Optimizing Project Success through Pragmatic Process Improvement Initiatives

Abstract

A major challenge in the rich history of project management had been the lack of consensus on the nature and definition of project success that considered the disparate interests of all stakeholders, over time (Cleland & Ireland, 2007; Kloppenborg & Opfer, 2002; Moris, 1994; Sauer, Gemino, & Reich, 2007; Bannerman, 2008). In order to overcome this age-long hiccup, project success has been defined in this work in a holistic manner that appeals to the vested interest of stakeholders across the board, in a timeless way. This approach was based on Bannerman's (2008) Multi-Level Framework for project success definition. The framework defines project success as one measured by five key success metrics, namely, project management, process management, product management, business management, and strategic management. The objective is to take care of the interests of the stakeholders across the board, including, project managers and their teams, end users of products or services delivered, the organization with its immediate investment goals, as well as, the society with its longer term developmental needs. Of all five levels listed above, process management underlies the rest, and forms a fulcrum around which they revolve and depend on. Hence, a successful process improvement initiative will likely impact positively on the rest four key result areas, all things being equal.

Basically, both literature and research affirm that a significant positive relationship exists between project success optimization and process improvement (Bakotic & Kirnic, 2017). Given this scenario, a proper implementation of pragmatic process improvement methodologies, will most likely enhance the chances of optimizing project success. This is the key thesis of this seminar. Of  which, the main objective is to expose project managers and their organizations to pragmatic Business Process Improvement (BPI) methodologies that can lead to optimized process project success (and hence, optimized project success) in the present industrial dispensation. This seminar became necessary given that the findings of research have shown that lack of knowledge about pragmatic tools (like Lean Six Sigma System) has been among the greatest obstacles to their adaptation and implementation, especially, among SMEs (Anthony & Kumar, 2014).

Whereas, many BPI methodologies have existed over the years, most of them have faded away in the course of time. However, Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies, due to their relevance to the present times, have been acknowledged among the pragmatic tools that have stood the test of time, in offering solutions to most process improvement issues in both production and service industries of all sizes and disciplines. Furthermore, an integration of both tools has been especially affirmed by empirical literature, to yield added advantages than derived from either of them separately (Anthony & Kumar, 2014). Therefore, Lean Six Sigma Systems is hereby recommended to project managers and organizations who are on a quest for pragmatic initiatives that optimize process success for an optimized project success, provided that factors enhancing process project success are maximized, and those that lead to process project failure are minimized (Rever, 2008).