A multifaceted performance excellence framework for project-based organisations (original) (raw)

Towards a multidimensional competency‐based managerial performance framework

Journal of Managerial Psychology, 2005

PurposeTo report on the development of a new, more balanced approach to managing the performance of key employees in project‐based organizations.Design/methodology/approachFollowing the establishment of the role‐based criteria for performance excellence through focus groups and subsequent factor analysis, performance profiles of a range of superior and average performing managers were compiled. These were based on behavioural event interviews (BEIs) from which job, person and role‐based aspects were derived. The final performance model was validated through assessments with an expert panel of HRM specialists.FindingsThis research has developed and demonstrated the potential of a more holistic approach to managing performance which includes reference to the job requirements, personal behaviours and the role context. It was found to be particularly suitable to measuring managers' performance in dynamic team‐based environments.Research limitations/implicationsThe empirical work upo...

Project management and performance management: potential transdisciplinary contributions

As project management and performance management as management applications gain momentum in public sector settings, the question often arise as to if, how, and when these applications should complement each other in various policy implementation and service delivery initiatives. Answers to this question should be sought from various vantage points or perspectives. These vantage points may range from macro, meso, micro as well as theoretical-methodological perspectives.

Comparison of research and industry views on project managers’ competencies

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 2019

Purpose The success of projects clearly relies on project management personnel and particularly on project managers. Their performance and capacities are based on the achieved competencies. The purpose of this paper is to address possible discrepancies between the views arising from the research results and standards of practice related to project managers’ competencies. Design/methodology/approach For reaching the aim of the study, a comprehensive literature review, covering previous studies and related standards of practice was conducted, and analyses of competencies in the studies and standards of practice containing the rank of competencies based on frequency of appearance were developed. Findings The findings are proposing four discrepancies between the results of previous studies and standards of practice: commonly existing/missing competencies; uneven priority of some competencies in the view of researchers vs standards of practice; uneven degree of consensus on the importanc...

Project Manager Competencies and Performance Outcomes in IT Projects

2012

Meeting performance targets for IT projects is difficult, and skilled project managers have been identified as a key factor in maximizing the possibilities of success. Our goal in this study was to identify critical behavioural competencies for IT project managers, including competencies necessary for entry-level positions and competencies that distinguish superior performance in IT project management. Two categories of competence, team leadership and concern for order, were associated with higher levels of IT project performance outcomes. The behaviours within these two categories provide a useful focus for organisations seeking to improve their project management performance. Some of these behavioursfor example, detailed planning and managing meetings-are entry-level behaviours that should be the target of basic training for novice project managers. Other behaviours-for example, accurate estimation and problem solving strategies-were observed in fewer respondents and could be the focus of more advanced training for incumbent project managers. Additionally, two valuable but infrequently observed behaviours-creating a compelling vision and ensuring alignment with business strategic goals-were correlated with performance related to supporting longer term business benefits from IT projects, suggesting that developing project manager competence in these behaviours would be particularly beneficial for achieving long-term success from IT projects.

The Key Project Managers’ Competences for Different Types of Projects

Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 2014

This paper describes a quantitative research approach for identifying key project managers' competences for different types of projects. By identifying the perceived most valuable project manager competences, as having the most potential for increased contribution to project management (PM) performance, practitioners and organizations can select their priorities when developing their PM practices. The 46 competences (technical, behavioural and contextual) provided by IPMA (International Project Management Association) were surveyed through an online questionnaire. Three dimensions to distinguish project types were used: application area, innovation and complexity. Completed questionnaires were received from 96 project managers from Portugal. The results showed that 13 key competences (20%) were common to the majority of the projects. Most of these are behavioural competences, such as: ethics, reliability, engagement, openness, and leadership. It was also observed a clear correlation between technical competences and project complexity.

The Challenges of Assessment of Project Managers' Competences

The aim of this paper was to discuss different theoretical perspectives of competence and to present the results of wide-scale international survey on the competencies of project managers. The differences between objectivist and constructivist points of competence construct were analyzed by emphasizing contextuality vs universality of the its content. In the paper the variety of project managers' competence models were presented on the basis of the practical and theoretical methodologies. The paper also presents the results of international survey which highlighted problematic points of EU funded projects management. On the basis of constructive approach the needs and opinions of all groups participating in projects management as well as educational institutions responsible for project managers' preparation were studied. The survey showed that project managers lack communication and intercultural communication competencies, development of partnership, leadership, monitoring,...

Introduction to Research Handbook on Project Performance

Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, 2023

Without exception, an organization typically strives to create value for its shareholders by achieving its strategic objectives, thereby creating a healthy profit. More often than not, projects are the instruments by which an organization pursues accomplishment of its strategic objectives. While achieving strategic objectives or higher profit, projects are driven by project management principles of effective and efficient use of resources. This is where project performance assumes great importance. Project performance also aims to improve the success of a project and project management. Project success is seen from the perspectives of the project sponsor, the client, and the end user, whereas project management success is important for the project manager and the project team who focus on completing the project faster, better, and cheaper while accomplishing all the project objectives and goals. The successful efforts of the project team lead to project success in terms of project deliverables meeting clients' expectations such as cost, time, quality, and value. Both project success and project management success depend on a variety of factors. In spite of recent advances in the project management profession-largely due to efforts led by professional associations such as the Association for Advancement of Cost Engineering International (AACEI), Project Management Institute (PMI), and International Project Management Association (IPMA)-research efforts suggest that many projects fail. One of the main reasons for this failure is the absence of a desired level of project performance. Effective project performance also underlines the important role of a project manager. Specifically, the project manager's leadership role is of great importance in motivating people and creating an effective working environment for the project team to meet emerging challenges in today's global economy. Further, sustainability has become undeniably important; along with ensuring profits, projects need to consider thought-leadership practices for both people management and minimizing the impact on our planet's environment. This research handbook presents a number of chapters written by accomplished researchers and the topics vary widely. We organized them into three parts. The first part, "Backdrop," includes this chapter as an introduction to the book and chapters that deal with project performance concepts and methods. The second part, "Tactics, Strategies, and Risks," presents a series of chapters on the tactics, strategies, and risks associated with project performance. Finally, the third part, "Next Practices," includes chapters that deal with next practices and new trends in project management that can have a major impact on project performance. CHAPTER 2 Ahmed outlines the current understanding of project performance measures and metrics from a project management perspective. Project performance success criteria and its different

An Integrated Framework to Quantify the Impact of Competency Factors on Project Performance

Construction Research Congress 2022, 2022

Construction companies measure their performance by how well a construction project delivers relative to their goals. The performance of construction projects is governed by merging many events and interactions with different participants and processes in a constantly changing environment. Many such occurrences and interactions are defined as "competencies". These competencies are the inputs that can be quantified and used to distinguish between the poorestperforming and best-performing projects. Evaluation of project performance has gained significant attention in the construction domain. Within this conversation, one difficulty is that project management literature review does not provide a coherent nor commonly accepted definition of project success. A project's success could be defined differently depending on the stakeholders, since every individual has a subjective set of success requirements. Thus, determining whether a project is a success is a complex problem and a project cannot always be seen as a total successful or complete failure. In the current construction industry, much effort has been spent on precisely measuring and controlling individual performance metrics (i.e. cost) and determining performance indices for them. However, there have been far fewer comprehensive indices that evaluate project performance across numerous performance metrics such as cost, schedule, safety, quality, and communication. Many previous studies have used these performance metrics as ex-post lagging measures to assess the performance of completed projects. Yet, these metrics do not leverage any opportunity to improve the success probability early in the project and serve only as a historic review. What is crucial, but often missed, is that the performance of a construction project is driven

Project manager competencies associated with the projects' success in the public sector

Revista de Gestão e Projetos

Although project management is widely used in the public sector, many projects still fail even when project management tools and practices are employed. Several studies show that a project's success depends partly on the project manager's competencies; however, there is little empirical research on this subject in the public sector. This study aims to analyze the significant characteristics linked with the competencies of the public sector project manager and outlines a profile of these professional competencies characteristics that can lead to the success of projects. Through empirical research conducted with 77 project managers from 32 public organizations in Brazil, this study examined the relationship between project managers' competencies and the likelihood that projects will succeed. Using factor analysis and logistic regression, we looked at factors like time, cost, quality, and scope to determine their relationship to the likelihood that projects will succeed. Th...

A fresh look at the contribution of project management to organizational performance

Project Management Journal, 2011

■ A better understanding of organizational performance and the contribution that project management can make is the aim. The article adopts the "Competing Values Framework," a rich framework that is well established both theoretically and empirically but is not well known in the field of project management. The framework is summarized and applied in an empirical investigation of the contribution of project management in general and project management offices (PMOs) in particular to organizational performance. The examination of 11 case studies revealed multiple concurrent and sometimes paradoxical perspectives. The criteria proposed by the framework have been further developed through the identification of a preliminary set of empirically grounded performance indicators. The empirical results contribute to a better understanding of the role of project management generally and PMOs specifically. They also demonstrate the usefulness of this framework for the study of project management's contribution to organizational performance.