6.1 BACKGROUND
In this chapter final conclusions and recommendations will be made from the findings presented in this study. The implementation process and benefits organizations can reap if the proposed management model is applied to everyday project and opportunity management, will also be briefly discussed.
6.2 RESEARCH RESULTS
In chapter 1 the core management problem for the study was identified by making use of one of the TOC thinking process tools – the Evaporating Cloud. The hypothesis for the research was also established.
In chapter 3 a proposed vision for the future with new injections was presented and discussed through another TOC thinking process tool – the Future Reality Tree (FRT). This FRT was based on the literature presented in chapter 2. The aim of this future vision with the injections, was to invalidate the assumptions supporting the necessary conditions D-D’ and also D-B in the EC, and thus vaporizing the EC.
The main goal of the study was to answer the question of whether the proposed vision for the future with its injections is a valid way to vaporize the EC presented in chapter 1.
In chapter 4 and 5, the vision for the future was simulated in Arena 3 and the results were presented and discussed.
The results obtained from the simulation, confirmed that the proposed vision for the future with its proposed injections (as presented and discussed in chapter 3) is indeed a valid way to synchronise the value acquisition rate with the value delivery rate, in such a way that an organizations’ value is maximised in terms of amount and timing. The EC was therefore vaporised and the negative effects stemming from it are now replaced by the positive effects as indicated in the FRT.
The hypothesis stated in chapter 1 is therefore true.
6.3 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROPOSED MANAGEMENT MODEL
There are two things to be considered with regard to any scheme. In the first place, "Is it good in itself?" In the second, "Can it be easily put into practise?" - Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78), Swiss- born French philosopher.
The implementation of the injection (the stage-gate-buffer management model) will in all likely-hood be a long and costly process.
The implementation could consist of the following set of events or activities:
• Inform employees about the new project management model
• Seek and establish buy-in and commitment from the organization.
• Train employees in the use of the new project management model.
• Bring projects – both new and existing – into the new model.
The implementation phase could be initiated at a meeting where an overview of the process is presented and discussed. At this meeting, management could indicate their commitment to the new management model.
To establish buy-in and commitment from other resources, management could provide internal training sessions and informal discussions around the management model. During these sessions, management should ensure that the management model and the importance of it to the organization, is discussed in detail. Enough reading material regarding the management system should also be freely available within the organization.
Successful implementation of the management model will be dependent on the commitment of the team to the new project management model and their knowledge of the new model.
6.4 THE CONTRIBUTION TO THE PRACTICE
It was shown in chapter 5, that the proposed project management model provides a valid approach to synchronize the value acquisition and value delivery process in such a way that value of an organization will be maximised in terms of amount and timing.
In previous sections of this chapter, it was briefly discussed how organizations could possibly implement the management system.
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6.4.1 MAJOR BENEFITS TO ORGANIZATIONS
The major benefits to organizations for implementing and managing the new management system with its unique value buffer concept were highlighted in chapter 5. The core benefits can again be listed as:
1) Increasing the probability of choosing the right amount of projects to be added to the organizations project portfolio taking into account WiP and limited resource availability.
2) Ensuring key resources in the organization always have work for the near future.
3) Providing an imitable way to plan the future scheduling of the key resources over the value acquisition and value delivery process.
4) Organizations can deliver faster on their commitments, therefore increase the throughput value of their projects.
6.6 FUTURE RESEARCH
The research study concludes by proposing a number of research possibilities that became apparent during the development of the management model.
1. In the management model presented in this study, organizations will formally commit themselves to an opportunity after it has been given the “Go” decision at the third filter meeting. This approved project then waits in the final value buffer, until it is pulled into the value delivery process by the key resource. The projects are pulled from the value buffers on a first-in first-out basis. In reality, a first-in first-out basis for projects won’t be at the order of the day. This will not happen, as some opportunities carries more “weight” and are more critical to complete than other opportunities. Also, opportunities in the value buffers will need to be prioritized according to their own individual project buffer status. Therefore the need exist to explore a way to prioritize projects within the proposed value buffers, and managing the system in such way.
2. Is there currently a model similar to the one proposed in this study being used in the project portfolio management process of organizations using Critical Chain multi-project management?
6.7 FINAL THOUGHTS
The newly proposed project management model puts discipline into a process. The process is visible, relatively simple and easy to understand. The requirements are clear: for example, what is to be expected of a project team at each stage is spelled out. The management model provides a structure which will allow only high value opportunities to become formal development projects, while at the
same time synchronizing the value acquisition rate around the schedule of a constraining resource which is made possible through the introduction of the new value buffer concept. If managed correctly, the value buffer concept ensures that project work is pulled through the system to the work pace of the system’s constraint, therefore ensuring fast project delivery, which ultimately results in high value projects.
A final thought to encourage change in current project management models can be drawn from the words of Albert Einstein: “the significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we create them.”