Linking the Critical Chain Project Management literature

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the state of the art in Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM), outlining the CCPM literature to date, in an effort to guide future studies. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a bibliometric analysis using Scopus and Web of Science databases. The authors identified the principal journals, articles and authors regarding the research theme, as well as the authors elaborated co-citation and co-occurrence network maps to support the analysis. Findings The authors described five co-citation clusters: Fundamentals of Critical Chain, Scheduling, Operations Research, Multi-project and Network, and General Project Management. The most frequently occurring keywords were: “project management,” “critical chain,” “scheduling” and “theory of constraints.” Observing the distribution, the expression “project management” occupied a central position, connecting two other clusters, represented by the keywords “scheduling” and “critical chain.” The authors proposed an evolutive framework for the CCPM state of the art in three stages, according to the most frequent topics identified: Conceptual, Deepening of Applications and Methodological Maturity. Originality/value This research adopts a systematic approach based on bibliometric tools, which allows a more rigorous organization of the literature. Co-citation and keyword co-occurrence maps provide evidence of how the main themes in CCPM relate. Besides, the presented historical framework allows new research in CCPM to be directed to the most recent topics of interest that have gaps to be explored.

Modern Project Management Approaches in Uncertainty Environments: A Comparative Study Based on Action Research

“…Throughout this period, we witnessed the evolution of the method. In this sense, the contribution of this article is that it responds to the additional research suggestions of other authors on the subject, which exposes the evolution of the method over time, identifying further research areas [9,20]. The present inquiry deals with some of these issues, such as application to the development of new products, the additional techniques applied ("full kitting" and Kanban), or aspects related to the empirical testing of the method improvements.…”

“…As in DBR, workflow improvement is promoted to achieve this purpose. Thus, time management is the central aspect of this approach, based on the belief that it will have a positive impact on scope and budget management [20].…”

“…Since its inception, CCPM has undergone an evolutionary process until reaching its current state of maturity [9,20]. Rojas Luiz et al propose a state of the art evolutionary model in CCPM composed of three stages: conceptual, deepening of applications, and methodological maturity.…”

“…It is defined as "the preparations that are required or recommended to be performed before executing a set of tasks" [17]. Today, it is considered to be a part of the CCPM approach, but it remains to be uncovered by the PM literature [20].…”

An Overarching Review on Delay Analyses in Construction Projects

“…Moreover, the domains concerning supply chain and critical chain concepts in Engineer, Procurement and Construct (EPC) projects were integrated [133]. Furthermore, overarching studies concerning CCPM were also conducted [134,135] and it was concluded that CCPM offers a number of opportunities for further research on scheduling topic. Since schedule is one of the vital requirements for the delay analyses, CCPM is also to be considered for delay analysis domain by researchers as an innovative method of planning and project management.…”