Corporate Improvement in Project Management: A Design Thinking Approach Investigating an Adaptable Model

Corporate Improvement in Project Management: A Design Thinking Approach Investigating an Adaptable Model

Organisational portfolio, program and project management (OP3M) is integral to achieving efficient and effective business outcomes. Despite this, OP3M is often overlooked or applied in a piecemeal way. This problem is exacerbated by factors such as non-alignment with business procedures and management, a lack of expertise in change management and benefits realisation management, and poor work-based targeted professional development programs including a lack of effective succession planning, leadership strategies and cultural competence. These problems arise because business improvement strategies generally do not incorporate the concept of OP3M and, as a result, improvement is often only applied at the project level. These degrees of separation do not reflect an integrated approach, resulting in continued program and project failure, with planned business outcomes either not realised or achieving less-than-optimal results. This study uses a mixed methods approach that incorporates design thinking to underpin model analysis, prototyping and testing, and systems thinking to assist with the development of the model’s structure. The study’s literature review examines existing maturity models for portfolio, program and project management (P3M) and identifies specific management functions that might be incorporated into the components of a prototype model. The study sought a broad range of views from relevant practitioners and experts through surveys and interviews and demonstrates how a prototype model is being applied in private and public case studies in Australia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. The centrepiece of the improvement model is leadership, teams management, and succession planning that is enabled by cooperative intelligence: putting people first. The model accentuates the need for behavioural and attitudinal change resulting in OP3M cultural competence. The study concludes with an adaptable combined improvement model for OP3M not previously considered or formalised in the literature. Its results provide guidance for business managers, scholars and practitioners involved in the design, enhancement and application of the P3M Corporate Improvement Model (P3MCIM).

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