Survey of project management officers Analysis of project performance information received, impact on decision making and project completion success or failure

Survey of project management officers Analysis of project performance information received, impact on decision making and project completion success or failure

SURVEY OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICERS: ANALYSIS OF PROJECT PERFORMANCE INFORMATION RECEIVED, IMPACT ON DECISION MAKING

AND PROJECT COMPLETION SUCCESS OR FAILURE

by Edithe E Drewery-Brown

JOSE NIEVES, Ph.D., Faculty Mentor and Chair JELENA VUCETIC, Ph.D., Committee Member TIMOTHY COTTRELL, Ph.D., Committee Member

Raja K Iyer, Ph.D Dean, School of Business and Technology

A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Capella University February 2010

UMI Number: 3396964

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Abstract Project management generates project performance information required by executives to make business decisions necessary to manage the portfolio of projects chartered to

progress companies toward their strategic goals When the performance information is not available or inaccurate, executive decision-making may be impacted and the results

of these solution implementations may be sub-optimal Even though methods of

standardization designed to improve the type of project performance information that can

be made available for managing projects have been available for almost 40 years,

implemented by organizations such as the Project Management Institute (PMI), projects continue to fail to meet their desired objectives If projects are not performing effectively

or completing successfully, the impact may be felt throughout the organization as the strategic plan designed via the use of projects to progress companies toward their

business objectives are unable to do so Though the information may be available (as there are many sources of project performance information available from various

processes that have as their foundational delivery element, project management),

managers with decision-making authority may be reluctant to use the information if it was derived from an environment impacted by project failures The purpose of this study

is to determine the degree to which project management officers receive the necessary project performance information and what impact this information has on decision

making and project completion success or failure

Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my grandmother, Betty Louise Watson of Martinsville, Virginia who taught me about the value of education long before Malcolm X uttered the words “Education is the passport to the future for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today” Betty shares this dedication with my father Albert Russell Drewery, who believed we could achieve and sent my sister and me to private school on his janitor’s salary to prepare us for the tomorrow Malcolm spoke of Betty and Albert share this dedication with my sister, Isabel Carter Furtick who has always said, “I know you can do this sister-girl” and always believed in me as I believe in her Betty, Albert and Isabel share this dedication as well with my husband, Robert, who thirty years ago made a vow with me to share and support my dream of earning a PhD Betty, Albert, Isabel and Robert share this dedication with my children, Xayquiniviere, Shanimba, Ba’Shan, Frances Alexandra and Nathena Quinnelle You have all stood by me and believed in my lifelong dream to earn a Doctorate When I cross that stage to accept my degree, I shall

be crossing it with each and every one of you as the first person in my family to earn Doctoral degree Hopefully my journey will continue the legacy of educational pursuit in this family for generations to come I hope that my journey will establish the same future steps for those in my family who come behind me to establish their goal of becoming a PhD

Acknowledgments The purpose of this acknowledgment is to recognize those individuals and resources who have worked with me and provided assistance to me both technically and professionally as I have endeavored to complete the doctoral dissertation process I would first like to acknowledge Capella University for creating and managing a robust, procedure-based Doctoral Dissertation Program The milestones greatly facilitated my comprehension and successful completion of the Dissertation process I am also

acknowledging Dr Jose Nieves, Dr Jelena Vucetic and Dr Timothy Cottrell who are members of my Dissertation Committee Their thoughtful comments and feedback assisted me in understanding how to bring together the research, analysis and

commentary required to complete the Dissertation writing process I am also

acknowledging Dr Stone Shiflett, who assisted me during the Doctoral Dissertation Writer’s Retreat Attending the retreat was the re-starting point for me and helped me to move forcefully on my way towards completion of the Dissertation writing process Finally, I am acknowledging Dr Laura Hutt whose support as my doctoral student mentor helped guide me through the new processes which kept me on track towards completion of my dissertation process

Table of Contents

Organization of the Remainder of the Study 34

Sources of Project Management Related Information 36 Role of Project Management and Information Delivery 38 Types of Project Performance Information 43

Project Performance Methods and Information Generation 47 Communications Management: Role in Project Management 66 Project Performance Information and Decision Making 67

CHAPTER 5 RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 107

APPENDIX PROJECT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SURVEY 130

List of Tables Table 1 The CLEAR Index- ranking of project success factors and metrics 48

Table 3 Gender, Educational, Age Demographics 86

Table 5 Timeliness of Information Receipt 91

Table 7 Relationship to Project Management Success 93 Table 8 Frequency of Information Rating Differences 97 Table 9 Post-hoc Frequency of Information Rating Differences 98 Table 10 Types of Information and Accuracy Rating Differences 99 Table 11 Post-hoc Types of Information Rating Differences and Accuracy 100 Table 12 Types of Information and Success Rating Differences 101 Table 13 Post-hoc Types of Information Rating Differences for Success 102 Table 14 Gender, Ethnicity, and Success Rating Differences 102 Table 15 Frequency of Information Receipt and Rating Differences 103 Table 16 Age, Education Level, Tenure, and Rating Differences 104 Table 17 Impact of Timeliness of Project Management Information 105

List of Figures Figure 1 Strategic and Operations Decision-making Conceptual Framework 33 Figure 2 Work Departments of Participants 88 Figure 3 Frequency of Information Received 89

Figure 5 Timeliness Cumulative Averages 92 Figure 6 Accuracy Cumulative Averages 94 Figure 7 Relationship to Success Cumulative Averages 96

Many reasons for the high rate of project management failure have been purported in the research literature (Bauer, 2006; Hammoud, 2008; Kerzner, 2002; Norrie & Walker, 2004; Pomfret, 2008; Tabernik, 2008) The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) (PMI Standards Committee, 2004) has identified five process groups (e.g., initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing) and nine knowledge areas (e.g., project integration management, project scope management, project time management, project cost management, project quality management, project human resource management, project communications management, project risk management, and project procurement management) related to successful project practices

Based on the PMBOK processes and knowledge areas involved in project management, according to the Business Improvement Architects (2006), project management success is multi factorial and depends largely on the degree to which time, cost, scope, customer requirements, and deliverable related information is received by project managers on a timely basis and in regard to the degree of

information accuracy This definition of project management success expands the

previous triple constraint model (e.g., time, cost, and scope) and triad of critical

components (e.g., people, processes, and technology) posited by Kissler (1991)

Consequently, given the various factors involved in project management success, or lack thereof, the complexity of this organizational process has resulted in

contemporary research examining relationships and differences in ancillary variables associated with project management

Contemporary Project Management Research

A quantitative survey study by Bauer (2006) posited a success paradigm for project managers in the aerospace industry Traditionally, project managers were selected in the aerospace industry based on their technical competency (e.g.,

engineering and scientific skills) However, this selection process resulted in major cost over-runs and numerous failed projects Consequently, Bauer compared technical competency with management competency (e.g., leading, communication,

negotiating, problem-solving, and influencing) related to project management success among a cohort of 149 Fortune 100 aerospace corporation project managers

The results indicated that management competency was more important to project management success than technical competence (Bauer, 2006) In addition,

management competencies of leading (r = 21, P <.01) and negotiating (r = 18, P =

.01) were statistically significant and related to project management success

Demographic data (e.g., gender, tenure, education level) was collected by the

researcher, but not analyzed inferentially In the recommendations for future research, Bauer strongly advocated for the research that examined factors impacting

management competencies Specifically, the quality, timeliness, and accuracy of project management information received was noted by Bauer

Hammoud (2008) completed doctoral level research designated to assess project success related to change management factors Hammoud posited that one of the causal factors related to the 97.5% rate of global business project failures was related to project managers not implementing projects that align with current business strategy (i.e., mission, vision, strategic management goals) More specifically,

Hammoud hypothesized that project management failure was directly related to organizational change and change management strategies

Traditional change management processes were defined by Hammoud (2008)

as a stand alone process used to manage changes; while integrated change

management processes are institutionalized by the organization throughout its’

processes and policies Consequently, the organizational culture of change was

purported to be as influential on project management success, or lack thereof, as the people and technology involved

Hammoud (2008) surveyed a total of 70 project managers divided equally among organizations with traditional or integrated change management processes regarding the degree of project success (e.g., costs, time, scope, stakeholder

satisfaction) The results of this seminal research by Hammoud (2008) concluded there were two positive correlations between project management success, change management processes, and integrated change management processes Integrated change management processes were shown to have higher project success rates measured by adherence to project scope, project time, project cost, and project manager satisfaction compared with traditional change management processes

A dissertation study by Pomfret (2008) investigated the relationships between leadership characteristics and practices, and project performance among 96 North American automotive project managers Pomfret expanded research by Kloppenborg and Opfer (2002) that indicated transformational leadership styles by project

managers resulted in increased project management success as compared to

transactional leadership characteristics The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) survey instrument by Kouzes and Posner (2002) was used in the Pomfret study The results of the study found no statistically significant relationships between project managers’ leadership practices and project performance measured by project

managers’ performance scores (i.e., performance evaluations)

Based on the conflicting results and numerous limitations in participants involved and the project management evaluative criteria between Pomfret (2008), Kloppenborg and Opfer’s (2002) studies, leadership characteristics may have an influence on project management success or lack thereof Both sets of researchers advocated for future research to examine additional metrics of leadership between project managers One consistent recommendation was based on the indirect

measurement of leadership characteristics related to decision making in various projects

In a mixed-method doctoral research study by Tabernik (2008), project

management skills were evaluated among a cohort of 336 healthcare Information Technology (IT) project managers The study investigated the relationship between project management skills and perceived importance to healthcare project success based on the research by Shenhar and Dvir (2007) that indicated only 28% of all healthcare IT projects were successful A list of 21 behavioral and technical skills (e.g., diplomacy, interviewing, directing, patience, assertiveness, leadership,

programming, speaking, writing, listening, empathy, sales, politics, management, training, cooperation, functional application knowledge, organizational

communications, analysis and design, non-verbal communications, and sensitivity) was included in the study in relationship to perceived importance to project success based on the work posited by Green (1989)

The results indicated that listening, speaking, and management skills were the most significant in terms of relationship to the perceived importance to healthcare project success No statistically significant differences in perceived importance to healthcare project success delineated between behavioral and technical skills among project managers was noted One consistent qualitative interview responses revealed that there was a universal agreement among participants that knowledge of the project management process was far more important than understanding the application (i.e., knowledge of functionality) of the product or service involved (Tabernik, 2008)

Based on the above contemporary project management research studies and recommendations for future research, it was concluded that the type of organizational change (Hammoud, 2008), leadership characteristics (Pomfret, 2008), and

management competencies (Bauer, 2006; Tabernik, 2008) all impact project

management success One causal factor that may be linked between these and other project management success factors identified, but not currently posited in the

published literature related to this topic may be related to the quality, timeliness, and accuracy of project management information received

For example, a senior executive from a software development firm, expressed concern that he could not get access to the type of information he needed to make business decisions at the time he required the information to support his decision-making process As a result his project related decision-making suffered from a lack

of facilitating information which kept his region from meeting its financial targets This example was supported by the researcher’s personal experience

Researcher’s Personal Experience

Based on the author’s personal and professional experiences as a project manager within a finance department for a Fortune 500 organization, a gross

misconception was pervasive in the organization regarding the information provided

to project managers Despite the belief that the organization was information and data-rich, project management executives were largely unable to receive information when they needed it to support their decision making processes Moreover, the

information received was hypothesized to be frequently incorrect, or not applicable to

the active projects thereby wasting time and contributing to the high rate of project failure in the organization

As a result of this observation, the company’s finance department’s monthly financial analysis and reporting schedule was believed to be the culprit The

information the executive required was related to projects whose performance

supported the financial targets for his region The investigation revealed that the finance department had many complex reporting standards, processes and tools designed to derive information from a multitude of sources As such, the finance department was ultimately responsible for the typical month long delays in

information delivery which would occur after an information retrieval request was made

Upon additional investigation, a more complex problem related to the

departmental business processes was revealed The result of the information gathering effort pinpointed underlying process failures due to dependencies and

interrelationships with other business processes which caused lengthy delays in information delivery In some cases there was so much information coming from so many sources that executives may not have known what to use or even how to use it Though the cause of the problem was not immediately identifiable, the impact of the problem directly and negatively affected project management Executives

responsible for making project related business decisions were not being given the information they needed to support their process The decisions were important to the maintenance of the regions profitability Profitable regions were able to retain their

employees, add new projects, and hire additional talent to achieve revenue targets and keep costs under control

Further investigation identified project failure and its relationship to

information delivery as the issue Additional study revealed lax connectivity between projects and several other information producing business processes such as Balanced Score Card and Six Sigma Organizational business process evaluations highlighted project management as the foundational implementation method for Balanced Score Card, Six Sigma and indeed, project management itself

Project management not only provides the process that identifies and defines the information for reporting, but also serves as the process that derives information from the other related business processes, makes the content available, and schedules the information delivery The findings based on this author’s experience provided clues that exposed the source of the problem associated with project management inefficiencies and project failures among project managers Consequently, this author identified variables of interest related to project management success, or lack thereof, not otherwise posited in the published research literature at the time of this writing Specifically, the frequency/timeliness, accuracy, and relationship to project

management success of project performance information received by project

managers delineated by schedule status, budget status, and resource management definitely impacts decision making by project managers However, it is unknown the degree to which this impacts project management success; the degree of

pervasiveness in the project management industry as a whole; or whether moderating

variables (i.e., demographic variables of project managers) impact the decision

making processes involved

Background of the Study Researchers have shown that the use of project management as a standardized approach to complete a successful project, 100% of the attempted time, is not

guaranteed According to Phillips, Bothell, and Snead (2002), “failed and poorly managed projects cost United States companies and government agencies an

estimated $145 billion per year” (p 3) However, even with the development of the Project Management Body of Knowledge, which was designed to improve and

facilitate project performance, projects continue to perform sub-optimally or fail Standish Group (2003) reported results of research which indicated that,

31.1% of projects would be cancelled before they ever got completed; 52.7%

of projects would cost 189% of their original estimates; only 16.2% of

projects were completed on-time and on-budget; in larger companies only 9%

of projects came in on-time and on-budget; at the largest American companies only 42% of the originally-proposed features and functions were completed; and only 48% of the executives surveyed felt that there were more failures than in the previous five years (p 2)

The statistics cited relative to studies completed by Standish Group and Gartner Group identified a serious and continuing issue related to project’s ability to successfully complete relative to their defined goals and objectives Phillips et al (2002) reported “there are numerous examples of failed projects” and “some

disciplines suffer from more failures than other disciplines For instance, within the information technology field, an estimated 40 percent of IT application development projects are cancelled before completion” (p 3)

The problem is that project management is the mechanism responsible for delivering the information necessary to make strategic business decisions It is

generally acknowledged that project management plays a major role in the successful implementation of strategy for businesses As companies compete they use project management to implement their strategies One problem with this approach according

to Phillips, Bothell & Snead (2002) is that “competition and a global marketplace have created a demand for better, faster, and more cost-effective projects Yet in many organizations, there are no formal processes or methodologies for the effective selection and management of projects” (p 3) Phillips et al (2002) went on to say “in the past project management was about “figuring it out as we go” or about relying on just a few within the organization who were inherently good at managing projects Today, this is not acceptable With the high cost of project failure, it is not smart business to let individuals and teams “figure it out as they go, with the hope that they will be good at it” (p 3) However, businesses eager to accomplish their corporate strategies and compete successfully in the global market use whatever resources they have at their disposal to manage projects, even if the project is part of a complex approach aimed at implementing a strategy responsible for maintaining the

company’s competitive position within their marketplace

Phillips, et al (2002) commented on rationale behind the trend to use

whatever resource is available to manage projects within organizations stating “the

demand to do more with less places pressure on a wide variety of individuals to be part owners in managing projects” and “while an employee’s job title may not be that

of project manager, each individual in an organization is, in essence, a project

manager, even if what that person is managing is simply a piece of a larger project”

as a result, “more employees than ever need better project management skills” (p 4)

in order to keep projects on track and reduce the failure rate Reducing the failure rate becomes even more important as companies use a mix of interrelated and

interdependent projects designed to implement their corporate strategies Researchers identified the connection between corporate strategy performance and project

performance Crawford and Pennypacker (2002) stated, “projects turn corporate strategy into reality and in a sense everything an IT manager does takes the form of a project” (p 73)

With project management being the major foundational implementation and management element common to many corporate methodologies and business

processes, project failure can potentially affect the well being of the entire

corporation if executives cannot or will not use the information generated from projects to manage their strategic plans If projects are failing then the information required by executives to facilitate their decision-making efforts may not be data specifically required for that purpose As a result, executives cannot consistently execute the business decisions required to manage and control the strategic projects responsible for the performance of their business units The failure of projects to produce appropriate performance information may subject business units to failure

As executives attempt to decipher the large amounts of information coming from the

myriad business processes that use projects and are designed to both improve

corporate performance while progressing corporate strategy

Executives, as part of their normal role in the business process must make business decisions According to Hoch, Kunreuther, and Gunther (2001), “managers decisions have particular significance because they affect all the people who report to them and the businesses they manage For this reason, making better decisions is a key concern of managers and their organizations” (p 2) Some of these decisions may

be strategic in nature and some tactical or related to the normal day-to-day operations

of the business In order to make and carry out these decisions, executives, managers, and others in positions performing the task of decision-making require information

The type of information provided is situational in nature meaning, its content depends upon the problem or issue being addressed, the question being raised, the context of the decision being made, or other factors framing the decision The

information necessary to resolve the problem can either be periodically generated or generated upon request The problem arises when the information necessary for processing business decisions related to project performance is not readily available when it is required in order to be used to support, inform, or influence the decision-making process In this case, project management should be capable of supporting or facilitating the decision-making process

When situations such as those exemplared above occur, executives attempt to purchase or develop systems or applications capable of delivering the information they need to facilitate their decision-making process These tools are capable of not only developing the information but also prioritizing the data as well For example,

Phillips, Bothell & Snead (2002) discussed the Strategic Planning PyramidTM, which

is a construct that allows companies to develop and communicate their organization’s highest priorities and links these priorities to the projects responsible for the

execution of the company’s strategic plan The Strategic Plan PyramidTM developed

by Franklin Covey allows companies to clarify “long range goals and/or strategic initiatives, specifies projects required to accomplish those goals and initiatives, and focuses activities to complete the resulting projects” (p 9) However, the dependence remains on projects to accomplish the work required to implement the strategy and project performance must be sound and capable of delivering as expected But project management, though standardized for almost 40 years, continues to experience

project failure

Kerzner (2002) posited some potential reasons why projects continue to fail, even with all of the methodology, tools, processes and almost 40 years of maturing standardization and advancements in project management training, certification and technology According to Kerzner, projects may continue to experience failures because it is “possible to alienate a customer so that no more business will be

forthcoming” (2002, p 4) Kerzner also commented on the triple or quadruple

constraints facing projects which may also play a role in the project failure issue These constraints of time, cost, and performance/technology and depending on

whether the project is being performed for an outside customer, customer satisfaction, show that project management “is designed to manage and control company

resources on a given activity within a given time, cost, and within performance

parameters” (p 4)

The performance parameters within an environment that while tightly

controlled are also delicately balanced in connection with each other and outside influences As such, the failure of any one of these parameters while a project is underway may cause the project to fail if not managed properly to successfully regain

an on-track status Additionally, if executives have access to information that shows

the relationship between project implementations and project failure, and they lose confidence in a project’s ability to successfully complete, they may be reluctant to use project management or the information generated by project management to execute

or support delivery of the strategies designed to accomplish their corporate strategic goals and objectives If executives do not use appropriate information to support business decision-making, projects may fail and place the company in jeopardy If a company is jeopardized it may be denied the ability to successfully compete in its marketplace which could reduce its capability to produce the profitability results it needs to continue to be viable and support jobs and contribute to the economy In other words, lack of a successfully accomplished corporate strategy means loss of jobs and may force a company out of business

According to Sutherland and Canwell (2004), “a strategic plan is an

overarching series of activities which aim to implement and develop a new concept, deal with a problem, or establish the foundation of the business’s objectives in the coming period” (p 261) As such “strategic planning should be thought of as a

continual process, with monitoring and control procedures providing the information for the development of this and future strategic plans” (Sutherland & Canwell, p

261) Part of the strategic planning process that is related to information use for decision-making purposes includes strategic thinking by executives

According to Sutherland and Canwell (2004)

Strategic thinking is essentially a process in which senior management

confronts significant issues and undertakes a decision-making process in order

to deal with them Strategic thinking may involve the identification of and decision-making surrounding important issues The issues would include the selection of key information, the identification of linkages, patterns, or

interactions or the generation of alternatives and the objective evaluation of them (p 263)

Another key element of the strategic planning process for which information generation and use is vitally important is the strategic turnaround process According the Sutherland and Canwell (2004),

Strategic turnaround is essentially concerned with issues arising out of the recovery process of a business It involves dealing with issues associated with

“decreasing revenue, depletion of cash reserves, negative earnings, or periods

of sustained loss that can adversely affect the fortunes of the business

Strategic turnaround involves dealing with these issues and taking measures in order to address what could swiftly become a crisis (p 263)

Clearly information generation, analysis, and receipt has an impact on and plays an important role in the decision-making process for businesses as many

components of strategic planning rely on information for designing the issue or problem resolution plan Unfortunately, for many businesses, effective use of

information has not been the case and as a result their strategic plans have failed due

to lack of ability to effectively use information in concert with project management

Lack of communication of information is a key component of successful project completion Even with the implementation of project standards, projects still continue to fail or operate sub-optimally Project failure may be due to lack of

information flow According to Kerzner (2002),

Class or prestige gaps may exist between various levels of management in

organizations The identification of these management gaps reveal that

companies are made up of small operational islands that refuse to

communicate with one another for fear that giving up information may

strengthen their opponents As such it is the project manager’s job is to get these islands to communicate cross functionally toward common goals and objectives (p 4)

Kerzner (2002) went on to state that the function of project management is to plan, organize, direct and control “company resources for a relatively short term objective that has been established to complete specific goals and objectives

Furthermore, project management utilizes the systems approach to management by having functional personnel (vertical hierarchy) assigned to specific projects

(horizontal hierarchy)”(p 4) As long as project managers, project teams,

organizational stakeholders, resources and managers keep the primary focus and goal

of project management in mind, successful project management can be a reality When managers lose focus on what project management is attempting to accomplish

or lose confidence in the information project management is designed to produce,

then use of this project management information to successfully, effectively and efficiently manage and control a project and make well informed business decisions using project generated information will be compromised

The effectiveness of corporate strategic plans has been widely questioned over the past 10 years One visible outcome of issues with strategic plan accomplishment

is demonstrated by the number of times companies change, modify, or build, new corporate strategic plans in response to problems with the execution of existing plans

In an effort to better understand why corporations change strategic plans so

frequently, researchers have examined the issue from a number of different

Alignment and delivery of the strategic portfolio of projects depends upon successful completion of strategic projects within the portfolio (Project Management

Institute, 2004) Projects and project management form the basic foundation for completion of strategic organizational alignment, effectiveness, and efficiency

initiatives such as Balanced Score Card and Six Sigma Additionally, project

management appears to use information as key performance indicators and

foundational elements for decision-making However, since project management has continued to experience high failure rates and sub-optimal performance, more

research is needed from which to identify contributing factors beyond the type of organizational change (Hammoud, 2008), leadership characteristics (Pomfret, 2008), and management competencies (Bauer, 2006; Tabernik, 2008)

Statement of the Problem Despite extensive work by the Project Management Institute over the past 40 years and the development of the Project Management Body of Knowledge

(PMBOK) (PMI Standards Committee, 2004) that identified five process groups (e.g., initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing) and nine knowledge areas (e.g., project integration management, project scope management, project time

management, project cost management, project quality management, project human resource management, project communications management, project risk

management, and project procurement management) related to successful project practices, there continues to be very high rates of project management failure

According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers (2004), only 2.5% of projects in global

businesses fully succeed and more than 50% fail completely According to Palmer (2002) the cost of project failures exceeded $450 billion in 2001

Many reasons for the high rate of project management failure have been purported in the research literature (Bauer, 2006; Hammoud, 2008; Kerzner, 2002; Norrie & Walker, 2004; Pomfret, 2008; Tabernik, 2008) One causal factor that may

be linked between these and other project management success factors, but not

currently posited in the published literature related to this topic, may be the quality, timeliness, and accuracy of project management information received Factors such

as, the degree to which project management officers receive the necessary project performance information, how the project performance information impacts project management success, the degree of pervasiveness of project performance information

in the project management industry as a whole, and whether moderating variables (i.e., demographic variables of project managers) impact the decision making

processes involved is unknown and unreported

Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study is to determine the degree to which project

management officers receive the necessary project performance information and what impact this information has on decision making and project completion success or failure In addition, the survey information will be stratified to examine for

demographic differences or relationships between the independent and dependent variables of interest

Rationale The success of a company’s strategic plan is dependent upon the outcome of project or program execution Morris and Jamieson (2004) identified projects as

“important and necessary vehicles for implementing corporate strategy and

implementing change” (p 16) If the strategic projects are successfully executed the company will enjoy strategic plan success If the strategic projects are not executed successfully the company’s strategic plan will suffer In essence, a company’s

strategic performance is tied to its ability to successfully execute the projects in the strategic portfolio as defined in the strategic plan in order to accomplish the goals and objectives that have been established for the project and the strategic plans associated with competing in their chosen markets

In order for projects to operate successfully to meet business requirements, information necessary for decisions to manage project performance must be available

If project information is not available there is a potential impact on the ability to manage the performance of the project, program, or portfolio While project

performance information availability is important, just as important is the type of project performance information to those who require the information in order to use

it to make decisions to manage and control projects Lack of the right type of

information could impact decisions necessary to effectively and efficiently manage and control the performance of the projects in the strategic portfolio As such

information type may be key to the process of managing and controlling projects within the portfolio and for the management of the strategic portfolio overall Though some portfolio management systems are software based some project performance

information can be delivered through manual collection, analysis, and reporting processes Whether manual or automatic (via software means) the availability of the correct type of information could potentially impact the executive’s ability to utilize the information for decision-making purposes and project management success

Research Questions and Hypotheses RQ1 What is the impact of project performance information received by project management officers in relation to frequency of information received,

timeliness of information received, degree of information accuracy, and relationship

to project management success?

HO1a There are no statistically significant differences between the type of project performance information received (e.g., schedule status, budget status, resource management) in terms of frequency of information received; and ratings of timeliness of information received, degree of information accuracy, and relationship

to project management success

HA1a There are statistically significant differences between the type of project performance information received (e.g., schedule status, budget status, resource management) in terms of frequency of information received; and ratings of timeliness of information received, degree of information accuracy, and relationship

to project management success

HO1b There are no statistically significant relationships between the

frequency of project performance information received (e.g., schedule status, budget

status, resource management), and ratings of timeliness of information received, degree of information accuracy, and relationship to project management success

HA1b There are statistically significant relationships between the frequency

of project performance information received (e.g., schedule status, budget status, resource management), and ratings of timeliness of information received, degree of information accuracy, and relationship to project management success

RQ2 What are the differences in accuracy and importance of project

performance information received by project management officers related to project management success?

HO2a There are no statistically significant differences between the type of project performance information received (e.g., schedule status, budget status, resource management) and accuracy ratings of information received in relation to project management success

HA2a There are statistically significant differences between the type of project performance information received (e.g., schedule status, budget status, resource management) and accuracy ratings of information received in relation to project management success

HO2b There are no statistically significant differences between the type of project performance information received (e.g., schedule status, budget status, resource management) and importance ratings of information received in relation to project management success

HA2b There are statistically significant differences between the type of project performance information received (e.g., schedule status, budget status,

resource management) and importance ratings of information received in relation to project management success

RQ3 What are the differences and relationships between project performance information received by project management officers related to project management success as delineated by selected demographic variables of interest (e.g., age, gender, education level, tenure in project management, and ethnicity?

HO3a There are no statistically significant differences between project performance information type, receipt frequency, timeliness of receipt, degree of accuracy, relationship to project management success delineated by demographic variables gender or ethnicity among project management officers

HA3a There are statistically significant differences between project

performance information type, receipt frequency, timeliness of receipt, degree of accuracy, relationship to project management success delineated by demographic variables gender or ethnicity among project management officers

HO3b There are no statistically significant relationships between project performance information type, receipt frequency, timeliness of receipt, degree of accuracy, relationship to project management success delineated by demographic variables age, education level, tenure in project management among project

management officers

HA3b There are statistically significant relationships between project

performance information type, receipt frequency, timeliness of receipt, degree of accuracy, relationship to project management success delineated by demographic

variables age, education level, tenure in project management among project

management officers

Significance of the Study According to Bushell (2005), “failure of a project [within the strategic

portfolio] can impact other [related] project plans and corporate IT strategy

significantly” (p 2) Project management acts as a facilitator towards the successful accomplishment of project completion As such project management comprehends important management practices, such as communications management and data and information collection and analysis that can be used to support the delivery of

projects and executive-level decision-making relative to management of the strategic plan

In order to manage strategic plans executives must have visibility into the operating performance of the projects in their strategic portfolios Executives need to use information and performance data to make strategic business decisions Without project performance data and information the possibility exists that inappropriate decisions can be made Inappropriate strategic decision-making may occur if there is

a lack of critical project performance information that management can use to

facilitate and inform its decision-making efforts Crawford and Pennypacker (2002) underscored the impact of ineffective decision-making as it relates to project

management stating “the results of mismanagement can be devastating, with projects missing key deadlines, exceeding budgets, and failing to meet business goals” (p 73) Though management is faced with many dilemmas, the relationships between project

management, decision-making, and strategic project performance remain key critical business issues as projects continue to demonstrate lack of significant improvement in performance rates

Researchers continue to conduct research and generate reports that point to the fact that substantial improvement in project performance has not occurred nationally

or internationally during the past ten years Korac-Boisvert and Kouzmin (1995), James (1997) and (“No Pain Without Gain,” 2000) have all discussed the issue of project failure For example as early as 1995, Korac-Boisvert and Kouzmin (1995) discussed the issue of project failure stating that “one-fifth to one-quarter of

industrialized IS projects fall into the ‘total failure’ category, something like one-third

to three-fifths fall into the ‘partial failure’ category, and the remaining minority fall into the ‘success’ category” (p 3) An interview result in the Standish Group (2003) pointed to decision-making among senior executive management as a possible

contributor to the problem Findings related to getting management to agree on the rules (in order to support the decision-making process), politics and its effect on the decision-making process from an individual as well as a collective perspective, and the impact of good versus poor communications during the process were identified as key reasons for the impact of decisions on project performance (p 3) KPMG, a professional services consulting firm sponsored a research study in which Hamil (1997) revealed that “of the projects that failed, 87% went more than 50% over

budget, 45% failed to produce the expected benefits, and 86-92% went over

schedule” (p 2) Additionally, Hamil (1997) stated that “85% of all projects fail to meet all of their critical measures for success” (p 2)

In terms of management commitment Hamil (1997) stated, “a project

succeeds only when senior leadership makes it a top priority and broadly

communicates their sponsorship across the organization Organizations respond when leadership emphatically communicates their commitment to the project All levels, from the bottom through the middle to the top, must remain sensitive to the needs and priorities of the project and without the commitment of our upper management, then our projects may suffer from inadequate staffing – team cannot set and maintain direction if key positions are left unfilled or inadequately filled for a long period, unfulfilled commitments, and “inadequate funding The project is “dead” if funding is insufficient or if funding is cut” (p 7) Impacts related to decision-making can surface

as issues and risks throughout the project life cycle Hamil (2000) stated “a timely, strategic decision” … “can have a profound affect on the project” (p 7) For example, the performance of a project might degrade due to a lack of decisions necessary to acquire appropriately skilled resources to support internal or external portfolio

projects Lack of, inappropriate decision-making seems to be the problem Issues generated by lack of or inappropriate decision-making appear to affect the executive’s ability to make decisions relative maintenance of strategic portfolio projects

A study by Sommer (2003) identified the issue of “executives and business units being slow to respond to critical issues, risks, or project activities” (p 2) in terms of decision-making performance as being a major cause of project failure or project performance Winter identified the task of monitoring of strategic project performance by senior executives in a hospital information systems environment Winter et al (2001) states “due to the technological and market changes and the

development of the hospital over time, the validity of the strategic plan is temporal limited” (p 105) Winter et al (2001) goes on to say, “monitoring means

continuously checking, whether the initiated projects are running as planned and whether they will produce the expected results” (p 103) Additionally, Hamil (1997) reported an interesting finding related to organization size stating “small companies

do much better A total of 78.4% of their software projects will get deployed with at least 74.2% of their original features and functions” (p 2) perhaps indicating that the size of an organization and the proximity of management to information relative to project performance may have an impact on the timeframes associated with their decision-making Thus the question, does management acquire appropriate project performance information in order to inform its decision-making efforts?

Definition of Terms

Project “A temporary endeavor undertaken to accomplish a unique product of

service with a defined start and end point and specific objectives that, when attained, signify completion” (Project Management Institute, 2004, p 5)

Project management According to the Project Management Institute (2004),

project management was defined as “the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet project requirements” (p 6)

Project manager The person responsible for “identifying requirements;

establishing clear and achievable objectives; balancing the competing demands for quality, scope, time and cost; and adapting the specifications, plans, and approach to different concerns and expectations of the various stakeholder” (Project management

Institute, 2004, p 8) For the purposes of this study the terms project manager,

project management officer, and project management executive are interchangeable

based on this definition

Project success According to the Business Improvement Architects (2006),

project success is commonly defined by the level of adherence to project management factors (e.g., project scope, project cost, project schedule, and stakeholder

2 It is assumed that survey participants will respond honestly to the survey instrument

3 It is also assumed that the persons completing this survey will understand the questions being asked and had experience with the variables of

interest

Limitations

1 The sample for this quantitative study will be limited to 4,000 project managers actively working and identified in the Dun and Bradstreet database of project management executives This does not represent the total population of managers involved in the corporate strategic planning

process in the United States Therefore, the study results are not

representative of all project managers in all industries in the United States

2 Despite the confidentiality and anonymity of the instrument, responses may be biased due to participants feeling they must respond in a socially acceptable manner

3 The quantitative study is also limited by the validity of participant survey responses that may vary and be influenced by extraneous factors that cannot solely be controlled by the researcher including but not limited to: (a) personal events resulting in halo effect or negative emotion bias; (b) time of day variations of respondent ratings; (c) temperature and weather related factors; (d) amount of time available to complete survey questions; and (e) individual experiences with the subjects related to the survey (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005; Nardi, 2003)

Nature of the Study According to Leedy and Ormrod (2005), the corresponding variables of interest associated with the above research questions for this quantitative study are based on positivist scientific inquiry where one reality is measurable The Project Management Information survey for this quantitative study (see Appendix) was designed to collect data about the types of project performance information that project management officers and executives typically received

Independent variables of interest include demographics collected in Part I of

the survey instrument and include age, gender, education level, tenure in project

management, and ethnicity In addition, the types of project performance information

include schedule status, budget status, and resource management Survey questions 6,

10, and 17 in Part II of the survey instrument are also considered independent

variables of interest

Dependent variables of interest include project performance information

received and will be collected from survey questions that indicate the frequency of

project performance information received (Question 5) In addition, survey questions rated on a 5 point Likert scale are related to the following dependent variables of

interest that include: the timeliness of receipt (Questions 7, 11, 15); degree of

accuracy (Questions 8, 12, 16); and relationship to project management success

(Questions 9, 13, 17) stratified by the independent variable types of project

performance information specified in the above section There is also a set of

questions that asks participants to rate the independent variable types of project

performance information on a three point scale from most to least accurate and most

to least important in achieving project management success (Questions 18-21)

Lastly, there are three open ended questions (Questions 22-24) that will be

descriptively reported to help in the data conclusions and analysis related to the research questions of interest in this study