Thesis
Using Action Research to Develop a Dimensionally Enhanced Approach to Project Cost Modelling
Southern Cross University, Graduate College of Management
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Southern Cross University
2004
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Abstract
In a competitive business environment, the ability to manage project costs effectively is an important condition for business success. To achieve this, a project manager needs to capture all the relevant items of the project when building the project cost model. The cost model would then assist the project manager in estimating the initial budget, as well as monitoring the incurred cost during the project execution and the process reengineering at the end of the project. Elucidating these requirements form the main themes in this study.
Action Research was the overall methodology used in this study to elucidate these requirements in an engineering company. Data were collected through interviews, interest group discussions, training seminars and visits to companies. Research outcomes were validated by triangulation between learning set members, stakeholders and different process improvement methodologies, and implementing the proposed project cost model in two project case studies.
This study has contributed to our knowledge of project cost management in the following ways:
(1) Establishing an inquiry process that utilises nine criteria derived from this research that provide the guiding principles for capturing the relevant items needed for project cost modelling.
(2) Providing a schema for representing these items and a resultant cost model that helps project managers achieve three success conditions, namely; visibility (the ability to see costs evidently); ownership (to create the desire of cost control in the hearts of their team members) and; control (the ability to influence cost situations at the right place and right time).
The above two research contributions have led to the development of a project cost management system, and a related software application that enables a user to capture the data acquired through the above-mentioned inquiry process. The positive results from this study represent a dimensionally enhanced approach to project cost modelling for project management in the engineering industry.
Details
- Title
- Using Action Research to Develop a Dimensionally Enhanced Approach to Project Cost Modelling
- Creators
- Swee Ming Goh
- Contributors
- Richard Kwok (Supervisor)Stewart Hase (Supervisor) - Southern Cross UniversityBob Dick (Supervisor) - Southern Cross University
- Awarding Institution
- Southern Cross University; Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Theses
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Southern Cross University
- Publisher
- Southern Cross University, Graduate College of Management
- Number of pages
- xviii, 249
- Identifiers
- 991013344539802368
- Copyright
- © Goh Swee Ming, Eric 2004
- Academic Unit
- Graduate School
- Resource Type
- Thesis