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Dealing with Projects in a Dynamic Scenario: New Managing Approaches and User-Centered Tools

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2020) | Viewed by 29327

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Salvador F. Capuz-Rizo

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Guest Editor

Department of Engineering Projects, Universitat Politècnica de València
Interests: project management; life-cycle assessment; sustainable project engineering

Dr. José L. Yagüe Blanco

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Guest Editor

Projects and Planning Section, Department of Agroforestry, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Interests: project management; projects for development; project evaluation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

At present, uncertainty, complexity, and change are three challenges that sustainable project management must overcome. Furthermore, new technologies and digital transformation involve the execution of new project typologies, which in many cases have a high degree of technological complexity: Internet of Things, systems oriented to user experience, Industry 4.0, Smart Cities, Artificial Intelligence, and Big Data. Thus, a static and unidimensional definition of the scope of projects is not available anymore. Instead, an open and dynamic life-cycle point of view for project management is demanding new approaches for consistent and sustainable project management. That dynamic scenario encourages new approaches for complexity management, megaprojects, and multiproject management.

Additionally, those approaches are strongly based on new data management technologies, not only for monitoring but mainly for managing stakeholders throughout a changing project life-cycle. The user\s point of view is dynamically incorporated into decision-making processes. Therefore, new tools are needed for simulating, anticipating, and simulating user experience. Applications to improve planning and sustainable management in projects cover a wide range of topics: energy efficiency, ergonomics and biomechanics, 3D visualization, peer to peer solutions, artificial intelligence, etc.

This Special Issue is looking for significant contributions to both project management approaches and user-centered tools.

Dr. Salvador F. Capuz-Rizo
Dr. José L. Yagüe Blanco
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

project management
multiproject approach
complexity management
megaprojects
efficiency management
user-centered and user-experience tools
data management
dynamic life-cycle management
stakeholder management

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 1257 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Knowledge as an Organizational Asset for Managing Complex Projects: The Case of Naval Platforms

by Alberto Cerezo-Narváez, Andrés Pastor-Fernández, Manuel Otero-Mateo, Pablo Ballesteros-Pérez and Francisco Rodríguez-Pecci

Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 885; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020885 - 17 Jan 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2365

Abstract

Knowledge management (KM) involves learning from past experiences to avoid or correct scope misalignments, quality deviations, safety problems, time delays and/or cost overruns. KM is frequently materialized as a risk management (RM) plan. An RM plan allows for anticipating, avoiding, mitigating, or reducing potential problems impacting project performance. However, despite their high complementarity, KM and RM are not the same, nor share the same purpose. In the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, managing complex projects involves many KM-related challenges, such as differential competitiveness enhancement and value chain streamlining. Naval platforms are complex projects that require the integration of multiple sources of knowledge and information. They also need to keep on integrating latest digital technology innovations in their production processes. In this context, streamlining the requirements management may become a differential asset for project stakeholders of naval platforms. Namely, enhancing requirements management can make the customers’ needs easier to meet, shorten the projects duration, reduce costs, optimize resources, and allow for higher flexibility. However, requirements management has KM as pre-requisite and RM as consequence. Unfortunately, potential synergies between KM and RM have remained largely unexplored in the project management literature, and so has requirements management as a potential bridge between both concepts. In this paper, a holistic model for shipbuilding organizations linking KM and RM is proposed. The model draws from existing KM and RM models while considering organizational factors, technological platforms, and competitiveness factors. A case study of a naval platform showing the model’s applicability is provided. It is shown how the model can allow shipbuilding companies to sustain a competitive advantage by facilitating more robust decision making in dynamic project environments. Furthermore, the model also facilitates the identification of the companies’ core competences to reach and keep a strong position in current global markets. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dealing with Projects in a Dynamic Scenario: New Managing Approaches and User-Centered Tools)

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16 pages, 1524 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Risk Influence Analysis Assessing the Profitability of Large Photovoltaic Plant Construction Projects

by Luis Serrano-Gomez and Jose Ignacio Muñoz-Hernandez

Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 9127; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12219127 - 03 Nov 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1809

Abstract

The global energy system is in a phase of change for power generation technologies which involve traditional fossil fuel-based technologies to renewable energy-based systems, thanks to lower construction costs, mainly for photovoltaic energy, and changes in countries’ energy policies. In the case of Spain, both factors have led to a reactivation of renewable technologies, which can be found from the data on requests for access and connection to the electricity transmission network that are being processed in Red Eléctrica de España (REE). The requests that were granted access to the network exceeded 100 GW of power in November 2019 alone, and the companies which made the requests must commence electricity production by 2025. During the early stage of approval considerations, it is necessary to carry out an influence study of the risks that can already be identified, as this would enable determining the effects of these risks on the project’s main financial parameters. Based on a risk identification for similar prior projects, experts are typically asked to make their judgments on the influence of such risks on the main economic variables of a project, focusing on the project’s cost, time, and scope. By applying the fuzzy sets, these judgments can be transformed into triangular values that, through Monte Carlo simulation, allow us to assess the influence of these risks on the main financial parameters: the net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and payback (PB); as a result of obtaining these parameters, a response to project risks can be planned. To check the functionality of the model, it was applied to a case study involving a construction project for a 250 MW photovoltaic plant located in Murcia (Spain). The application of this methodology allowed us to determine which evaluation criteria are most appropriate based on the philosophy of the PMO (Project Management Office) and the data that were obtained. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dealing with Projects in a Dynamic Scenario: New Managing Approaches and User-Centered Tools)

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13 pages, 14192 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Towards the Use of 3D Thermal Models in Constructions

by Antonio Adán, Blanca Quintana, Juan García Aguilar, Víctor Pérez and Francisco Javier Castilla

Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8521; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208521 - 15 Oct 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2101

Abstract

The use of point clouds in architecture and civil engineering has, to date, been limited almost exclusively to functional geometric features. Nevertheless, hardly any works have attempted to process and explore 3D thermal models for buildings. This paper presents a method for the visualisation and exploration of 3D thermal models (3D-T) of building interiors. A 3D-T model consists of a thermal point cloud, which has been generated with a 3D thermal-scanner platform. Given a 3D-T of a building at a specific time, the user can visualise and navigate through different room models and each room can, in turn, be segmented into its architectonic components (walls, ceilings and floors), from which thermal orthoimages can be generated. When the building is sensed at different times, a 3D temporal-thermal (3D-TT) model is integrated. The temporal-thermal evolution of these structural components, along with selected zones of them, can then be analysed by performing a new type of thermal characterisation. This method has successfully been tested using real building-related data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dealing with Projects in a Dynamic Scenario: New Managing Approaches and User-Centered Tools)

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12 pages, 589 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Natural Language Processing Approach to Social License Management

by Robert G. Boutilier and Kyle Bahr

Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8441; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208441 - 13 Oct 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2161

Abstract

Dealing with the social and political impacts of large complex projects requires monitoring and responding to concerns from an ever-evolving network of stakeholders. This paper describes the use of text analysis algorithms to identify stakeholders’ concerns across the project life cycle. The social license (SL) concept has been used to monitor the level of social acceptance of a project. That acceptance can be assessed from the texts produced by stakeholders on sources ranging from social media to personal interviews. The same texts also contain information on the substance of stakeholders’ concerns. Until recently, extracting that information necessitated manual coding by humans, which is a method that takes too long to be useful in time-sensitive projects. Using natural language processing algorithms, we designed a program that assesses the SL level and identifies stakeholders’ concerns in a few hours. To validate the program, we compared it to human coding of interview texts from a Bolivian mining project from 2009 to 2018. The program’s estimation of the annual average SL was significantly correlated with rating scale measures. The topics of concern identified by the program matched the most mentioned categories defined by human coders and identified the same temporal trends. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dealing with Projects in a Dynamic Scenario: New Managing Approaches and User-Centered Tools)

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19 pages, 10654 KiB

Open AccessArticle

LED Lighting Installations in Professional Stadiums: Energy Efficiency, Visual Comfort, and Requirements of 4K TV Broadcast

by Rami David Orejón-Sánchez, Manuel Jesús Hermoso-Orzáez and Alfonso Gago-Calderón

Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7684; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187684 - 17 Sep 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4916

Abstract

Nowadays, LED lighting technology reaches a higher Value of Energy Efficiency in Installations (VEEI) (W/m2*100 lux) than current luminaire lighting due to the number of lumens per watt that these are able to generate, as well as the directional nature of their emissions together with the adjustment capability through concentrator lenses with beam graduations that reach 5º. This achieves energy savings of up to 80%. Furthermore, also considering the substantial decrease in flickers, and that it noticeably improves usage of ultra-slow-motion cameras and the fading of switching-on or rearm times upon failure, LED technology stands out as the main solution for illumination of professional sports facilities. This article describes the evolution of regulatory requirements that are being imposed by the governing institutions of sports (FIFA, UEFA, FIBA, etc.) and professional leagues (LaLiga, Euroliga, etc.) in order to guarantee their competence as high-quality television products. In addition, the trends in requirements and specifications regarding lighting equipment and its installation, which are intended to convert stadiums into optimized centers for the celebration and dissemination of mass events, are analyzed (settings, photometry, etc.), particularly those concerning horizontal, vertical, and camera illuminance, average and extreme uniformities, glare, reduction of intrusive light in bleachers, flickers, color rendering index (CRI), correlated color temperature (CCT), and start-up times. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dealing with Projects in a Dynamic Scenario: New Managing Approaches and User-Centered Tools)

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14 pages, 1824 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identifying Risks for Better Project Management between Two Different Cultures: The Chinese and the Spanish

by Rocío Rodríguez-Rivero, Isabel Ortiz-Marcos, Luis Ballesteros-Sánchez and Xabier Martínez-Beneitez

Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7588; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187588 - 15 Sep 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3670

Abstract

Business globalization causes all project managers, sooner or later, to face the challenge of understanding cultural differences. Identifying the risks associated with these differences has become an essential task today when discussing international projects. This paper shows how to improve the management of projects carried out in China by Spanish organizations, identifying risks related to differences between societies. To determine this set of risks, the cultural dimensions of Hofstede and Meyer were analyzed for the case of China and Spain, as well as the most critical values of the World Value Survey between both cultures. From there, and thanks to work done with a focus group formed of 29 Spanish project managers who are experienced in working in projects developed in China, risks were identified and classified into categories considering cultural dimensions. The results obtained show a record of risks of great interest for organizations working in international contexts, mainly in China. They reveal, in addition, the importance of considering this type of risks related to cultural differences, which have rarely been treated before. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dealing with Projects in a Dynamic Scenario: New Managing Approaches and User-Centered Tools)

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16 pages, 4027 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Data Acquisition System for the Characterization of Biomechanical and Ergonomic Thresholds in Driving Vehicles

by Juan F. Dols, Vicent Girbés-Juan, Álvaro Luna and Javier Catalán

Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 7013; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12177013 - 28 Aug 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2383

Abstract

Directive (EU) 2015/653 on driving licenses has involved the modification of different codes that must appear on driver’s licenses. The definition of specific codes (20.07 and 40.01) compels measurement of the braking and steering forces. Performing practical tests to assess the driving fitness of special drivers will help to determine the maximum force that a driver can apply on primary controls when driving. From that point, definition of car control adaptations required to supply their functional deficiencies can be stated. This article describes a data acquisition system designed and developed for obtaining data from experimental tests based on the execution of habitual driving manoeuvres (braking, lane change and roundabouts). The data gathered will allow for definition of the thresholds of biomechanical values (forces on the steering wheel and brake pedal) and ergonomic values (driver’s upper extremity mobility ranges) necessary for driving motor vehicles. The results have shown that application in real driving tests of the data acquisition system designed provides valid and suitable results for the case studied. Therefore, it will contribute to substantially improving the assessment procedure for drivers in general and for disabled people in particular when obtaining or renewing their driving licenses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dealing with Projects in a Dynamic Scenario: New Managing Approaches and User-Centered Tools)

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14 pages, 1393 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Project-Based Firm: A Theoretical Framework for Building Dynamic Capabilities

by Víctor Hermano and Natalia Martín-Cruz

Sustainability 2020, 12(16), 6639; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166639 - 17 Aug 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3006

Abstract

The problem of achieving individual project performance has been replaced by the problem of achieving organizational goals through project performance. Only project-based firms able to learn and build project capabilities can successfully compete in today’s dynamic environments. The purpose of this paper is to present a dynamic capability-based framework that sheds light on how project and organizational dynamic capabilities are built and how these dynamic capabilities allow project-based firms to perform in dynamic environments. Our theoretical framework unpacks the processes of building dynamic capabilities inside a project-based firm, discussing the routines and procedures that are useful to manage projects in unstable and dynamic environments and to build and reconfigure organizational capabilities from project-led knowledge. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dealing with Projects in a Dynamic Scenario: New Managing Approaches and User-Centered Tools)

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10 pages, 2634 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Case Study of the Experience Capturer Evaluation Tool in the Design Process of an Industrial HMI

by Erik Aranburu, Ganix Lasa, Jon Kepa Gerrikagoitia and Maitane Mazmela

Sustainability 2020, 12(15), 6228; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12156228 - 03 Aug 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2908

Abstract

In the absence of user experience evaluation tools for industrial human–machine interfaces (HMI), a specific tool called eXperience Capturer (XC) has been created. It is a multi-method user-centred tool that evaluates the pragmatic and experiential aspects of employees’ interaction with industrial HMIs during the three phases of experience. In this article, a case study is shown where the XC tool is used in an industrial HMI design process. The results show that evaluation using the XC tool facilitates the creation of a new design that improves the experience of employees during interaction, increasing their autonomy, competence, closeness to the system, safety and stimulation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dealing with Projects in a Dynamic Scenario: New Managing Approaches and User-Centered Tools)

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13 pages, 975 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Managing Multiple Projects in Uncertain Contexts: A Case Study on the Application of a New Approach Based on the Critical Chain Method

by Unai Apaolaza and Aitor Lizarralde

Sustainability 2020, 12(15), 5999; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12155999 - 25 Jul 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3140

Abstract

Uncertainty and change are two features of modern project management. They strongly influence the project management needs to operate in such contexts. This is the case when a complete and accurate definition of the scope of a project is not available. Those situations require a project management approach capable of dealing with the special conditions that characterise said contexts. This study focuses on the application of the progressive elaboration approach and the Critical Chain method. We analysed the implementation process of the new procedure in a company that produces capital goods for the automotive industry. The work’s main focus is on the effect of this change from the multi-project perspective. We found that the change had a larger impact than was expected by the company. Firstly, we found that the new approach provided an opportunity to improve the performance of the company. Besides, the new approach uncovered significant problems that previously were ignored, as well as problems and obstacles to the change. Based on the results and findings of this work, we conclude that shifting to this kind of approach requires a global managerial perspective, and strong support from the management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dealing with Projects in a Dynamic Scenario: New Managing Approaches and User-Centered Tools)

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