ORCID Profile
0000-0003-4843-5460
Current Organisation
University of South Australia
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Publisher: Emerald
Date: 24-09-2021
DOI: 10.1108/IJMPB-01-2019-0007
Abstract: Despite the advent of sophisticated control methods, there are still significant issues regarding late delivery of information technology projects. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the common causes of scheduling problems specifically in the information technology projects context. Through a quantitative research, the importance of those causes, as well as the underpinning factors driving them, is explored. The causes are ranked according to their relative important index, and exploratory factor analysis is employed to reveal underlying dimensions (factors) of these causes. From the analysis, four factors were extracted, namely, “Dataless Newbie,” “Technical Newbie,” “Pragmatic Futurist” and “Optimistic Politician.” These factors explain the different latent conditions that lead to scheduling problems in information technology projects. The key contribution of this research is that it enlightens the latent conditions underpinning scheduling problems. Also, the evidence provides that schedule development for information technology projects is impacted by the same causes that impact engineering projects, and that applying a number of mitigation techniques widely used within the engineering area, such as reference class, would, no doubt, not only improve information technology schedules but also reduce the political pressures on the project manager. This research provides a valuable insight into understanding the underlying factors for poor project estimation.
Publisher: IGI Global
Date: 04-2019
DOI: 10.4018/IJITPM.2019040104
Abstract: Developing and delivering a project to an agreed schedule is fundamentally what project managers do. There is still an ongoing debate about schedule delays. This research investigates the development of schedules through semi-structured in-depth interviews. The findings reveal that half of the respondents believe that delays reported in the media are not real and should be attributed to scope changes. IT project managers estimating techniques include bottom-up estimates, analogy, and expert judgement. Impeding factors reported for the development of realistic schedules were technical (e.g. honest mistakes) and political (e.g. completion dates imposed by the sponsor). Respondents did not mention any psychological factors, although most were aware of optimism bias. However, they were not familiar with approaches to mitigate its impacts. Yet, when these techniques were mentioned, the overwhelming majority agreed that these mitigation approaches would change their schedule estimate.
Publisher: Royal College of General Practitioners
Date: 02-2009
Publisher: Royal College of General Practitioners
Date: 09-2009
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 12-2020
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 04-04-2017
DOI: 10.1108/IJMPB-07-2016-0063
Abstract: One of the major challenges for any project is to prepare and develop an achievable baseline schedule and thus set the project up for success, rather than failure. The purpose of this paper is to explore and investigate research outputs in one of the major causes, optimism bias, to identify problems with developing baseline schedules and analyse mitigation techniques and their effectiveness recommended by research to minimise the impact of this bias. A systematic quantitative literature review was followed, examining Project Management Journals , documenting the mitigation approaches recommended and then reviewing whether these approaches were validated by research. Optimism bias proved to be widely accepted as a major cause of unrealistic scheduling for projects, and there is a common understanding as to what it is and the effects that it has on original baseline schedules. Based upon this review, the most recommended mitigation method is Flyvbjerg’s “Reference class,” which has been developed based upon Kahneman’s “Outside View”. Both of these mitigation techniques are based upon using an independent third party to review the estimate. However, within the papers reviewed, apart from the engineering projects, there has been no experimental and statistically validated research into the effectiveness of this method. The majority of authors who have published on this topic are based in Europe. The short-listed papers for this review referred mainly to non-engineering projects which included information technology focussed ones. Thus, on one hand, empirical research is needed for engineering projects, while on the other hand, the lack of tangible evidence for the effectiveness of methods related to the alleviation of optimism bias issues calls for greater research into the effectiveness of mitigation techniques for not only engineering projects, but for all projects. This paper documents the growth within the project management research literature over time on the topic of optimism bias. Specifically, it documents the various methods recommended to mitigate the phenomenon and highlights quantitatively the research undertaken on the subject. Moreover, it introduces paths for further research.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 2008
DOI: 10.1080/13814780802632683
Abstract: Antidepressant prescribing has dramatically increased in Scotland, and the cause is unknown. To investigate if the increase in antidepressant prescribing coincided with a reduction in prescribing of anxiolytics and hypnotics to investigate this relationship at practice level and to explore whether general practitioners (GPs) explain the increase by their increased use for anxiety. analysis of routine prescribing data and interviews with GPs. Scottish general practices. 942 practices included in the analysis. Sixty-three GPs in 30 practices completed interviews. Quantity of antidepressants, anxiolytics, and hypnotics prescribed. Relationship at practice level between anxiolytic/hypnotic and antidepressant prescribing. Spontaneous comments by GPs about prescribing antidepressants for anxiety. Antidepressant prescribing increased from 28.9 million defined daily doses (DDDs) in 1992/3 to 128.3 million in 2004/5. Anxiolytic/hypnotic prescribing fell from 64.2 million to 55.1 million DDDs. There was a weak, positive correlation between levels of antidepressant and anxiolytic/hypnotic prescribing (+0.084, p=0.010). GPs treated anxiety with antidepressants, although many described an overlap between anxiety and depression. Some spontaneously identified a relationship with benzodiazepine prescribing when asked to explain the increase in antidepressant prescribing. A small part of the increase in antidepressant prescribing is due to substitution for benzodiazepines to treat anxiety.
No related grants have been discovered for James Prater.