Current Issues in Production & Operations Management
The Topic: Project Management
Project management is defined as the process of planning,
execution, and controlling a project from its beginning to completion (Stevenson
& Hojati, 2007).
There are many aspects to project management including project planning,
project scheduling, activity crashing, project execution, and project
monitoring and control. All of these activities
fall under envelope of responsibility of the project manager. In order for project manager’s to properly
organize there resources and execute the successful completion of projects they
often rely on information systems. The
importance, influence, and perception of these information systems are all
addressed in the discussion that follows.
The Issue
A current issue in the field of production and operations
management is the relation between information systems and project management. The
article “The effects of Project Management Information Systems on decision
making in a multi project environment” by Marjolein Caniels and Ralph Bakens
(2012) provides an insightful analysis of how technology affects project
management. Information systems, such as
Microsoft Project and Primavera Project Planner, play a key role for today’s
project managers and these tools, called Project Management Information Systems
(PMIS), impact the decision making of project managers.
This discussion focuses on “the elements of PMIS that
contribute to adequate decision making in a multi project environment, and to
provide insights in the relationship between PMIS information quality and the
project manager’s satisfaction with PMIS” (Caniels & Bakens, 2012). The issue of PMIS to the overall success of
projects is important because of the growing reliance on these tools for
project managers and that fact that “accurate, timely, and relevant information
is essential to the decision-making process of a project and that relying on an
inadequate information system puts a project at risk” (Sifri, 2002).
There have been many studies and analysis done on the affect
of PMIS and single projects, but few have been conducted on multi-project
environments. Many organizations today
operate in multi-project environments due to “globalization and the
internationalization of markets have increased competitive pressures on
business enterprises” (Raymond & Bergeron, 2008). An interesting dynamic in the use of PMIS in
multi-project environments is how the validity and reliability of information
from one project impacts that of other projects.
The Hypothesises
The article attempts to explain five hypotheses with a
research model that “links PMIS information quality to decision making quality”
(Caniels & Bakens, 2012).
1. The first hypothesis is actually a two part hypothesis and it deals with project overload and information overload.
a.
Project overload is related to the maximum
number of projects one manager can handle at a time with the available
resources at their disposal.
b.
Information overload argues that there is a
limit to the amount of information that a project manager can handle before it
starts to have a negative impact on information quality.
2. The next hypothesis takes it a step further and addresses a positive correlation between higher PMIS information quality and the success of multi-project environments.
3. Hypothesis three looks at the satisfaction of project managers with their PMIS and its information quality.
4. In hypothesis four the satisfaction level of a project manager with their PMIS is compared against the continued use of PMIS.
5. Finally, hypothesis five focuses on the quality of decision making in relation to the continued use of PMIS.
The research model for these interrelated hypotheses is
shown in Figure 1 below. This model shows the relationship of the hypothesises
described above and the expected negative (-)/positive (+) correlation between
the stated hypothesis and its impact on the subsequent hypothesis.
 |
| Figure 1 - Research Model (Caniels & Bakens, 2012)
|
The Results
A questionnaire was administered to a Dutch pharmaceutical
company and the results were statistically analyzed to provide an accurate
response to each of the five constructed hypothesises.
Hypothesis 1 – Project and Information Overload
- both had a weak positive relation to PMIS information quality – opposite to hypothesis
- resulting from the project manager’s perception of overload
- subjective gratitude for project managers may also have factored in the positive relation
Hypothesis 2 – PMIS Information Quality and its relation to adequate
decision making
- the positive relation is affirmed by the findings
- multi-project environments require higher PMIS Information Quality; this statement supersedes the fact that time constraints often do not allow information quality to be verified and therefore adequate decisions are still made
Hypothesis 3 – Project manager satisfaction with PMIS as it relates to
Information Quality
- a positive affect was found between these two factors
- a higher degree of information quality will translate to a higher level of satisfaction with PMIS
Hypothesis 4 – PMIS information use increases as project manager
satisfaction increases
- a positive correlation was determined
- results showed 37% satisfied and 90% not
- dissatisfaction would have a profound impact in a multi-project environment; PMIS information would not be used on other simultaneously running projects
Hypothesis 5 – Greater use of PMIS information translates to better Quality
of Decision Making
- two factors are directly influencing the quality of decision making; 1) quality of information produced, and 2) the use of PMIS information
- reliability, relevance, accuracy and comprehensiveness of the information all factor in to quality of decision making
A Final Thought
We are in an information world with an unlimited amount
of information at our fingertips. This
creates the need to be able to assess the information and pull out only the
information that we need. Project managers
from various industries operate in multi-project environments and are exposed
to large amounts of information which they must assess and address according to
their project’s resources requirements.
The project manager’s reliance on PMIS is critical to the success of the
projects at hand but a manager can not become complacent with the technology
and they must be aware of the implications of the information the system
produces and how it impacts their decision making in a multi-project
environment.
References
Caniels, M., & Bakens, R. (2012). The effects of
Project Management Information Sytems on decision making in a multi project
environment. International Journal of Project Management , 30
(2), 162-175. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.kwantlen.ca:2080/10.1016/j.ijproman.2011.05.005
Raymond, L., & Bergeron, F. (2008). Project
management information systems: An empirical study of their impact on project
managers and project success. International Jounal of Project Management
, 26 (2), 213-220. Retrieved
from http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.kwantlen.ca:2080/10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.06.002
Sifri, G. (2002, December 4). When to consider a
project management information system. Retrieved January 29, 2012, from
TechRepublic Web site:
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/when-to-consider-a-project-management-information-system/1050437
Stevenson, W. J., & Hojati, M. (2007). Operations
Management: Third Canadian Edition. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
