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Abstract: The purpose of the paper is to present a model of factors affecting the successful project implementation by introducing agility and artificial intelligence to increase the company’s competitiveness. In the model, the multidimensional constructs describing the implementation of an agile work environment and artificial intelligence technologies and tools were developed. These multidimensional constructs are agile work environment, agile leadership, agile team skills and capabilities, improving the work of the leader in the project, adopting AI technologies in the project, and using AI solutions in a project. Their impact on successful project implementation and on the company competitiveness was tested. The fundamental reason for conducting this research and developing the model is to enhance the understanding of factors that contribute to the successful implementation of projects and to increase a company’s competitiveness. Our developed model encompasses multidimensional constructs that describe the agile work environment and the utilization of AI technologies. By examining the impact of these constructs on both successful project implementation and company competitiveness, we aimed to establish a comprehensive framework that captures the relationship between agility, AI, and successful project implementation. This model serves as a valuable tool for companies seeking to improve their project implementation processes and gain a competitive edge in the market. The research was based on a sample of 473 managers/owners in medium-sized and large companies. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. In today’s turbulent environment, the results will help develop guidelines for a successful combination of agile business practices and artificial intelligence to achieve successful project implementation, increasing a company’s competitiveness.
Keywords: artificial intelligence, agile work environment, company competitiveness, project management
Published in DKUM: 26.03.2024; Views: 294; Downloads: 170
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Abstract: This study examines the impact of project management practices on high-growth Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (HG SMEs) from a systems perspective, utilizing Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and data from a diverse SME sample. It investigates the intricate relationships among project management system support, project management processes, stakeholder involvement, project management success, project success, and HG SME growth. Our findings highlight the substantial positive influence of project management processes and stakeholder engagement on project management success. These factors subsequently contribute significantly to both project success and the overall growth of HG SMEs. Notably, project management system support does not exhibit a substantial influence on these success factors. Furthermore, our research uncovers important indirect effects. Project management processes indirectly impact both project success and HG SME growth, underscoring their central role. Similarly, stakeholder involvement indirectly influences HG SME growth through its impact on project success, emphasizing its significance. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by emphasizing the critical roles of project management processes, stakeholder engagement, and project success as drivers of SME growth. These insights have valuable implications for SME managers, project leaders, and policymakers, highlighting the essential nature of effective project management in shaping the growth trajectory of SMEs.
Keywords: project management, project success, SME growth, stakeholder engagement, projectmanagement processes, high-growth SMEs, systems perspective, SEM
Published in DKUM: 13.12.2023; Views: 455; Downloads: 20
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Abstract: Background and Purpose: In every organization, project management raises many different decision-making problems, a large proportion of which can be efficiently solved using specific decision-making support systems. Yet such kinds of problems are always a challenge since there is no time-efficient or computationally efficient algorithm to solve them as a result of their complexity. In this study, we consider the problem of optimal financial investment. In our solution, we take into account the following organizational resource and project characteristics: profits, costs and risks. Design/Methodology/Approach: The decision-making problem is reduced to a multi-criteria 0-1 knapsack problem. This implies that we need to find a non-dominated set of alternative solutions, which are a trade-off between maximizing incomes and minimizing risks. At the same time, alternatives must satisfy constraints. This leads to a constrained two-criterion optimization problem in the Boolean space. To cope with the peculiarities and high complexity of the problem, evolution-based algorithms with an island meta-heuristic are applied as an alternative to conventional techniques. Results: The problem in hand was reduced to a two-criterion unconstrained extreme problem and solved with different evolution-based multi-objective optimization heuristics. Next, we applied a proposed meta-heuristic combining the particular algorithms and causing their interaction in a cooperative and collaborative way. The obtained results showed that the island heuristic outperformed the original ones based on the values of a specific metric, thus showing the representativeness of Pareto front approximations. Having more representative approximations, decision-makers have more alternative project portfolios corresponding to different risk and profit estimations. Since these criteria are conflicting, when choosing an alternative with an estimated high profit, decision-makers follow a strategy with an estimated high risk and vice versa. Conclusion: In the present paper, the project portfolio decision-making problem was reduced to a 0-1 knapsack constrained multi-objective optimization problem. The algorithm investigation confirms that the use of the island meta-heuristic significantly improves the performance of genetic algorithms, thereby providing an efficient tool for Financial Responsibility Centres Management.
Keywords: 0-1 multi-objective constrained knapsack problem, project management portfolio problem, multi-objective evolution-based optimization algorithms, collaborative and cooperative meta-heuristics
Published in DKUM: 04.05.2018; Views: 1571; Downloads: 299
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Abstract: Building information modelling (BIM) may currently be considered the fastest developing concept in the field of construction management, aiming to become a global standard. Although the roots of the concept date back to the mid-1970s, some original expectations are still missing from its implementation. There has been a time gap between its theoretical and practical implementations. While the simultaneous development of information technologies is one reason for the implementation delay, other reasons remain unclear. This paper analyzes the gaps between theoretical and practical BIM application, as well as the legislation regarding BIM implementation in four countries (in alphabetical order: Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Slovenia). The paper additionally presents a survey of current practical BIM applications as well as general and theoretical feedback from construction projects that implemented BIM.
Keywords: construction industry, implementation, project management, survey
Published in DKUM: 12.01.2018; Views: 1526; Downloads: 357
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Abstract: While advanced technologies are entering schools at all levels, we claim that other skills required to deal with them in the complex modern world should not be neglected in the education system. In this article, a promising approach to interdisciplinary postgraduate education is described. The idea of the »Team project« course is to give the students the opportunity to gain experience in an extensive project where various skills are needed, e.g. teamwork, coordinating work, project management, research, problem solving, public presentations, time management, etc. The course is obligatory and held in the first year of the master study program at the School of Engineering and Management of the University of Nova Gorica. The main advantage of the course is to give the students hands-on experience of work on a project that is very close to reality. Students are forced to gain experience in teamwork and to overcome the uncertainties and obstacles that arise in such projects. Since the launch of the course, several improvements have been made with the aim of improving the performance of the course. Nevertheless, the course remains a challenge for both students and teachers.
Keywords: teamwork, student project, engineering and management
Published in DKUM: 29.11.2017; Views: 1380; Downloads: 173
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