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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 All rights reserved INFORMATIO N TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI 3396964 Copyright 2 010 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Bo x 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 © Edithe E. Drewery-Brown 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. iii 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. iv 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. v Table of Contents Acknowledgments iii List of Tables vii List of Figures viii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction to the Problem 1 Background of the Study 9 Statement of the Problem 18 Purpose of the Study 19 Rationale 19 Research Questions and Hypotheses 21 Significance of the Study 24 Definition of Terms 27 Assumptions and Limitations 28 Nature of the Study 29 Theoretical/Conceptual Framework 31 Organization of the Remainder of the Study 34 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 35 Introduction 35 Sources of Project Management Related Information 36 Role of Project Management and Information Delivery 38 Types of Project Performance Information 43 vi Project Performance Methods and Information Generation 47 Communications Management: Role in Project Management 66 Project Performance Information and Decision Making 67 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY 70 Introduction 70 Research Design and Methodology 70 Population/Sample 71 Instrumentation 73 Data Collection Procedures 77 Data Analysis Procedures 79 Expected Findings 82 CHAPTER 4. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 84 CHAPTER 5. RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 107 REFERENCES 126 APPENDIX. PROJECT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SURVEY 130 vii List of Tables Table 1. The CLEAR Index- ranking of project success factors and metrics 48 Table 2. Age and Tenure Demographics 85 Table 3. Gender, Educational, Age Demographics 86 Table 4. Industry Type 87 Table 5. Timeliness of Information Receipt 91 Table 6. Degree of Information Accuracy 88 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 viii 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 4. Type of Information Received 90 Figure 5. Timeliness Cumulative Averages 92 Figure 6. Accuracy Cumulative Averages 94 Figure 7. Relationship to Success Cumulative Averages 96 [...]... 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... 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) ... 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 21 status, resource management) , and ratings of timeliness of information received, degree of information accuracy, and relationship... 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 19 Rationale The success of a company’s strategic plan is dependent upon the outcome of project or program execution Morris and. .. 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... planning rely on information for designing the issue or problem resolution plan Unfortunately, for many businesses, effective use of 15 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... 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. .. performance 20 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. .. [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. .. lose focus on what project management is attempting to accomplish or lose confidence in the information project management is designed to produce, 16 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 . SURVEY OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICERS: ANALYSIS OF PROJECT PERFORMANCE INFORMATION RECEIVED, IMPACT ON DECISION MAKING AND PROJECT COMPLETION SUCCESS OR FAILURE by Edithe. 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. . Related Information 36 Role of Project Management and Information Delivery 38 Types of Project Performance Information 43 vi Project Performance Methods and Information Generation 47