BUQS4027:CPM INDIVIDUAL PROJECT 2 724272

BUQS4027: CONSTRUCTION
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
INDIVIDUAL PROJECT 2
READING RESPONSE
724272
BUQS4027:CPM INDIVIDUAL PROJECT 2 724272

Reading Response
The article in question for this Reading Response is “insights of project managers into the
problems of project management” by Peter Vincent Livesy. The author hails from the
University of Sydney, Australia and his article was published in the Construction Economics
and Building publication, Volume 16 (1). It was also hosted by UTS ePRESS online. (Livesey,
2016)

The study conducted was a Delphi study utilising projects which were in excess of $500
million. The study included the project managers who managed these mammoth projects to
understand, confirm and find a trend with the types of problems which they each faced in their
projects (Livesey, 2016). The results of the study were then ranked using a Relative Importance
Index. Subjects who participated as part of the the Delphi Panel were also asked their views
with regards to the need for more traditional management skills (hard skills) and team
management skills (soft skills) as project size increased from $50 million to $500 million. The
end result showing that there was an increasing need for both skills and a significant demand
for soft skills noted (Livesey, 2016). Much like the article written by Chen and Partington
(2006), the article written by Livesey (2016) can provide deep insight into a specific area, in
this case, problems faced for projects of great magnitudes ($500 million up) and would be a
read of value to project managers who take on the management of such projects.

To understand the study, it is first important to understand what a ‘Delphi study’ is. According
to rand.org, The Delphi Method was initially developed by the RAND Corporation in the year
1950, and was used to analyse and forecast the impact of Technology on warfare (Rand.org,
n.d.). The method entailed a group of experts on a panel who would answer questionnaires on
the specific topic which they were experts in, anonymously. They then receive the ‘group
feedback’ as a statistical representation in response. The process is then repeated, with the
eventual goal of reducing the range of responses to arrive at something close to an ‘expert
consensus’ (Rand.org, n.d.). This method is fruitful as it ensures concise and targeted responses
to the questions asked, hence ensuring a more focused approach to identifying the problems
which project managers face within the field of project management for behemoth projects, in
this case anyway.

The article opens with an introduction in framing the definition of a project and its temporary
nature (Project Management Institute, 2013). Another definition of project management by
Goodman and Goodman (1976) emphasised that a team of diverse people working together to
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achieve a complex task in a given amount of time is what constitutes a project. Both these
definitions echo that a project is temporary with the later assuring that it is a joint effort.
Another concerning area identified within the introduction was that often, teams are
geographically dispersed through all the development stages of a project. This is a challenge
as coordinating people and events from different areas (sometimes even across the globe) can
be a daunting task and requires a great deal of planning.

The objective of the study was to tackle the process problems within project management rather
than the negative outcomes of time and cost overruns (Livesey, 2016). For this study to take
shape, a literature review was conducted in order to identify the problems which project
managers faced and considered the nature of projects (i.e. their temporariness and their
geographic dispersion, if any). The problems identified were then proposed to the Delphi Panel
for them to verify their validity. The panel consisted of experienced project managers who were
majority from a mining and Infrastructure background (handling projects in excess of $1
billion). This approach to the study being both qualitative and quantitative, is an advantage (to
myself personally), as it allows for a more holistic result by referencing both literature and
what is identified there, against what is actually experienced in real world scenarios and the
various challenges which may not have been accounted for in literature. It also provides the
opportunity to update the Literature available as some may be outdated and some challenges
which are faced today may have been non-existent a few years ago as the world moves closer
to the fourth industrial revolution with advancements in technology etc.

With regards to the impact of geographical location, Verburg, Bosch-Sijtsema and Vartianen
(2013) concluded that when a project is geographically scattered, human factors such as
communication, organisational skills and the ability to develop trust are important. These are
skills which were echoed by Chen and Partington (2006) as core competencies which project
managers should have in their study. From personal experience with group projects, it is
difficult to communicate exactly the standard of work which needs to be kept up to when
completing assignments in University. Not everyone will have the standards which you keep
to. Everyone through their own experience has come to their own methods in maintaining
quality and time management which can sometimes conflict with your own methods. This is
something which needs to be worked around. Communication in the early parts of a project is
the key to working around this problem. Another aspect which needs to develop fairly quickly
is trust among all stakeholders of the project to ensure a smooth and effective team.
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With respect to the Nature of projects, problems faced included:

 Limited time-frame
 Team members who have diverse background who need to be integrated into the team
from various locations
 The unique nature of each project and understanding issues involved in said projects
 Ambiguity in project brief/scope etc.
 Changes in project team and conflicts therein.

It is important to remember that there is no easy fix for these problems and they are relatively
project specific as each project comes with its own set of challenges and difficulties to
overcome, however by understanding the potential problems which a project might face it
provides the project team with insight for them to plan in advance and negate an aspect of
uncertainty and risk by knowing more or less what to expect through the study of past projects
and literature studies such as this one.

PMBoK and team management play an important role no matter the magnitude of the project
as they are relevant skills which enable project managers to more efficiently complete the given
task at hand. Livesey’s study stated that while PMBoK is important for large projects, soft
skills are more sort after and are considered more important when dealing with bigger and more
complex projects. Team management is important in the sense that each individual stakeholder
in a project has a specified task and skill which they need to fulfil and provide to ensure the
successful completion of the project.

As an avid fan and participant in gaming. The analogy which I draw when thinking of team
management is that of a MMO game which requires a team effort to complete objectives or
win a match. Each player chooses the role of a character which has a specific role within the
game. Each character has their respective traits which can be compared to a professional’s role
in a project. If one player falls short on their duty it has catastrophic consequences on the
outcome of the match and could result in a loss. Much like a project which requires everybody’s
professional contribution in order to ensure a successful project.

In conclusion, Livesey’s study was a beneficial read which all project managers should read to
get a deeper insight into the problems faced, and it need not be a large construction project. I
firmly believe that there is a lesson to be learnt from this article and the information can be
deemed as reliable through the use of the Delphi method and expert panel.
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References
Chen, P. and Partington, D. (2006). Three conceptual levels of construction project
management work. International Journal of Project Management, 24(5), pp.412-421.

Goodman, R.A. and Goodman, L.P., 1976. Some management issues in temporary systems: A
study of professional development and manpower-the theater case. Administrative science
quarterly, 21(3), pp.494-501. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2391857

Livesey, P. (2016). Insights of project managers into the problems in project management.
Construction Economics and Building, 16(1), p.90.

Project Management Institute, 2013. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge:
PMBOK® Guide: Project Management Institute.

Rand.org. (n.d.). Delphi Method. [online] Available at: https://www.rand.org/topics/delphi-

method.html [Accessed 13 May 2018].

Verburg, R.M., Bosch-Sijtsema, P. and Vartiainen, M., 2013. Getting it done: Critical success
factors for project managers in virtual work settings. International journal of project
management, 31(1), pp.68-79. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2012.04.005