (references as noted above) use the
same basic process steps albeit with different names. A closer examination of the definitions
shows that the steps are essentially the same – Planning, Identifying, Assessing, Prioritizing,
Control and Monitoring in a continuous effort. When examining each of the steps however,
one finds that Identification (establishing a risk baseline) is essentially ignored except to state
that it must be done. Risk Identification is defined as
“…discovering, defining, describing, documenting and communicating risks before they

become problems and adversely affect a project. Accurate and complete risk identification is
vital for effective risk management. In order to manage risks effectively, they must first be
identified. The important aspect of risk identification is to capture as many risks as
possible. (author italics) During the risk identification process, all possible risks should be
submitted. Not all risks will be acted upon. Once more details are known about each risk,
the decision will be made by the project members as to the handling of each risk. There are
various techniques that can be used for risk identification. Useful techniques include
brainstorming methods as well as systematic inspections and process analysis. Regardless of
the technique used, it is essential to include key functional area personnel to ensure no
risks go undiscovered.”13 (author italics)
Common Historical Risks. The process steps for risk management, with the exception of
risk identification, are outlined and defined. This lack of consideration in establishing a risk
baseline is because of the mistaken belief that each program is unique and therefore its risks
must also be unique. The Risk Identification Analysis has shown that this belief is wrong.
As programs were analyzed, it became clear that the same risks kept occurring, over and over
again. A set of common risks emerged. Thus there are a set of inherent risks that are
applicable to any program and should be considered in developing a program risk baseline.
These common risks provide a comprehensive method that can be used to develop a risk
management baseline for all programs - based on this analysis of historical data.
The Analysis was conducted over 15 years by examining over 500 programs. Information
from direct experience was utilized on over 70 programs, and the rest were researched using
GAO project reports on DoD projects, and anecdotal evidence gained from teaching risk
management to approximately 3500 people and train the trainer sessions provided to NASA
Goddard personnel. Participants from these training programs shared confidential data during
subsequent discussions that was not documented in papers or GAO reports. Programs (a
blanket term that covers programs, projects, activities and operations) include those in the
commercial and governments sectors, as well as those from numerous domains. Aerospace
programs include those from all branches of the DoD and NASA. IT programs covered both
hardware and software. Energy and utility programs were covered including facility
construction.
2
Risk Weighting. As the risks were identified, it became apparent that some risks occurred
more frequently than others. Also, when the risks occurred, some risks had a more
detrimental effect on programs than others. In order to accurately gauge the effect of a given
risk on a program, each risk needed to be weighted relative to the others. Once the risks were
identified, the analytical hierarchy approach was used to perform the risk weighting.
Risk Levels. Once the inherent risks are in hand, how would one determine the status of the
risk? Consider management experience, for example. How does one determine whether this
risk has been addressed properly or not? If no standard is provided, the risk status is
subjective, completely up to a given individual. In order to reduce subjectivity, risk levels
were defined for each risk to define its current status in the solution space for that risk. These
risk level statements are based on historical data for numerous programs and incorporate
areas like the maturity of the process, the level of the design, the build level of the hardware,
etc., for each risk. An example of a set of risk level statements is as follows:
Generic Risk: Requirements Definition

 Level 5 – System and user requirements are not defined, forcing the developer to
make assumptions. There is no potential for definition of requirements for the long
term.
make assumptions. Assumptions are informally agreed to by the stakeholders or users.
There is no potential for definition of requirements for the long term.
make assumptions. Assumptions are informally agreed to by the stakeholders or users.
Potential for definition of requirements in the short term exists.
 Level 2 – System and user requirements are partially defined: the remainder are to be
defined in the short term and formally agreed to by all stakeholders.
 Level 1 – System and user requirements are fully defined and formally agreed to by
all stakeholders.
 N/A – This risk is not applicable to the program being analyzed.
The risk levels provide the means of establishing program status for a given risk at a given
time. The risk levels also provide a path to risk mitigation, and a guide to assigning likelihood
of the occurrence of a risk. The risk levels minimize the subjectivity associated with risk
status and allow the assignment of weighting factors to each risk, as well as the risk levels for
each risk.
Program Complexity and Its Effect on Program Risk. From long experience performing
risk management on programs, we see that programs with larger budgets, more people, and
longer schedules are more complex, and thus are higher risk. However, there is no consensus
in the literature on how to define program complexity, much less how to incorporate
complexity into the risk profile of a program. A survey of sources that discuss definitions of
complexity was consulted 14, 15,16,17,18,19,20,21. We found that certain complexity factors caused
the relative weighting of the risks to change, and these five parameters became the way that
we describe program complexity: program cost, personnel effort, program duration, number
of technologies/disciplines involved, and influencing factors. Influencing factors include
conflicting organizational objectives, significant inter-organizational planning, building trust
3
requirements, and partner drag effects. Levels of program complexity was further defined by
5 levels that include Simple, Average, Moderate, Intermediate and High.
Table 1 illustrates the relationship between a risk, the risk weighting factors, the risk levels
associated with a given risk, and the program complexity level.
Table 1. Complexity, Risk Level and Sample Risk Weighting Factors
Risk Level Program Complexity Level

Simple Average Moderate Intermediate High
Level 5 16 18 20 22 23
Level 4 13 15 17 18 19
Level 3 8 11 12 14 16
Level 2 6 8 8 9 11
Level 1 4 4 5 5 7
N/A 3 3 3 3 3
Once the weighting factors for each risk and risk level were in place, they were combined to
determine the overall risk level of the program (high, medium or low). By using the same risk
baseline for each program, program risk levels and risks can be compared. Current risk
management programs and methods do not allow a straight comparison.
The common risk set, with risk levels defined for each risk and combined with a set of
complexity factors and levels, provides a comprehensive program risk baseline. The sum of
these advances becomes a revolutionary approach to risk identification. The final innovation
is to use this risk identification system as a diagnostic tool so that program vulnerabilities can
be identified and addressed before their consequences are realized. That tool is Program Risk
ID.
Risk Identification Today and Program Risk ID

Program failures, overruns (cost, schedule) and performance shortfalls are a recurring
problem. This problem applies to both commercial and government programs and to small,
medium and large programs. Some examples include the following.
 In March 2014, the US Government Accounting Office reported that the 72 major
defense programs they reviewed that had reached the systems development stage were
averaging 23 months delay in delivering initial capabilities. 22
 A KPMG survey conducted in New Zealand in 2010 found that 70% of organizations
surveyed had suffered at least one project failure in the prior 12 months. 23
 A 2008 IBM study of over 1500 project leaders worldwide found that, on average,
41% of projects were considered successful in meeting project objectives within
planned time, budget and quality constraints, compared to the remaining 59% of
projects which missed at least one objective or failed entirely. 24
 KPMG research conducted in 2013 showed that only one-third of the IT Project spend
for any given organization is delivering the desired outcome. 25
4
 A study covering 134 companies worldwide shows reports that 56% of firms have had
to write off at least one IT project in the last year as a failure, with an average loss as
a result of these failures being 12.5 Million Euros ($13.6M U.S.). 26
Risk Identification Today. A 2012 risk management survey conducted by Sysenex, Inc.
found that although 75% of companies surveyed had a risk management process in place,
51% of them had experienced a risk-related loss or failure. 27 If one has a risk management
process in place and is using it, why is the loss and failure rate so high? In our experience, the
primary causes are the current ad-hoc, non-repeatable, non-comprehensive approach to risk
identification, the piecemeal approach to risk identification, and the ‘Shoot the Messenger’
syndrome.
The current ad-hoc, non-repeatable, non-comprehensive approach to risk ID. The better
the risk identification process, the better the risk management process. If a risk is not
identified, none of the other risk management steps are of any use. We have identified over
60 risk guides and requirements documents. Risk identification is addressed in numerous
ways; a representative sample of risk identification approaches are provided in Table 2.
Table 2. A Representative Sample of Risk Identification Approaches
Risk Failure WBS/ SMEs,

Management Brain- Lessons Scenarios Work Program Stake-
Document storming Learned /FMEA Plan personnel holders PRA
NASA SE
Handbook, SP-
2007-6105 28 X X
Risk
Management
Guide for DoD
Acquisition 10 X X
NASA SE
Process and
Reqmts. 29 X X X
NASA Risk
Mgmt.
Handbook 30 X
Engineers
Australia Risk
Management
Guide 31 X
Human Rating
Rqmts. NPR
8705.2 32 X X
FFIEC Mgmt IT
Exam.
Handbook 33 X X
5
NASA Gen’l
Safety Program
Rqmts 34 X X
When participants were asked during the Sysenex survey about how they identified risk, over
83% indicated that they relied on their personal experience, 74% consulted their subject
matter experts or colleagues, 67% brainstormed with their colleagues, 55% conducted failure
analyses, 50% consulted their stakeholders, and 41% performed Probabilistic Risk
Assessments. The problem with these techniques is that they are unique to a given program or
project: one starts over from scratch for every new effort.
Further, we have had many conversations with program personnel about risk identification.
Despite the best efforts of these dedicated, experienced professionals, they are failing to
resolve risks before they suffer the consequences. They know that it is better to find risks
earlier rather than later. They also know that they are not uncovering all of their risks, and
that they will likely have to deal with these problems later on when they are harder and more
costly to fix.
In conjunction with George Mason University, Sysenex conducted a risk management tool
survey. Although over 50 risk management tools are commercially available today, none of
them provide a risk identification capability.
The piecemeal approach to risk ID. On programs, financial and business risk is often
considered separately from technical risk. Having a partial understanding or visibility of
program risks can lead to skewed decision-making. A good example of this phenomenon is
the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill. The three companies involved, BP, Transocean and Haliburton, all
performed risk analyses on their portion of the well system. None of the companies looked at
the overall risk of the well system. The results were disastrous.
Shoot the Messenger. This occurs when program personnel that raise risks are blamed for
the bad news as if they were responsible for creating the risk. The reasons for this reaction are
numerous but are based on fear, denial and embarrassment. The resulting inhospitable and
closed environment causes bad news to be suppressed until circumstances conspire to make
the problem obvious to all.
In summary, risk identification today is an ad hoc, non-comprehensive, non-repeatable,

subjective exercise. Risk guides and requirements only partially address these problems.
There are no tools to assist personnel in their efforts, and personnel are mostly left to their
own devices to do the best they can. Risk identification is often performed piecemeal on
programs, leading to a fragmented or incomplete understanding of program risks, which can
distort decision-making. Program personnel are sometimes discouraged from reporting risks.
This is why Program Risk ID was developed – www.programriskid.com .
Program Risk ID (PRID) is designed to be used by personnel (Users) who are knowledgeable
about their program, allowing program personnel to perform this analysis for their programs.
PRID provides risks found on a wide variety of past programs to help inform current
development efforts. PRID provides the risk framework so that Users can assess their
6
program for vulnerabilities – risks - that are addressed before they cause cost and schedule
overruns and performance shortfalls. Users are typically the most knowledgeable about their
specific product or service development or modification program, and so are best positioned
to perform the analysis.
The Risk Identification Analysis revealed 218 risks that fall into six broad areas: Technical,
Operational, Organizational, Managerial, Enterprise, and External risks. For each risk area,
PRID further subdivides the areas into categories by subject, with individual risks within the
categories for ease of analysis and to assist in tool navigation. Examples of risk categories
and individual risks are shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Examples of Risk Categories and Individual Risks
Risk Area Risk Categories Example Risks

Experience, culture,
Enterprise Approach, Processes, Security reputation, security
Enterprise and Risk Approach processes
Customer Focus, Funding, Labor,
Regulatory and Legal, Threats, Customer interaction,
External Environment country stability, threats
Management Approach/Experience, Program scope, management
Personnel Approach, Funding, cost and experience, staffing,
schedule, Management Processes, personnel experience,
Management Measurement and Reporting turnover
System Maintenance, Security, Processes Obsolescence, personnel
and Personnel, Failure Detection and training/experience,
Protection, Readiness, Impact on contingencies, human error,
Operational Company, User Considerations profitability, user acceptance
Organizational experience,
culture, personnel
Organizational Approach, Processes and motivation, processes, data
Organizational Procedures, Security protection, security
Requirements,
dependencies, quality,
System Definition/Integration, Common training, data quality,
Technical Risks, Design, Software and integration maturity,
Hardware Specific Risks, Processes, reliability, root cause
Technical Production, Test, Reuse analysis, fabrication, testing
PRID is intended to augment and enhance current risk identification efforts. Beginning as
early as possible during a development or modification program, PRID analyses are ideally
performed at periodic intervals throughout the program. As a program evolves, so does its
risks, and PRID helps to identify new risks as they arise. Also, PRID will show the
effectiveness of risk mitigation efforts as scores of individual risks fall, remain the same, or
rise, from analysis to analysis.
7
A User sets up an analysis by inputting basic program information including program name,
start and end dates, and the like. Users choose the program type: software only, hardware
only, or both. Since PRID includes both hardware and software risks, and not all programs
have both, selecting the appropriate program type enables PRID to provide only those risks
that are pertinent to a given program. Users answer the complexity questions, given in Table
4. Five ranges are provided for each answer: the range endpoints are given in Table 4.
Table 4. Complexity Questions and Answers

Complexity Question Range of Answers
Program Duration – months From 13 to 49 months+
Program Cost - dollars From $1M to $100M+
Personnel Effort - days From 2000 to 50,000 +
Technologies/Disciplines From 1 to 5+
Influencing Factors From 0 to 4
Based on the answers, PRID determines a program complexity level. The User can choose to
agree with or to change the complexity level. While it is recommended that the User agree
with the tool, there may be mitigating circumstances not accounted for by the tool that cause
the User to adjust the complexity level. Once the setup information is input, PRID provides a
screen for checking User input.
Once the analysis is set up, the User is presented with the six risk areas, and chooses one to
begin the analysis. Each risk is presented the same way as shown in Figure 1. The
Management Experience risk is shown with five risk levels and N/A, as described earlier.
Figure 1. The Program Risk ID Management Experience Risk
8
If a program has experienced managers that have successfully completed a similar past
program, then that program is low risk for the Management Experience item. Levels 3, 4, and
5 are more problematic, and additional effort is required to reduce the risk. It is recommended
that all risks designated as Levels 3, 4 or 5 be examined further so that mitigation efforts can
be undertaken, in alignment with program priorities and the availability of resources. A User
chooses N/A if the judgment is made that the risk is not applicable to the program. We advise
caution here as often, upon further examination, the risk is actually applicable, so N/A should
be chosen rarely. PRID outputs scores at the program, risk area and individual risk area
levels, facilitating progress tracking through time. Reporting capabilities include a list by risk
level as well as numerical listing of risks by risk area. Reports are exported in a variety of
formats to accommodate input to a wide variety of risk tools: MS Word, Excel, PDF, CSV,
XML, MHTML and TIFF.
When two or more analyses for a given program are performed, PRID provides a trending
capability so that previous analysis results can be compared with current analytical results so
that risk mitigation efforts can be evaluated, and new identified risks can be addressed.
A summary of a case study using PRID involves a DoD Enterprise Resource Program (ERP)
development program. The objective was to design, develop, prototype and install an ERP
program for a DoD agency. Installation of hardware and software elements occurred at
multiple sites and required continuous communication between them. User training
development and implementation across the agency was included in the program. Table 5
shows the initial and final program scores overall and for each risk area. The declining scores
indicate that risk mitigation efforts through time are having a positive effort, since the lower
the score the better. We also chose select critical technical and operational risks to highlight
in Table 6. As mitigation efforts progressed, risk levels were reduced for these risks (as well
as others). A reduction in risk level corresponds to a reduction in the risk score, thus
providing a means of measuring risk mitigation efforts through time.
Table 5. DoD ERP Program Risk ID Analysis Results
Initial PRID Analysis Final PRID Analysis

Risk Area/ Score Analysis # of Score Analysis # of
Program Level High Level High
Risks Risks
External 180/225 Moderate 3 77/225 Low 0
Organizational 156/225 Moderate 11 90/225 Low 2
Enterprise 163/247 Moderate 14 120/247 Moderate 9
Management 433/560 High 29 329/560 Moderate 19
Operational 472/545 High 25 298/545 Moderate 18
Technical 980/1100 High 42 616/1100 Moderate 29
Program Score 2384 1530
Table 6. DoD ERP Risk Mitigation Path Via Subsequent Program Analyses
9
Risk Initial Analysis Second Analysis Final Analysis
Level 5 - System Level 3 - All
level constraints are preliminary design
undefined and documents and Level 1 - Process has
requirements have associated preliminary been repeated using a
Interface
not been specifications for the consistent reporting
Definition
decomposed to software that will be structure, and verified at
and Control
Program teams. No created or implemented the system level using
proven process to exist and flowed down physical items.
establish system using a consistent
level constraints. reporting structure.
Level 5 - No Level 3 - Some formal
consideration given consideration has been Level 2 - Formal analysis
Common
to determining if given to determining if of any common-mode or
Mode/
there are any these mechanisms cascade failure
Cascading
potential common- exist, but only minor mechanisms has been
Failures
mode or cascade analysis has been accomplished.
failure mechanisms. accomplished
Level 3 - Formal Level 2 - Formal
Level 5 - No consideration, direction consideration, direction
consideration, and/or training for and/or training for
Operational
direction or training system security is system security is
Security
for system security ongoing but ongoing and
is ongoing. contingencies have not contingencies have been
been tested. tested.
Level 3 – Informal
obsolescence
Level 5 – No Level 2 – Formal
Obsolescence management process
obsolescence program obsolescence
Management based on design
management process management process
Process obsolescence
being used. being used.
management analyses
being used.
Conclusions. We have presented in this paper a radical new approach to risk identification
based on an analysis of over 500 programs, their risks and outcomes, called the Risk
Identification Analysis. The conclusions of the study include the emergence of 218 common
program risks, risk levels for each risk, the identification of pertinent program complexity
parameters and their effect upon the program risk profile. These conclusions provide an
antidote to the serious problems that plague risk management today: the lack of a baseline to
assist programs in identifying risks, thus addressing the short-comings associated with the ad-
hoc, non-comprehensive, non-objective and non-standardized approach currently taken
towards risk identification today.
A software tool based on this analysis has been shown to be useful anywhere risk
identification is performed today for product and service development and modification. This
approach has been used on product and service development/modification programs for
numerous domains including aerospace, IT, and energy. It has been used on both commercial
10
and government programs, including proposal efforts. It has been used on programs with
various development approaches including Waterfall, Agile, Rapid Application
Development, and Component-Based Development. This risk identification approach can be
used on one program or on a portfolio of programs to compare risks across them directly.
References
1. ISO (International Organization for Standardization). 2009. ISO 31000:2009 – Risk

Management -- Principles and Guidelines. Geneva, CH: ISO.
2. ISO (International Organization for Standardization). 2009. ISO/IEC 31010:2009 -
Risk Management - Risk Assessment Techniques. Geneva, CH: ISO.
3. ISO (International Organization for Standardization). 2009. ISO Guide 73:2009 - Risk
Management – Vocabulary. Geneva, CH: ISO.
4. FERM (Federation of European Risk Management Associations). 2002. A Risk
Management Standard. http://www.ferma.eu/risk-management/standards/risk-management-
standard/
5. OCEG (Open Compliance & Ethics Group). 2009. “Red Book” 2.0:2009 - GRC
Capability Model. http://thegrcbluebook.com/wp-
content/uploads/2011/12/uploads_OCEG.RedBook2-BASIC.pdf
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San Diego, US-CA: Academic Press Professional, Inc.
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Flow.” IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, Volume SE-7, Issue 5, pp 510 –
518.
11
18. Chidamber, S. and C. Kemerer. 1994. “A Metrics Suite for Object Oriented Design.”
IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, Vol. 20, Issue 6, Jun 1994, pp 476 –
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Complexity Measurement.” Communications of the ACM, November 1986, Volume
29, Number 11.
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Classification.” INCOSE (International Council On Systems Engineering), 2004-07-
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21. Browning, T. 1998. “Sources of Schedule Risk in Complex Systems Development.”
Proceedings of the 8Th annual Symposium of INCOSE, July 1998.
22. Archstone Consulting. 2014. “Delays, Delays: A roadmap for improving performance
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27. Sysenex. 2013. “PRID Risk Management Survey Report, Executive Summary.”
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Biography
David Hall has over 40 years of systems engineering, risk management and program
management experience in DOD, NASA, Department of Commerce, state and local agencies,
numerous industrial and commercial companies. He has successfully completed all types of
programs and activities, conducting both comprehensive analytical studies and implementing
12
solutions to problems and risks. He is an INCOSE Expert Systems Engineering Professional
(ESEP) and a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). He has
accomplished numerous risk management/systems engineering articles published in both
report formats and peer-reviewed journals. The latest article was in the Journal of Systems
Engineering.
Laurie Wiggins has 28 years of experience in systems engineering and business. She is a
member of the INCOSE Risk Management and Critical Infrastructure Protection & Recovery
Working Groups. Formerly with The Boeing Company, Ms. Wiggins gained experience on
numerous successful development programs. As a consultant, Ms. Wiggins worked with
firms in the aerospace, IT and energy industries. The resulting broad experience base
culminated in the vision for Program Risk ID. Ms. Wiggins led her company in the
development of Program Risk ID.
13

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2016 Project Management Symposium Papers

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Detecting hot spots by aerials earlier than reporting it by civilians is obviously

An earthquake is a rapid escalating disaster, where, many times, there is no other

Types of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Fixed Wing UAV

Modified long range Skywalker X8

Modified long range Talon system

Modified long range Talon system

Concerning post-disaster reconstruction scenario, the most significant factor is

The potential application of UAV would be helpful for emergency response

Arain, F.M. (2015). “Knowledge-based approach for sustainable disaster

Iglesias, G. (2007). “Promoting safer house construction through CBDRM:

Moeini, S., Arain, F.M. and Sincennes, J. (2013). “Leveraging on Geographic

Pelling, M. (2003). “The Vulnerability of Cities: Natural Disasters and Social

Restas, A. (2012). “Unmanned aircraft system applications: firefighting. introduction

Restas, A. (2015). “Drone applications for supporting disaster management.” World

Amanda Arriaga1 and Jessica Ballew2

FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF

• Overseeing the management of enterprise and priority projects;

Undergoing significant organizational change can be challenging. It is critical to

Customer Centric Project Management

Charles Villanyi Bokor¹

¹The CERP Group, Ottawa, CANADA; [email protected]

Customer Centric Project Management (CCPM) is integrating the

Key Words: project development, customer centric, business requirements,

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Limiting customer requested ‘tweaks’ or changes to the requirements is considering

CUSTOMER CENTRIC PROJECT MANAGEMENT

According to a World Quality Report [WQR] commissioned by HPE, Capgemini and

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organizational strategy, business processes, capacity and capability. CCPM is about

Who is involved when the project management methodology is CCPM? The

The customer(s), sometimes referred to as business partner, must be and is held

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Peter Drucker is quoted to have said: “There is nothing so useless as doing

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Is CCPM important? Some indicators say it is. IT spending is in the neighborhood of

Organizations need to do a better job of evolving system requirements, as this

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Caron Carlson, 10 common causes of IT project failure, FierceCIO, April 3, 2013

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Project Management Center for Excellence, Department of Environmental and

Based on an analysis of 272 peer-reviewed articles on project management

COMMUNICATION IS VITAL TO EFFECTIVE PROJECT MANAGEMENT

It is important to note the importance of communication in project

THE CURRENT STATE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION

The Functional Model of Communication. It is almost universal among recognized

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