Page 315 - Global Project Management Handbook

16-4 MANAGEMENT OF GLOBAL PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS

Technological Novelty. Projects involving more novel technologies are considered to
have a higher uncertainty than those with more mature technologies (Shenhar, 2001) For
example, SWD projects that create new platforms have a higher level of technological
novelty than projects based on reuse of old software. Since the essence of SWD and new
project development (NPD) projects is an innovation advantage, a large number of these
projects deal with a medium to high level of technological uncertainty. In comparison,
construction projects deal with mature technologies and less technological uncertainty.
Generally, projects with higher uncertainty require a more flexible project management
style (Shenhar, 2001).
Product Visibility. To what extent can one physically see or touch a project product?
This question addresses the characteristic of product visibility (Brooks, 1987;
McDonald, 2001). Software products, for example, have low visibility. In contrast,
NPD products and constructed facilities have concrete visibility; in point of fact, con-
struction projects have high concrete visibility, whereas NPD projects have a medium
range of visibility. For this reason, it is easier for NPD and construction teams to
transform this visibility into a tangible project scope (Clark and Wheelwright, 1993;
Cooper, 1994). In contrast, it is much more difficult for an SWD team to visualize its
product beyond a set of SWD requirements and specifications and to translate those
into a tangible project scope (Findley, 1998).
Speed. The ability to accelerate NPD and SWD projects is crucial to premium pric-
ing, higher market share, and higher profits. However, speed may be detrimental. For
example, many mistakes occur when skipping steps, a frequent approach to accelerat-
ing both SWD and NPD projects. In contrast, construction projects rarely face these
high-speed pressures. Instead, their markets typically tolerate low to medium speed.
Slower projects need a less flexible process, one that relies on sequential activities.
Faster projects need a more flexible project management process, in which the activi-
ties are overlapped to accelerate their execution and shorten time to completion
(Zirger and Hartley, 1996).

Changeability. Changeability is the magnitude of the consequences of changing the proj-
ect product design. For NPD projects, the level of changeability is low because of the high
costs of change, including changes in interfaces, materials, etc., all resulting in the prod-

uct being late to market (Brooks, 1987). The case of construction projects is similar. In
contrast, if we characterize software as pure thought stuff, there are no tools, materials, or
manufacturing process changes in SWD projects. Thus, changing the software is relative-
ly easier. The differences in changeability in these classes of projects may result in differ-
ent needs in managing the projects, for example, management of scope and customer
involvement.
Risk Involvement. For SWD or NPD projects, new technologies increase risks (Gupta
and Wilemon, 1990; Raz, 1993). The risk level increases if the project involves many
personnel, has a high product and application complexity, and suffers from a lack of
sufficient resources and team expertise (Jiang and Klein, 2001, Tatikonda and
Rosenthal, 2000). Consequently, many SWD and NPD projects face medium to high
severity of risk. In contrast, risk is low to medium in construction projects and often is
the by-product of new and untested architectural designs and construction techniques
(Pinto and Govin, 1989). As a result, risk management has a more emphasized place in
the management of SWD and NPD projects than in construction projects.