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Despite significant worldwide growth in ISO 14001 standard adoption by construction firms, limited research exists on issues related to the implementation of environmentally sustainable practices and their associations with ISO 14001 certification. This article reports the results of an empirical study examining the implementation of environmentally sustainable practices, the link between their usage frequencies and ISO 14001 standard adoption, and the association between having this standard and firm size. The methodological approach involved interviews followed by a structured questionnaire to collect data from 259 construction firms in the United Arab Emirates. The results indicate that (1) environmentally sustainable practices have not been used extensively and those that have been implemented have varying usage frequencies, (2) adoption of the standard has been accompanied by partial improvement in the usage frequencies of the practices, and (3) there is no association between firm size and adoption of the standard. These findings can serve as a guide for policymakers as well as project managers in construction firms that are interested in implementing environmentally sustainable practices and those that are planning to invest in ISO 14001 certification.

Background: The extensive utilisation of mobile technologies (MTs) for cost reduction and improving organisational efficiency is widely acknowledged in the entrepreneurship literature. Despite the fact, the effect of adopting MTs on the managerial competencies of small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) remains incomprehensible by emerging construction firms (ECFs). Objectives: This study contributes to the theory and practise of competency development in project management (PM) by exploring how MT adoption intensity during project execution affects the perceived managerial competencies of owners/project managers of ECFs. Method: This quantitative study employed the perspectives of 222 ECF owners/managers surveyed in the Free State province of South Africa. It established how the adoption of MTs during project execution impacted the perceived managerial competencies of these entrepreneurs. Results: The results indicated that the adoption of MTs during project execution has a positive and significant effect on the communicative and social competencies of ECF owners and managers, with MT adoption explaining 88.0% of the variance in communicative competencies and 87.9% in social competencies. The results further demonstrate that the type of device used (laptops and tablets) moderated the strength of the MT adoption – managerial competencies relationship. Conclusion: The study recommends targeted and strategic wider rollout of specific MTs that improve managerial competencies to optimise the efficiency of project-related operations. Contribution: The article contributes to the broader PM theory and literature especially competency-based project execution by exploring how MT adoption can facilitate greater communication and social competencies that improve the organisational efficiency of ECFs.

This paper aims to identify the potential barriers to municipal pipe renewal in Norway and the opportunities to mitigate these barriers. The research explores why the renewal rate on the pipe network is lower than the recommended through a research study of Norwegian municipalities, by gathering exploratory data as a base for a series of semi-structured interviews. The interviews were compiled into a data set and analysed to identify barriers to pipe renewal. The study found that the main barriers to pipe renewal were in the organizational and project implementation segments of the renewal projects. The most prominent groups of barriers were coordination and cooperation, followed by barriers to internal resources such as accessible human resources, time, and economics. Technical aspects during installation were less significant. The findings can impact project implementation by providing knowledge on the barriers and where to focus resources for optimising pipe renewal projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The extensive utilisation of mobile technologies (MTs) for cost reduction and improving organisational efficiency is widely acknowledged in the entrepreneurship literature. Despite the fact, the effect of adopting MTs on the managerial competencies of small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) remains incomprehensible by emerging construction firms (ECFs). Objectives: This study contributes to the theory and practise of competency development in project management (PM) by exploring how MT adoption intensity during project execution affects the perceived managerial competencies of owners/project managers of ECFs. Method: This quantitative study employed the perspectives of 222 ECF owners/managers surveyed in the Free State province of South Africa. It established how the adoption of MTs during project execution impacted the perceived managerial competencies of these entrepreneurs. Results: The results indicated that the adoption of MTs during project execution has a positive and significant effect on the communicative and social competencies of ECF owners and managers, with MT adoption explaining 88.0% of the variance in communicative competencies and 87.9% in social competencies. The results further demonstrate that the type of device used (laptops and tablets) moderated the strength of the MT adoption – managerial competencies relationship. Conclusion: The study recommends targeted and strategic wider rollout of specific MTs that improve managerial competencies to optimise the efficiency of project-related operations. Contribution: The article contributes to the broader PM theory and literature especially competency-based project execution by exploring how MT adoption can facilitate greater communication and social competencies that improve the organisational efficiency of ECFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different oversight and implementation challenges have led to the failure of borehole projects in Meru County in the recent past, hence leading to the sourcing of extra funding and technical expertise to achieve the desired results. This research sought to assess the project Management committee's effect on the performance of County Government funded boreholes in the Igembe North Sub- County of Meru County. The findings of this research will be of use to stakeholders such as National and devolved governments, NGOs, and other government agencies. In an aspect of the study methodology, a descriptive research design was adopted. The research targeted a population of 181 borehole committee members and a sample size of 100 drawn from 25 borehole committees across the five wards in the Igembe North sub-county. Data was gathered using research questionnaires and interview guides. Data analysis was guided by the use of SPSS for the calculation of frequencies, standard deviations, means as well as percentages. The study established that having and adhering to the constitution, membership of water management experts, the committee being reliable, and the link between the committee and community are moderate contributors to the performance of County Government funded boreholes in Igembe North Sub-County. Regarding the constitutional policy of project management committees, borehole management committees should ensure that they have a defined constitution in place to guide the selection of members and operations effectively. For enhanced outcomes of borehole projects, the study recommends training in advanced water management and monitoring and evaluation. This should be initiated by first developing training manuals for borehole management committees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of time-related risks often leads to changes and adjustments in construction schedules, but this influential process is not extensively mapped in literature because of the unstructured data. This absence causes information deficiency and confusion in communication, which, in turn, affects project planning and control, and hinders knowledge sharing and management. This research aims to investigate the obstacles in project execution with the assumption that a decision tree model can map user needs and trace workflows. To understand user needs, we first recorded the focus group discussions followed by semi-structured interviews, then transcribed them into a combined script of 120,000 words. Meanwhile, the prevailing standards of project execution were diagrammed to define ten interconnected categories and derive the workflow schemes to obtain a novel decision tree model, which was used together with the interview data to validate the probabilities and the weighted significance values. The next step was to quantify and prioritize the exact user needs and data specifications of the industry professionals during project execution. After the verification with the invited expert panel, the results show that the most predominant urgencies of time-related risk management are (1) the decision support tools using automated functions to check schedule logic and evaluating risks, (2) preparation assistance for risk communication, and (3) generation of risk mitigation scenarios. The findings can help to line up software development steps for scheduling programs and improve the quality of the risk response strategies for construction projects. One limitation of the current work is the sample size of interviewees, which could be enhanced by designing a questionnaire based on the findings and survey the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of TE & ET: Revista Iberoamericana de Tecnología en Educación y Educación en Tecnología is the property of School of Computer Science, La Pata University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Despite significant worldwide growth in ISO 14001 standard adoption by construction firms, limited research exists on issues related to the implementation of environmentally sustainable practices and their associations with ISO 14001 certification. This article reports the results of an empirical study examining the implementation of environmentally sustainable practices, the link between their usage frequencies and ISO 14001 standard adoption, and the association between having this standard and firm size. The methodological approach involved interviews followed by a structured questionnaire to collect data from 259 construction firms in the United Arab Emirates. The results indicate that (1) environmentally sustainable practices have not been used extensively and those that have been implemented have varying usage frequencies, (2) adoption of the standard has been accompanied by partial improvement in the usage frequencies of the practices, and (3) there is no association between firm size and adoption of the standard. These findings can serve as a guide for policymakers as well as project managers in construction firms that are interested in implementing environmentally sustainable practices and those that are planning to invest in ISO 14001 certification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to examine the relationship between project risk avoidance and project execution in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Specifically, the study examined the relationship between project risk avoidance and four components of project execution (budget, quality, schedule and scope) among 51 oil and gas companies operating in Rivers State, Nigeria. To achieve this objective, 102 managing executives were given questionnaires, with 82 questionnaires correctly filled and returned. Data obtained were analysed using mean scores and Spearman’s rank order correlation analysis. The study found that projects risk avoidance was positively and significantly related to all four components of project execution. The main implication of this finding is that oil and gas companies need to invest heavily in innovative technologies and processes that will enhance their ability to avoid risk, thus improving the quality of projects they execute. Abstrak dalam Bahasa Indonesia.Studi ini berusaha untuk menguji hubungan antara proyek penghindaran risiko dan eksekusi proyek di industri minyak dan gas Nigeria. Secara spesifik, studi tersebut meneliti hubungan antara proyek penghindaran risiko dan empat komponen eksekusi proyek (anggaran, kualitas, jadwal dan ruang lingkup) di antara 51 perusahaan minyak dan gas yang beroperasi di Negara Bagian Rivers, Nigeria. Untuk mencapai tujuan ini, 102 eksekutif pelaksana diberikan kuesioner, dengan 82 kuesioner diisi dan dikembalikan dengan benar. Data yang diperoleh dianalisis menggunakan skor rata-rata dan analisis korelasi urutan peringkat Spearman. Studi tersebut menemukan bahwa penghindaran risiko proyek berhubungan positif dan signifikan dengan keempat komponen pelaksanaan proyek. Implikasi utama dari temuan ini adalah bahwa perusahaan minyak dan gas perlu berinvestasi besar-besaran dalam teknologi dan proses inovatif yang akan meningkatkan kemampuan mereka untuk menghindari risiko, sehingga meningkatkan kualitas proyek yang mereka jalankan.

There is an increasing number of big data science projects aiming to create value for organizations by improving decision making, streamlining costs or enhancing business processes. However, many of these projects fail to deliver the expected value. It has been observed that a key reason many data science projects don’t succeed is not technical in nature, but rather, the process aspect of the project. The lack of established and mature methodologies for executing data science projects has been frequently noted as a reason for these project failures. To help move the field forward, this study presents a systematic review of research focused on the adoption of big data science process frameworks. The goal of the review was to identify (1) the key themes, with respect to current research on how teams execute data science projects, (2) the most common approaches regarding how data science projects are organized, managed and coordinated, (3) the activities involved in a data science projects life cycle, and (4) the implications for future research in this field. In short, the review identified 68 primary studies thematically classified in six categories. Two of the themes (workflow and agility) accounted for approximately 80% of the identified studies. The findings regarding workflow approaches consist mainly of adaptations to CRISP-DM (vs entirely new proposed methodologies). With respect to agile approaches, most of the studies only explored the conceptual benefits of using an agile approach in a data science project (vs actually evaluating an agile framework being used in a data science context). Hence, one finding from this research is that future research should explore how to best achieve the theorized benefits of agility. Another finding is the need to explore how to efficiently combine workflow and agile frameworks within a data science context to achieve a more comprehensive approach for project execution.

Project execution plays a decisive role in project success, but past research did not focus on the project manager's perspective of what needs to be accomplished to achieve success. In this study, the authors used qualitative techniques to look for reoccurring themes related to 44 project managers' responses to interview questions associated with successful project execution and failed project execution. The study found that despite the project management profession growth, professional associations' efforts, and their professional development endeavors, project management execution seems to be concerned with what has happened versus what is happening in a project. This study provides a conceptual framework for project execution success strategies that have implications for project management training and mentoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well‐documented that many software projects deliver fewer benefits than planned. However prior research has had a stronger focus on the ability to deliver within budget, on time and with the specified functionality, than on what to do to successfully deliver client benefits. The authors have conducted a survey collecting information about benefits management practices, agile practices, use of contracts, and the perceived success in delivery of client benefits. The authors received responses from 83 software professionals with information about 73 recent and 74 older software projects. There was no statistically significant improvement of the delivered client benefits from the older to the recent projects. Statistically significant findings, applying a general linear model‐based analysis, include that the degree of success in delivering client benefits is connected to a project having: (i) a plan for how to realise the benefits, (ii) implemented practices for benefits management during project execution, (iii) frequent deliveries to production during the project execution, and (iv) a process for the evaluation of realised benefits after project completion. The authors argue that greater use of these practices represents a potential for organisations to increase their success in delivering benefits from software projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The state-of-the-art in the practice of probabilistic network planning for complex construction projects PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique) is evaluated along the lines of thought of the reality test that was introduced in the workshop “Error in the Sciences”, Lorentz Center, Leiden University, 2011. The conclusion is that the application of the PERT-methodology during project execution can be improved by including in the planning software the actual durations of the activities as soon as these are finished; monitoring progress by keeping the probability of timely completion just over 50%; and adopting risk ranking for prioritizing managerial attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Espacios is the property of Talleres de Impresos Oma and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The construction projects are increasing rapidly in every developing nation all over India. Executing the project phase is likely to be shown more like a work breakdown. It is a procedure that defines in what way, at what time, and by whom a correct Agenda or a set of tasks to be finished. “The purpose of managing the project execution plan is all about managing all the characters within the project plan as all the job should be done to build the definite project run towards success”3 . In this paper, we have used the Multi-Attribute Decision Making analysis and with that the additive weighting technique to determine the alternative solution from the better solution to the least solutions that should be integrated into the project execution phase. Based on this analysis, the project manager should know more about the data assessing of the respective project with the strategic communication within senior managers, also to consider with an organizational culture and teamwork also by peer review during executing the project. Since the improvement of the project execution plan will be the best control document for completing the projects on time with client satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aim is to examine the involvement level of the stakeholders during the project execution process. Stakeholders play a vital role in providing the needed resources and Ultimately they have strong influence on project success. The research intends to formulate a matrix which will reflect the list of elements which effect the project execution, type of stakeholder involved for each element, involvement level of each stakeholder which resulted in the delay of the execution, Criticality of involvement on project which will result in the output answer we are seeking the process of involvement for each stakeholder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

American higher-education institutions exist in a rapidly changing landscape created by reduced tuition subsidies to state-funded institutions, declining funding for federal grants, increase in families' share of tuition, reassessment of the purpose and value of a baccalaureate degree, fierce competition for students, and the presence of low-cost education providers. Graduating more students and increasing the quality of their learning are national priorities. Due to demographic shifts, institutions must act to enhance their institutional quality and reputation by expanding capacity to serve an increasing number of first-generation and under-represented students. Educational institutions that fail to develop the expertise to serve a diverse student body, with varying abilities, face existential challenges. This article offers lessons from an innovation initiative that used innovation tournaments, crowdsourcing, open innovation, and design thinking to address challenges facing higher education. This article additionally describes the challenges, structures, and processes used to generate ideas as well as the institutional support and lessons learned from implementing these strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do projects fail? This is a question that has been researched across various project disciplines, including that of Business Process Re-engineering (BPR). This paper introduces a different angle on why BPR projects fail. An analysis of a case study conducted within a financial institution revealed new factors that could influence BPR project outcomes, but that have not been identified in the literature. The Organisation Ring of Influence model was developed to indicate the impact that organisation behaviours and structures had on the outcome of an executed BPR project. This model also helps to highlight which factors were more influential than others.

A review of the literature identifying the critical success factors (CSFs) of project execution revealed two research gaps: a too subjective selection of CSFs rather than an objective selection and too many critical factors, resulting in doubts about their criticality. To overcome these two research gaps, this study proposed a hybrid method that uses the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to obtain weightings of factors and ranks their importance. The meaning of criticality, in combination with the concept of acceptable advantage of VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR), was then used to objectively identify the CSFs of project execution, using the environmental consultancy service industry in Taiwan as an example. Finally, six CSFs were found and five management implications were identified, and these findings can serve as a valuable reference for project execution in the environmental consultancy service industry. This combined method can also be used to identify the CSFs of project execution in other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]