Lean project planning and control: empirical investigation of ETO projects

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate an effective project management practice focusing on planning and control. By doing so, it contributes to the debate on rethinking traditional project management practices and accentuates the need for adjustments based on the project context. Design/methodology/approach This paper extends the project management theory by proposing a lean project planning (LPP) and control framework, developed and tested in collaboration with ten engineer-to-order (ETO) companies. By following a design science research approach, elements from lean thinking and current project planning and control practices are combined into a maturity model (MM). Findings ETO project characteristics are identified, and their implications for planning and control are discussed. Nine enablers that transform current project planning and control approaches into a lean approach are defined, allowing the analysis of the underlying complexity of planning and controlling ETO projects and thus facilitating the determination of the actions required to improve project performance. Research limitations/implications Once fully embedded in an organization, the presented MM can provide a safe framework for self-criticism and can be used to conduct self-assessments without the need for an external facilitator. Thus, this paper is of particular interest to practicing project managers who aim to implement LPP and control. Originality/value To the authors’ best knowledge, this paper is the first to empirically examine the journey toward LPP and control from a MM perspective. This research attempts to describe the enablers of LPP and control.

A measurement model of project control systems success for engineering and construction projects case study: contractor companies in Saudi's petroleum and chemical industry

“…PCS is a collective framework that includes the people, processes and tools used to keep projects on track and within planned scope, budget and schedule (Jayaraman, 2016; Jünge et al , 2019). The objective of PCS is to provide management and stakeholders with accurate and reliable information that can be used to make informed decisions (Jawad et al , 2018; Kumar and Bansal, 2010; Sakka et al , 2016).…”

“…It includes developing quality baseline plans and establishing a basis for identifying control gaps in order to assess the achievement of project control objectives (Kumar and Bansal, 2010; Rodrigues et al , 2014). Project management literature (Joslin and Müller, 2016; Jünge et al , 2019; PMI, 2017) has defined a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS) as the two significant structured approaches in a project plan. A WBS is a key activity that defines the hierarchical decomposition of the work to be achieved by the project delivery team.…”

“…Various studies in project management have identified factors that are important to PCS success. Typically, these factors have been identified within six major elements of PCS that determine its effectiveness (Jünge et al , 2019; Kumar and Bansal, 2010; PMI, 2017; Rozenes et al , 2006, 2004): (1) Project Planning that defines what has to be done; (2) Tracking Project Progress that includes knowing what has to be done; (3) Analyzing Project Performance that compares the actual results against a baseline plan, (4) Project Forecasting that helps the project management team to know what remains to be done, (5) Corrective Action that identifies and implements corrective actions and (6) Corrective Action Verification that verifies the results of corrective actions. These six elements are described further.…”

A decade of engineering-to-order (2010–2020): Progress and emerging themes

“…Stream Mapping (VSM) applications and adaptations to ETO contexts have been shown by Matt (2014), Seth et al (2017) and Strandhagen et al (2018). Also, a set of lean techniques for planning and control of engineering and production activities has been introduced by empirical studies performed within ETO companies, such as visual management (Cannas et al, 2018), pull production control (Bataglin et al, 2020;Gejo García et al, 2020;Mahmood et al, 2018;Villar-Fidalgo et al, 2019), collaborative planning (Cannas et al, 2018;Dallasega et al, 2018), and lean project management applications (Cannas et al, 2018;Dallasega et al, 2018;Jünge et al, 2019). Lorenzi and Ferreira (2018) empirically demonstrated the feasibility of failure mapping using FMEA and A3 in ETO product development.…”

The influence of digital technologies on supply chain coordination strategies

“…Efforts were made towards improving the efficiency of EC operations conducted by ETO SMEs, as identified in the literature. Some of these efforts involve creating methods for handling EC project planning and control (Jünge et al , 2019). The consequences of using digital technologies for integrating ETO operations conducted by SMEs are scarcely addressed in the literature or not at all.…”