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Project Outcomes (project + outcome)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	50%

Selected Abstracts

Modeling the Dynamics of an Infrastructure Project

COMPUTER-AIDED CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING, Issue 4 2005
Long Duy Nguyen
These problems result in low project performance and poor project outcome. A dynamic simulation model is proposed to capture the dynamics of construction projects in the construction phase. Eight key feedback structures from previous models of project dynamics and the unique characteristics of construction projects are identified as dynamic hypotheses. They include the structures of labor, equipment, material, labor and equipment interaction, schedule, rework, safety, and quality. Subsequently, a formal simulation model is mathematically formulated in terms of stock and flow diagrams. The model is then calibrated into a real project under construction. Part of testing indicates that the simulated behavior of the model and the actual behavior of the project are similar. This implies that the model is able to simulate the dynamics of the project and, consequently, to enhance project monitoring and control. [source]

PROSPECT lost: when a pilot project does not look to learn

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2008
Michael Mattingly
Abstract If a development project is destined to reach only a selection of its intended beneficiaries or to give them only momentary or uncertain benefits, there is a strong rationale for making it instead a project of trials from which lessons can be taken for obtaining the impact that it may not otherwise have. Because the fundamental problems and opportunities of development are very complex by their nature, interventions that seek to test practice knowledge and to learn above all else may have the greatest potential for benefit in the long term. A project that wishes to create experience from which others can learn will engage in research, so it must be conceived, led and conducted as such. This means it must be designed with knowledge of research. It must be led with an appreciation and understanding of research method. Specific research activities must be conducted that produce knowledge and promote its up-take, so that learning is a principle project outcome. The large urban anti-poverty project, PROSPECT, conducted in Lusaka, Zambia, illustrates this argument. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Calibrating conservation: new tools for measuring success

CONSERVATION LETTERS, Issue 4 2008
Valerie Kapos
Abstract Conservation practitioners, policy makers, and donors agree that there is an urgent need to identify which conservation approaches are most likely to succeed in order to use more effectively the limited resources available for conservation. While recently developed standards of good practice in conservation are helpful, a framework for evaluation is needed that supports systematic analysis of conservation effectiveness. A conceptual framework and scorecard developed by the Cambridge Conservation Forum help to address common constraints to evaluating conservation success: unclear objectives, ineffective information management, the long time frames of conservation outcomes, scarcity of resources for evaluation, and lack of incentives for such evaluation. For seven major categories of conservation activity, the CCF tools help clarify conservation objectives and provide a standardized framework that is a useful basis for managing information about project outcomes and existing conservation experience. By identifying key outcomes that can predict conservation success and can be assessed in relatively short time frames, they help to make more efficient use of scarce monitoring and evaluation resources. With wide application, the CCF framework and evaluation tool can provide a powerful platform for drawing on the experience of past and ongoing conservation projects to identify quantitatively factors that contribute to conservation success. [source]

Emotional intelligence and its relationship to transformational leadership and key project manager competences

PROJECT MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 2 2010
Nicholas Clarke
Abstract Key dimensions of project manager behaviors considered to be associated with successful project outcomes have included both appropriate collaborative behaviors and transformational leadership. More recently, emotional intelligence has been suggested as a unique area of individual differences that is likely to underpin sets of behaviors in this area. Based on a sample of 67 UK project managers, it was found that emotional intelligence ability measures and empathy explained additional variance in the project manager competences of teamwork, attentiveness, and managing conflict, and the transformational leadership behaviors of idealized influence and individualized consideration, after controlling for cognitive ability and personality. [source]

Systematic biases and culture in project failures

PROJECT MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 4 2008
Barry Shore
Abstract Project success rates have improved, and much of the credit can be given to the knowledge, practices, and standards that have contributed to the professionalization of the field. Unfortunately, too many failures still occur. Because many of them can be traced to management and decision-making practices, it might be useful at this stage to explore a set of systematic biases to determine if understanding them can help diagnose and perhaps even prevent failures from occurring. This article begins with a framework identifying the influences on project outcomes, defines the systematic biases that may derail projects, summarizes eight project failures, uses the framework to diagnose those failures, and concludes by suggesting how organizational and project culture may contribute to these very common and natural biases. [source]

Organizational networks of collaboration for community-based living

NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP, Issue 3 2008
Dennis L. Poole
This exploratory study of the Texas Community Awareness and Relocation Services (CARS) Project examines organizational networks of collaboration for community-based living. A high degree of collaboration in these networks is needed to help nursing facility residents negotiate the complex process of moving to community-based settings. Social network analysis reveals considerable variations in local organizational networks of collaboration among lead nonprofit providers before and after implementation of the CARS Project in five test sites. These variations probably affected their collaborative capacity of each site and, ultimately, the project's outcomes. [source]