Project Management in construction in Spain

Project Management in construction in Spain

Francisco Jose Lopez Morales

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the

requirements of Sheffield Hallam University for the degree of

Master of Science in Project Management

January 2010

MSc Project Management

1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To Pedro Dubie and Jose Antonio Pantoja from AEDIP. To Cliff Ellis and

all those at Sheffield University for their support and to BB for dragging me

to the library. And to my long Odyssey in the UK.


2

ABSTRACTS

The dissertation is about evaluating the current state of Project

Management in construction in Spain. A critical review of the literature is

undertaken under three chapters: (1) what Project Management is and its

international standards (2) the Spanish construction industry sector (3) the

Spanish Project Management in construction sector. Spanish Project

Management sector needs to obtain more international markets and gets

more specialised in order to overcome the recent international economic

crisis.

Questionnaire as the primary data source has been chosen to illustrate the

Spanish Project Managers background and how they perceive their sector

and their profession. Forty sets of questionnaire survey were sent to

Spanish Project Manager companies and a 20% of positive respond has

been achieved. The survey indicates that Spanish Project Managers relies

on their capabilities and skills and complaint about lack of learning

opportunities.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1

ABSTRACTS 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

LIST OF CHARTS 7

LIST OF FIGURES 8

LIST OF TABLES 9

LIST OF APPENDICES 10

1. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH 11

1.1. INTRODUCTION 11

1.2. RATIONALE 11

1.3. TITLE 12

1.4. AIM 12

1.5. OBJECTIVES 12

1.6. RESERCH METHODOLOGY 12

1.6.1. Literature Review 12

1.6.2. Questionnaire 14

1.6.3. Research Methodology Flow Chart 16

1.6.4. Research Methodology Model 17

1.7. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH 18

1.8. STRUCTURE OF THE DISERTATION 18

2. CHAPTER 2: AN INTERNATIONAL OVERVIEW OF PROJECT

MANAGEMENT 20


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2.1INTRODUCTION 20

2.2. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT 21

2.3. INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT 25

2.3.1. PMBOK (PMI) 25

2.3.2. ICB (IPMA) 27

2.3.3. PRINCE2 28

2.3.4. ISO 10006:2003 29

2.3.5. Project Management Maturity Models 29

3. CHAPTER 3: THE SPANISH CONSTRUCTION SECTOR 31


3.2. CONTRACT PROCUREMENT AND PFI/PPP 31

3.3. ECONOMIC CRISIS AND ITS CONSEQUENCES IN THE SECTOR 32

3.3.1. Pre-crisis 32

3.3.2. Crisis 34

3.3.3. Post-crisis 35

4. CHAPTER 4: SPANISH PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN

CONSTRUCTION 37


4.2. AEDIP AND "THE INTEGRATED PROJECT MANAGEMENT'S WHITE

BOOK" (AEDIP, 2006) 38

4.3. PROJECT MANAGEMENT SECTOR IN CONSTRUCTION 39

4.4. LEGISLATION 42

4.4.1. Private Law 42

4.4.2. Public Law 43

4.4.3. Conclusion 43


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5. CHAPTER 5: DATA COLLECTION 45


5.2. QUESTIONNAIRE 45

5.2.1. Rationale of questionnaire 45

5.2.2. Questionnaire Design 45

5.2.3. Limitations of Questionnaire 48

6. CHAPTER 6: DATA ANALYSIS 50


6.2. RESEARCH SAMPLE: QUESTIONNAIRE 50

6.3. METHODS OF ANALYSIS 51

6.4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 51

6.4.1. Age 52

6.4.2. Sex 53

6.4.3. Formal education 54

6.4.4. Languages 55

6.4.5. International certifications 56

6.4.6. Type of company 57

6.4.7. Time working in the current company 58

6.4.8. Time working in the construction industry 59

6.4.9. Importance of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) 60

6.4.10. Importance of Project Management’s problems 62

6.4.11. Project Manager’s legal regulation 65

6.4.12. Application of Project Management in all projects 66

6.4.13. Future of Project Management in Spain 67


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6.4.14. Importance of Project Manager’s interpersonal skills 69

6.4.15. Project Manager’s leadership style 72

6.4.16. Project Manager’s characteristics 73

6.4.17. Spanish Project Manager’s definition 74

6.4.18. Comments 75

7. CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 76

7.1. CONCLUSION 76

7.2. RECOMMENDATIONS ON FUTURE STUDY 78

REFERENCES 79

BIBLIOGRAPHY 84

APPENDIX 1: COVER LETTER 85

APPENDIX 2: SURVEY 86


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LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 3.1: Commissioned housing units per year x 1000 34

Chart 4.1: Project Management's Investments 40

Chart 6.1: Age 52

Chart 6.2: Sex 53

Chart 6.3: Formal education 54

Chart 6.5: International certifications 56

Chart 6.6: Type of company 57

Chart 6.7: Time working in the current company 58

Chart 6.8: Time working in the construction industry 59

Chart 6.9: Importance of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) 60

Chart 6.10: Importance of Project Management’s problems 62

Chart 6.11: Project Manager’s legal regulation 65

Chart 6.12: Application of Project Management in all projects 66

Chart 6.13: Importance of Project Manager’s interpersonal skills 69

Chart 6.14: Project Manager’s leadership style 72

Chart 6.15: Project Manager’s characteristics 73


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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: Methodology flow chart 16

Figure 1.2: Research Methodology Model 17


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LIST OF TABLES

Table 6.1: Statistics of questionnaire reply 50

Table 6.2: Scoring for the importance of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) 61

Table 6.3: Scoring for the importance of Project Management’s problems 63

Table 6.4: Answers to future of Project Management in Spain 67

Table 6.5: Scoring for the importance of Project Manager’s interpersonal skills 70

Table 6.6: Answers to Spanish Project Manager’s definition 74


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LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1: COVER LETTER 85

APPENDIX 2: SURVEY 86


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1. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE

RESEARCH

1.1. INTRODUCTION

Nowadays and more than ever due to the strong existing competition,

there is a requirement to achieve effectiveness and efficiency in order to

reach the high targets and optimizing resources in terms of predetermined

cost and quality that satisfies the client or even exceeds their expectations.

This stage forces organizations to have a less hierarchic organizational

structure with work systems more flexible and shorter product life cycles.

The Project Management route is an increasingly common answer for

many organizations to implement a strategy in order to organize their

activity, even in those organizations that do not use projects in their daily

activities. So professionals within the Spanish construction sector realise

that Project Management is necessary and can help to improve the

industry.

1.2. RATIONALE

Project Management’s boom in Spain started at the end of the nineties

and it has grown spectacularly up to today. However the recent world

crisis has affected this growth and it is probable that this growth slows

down or stops in the closer future. Therefore it is interesting to do a

revision of meaning of Project Management in Spain and where the future

lies.

This research does not have the intention of offering an exhaustive vision

of Project Management in Spain. Nevertheless researcher’s intention is to

offer a general knowledge for any person from any country in order to

acquire an overview about Project Management in Spain.


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1.3. TITLE

Project Management in construction in Spain

1.4. AIM

To provide a general overview to those ones who wants to wish to

understand and possibly undertake the role of the Project Manager in

construction in Spain.

1.5. OBJECTIVES

To outline what Project Management is and its international standards.

To analyse the construction sector in Spain in order to understand the

Project Manager’s role within the Spanish context.

To investigate the past, present and future of Project Management in

Spain.

1.6. RESERCH METHODOLOGY

1.6.1. LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature review is a tool that has to begin being used in the initial stage

of the research process. It is an organized, thorough compilation of

information and data which belong to diverse sources.

Literature review demonstrates that the researcher knows the relevant

information of the area treated in their research and also it helps them to

contribute in an original way to the existing body of the knowledge of their

area of research (Naoum, 2007, p18), so researcher is prevented from

repeating something already researched or with lack of interest. A good


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knowledge of studied area to be researched will narrow the information

needed for aims and objectives of the research and will save unnecessary

efforts.

In accordance with Blaxter et al. (2000, p157), literature review has four

principal functions. The first one is to tell why the elected topic is worth

being researched, the second one is to give to the reader a brief

descriptive analysis of existing bibliography related to the topic main

questions, the third one is to place the topic on a conceptual and

theoretical context and the fourth one is to discuss existing research about

the same topic or similar ones.

A large literature review has been carried out for this research due to the

largeness of the topic. It has been focused on knowing the general

characteristics of Project Management in Spain nowadays, studying its

past to know better its present in order to be able to predict its future.

The literature review of this research has been conducted through three

information sources:

1. National Library of Spain

It is in Madrid and compiles, catalogues and preserves bibliographic

assets generated in any official language of Spain, or in other

languages, for research, culture and information. In its catalogue

there is a section dedicated especially to Project Management with

a large number of documents, especially books. Also magazines,

conferences, etc. National Library of Spain has been very useful in

order to obtain a literature review of Project Management in Spain

along the time in an exhaustive, updated manner.

2. SHU Learning Centre


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Adsetts Centre is Sheffield Hallam University's Learning Centre.

The large quantity of available resources is an enormous help for

the researcher. A lot of information has been found in textbooks,

Journals and past dissertations. SHU's "litsearch" provided several

databases that have been used for this research, being the most

out-standing those which belong to Built Environment's subject.

3. Internet

The famous World Wide Web has achieved that information is

accessible from any point of the planet and the researcher has

been benefited enormously from this particularity. Websites

specialized in Project Management and search engines such

"Yahoo" or "Google" have been an invaluable help because it was

possible to obtain relevant information and data independently if the

researcher was in the United Kingdom or Spain.

Literature review has an incalculable value due to the large amount of

information that can be found for any research. Nevertheless information

in excess may cause problems, so only the necessary information should

be extracted. This information will be filed appropriately for its use at the

right time. Finally, literary review flows during the whole research and has

to be updated constantly.

1.6.2. QUESTIONNAIRE

Easterby-Smith et al. (1991, p122) state that "questionnaires and

interviews are used extensively in surveys…The main purposed of a

survey is to obtain information from, or about, a defined set of people or

'population' ".

Project Managers who work in Spain are the most appropriate ones in

order to provide first hand information (primary data). They will give an


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overview about what is the Spanish Project Manager background, how

they see the sector and how they practice their profession.

In order to achieve this overview it is necessary to obtain the largest

number of respondents so questionnaire is more suitable for this research

than interview. Also the questionnaire method has been chosen due to its

ease to reach the respondent despite of geographical dispersion, helping

to fulfil the feature of wide view required for this research.

Disadvantage of this method may be the possibility of not acquiring a

minimum number of returned questionnaires in order to be large enough to

show a comprehensive picture of the expected overview.

Choice of questionnaire format is essential to be successful and to achieve

this Gill and Johnson (2002, p114) claim that "…it is important to consider

four interrelated issues in questionnaire design: questionnaire focus,

question phraseology, the form of response, and question sequencing and

overall presentation".

This research will use open-ended questions for further detail or opinion

and closed-ended questions through ticking boxes for conducting the

answer. Information from questionnaires will be used quantitatively in

order to find a statistical result. Data gathered will be showed in tables and

charts in order to be analysed in a systemic, easy manner.

The questionnaire has been designed thoroughly taking into account the

objectives of this research. The survey will be received by targeted

respondents which are project managers who are working in Spain

currently. It will be sent to 40 companies chosen due to their membership

at AEDIP association (see chapter 4 of this research). The response time

will be 3 weeks.


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1.6.3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FLOW CHART

Figure 1.1: Methodology flow chart

TITLE SELECTION

SELECTION

STUDY THE TITLE

DATA COLLECTION

DATA ANALYSIS

CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

SECONDARY

RESOURCES

PRIMARY

RESOURCES

LITERATURE

REVIEW

REFERENCE

BOOKS

QUESTIONNAIRE

PROPOSAL

JOURNALS &

MAGAZINES

1. NATIONAL LIBRARY

2. SHU LEARNING CENTER

3. INTERNET FACILITIES


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1.6.4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY MODEL

Aim: To provide a general overview to those ones who wants to wish to

understand and possibly undertake the role of the Project Manager in

construction in Spain.

Figure 1.2: Research Methodology Model

Objective 1

To outline what Project Management is

and its international standards.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Objective 2

To analyse the construction sector in

Spain in order to understand the Project

Manager’s role within the Spanish

context.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Objective 3

To investigate the past, present and

future of Project Management in Spain.

LITERATURE REVIEW /

QUESTIONNAIRE

CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

AIM


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1.7. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH

Covering a large subject as Project Management in a specific country is

very complicated. So the scope of this research may be ambitious and is

to understand what was, is and will be the role of Project Management in

Spain.

Literature review shows how Project Management has been assimilated in

Spain through an analysis of the Spanish Project Management sector and

its role within the national construction sector. Questionnaire finds out how

Spanish Project Manager perceives their profession and its sector.

However this research aims in Project Management specialised in

construction so questionnaires will be sent solely to Spanish companies

which are included in this type of business and location will not be a

matter.

1.8. STRUCTURE OF THE DISERTATION

1. Chapter 1: Introduction to the Research

This chapter is the beginning of the research and its mission is to

show how this research has been conducted. A brief introduction,

rationale, title, aims, objectives, research methodology and scope

and limitations of research have been included.

2. Chapter 2: An international Overview of Project Management.

This chapter is a necessary introduction to Project Management's

discipline in order to acquire the basic knowledge to understand the

discipline and its historical development. Chapter 2 also is used to


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know what international standards are and how these standards

performance in Spain.

3. Chapter 3: The Spanish Construction Sector

It is necessary to know the characteristics of this sector in order to

understand the context within Project Management operates,

focusing on procurement and the current economic crisis.

4. Chapter 4: Spanish Project Management in Construction.

This chapter hits the title of this research directly. After the chapter

3 and 4 readers are ready to understand the Spanish Project

Management focused on construction. It talks about asociationism,

the sector and current legislation.

5. Chapter 5: Data Collection.

Survey is set up as first hand data and rationale, design and

limitations are discussed.

6. Chapter 6: Data Analysis.

Data acquired from the questionnaire survey will generate the

information analysed in this chapter. Charts and tables will be used

to show information in order to make it easier to understand.

7. Chapter 7: Conclusion and Recommendations.

It is the last chapter of the research and comprises conclusions and

recommendations on future study.


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2. CHAPTER 2: AN INTERNATIONAL OVERVIEW

OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

2.1INTRODUCTION

A Project may be “a temporary organisation that is needed to produce a

unique and predefined outcome or result at a prespecified time using

predetermined resources” (OGC, 2005, p7).

All large civilizations have carried out complex projects of engineering and

architecture and public work and many of them still last nowadays. As

examples the Great Wall of China, the Egyptian pyramids, the Greek

Parthenon, cathedrals, bridges, aqueducts, roadways, etc. So Project

Management, considered as practice of planning, organization, pursuit

and control, is also found in expedition campaigns, exploration's trips,

harvests, etc. Consequently, projects and Project Management have

existed from the appearance of humankind due to people’s willpower to

carry out tasks that are not immediate and need of certain complexity

grade to obtain a concrete purpose.

Despite of this use, the practice of Project Management scarcely was

considered in a scientific and rational way until the 20th century. Perhaps

because nobody could clarify the separation between management and

technical aspects. This situation produced that the managers of those

projects were people learned in several fields of knowledge. One of the

best examples is the great man of the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci,

who was considered architect, sculptor, painter, inventor, musician and

engineer.

The Industrial Revolution imposed mass production and standardization in

order to low costs, therefore science was dedicated to the study of

management of stable, repetitive processes basically. Projects were


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something exceptional, except in the construction sector, public works or

the military industry.

Nowadays projects have been traditionally linked to companies of

engineering, consultancy and construction. These companies have been

the ones which have suffered the most because many of the scope

targets, term, cost, quality and client’s satisfaction are often reflected in

contracts. Demand of responsibilities and monetary penalizations will

appear if they are not fulfilled. To avoid them, these companies have had

to develop planning, organization and control of their activity as efficient as

they can constantly so they are innovating continuously. Effectiveness in

projects makes other companies from other sectors adopt systems that

allow them to develop part of their work as projects, independently if a

contract does or does not exist.

Constant development of the techniques and new technologies does

specialization a key factor. Projects are more complex inevitably and have

to be carried out by multidisciplinary teams of work which include all areas

involved in the project life cycle. Also clients and final users are more

demanding with regard to quality of the final product. SO Science which

studies projects and project management is essential for persons, groups

and organizations in order to obtain the targets of the projects in the best

possible way.

The above mentioned science is known internationally as Project

Management, which is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and

techniques to project activities to meet the Project requirements” (PMI,

2008, p6).

2.2. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PROJECT

MANAGEMENT


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The first big advances of Project Management as science are the results

of projects developed in the sectors such as construction, public works,

aeronautical, mechanical engineering and, especially, in the military

industry of the United States during the 20th century. It becomes

necessary to display a brief historical evolution of Project Management in

order to set its foundations and its later use. Therefore it is possible to

appreciate its constant grade of development which goes parallel to its

importance.

In the 17th century two French architects, Vauban and Belidor, wrote

about work organization in the large constructions of their epoch. Famous

British mathematician Charles Babagge published a book around 1800

where he established and analyzed the differences between managing

and manufacturing so this book was aiming at some basic beginning for

progress of productivity.

Other important contributions to the birth of Project Management are those

that Frederick Taylor publishes in his book “Beginning of the scientific

management” (1911). This book tries to improve industrial productivity

through planning the work with empirical observations which measure

execution times of tasks realized by workmen. Frank Gilbreth and his wife

Lillian began applying the movements study in the American industry.

Mining engineer Henry Farol was one of the pioneers in proposing some

issues in order to improve work management. Psychologist Elton Mayo

demonstrated with his "Hawthorne Studies" that psychology and

motivation from a worker are the most important in order to reach the

project targets.

An exact date to determine the appearance of the Project Management as

a science does not exist. Anyway a couple of events can be considered as

the birth of Project Management: creation of bars diagram by Henry Gantt

in 1917 or president Roosevelt’s order of placing general Leslie M. Groves


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as Manhattan Project’s Director in order to produce the atomic bomb in

1942.

The model of the project Manhattan is adopted since the fifties due to

continuous bad budget performance of governmental projects in the past.

This model evolves quickly in the defence and army sectors and starts to

be adopted also by suppliers and participants of the above mentioned

sectors. Concepts of “system engineering” and “program management”

and the bases of what is known as “concurrent or simultaneous

engineering” at present appear during this time. Finally it is begun to be

accepted that management of projects is more important than technical

aspects’ resolution.

In this epoch of large programs and projects for the United States (1945-

1960) there are no international standards for Project Management. Every

organization (public or private) has to create its own methodology to

manage projects within its own organizational structure. There were a

large number of contractors and subcontractors working for the

government, so this one needs from Project Management to assure

success. Nevertheless private companies think Project Management

scarcely adds value to the result of projects therefore is an unnecessary

expense for them.

Organizations were using basically Gantt diagrams to programme and to

control projects however since 1956 two new techniques began

developing in parallel and independently. These techniques attracted

scientists' attention and spread quickly to the private sector. On one hand

the method of the critical way (critical path method) in 1959, created jointly

by the companies Dupont and Remington Rand Corporation in order to

manage the construction and maintenance of industrial plants.


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On the other hand, the technique PERT (Program Evaluation and Review

Technique) is created for the North American navy “Polaris” program. Its

objective was manufacturing a submarine that could use missiles. The

work team was created in 1955 and it was composed by personnel from

the navy, Lockhead Corporation and the external consultants Booz, Allen

and Hamilton. It was published in 1957 so successfully that by 1962 it was

demanded in all contracts of projects carried out by American Department

of Defence, NASA and the Commission of the Atomic Energy.

The brief history of Project Management includes other notable events: the

publication of the article in Harvard Business Review in May, 1959 “The

Project manager”, by Paul O. Gaddis, which aims at some key concepts of

the current Project Management; the development of PERT-Cost by Kelly;

the diagram of precedence by John W. Fondhal, which places the

activities in the nodes, suppressing the need for dummies activities (they

are necessary in CPM and PERT); the appearance of project breakdown

structure and the method of the value gained (earned valued method).

Due to Project Management’s consideration as scientific discipline and its

international spreading, the need of associationism appears in the Project

Management’s professionals on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. On the

one hand, a Project Managers' meeting called Internet 67 is organized in

Europe in 1967, specifically in Vienna. The result of this meeting will be

the creation of International Management Systems Association (IMSA) in

1972. However it will be called International Project Management

Association (IPMA) since 1979, being the first international association of

Project Management. It promotes the development of Project Management

and one of its most important contributions is the international standard

“IPMA Competence Baseline" (ICB) and its national versions called

“National Competence Baseline" (NCB) in each member country.


25

On the other hand Project Management Institute (PMI) is founded in the

United States in 1969 and its target is to establish the common areas of

Project Management in economic sectors as diverse as construction, IT,

pharmacy, etc. In 1976 the idea of considering Project Management as a

profession itself is discussed and due to this the Directors' Committee of

PMI initiates the development of a project to establish the foundations of

the profession in 1981. These foundations were focused on three

essentials areas (ethics, norms and accreditation) and turn out to be in

1987 the first version of the PMBoK (Guide to the Project Management

Body of Knowledge), which already has a second (2000), third (2004) and

fourth edition (2008).

In the nineties Project Management is recognized and applied by many

countries in both public and private organizations. These organizations are

interested in planning, organizing and managing their resources in order to

optimize their results. So need of accredited professionals arises because

the Project Management’s development and growth is unstoppable and

the available information is larger day by day.

2.3. INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS OF PROJECT

MANAGEMENT

The consolidation of Project Management as a discipline bears the need

for a few standards that guide professionals in the practicing of their

profession. This is the reason why a brief overview for the principal

international standards of Project Management and its presence in Spain

is undertaken in the followings.

2.3.1. PMBOK (PMI)

PMBOK (Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge) by Project

Management Institute is probably the most well-known standard


26

internationally and its last edition appeared in 2008, the fourth one. If the

“PMI” word is looked up in the American National Standards Institute

(ANSI) webstore (http://webstore.ansi.org/), it is founded that PMBOK has

been recognized as a standard by the American National Standards

Institute (ANSI) and by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

(IEEE), ANSI/PMI 99-001-2004 and IEEE Std 1490-2003 respectively.

Also it is used as a reference by International Organization for

Standardization (ISO) in a technical report about Information Technology

(ISO/IEC 9594-8:2008).

“The PMBOK Guide is the standard for managing most projects most of

the time across many types of industries. This standard describes project

management processes, tools, and techniques used to manage a project

toward a successful outcome. This standard is unique to the project

management field and has interrelationships to other project management

disciplines such as program management and portfolio management.

Project management standards do not address all details of every topic.

This standard is limited to single projects and the project management

processes that are generally recognized as good practice. Other standards

may be consulted for additional information on the broader context in

which projects are accomplished”. (PMI, 2008, p13-14)

From above is deduced that PMBOK comprises the part of fundamentals

of Project Management concerning good practices which means the

existence of a general consensus. This consensus allows that PMBOK

contents can increase the possibility of success in several types of

different projects. However there is no obligation in using all knowledge

described uniformly in all projects. So PMBOK describes itself in this way:

“As a foundational reference, this standard is neither complete nor all-

inclusive. This standard is a guide rather than a methodology” (PMI, 2008,

p4).

http://webstore.ansi.org/

http://webstore.ansi.org/RecordDetail.aspx?sku=ISO%2fIEC+9594-8%3a2008


27

PMBOK is used for practicing the profession and in the preparation of

exams in order to obtain certifications for practitioners with different level

of experience. The most important is PMP which is recognised by ISO

17024. Also PMBOK is used in educational material by the registered

education providers "REP" and for the accreditation of education programs

in Project Management. It is important to remark that PMI is creating and

generating more standards for Project Management according to the

following issues: projects, programs, people, organizations and profession.

PMI has local delegations in many countries that have full autonomy and

they are named chapters. By the moment there are 3 chapters in Spain

and they are relatively recent: Madrid (2003), Barcelona (2004) and

Valencia (2005). With targets such as developing and promoting Project

Management, these chapters offer the certification of the North American

PMI determined by two levels called PMP (project management

professional) and CAPM (certified associate in project management).

Updated information at: http://www.pmi.org/, http://www.pmi-bcn.org/,

http://www.pmi-mad.es/ and http://www.pmi-valencia.org/.

2.3.2. ICB (IPMA)

International Project Management Association was the first association

that promoted Project Management at international level. In fact it is a

network of national associations with more than 40 delegations, so it is

organized in a very different way as the American PMI does. These

delegations have independence to adapt the Project Management culture.

Every country becomes responsible for its certification programs, although

they have to be validated by IPMA.

"IPMA Competence Baseline" (ICB) is the standard developed by IPMA to

practise the Project Management discipline and it is the base of 4 levels of

http://www.pmi.org/

http://www.pmi-bcn.org/

http://www.pmi-mad.es/

http://www.pmi-valencia.org/ilive/grp.HOME;jsessionid=513A9C094A79103784297CF7BB3A7C4C


28

IPMA certifications. This document is the framework so national

associations can prepare their own national standards called National

Competence Baseline (NCB) based in the ICB. Each delegation is allowed

to add up to 10 % in its own NCB and it is written in the native language

In Spain IPMA is represented by the Spanish Association of project

Engineering (AEIPRO) from 1992, whose target is to spread and to

consolidate Project Management in the country. An Organism of

Certification is created the year 2000, which allows expressing four

categories of certification (A, B, C and D) in Project Management. They

are worldwide recognized by the IPMA. The Spanish NCB (version 3.0) is

just a translation from the International ICB.

Updated information at: http://www.ipma.ch and http://www.aeipro.com.

2.3.3. PRINCE2

PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE) was a Project

Management’s methodology which covered IT Project Management. It was

developed by Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA).

The latter version is PRINCE2 and it can be used with all types of projects,

not only IT projects. PRINCE2 is a trade mark by Office of Government

Commerce (OGC) from United Kingdom. There are two certification levels:

foundation and practitioner.

“PRINCE2 is a standard used extensively by the UK government and is

widely recognised and used in the private sector, both in UK and

internationally” (OGC, 2005, p1). In Spain it is more popular for being used

in IT than in construction projects.

http://www.ipma.ch/

http://www.aeipro.com/index.php/mainmenu-nosotros/mainmenu-quienessomos-asociacionipma


29

Updated information at: http://www.prince2.com/

2.3.4. ISO 10006:2003

ISO 10006:2003 (came into force in June 2003) is entitled "Quality

management systems. Guidelines for quality management in projects". Its

equivalent in Spain is UNE 66916:2003 and gives guidance and

recommendations to improve quality management in projects. It is adopted

in large or small projects with varying length and with any level of

complexity. It is not a guide to "Project Management" itself, it is a guide for

quality management in Project Management and is not intended to be

used for certification/registration purposes. However ISO 10006:2003 is a

strategic tool for any professional who wants to improve quality in their

projects.

Updated information at: http://www.iso.org

2.3.5. PROJECT MANAGEMENT MATURITY MODELS

They appear from the nineties and are good tools for assessing processes

in organizations. Their philosophy is that an organization can be compared

with a standard that determines the level of maturity of Project

Management in the assessed organization. So they assume that an

organisation can be improved continuously in a tidy, indexed way within an

evaluable, controlled organization.

"It is estimated that exists around thirty project management maturity

models in the market" (Martínez and Pellicer, 2006, p458). Some of them

are very famous such as Capability Maturity Model (CMM) by the

American Software Engineering Institute (SEI), Organizational Project

Management Maturity Model (OPM3) by Project Management Institute and

http://www.prince2.com/

http://www.iso.org/


30

Project Management Maturity Model by Kerzner (2001, p44). As an

example the latter one which is in the following five levels:

1. Common language

2. Common processes

3. Singular methodology

4. Benchmarking

5. Continuous improvement


31

3. CHAPTER 3: THE SPANISH CONSTRUCTION

SECTOR

3.1. INTRODUCTION

The construction sector in Spain is a heterogeneous and fragmented

sector formed mostly by small, local companies. Due to the large

workforce required, the entry to this sector is easy and a professional

qualification is not essential. Also it produces much litigation at the courts.

Public sector is its most important client and its projects are usually more

complex and costly than those from the private sector.

The construction sector has become a fundamental part of national

economy. Pipe et al. (2008, p41) declare that "…Nowadays Spain can

produce world-class architecture and public infrastructures. The sector of

the construction is one of the most important of the national industry and

includes some of the largest world contractors (ACS-Dragados or FCC as

examples) which are the result from diverse mergers and procurement.

Most innovation in the sector comes from manufacturers of materials and

equipment".

3.2. CONTRACT PROCUREMENT AND PFI/PPP

Contract procurement is a fundamental part of the construction industry

because establishes the goals to achieve, define and allocate the risks

basically.

Estrany (2005, p125) claims that "traditional procurement systems Design

and Build and Contracting Management are normal procurement systems

in both countries [UK and Spain]".


32

United Kingdom has a large number of contract choices. In contrast,

Spain is a country where the state has an important role in the definition of

processes which have to be followed in order to maintain contract process

and administer the contract. Spain is stronger legislated than UK and

therefore Spain cannot regulate the construction sector with the flexibility

that UK does.

"A Public Private Partnership (PPP) is an umbrella term for Government

schemes involving the private business sector in public sector projects.

The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is a form of PPP developed by the

Government in which the public and private sectors join to design, build or

refurbish, finance and operate (DBFO) new or improved facilities and

services to the general public."(Laing, n.d.).

The PFI/PPP target is to move the risk to the private sector, although high

cost is produced because taxpayers return a lot of money during the return

period. An analogy is the purchase of a television set by instalments: the

advantage is that we can already use the TV without waiting to save

money enough to pay it in full and the disadvantage is that we are going to

pay a large sum of money in interests for long time.

PFI/PPP is not so popular in Spain as in UK. The main PFI/PPP structure

used in Spain is been the concession and the principal sector where

PFI/PPP procurement methodology has been used is roads. Recently it is

spreading to other types of infrastructures like hospitals, airports and

prisons. Spanish Government transfers the risk to the construction

company. (Igartua and Rueda, 2007, p100).

3.3. ECONOMIC CRISIS AND ITS CONSEQUENCES IN THE

SECTOR

3.3.1. PRE-CRISIS


33

The largest growth in Spanish economy during last decade was mainly in

the construction sector and mostly in the residential building subsector

(Fernandez and Sources, 2007). The construction created many direct

jobs and this turned out to be reflected in an increase of public

consumption. This increase brought more employment and so on. Spanish

economy suffered a hard hit during the recent world economic crisis which

seems to hit hardest in the construction sector and until that time the

construction sector had demonstrated being the economic driving force of

the country.

Montalvo and Mas (2000) emphasize two fundamental characteristics that

make the residential building in Spain very different than the most of the

European countries. The first one is the large number of housings that are

not occupied and/or are not the usual buyer living place (for example, to

use it only in holidays) and the second one is the large number of

housings that belong to the user (the Spanish people does not like

renting).

The rationale behind this trend has been caused by two main factors.

Speculation attracted many investors eager to obtain large profits in a few

time. Also Spanish attraction as tourist destination and favourable change

of currency helped that foreigners being enthusiastic to invest in Spanish

housings. As an anecdote I remember how extremely welcomed was my

ability to speak English amongst the English speaking community when I

worked as a Building Surveyor in Malaga.

Another factor is the Spanish tradition of living in an owner-occupied

housing. The explanation can be that Spanish does not like moving. Also

they see the house as an investment for their retirement. According to

Montalvo (2007, p46), “… the low and decreasing proportion of housing in

rent has been recognized like a problem long ago”. The Spanish

government has decided several dispositions to solve this but the current


34

situation of housing in Spain demonstrates that they have not been

successful.

3.3.2. CRISIS

At the end of 2007 "housing bubble" exploited and Spain found itself in the

worst possible scenario: crisis had started. The construction sector was at

its best moment, although some developers were already warning that

there was something wrong: "it is very probable that the Spanish real

estate market is time bomb very close of being detonated” Montalvo

(2007, p49). The bar chart below shows the number of housings per year

commissioned to be constructed during the last ten years and has been

realized with data obtained from National Institute of Statistics (n.d). It is

appreciated that there is a constant increase until 2007 which is when the

crisis appears with a dramatic fall of number of housings.

Chart 3.1: Commissioned housing units per year x 1000

The result of the explosion of “housing bubble” is immediate. Demand for

buying housings fell down quickly and prices started to be reduced. The

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

(data

untill

Sept)

558 595 561 576690

740786

912

689

300

111

Housing units per year x 1,000


35

large number of available housings cannot be absorbed by the demand

and companies decrease their activity. The stop of the construction sector

is a very hard hit for the Spanish economy which relies on the construction

sector in excess. The Spanish society begins to show concerns, but the

government denies that a crisis exists: "Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero

[prime minister] … was categorical declaring that Spain does not suffer an

economic crisis” (Florence, 2008).

The crisis in Spain is produced by a chain of facts which started initially in

the US (2007). Absence of bank liquidity in Spain due to the US crisis has

prevented financing through traditional means of mortgage lending. This

lack of liquidity encourages banks to retain funds in order to ensure cash.

Due to the limited financing available, speculators try to sell their housings

quickly in order to leave the market to avoid risks. This does that demand

falls down and the construction sector diminishes the housing production.

Unemployment and inflation rates increase and, therefore, the housing

demand diminishes. So less demand by buyers and more offer by

speculators produce an excess of housings that cannot be absorbed by

the market.

3.3.3. POST-CRISIS

A fast recovery of the Spanish economy seems far because of its difficulty

situation. Spain has an unemployment rate almost at 20 % and inflation

rate being on the verging of deflation. Currently Spanish construction

sector suffers a stop that can be perceived easily. There is a huge stock of

houses not sold. Also the dramatic touristic reduction has influenced the

market very much and the consumption of goods and services in certain

areas and sectors (stores, commerce, and industrial buildings) is

practically nil. Civil engineering sector is virtually dormant, except for the

railroad and projects already with money assigned (normally from EU).

The government tries to correct this situation with 3 measurements that


36

until now have demonstrated to be fruitless: to amend the Housing Plan, to

drop prices and to slow down the construction of new houses. Moreover

government tries to improve the sector through renovation and public

housing. (Euroconstruct, 2009).

Spain faces a deeper recession than its European counterparts. Spanish

president Zapatero raises the new Law of Sustainable Economy to

revitalize economy at the end of 2009. Many people consider this law

ineffective and even the prestigious “The Economist” criticizes and

describes Spain as "the new patient of Europe” due to its incapability to

confront crisis (Anonymous, 2009th).

The "Global Construction 2020- A Global Forecast for the Construction

Industry over the Next Decade to 2020" report made by Construction

Perspectives and Oxford Economics give analysis and forecasts for the

global construction market in 22 countries. Spain is included in this report

which states that Spanish construction sector will not start to grow until

2014. Also it states that Spanish government should focus on stimulate a

recovery in order to obtain a more sustainable economy less dependent

on the construction sector (Anonymous, 2009b).

To sum up, the Spanish economy must find a way of growing without

depending so much on the construction sector. The government must take

measures to finish with the housing stock and encouraging housing rent in

order to reach at least the average level of European countries. Also to

prevent speculation appears again. Recession will last in excess without

these adjustments and the economic recovery will slow down therefore a

loss of competitiveness in the construction sector may arises.


37

4. CHAPTER 4: SPANISH PROJECT MANAGEMENT

IN CONSTRUCTION

4.1. INTRODUCTION

Project Management is known also as Integrated Project Managements in

Spain because “it can reflect with more precision the meaning of this

multidisciplinary knowledge …it covers the concept of vertical and

horizontal integration for managing all the available resources in the

project; and also because it is already a terminology identified on the

Spanish market” (AEDIP, 2006, p7).

Project Management discipline in Spain is inexplicably delayed in

comparison with the most developed countries. It appeared early thanks to

important American companies of engineering that used it in projects of

chemical industries, refineries, power stations, etc. Spanish engineering

companies and technicians that were employed at the above mentioned

companies assimilated rapidly the beginning and concepts of Project

Management. Despite of the large, constant failures in costs and time in

Spanish projects, conservatism of large developing and investing

companies and users is possible one of the reasons of this slow

implantation of Project Management (Martinez and Pellicer, 2006, p443).

The study of this discipline is recognized by Superior Technical School of

Industrial Engineers. Also Project Management is studied partially by other

degrees related with construction (as the researcher did in his Technical

Architecture degree, for example). Project Management's knowledge is

usually acquired through the experience and postgraduate courses

realized by both private and public entities, too. But this is not enough.

Spanish professionals are anxious to learn and during the last years

several groups of professionals have appeared trying to popularize the

Project Management, which is unknown by the general public. These


38

associations promote and spread Project Management in the Spanish

society and make possible the meeting of Spanish professionals in order

to share, learn, progress and contribute to the exercise of the profession.

They do it through publications, congresses, courses, master's degrees,

etc. Examples of these associations are AIEPRO and PMI's chapters (see

chapter 2) and AEDIP.

4.2. AEDIP AND "THE INTEGRATED PROJECT

MANAGEMENT'S WHITE BOOK" (AEDIP, 2006)

The Spanish Association of Integrated Project Management (AEDIP) was

born in 1994 and is a non-profit association completely Spanish. Possibly

it is the most important Spanish association in Project Management in

construction and its Office is in Madrid. It is composed by companies and

professionals of Engineering and Consultancy from construction sector

which use Project Management. AEDIP offers PMI's professional

certification (PMP) and carries out every year the Master's degree in

Integrated Project Management (MeDip), which is running its eighth edition

now.

AEDIP promotes the use of Project Management in the society, offers

guide and advice to his associates and assumes an ethical code that

takes the service towards the client as a main duty. On its website 40

associate companies appear and they are located mostly in Madrid and

Barcelona. To be an associate a company needs to comply with several

requirements. As an example of these requirements, companies have to

demonstrate its total dedication to Project Management discipline and are

required to have concluded at least two projects with a minimum global

budget of 6,000,000 € each. It can be deduced that Project Management

in construction is mostly used on big budgets projects. So this is an

illustrative example that Project Management is usually applied on unique,

major projects in Spain.


39

Maybe one of the most important Spanish Project Management key texts

can be "The Integrated Project Management's White Book" (AEDIP,

2006). It is a text published by AEDIP that has character of guide and

whose mission is to unify criteria and terminology regarding Project

Management in all its aspects. It is based on "good practices" of the

discipline. It is underlined that it is a live document so it is intended to be

updated periodically. Although it is applicable to any type of project, it is

focused on projects linked to the construction sector.

For further and update information: http://www.aedip.org/

4.3. PROJECT MANAGEMENT SECTOR IN CONSTRUCTION

Project Management discipline initiated its journey in Spain in the decade

of '80 due to demand of foreign companies that needed from Spanish

companies a major commitment to internationalize the construction sector.

Spain modernizes quickly and projects are getting larger and becoming

more complex. Some members of the Spanish construction industry begin

to impel Project Management in the country because they consider this

discipline as a powerful weapon in order to be able to face unique, major

projects (SCI, n.d).

It is in '90 when Project Management begins a strong growth that leads it

to become a consolidated discipline since the year 2000. Onward this year

a boom of Project Management takes place that possibly is sustained by

the excellent behaviour of the construction sector during those years, as it

has been explained in the chapter 3. The crisis slows down the growth of

sector since 2007 and it can be predicted a possible fall of the sector in

2009 after years of non-stop growing. The chart below has been prepared

with information of DBK report (2009). This report predicts that the

situation should force the companies to work more abroad (which in 2008

http://www.aedip.org/


40

was 15 % of the whole of the sector) and in the public sector (which in

2008 was almost the third part of the national market).

Chart 4.1: Project Management's Investments

In order to have a more comprehensible picture of the sector, it is useful to

know what think companies which work in the sector of Project

Management and companies which hire their services. “Position and

image of Project Management's service: the Integrated Project

Management in Spain” report (AEDIP, 2009) shows the importance and

effects of Project Management sector in Spain. It does through two

surveys, one for Project Management's consultancy companies and other

one for real estate property development companies.

Main conclusions of the survey to Project Management's consultancy

companies are the followings:

- Threats that worry the most to the majority of the companies are the

economic crisis, the suspicion on the measures taken by the

government and breach of contract and payments. Also they fear

0 €

50,000,000 €

100,000,000 €

150,000,000 €

200,000,000 €

250,000,000 €

300,000,000 €

2006 2007 2008

220,000,000 €

275,000,000 € 285,000,000 €

Investments per year (in Euros)


41

that this situation leads to hostile competition between them, which

would bring an uncontrollable and dangerous decrease of prices,

fees and quality in the sector.

- Opportunities that companies see are the need to open new

international markets (63 % of them declare their selves as

international companies and 81 % of them thinks to go to new

countries), increase of the activity in the public sector and a general

improvement of the competitiveness of the sector due to the strong

competition.

- Project Management companies which work abroad do mainly in

Europe and Latin America occupies the second place and 69 % of

its turnover come from Retail and Commercial sectors.

- 68 % of the turnover corresponds to services of Project

Management and Construction Management.

- Madrid (31 %), Catalonia (26 %) and Andalusia (13 %) are the

autonomous regions that create the largest turnover in Spain.

- Highest turnover sectors (81 %) are Health and Residential Homes,

Industry and logistics, Commercial, Infrastructures and Retail.

- Highest turnover public sectors Health and Residential Homes

(35%), Infrastructures (30%), Education and Culture (13%) and

Commercial (9%).

The principal conclusions of the survey to the property development

companies that hire the services of consultancy companies of Project

Management are the following ones:

- 43 % do not hire Project Management services (40 % of them will

consider it the future and the remaining "saving" costs during the

crisis period).

- Property development companies value more experience, technical

capacity and commitment that size, leadership or price in Project

Management's company.


42

- 72 % would wish that Project Management's companies be

specialized by sectors (Structures, Retail, Residential, etc).

- 75 % of the companies that have hired Project Manager services

are satisfied or moderately satisfied.

- Majority of the companies think that the completion of buildings will

diminish in almost all the sectors in 2009-2010, especially the

Residential sector.

- The services most hired are Project Management, Cost

Management and Construction Management.

- Companies hire Project Management's company to work mainly in

Retail, Industry and a Logistics, Urban Development and

Commercial.

4.4. LEGISLATION

4.4.1. PRIVATE LAW

The Law 38/1999, of November 5, of Arrangement of the Building

regulates the building in Spain and defines 8 stakeholders (Agents of the

Building) in the constructive process and their obligations. These Agents of

Building are: promoter, design architect, contractor, site architect,

construction manager, entities and laboratories of quality control, products

supplier and owner/user.

Project Manager does not appear amongst them explicitly. However, it is

recognized implicitly because can be included in the general definition of

Agent of the Building that appears in the article 8 of the said law above:

"Agents of the Building are all people, physical or juridical, who intervene

in the process of the building. Their obligations will be determined by the

arranged in this Law and other dispositions that are of application and for

the contract that it causes his intervention”.


43

Due to the responsibilities that arise from the contract of services of

Project Manager, also Project Manager is recognized implicitly in the

article 1.591 of the Civil Code: "The contractor of a building which needs to

be repaired due to construction defects assumes damages if the defects

take place in ten years, counted since the construction is concluded; equal

responsibility and in the same time for the architect who managed it if the

building faults are due to soil or management defects … If the cause is

breach of contract by the contractor, the action of damages will last fifteen

years”.

4.4.2. PUBLIC LAW

As in the private law, Project Manager is not recognized by the Spanish

public law. The contract of services that is created between Project

Manager and the public entity is regulated under the Law of contracts of

the Public administrations, approved by Legislative Royal decree 2/2000,

of June 16. This contract is considered to be an administrative contract

and therefore it is regulated specially under the administrative law.

4.4.3. CONCLUSION

Although Project Manager acquires increasingly relevancy, it is necessary

to emphasize the absence of legal regulation as a handicap for the future

of the profession. Due to this, Rayon (2008) says that it is necessary to

specify meticulously all the functions attributed to Project Manager in his

contract so that there are no problems at a later stage. Also he affirms that

the attributions and responsibilities of Project Manager usually make a

mistake with those of other Agents of the Building (especially with

draftsman, the director of work and the promoter) and, therefore, to derive

in the conflicts appearance.


44

It is clear that the discipline of Project Management already has a number

of professionals and a volume of business significant and also it increases

his importance year on year. Then the legal recognition of Project

Manager in Spain is advisable and possibly necessarily.


45

5. CHAPTER 5: DATA COLLECTION

5.1. INTRODUCTION

An in-depth explanation of the chosen method of research conduct is

highlighted in this chapter. Data was collected based on first hand

information in the form of a questionnaire survey that was essential for this

research. Considerations regarding this questionnaire will focus on

rationale, design and limitations.

5.2. QUESTIONNAIRE

5.2.1. RATIONALE OF QUESTIONNAIRE

The questionnaire was chosen as the preferred research method as it

draws on experience from the industry and includes a wide geographical

spread. Literature review tends to be more theoretical because they define

the background knowledge of Spanish Project Management. On the other

hand questionnaires focus on the real Project Managers which are

currently working within construction companies. So questionnaires will

contribute to this research through the professional experiences and views

from active Project Managers which will have different perspectives and

points of view related to the aim and objectives of this research. While

literature review shows how Project Management has been assimilated by

Spain, questionnaire tries to find out how Spanish Project Manager

perceives their profession and its sector. Therefore questionnaires will

complete a comprehensive picture to answer the aim and objectives of this

research.

5.2.2. QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN


46

Questionnaire design has been based on the information obtained through

the literature review relating to Project Management in Spain in order to

investigate the Spanish Project Managers' perception about their sector

and their profession and also to obtain a respondent background in order

to define their main professional characteristics. Data obtained through

questionnaires will be used as primary sources of research and data

analysis will be determined by the data collected.

An online survey form has been selected for this research therefore a

cover letter will be sent by email in order to ask for respondents to fill the

questionnaire. It allows a wide geographical spread and the researcher

can remain in the United Kingdom whilst awaiting the responses. The

administration of the questionnaire in this fashion has had its advantages

have low cost and quite short time required and disadvantage is a weak

sample monitoring (Thietart et al., 2001, p179). To avoid this disadvantage

is recommended the use of websites specialised in online surveys. They

provide software that can be used easily in order to design the

questionnaire and collect and analyse data (Greenfield, 2002, p179). A

link is obtained from these websites to add in the cover letter so

respondents can access to the survey whenever it suit them. Data

collection and rate calculation is fast. Tables, percentages and charts may

be downloaded from these websites. Sometimes it is necessary to pay a

small fee for this services but the potential of this tool makes this fee

worthy. If online survey is compared with postal survey, it is deduced that

postal survey needs higher distribution costs (stamps, envelopes, hard

copies) and time to collect the responses. Data collection and rate

calculation is slow. The only good thing is the sample monitoring may be

more exhaustive.

Nowadays almost everyone has access to internet or has an email

address. For the companies they are essential tools in order to run their

businesses. In this research, the email addresses of respondents are from


47

Spanish companies and have been acquired from AEDIP website which is

an association of companies dedicated to Project Management in

construction. Problems may arise from online survey such as the email

considered as junk mail or doesn’t arrive to the suitable person (the

Project Manager in this research). Also people are afraid of giving data

through internet. This is why the title of email and cover letter are an

important issue in order to minimise these possible problems.

An online survey website called "Surveymonkey" has been used in this

research. An account has been created through the payment of a small

fee. After this, a thorough questionnaire has been designed in a manner

that respondents can pick the answer easily. Questionnaire has a simple

vocabulary in order to make comprehensible, straight questions.

Questionnaire will use open-ended and closed-ended questions to be

answered by the respondents according to their experiences. The first

ones are made for further detail or opinion in short sentences and may be

classified as single textbox, multiple textboxes and comment/essay box.

The second ones are made for conducting the answer through ticking

boxes and may be classified as multiple choices with only one answer,

multiple choices with multiple answers and rating scale.

Questions have been categorised in three main areas in the survey and

each area has been thought to fulfil distinct aims and objectives. Firstly,

the respondent background section consists in 10 questions in order to

find out the framework in which this survey is set and also to obtain a

comprehensive picture about the prototype Spanish Project Manager

related to their personal profile data such as name, name of company,

age, sex, formal education, languages, international certifications, type of

company, time working in the current company and time working in the

construction industry. All the questions are closed-ended questions but the

questions relate to name and name of company that are optional for the


48

respondents according to the confidentiality feature of this survey. In case

the respondent needs another answer that do not appear in the list of

selected answers, the option of “others” have been inserted where is

appropriate.

Secondly, the Project Management section consists in 5 questions in order

to find out the real perception of the respondents regarding the Project

Management discipline related to Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s),

problems, legal regulation, and application of Project Management in all

projects and future of Project Management in Spain. A combination of

closed-ended and open ended questions are used in this section. Two of

the closed-ended questions (KPI’s and problems) are designed to be

answered in order to make a rank.

And thirdly, the Project Manager section consists in 5 questions in order to

find out the real perception of the respondents regarding the profession of

Project Manager related to interpersonal skills, leadership style, Project

Manager’ characteristics, Spanish Project Manager’ definition and

comments. A combination of closed-ended and open ended questions are

used in this section. “Comments” is an optional question. One of the

closed-ended questions (interpersonal skills) is designed to be answered

in order to make a rank.

In this research, an online survey has been sent to 40 email addresses

obtained from AEDIP website (see chapter 4 for further information).

Online survey’s targets are Project managers who work in Project

Management companies specializing in construction. Response collection

period has been established in 3 weeks.

5.2.3. LIMITATIONS OF QUESTIONNAIRE


49

The most important limitation of online survey is if the link reaches the

predicted target who is the Project Manager in this research. The first

requisite to achieve this is to obtain the email address of the companies

that will be included in the research. The second and last requisite is that

the email does not get lost between secretaries, departments, etc. This

may happen because the person who receives the email can consider it

junk mail or does not know Project Managers in the company or even does

not want to bother them.

Another limitation can be the survey period that was conducted and

coincided with the Christmas period. There is a risk that companies closed

due to holidays or even saturation of greetings emails.

Finally, online survey relies on the survey service and its software. System

can sometimes go down or work wrongly, discouraging respondents in

order to answer the questions therefore consequence may be

uncompleted responses.


50

6. CHAPTER 6: DATA ANALYSIS

6.1. INTRODUCTION

The analysis of the collected survey data will be made in this chapter.

Firstly the number of respondents to questionnaire will be discussed.

Secondly methods of analysis will be chosen. Finally analysis of the

question included in the survey and statistics of responses collected will be

shown and discussed. In addition discussions of open-ended questions

will be carried out.

6.2. RESEARCH SAMPLE: QUESTIONNAIRE

An online survey called “Project Management in Spain-Research Survey”

has been sent to 40 email addresses starting on 14th December 2009. All

emails were sent to all those companies which are membership of AEDIP

association. AEDIP website was used to find out the email addresses of

those companies because they are Spanish and specialised in Project

Management in construction. Therefore targets of this online survey have

been the Project managers who work in those companies. The period to

response has been 3 weeks, ending on 4th January 2010. There have

been 8 responses received during this period of time and the table below

is used to show the reply statistics.

RESPONDENT RESULTS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

Total questionnaire sent 40 100 %

Total questionnaire reply 8 20 %

Total questionnaire not reply 32 80 %

Table 6.1: Statistics of questionnaire reply


51

Table 6.1 shows a 20% of questionnaires replied via the link included in

the cover letter sent by email and this percentage will be the data

analysed. A significant 80% of the companies that received the link did not

reply the questionnaire. This percentage of response may seem

insufficient and non-reliable due to the short number of responses but it is

necessary to make into account that there are a small number of

companies dedicated to Project Management in construction in Spain.

Therefore this researcher considers that this percentage may be

considerable in order to achieve the objectives established in this

research.

6.3. METHODS OF ANALYSIS

“There are four levels of measurement: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio”

(Naoum, 2007, p91). Ordinal scale has been chosen the most appropriate

level of the questionnaire in this research and can be defined as a ranking

o a rating data which normally integers in descending or ascending order.

For produce results, numeric analysis and statically tests to analyse the

collected numerical data has been utilized in this research. It has been

used to produce numerical value of categorised data-ratings and ranking.

Charts and tables have been introduced in order to analyse mass of data

in a better, comprehensible manner. Open-ended question analysis will be

conducted by recording.

6.4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results and its statistics acquired from the replies received will be

analysed accordingly to the following.


52

6.4.1. AGE

Chart 6.1: Age

The role and success of a Project Manager will develop over a number of

years. It does cause concern that the proportion of Project Managers is not

uniform over the respective age ranges. This ought to encourage

prospective Project Manager to join the industry as there will be a

significant lack of supply in the future. It can be seen in Chart 6.1 that the

greatest proportions of Project Managers are between the ages of 40-49.

If this is not a true reflection of the industry then I can only apportion this to

the fact that the Senior Project Managers received the request to complete

the questionnaire.


53

6.4.2. SEX

Chart 6.2: Sex

Chart 6.2 clearly identifies and adheres to the worldwide trend and

acceptance that the construction industry is dominated by males. The

recent changes to discrimination and employment laws in the workplace

will hopefully encourage women to join the industry. Due to the economic

climate I do not perceive that this trend will change dramatically in the near

future unless those that are currently employed as Architects re-offer the

Project Management service to cater for lost revenues during this

economic climate.


54

6.4.3. FORMAL EDUCATION

Chart 6.3: Formal education

It was refreshing to learn from Chart 6.3 that each of those completing the

questionnaire were qualified, however I was surprised to learn that 25% of

those were qualified to Masters Level. Personal experience has told me

that this figure is closer to 5% however this may be related to the extent of

works that I have been exposed. To be attracted to a potential employer

the Project Manager needs to be differentiated by either enhanced

experience or qualifications. As competition increases to secure

employment that there will be an increase in the number of people seeking

recognised certifications and qualifications. In hindsight I would have liked

to have confirmation as to weather the qualifications gained are in Project

Management.


55

6.4.4. LANGUAGES

Chart 6.4: Languages

Chart 6.4 highlights the importance of speaking a second language; at

least 20% of those completing the questionnaire speak more than one

language. This will come as no surprise as the majority of the construction

works in Spain have been targeted to the second home market for foreign

investors. In "other" known languages one individual was able to speak

Portuguese and Catalan another only Catalan.

Due to the lack of investments in construction project in Spain the current

Project Managers need to broaden their horizons and be prepared to work

outside the country. Currently there is an enormous amount of investment

in India, Brazil, Dubai and Abu Dhabi that is attractive to those who are

prepared and able to speak foreign languages proficiently.


56

6.4.5. INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATIONS

Chart 6.5: International certifications

Chart 6.5 highlights the deficit that those working as Project Managers

although benefiting from work experience lack the internationally

recognised professional qualifications. Historically Project Managers

gained their experience through an apprenticeship. The current economic

climate has emphasised how important it is for individuals to benefit from

continuing training and development with the ultimate goal of achieving an

internationally recognised certificate. To be attracted to a potential

employer the Project Manager needs to be differentiated by either

enhanced experience or qualifications. As competition increases to secure

employment that there will be an increase in the number of people seeking

recognised certifications.


57

6.4.6. TYPE OF COMPANY

Chart 6.6: Type of company

Chart 6.6 identifies that the largest sector of those completing the

questionnaire were Private Consultants. I suspect that this figure is

somewhat non-reflective of the actual trend as the questionnaire was

directed to those that were associated with AEDIP. It is interesting that

there are no developers or contractors that employ the services of Project

Managers, this could be due to the fact that they have their own in house

team or rely on the services of the architects.


58

6.4.7. TIME WORKING IN THE CURRENT COMPANY

Chart 6.7: Time working in the current company

Chart 6.7 identifies that 75% of employees have been employed by the

same employer between 3 and 5 years only. Perhaps this is an

encouraging indicator from 6 years ago that those in the profession are

better respected within the workforce and that the employer is reacting

appropriately to retain them as employees. I had anticipated that there

would be limited employees recruited in the past 1-2 years due to the

economic climate. Perhaps an interesting question to have included would

have been, "How long do you anticipate working for your current

employer?"


59

6.4.8. TIME WORKING IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Chart 6.8: Time working in the construction industry

Chart 6.8 provides worrying information about the construction industry,

not one person who completed the questionnaire has been in the

construction industry less than 10 years and none have experience

between 15 and 19 years. 50% have been involved in construction for 20

years plus which correlates with the fact that 80% of the sample is over 40

years of age. Based on the information collected the Spanish construction

industry has failed to recruit Project Managers as it did some 20 years

ago. Currently it is not an attractive proposal to join the construction

industry as the demand for Spanish homes by foreign investors has

diminished and there are thousands of sites that remain incomplete.


60

6.4.9. IMPORTANCE OF KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPI’S)

Chart 6.9: Importance of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)

KPI Report for The Minister for Construction (Department of the

Environment, Transport and Regions, January 2000) implies clients wish

for their projects to be delivered efficiently, on time, on budget, free from

defects, safely, right first time and by profitable companies. KPI are a

continual assessment which will provide a basis and highlight to the

construction company areas requiring improvement. Regular monitoring

will ensure that any action implemented to improve the associated

indicator is successful.

KPI Indicators are not widely used in Spain due to the fact that information

is not widely promoted, volunteered or indeed available.


61

Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)

Tim

e

Co

st

Qu

ality

Clien

t

sati

sfa

cti

on

Ch

an

ge

ord

ers

Bu

sin

es

s

Perf

orm

an

ce

Healt

h &

Safe

ty

Weig

ht

Score

Tota

l score

Score

Tota

l score

Score

Tota

l score

Score

Tota

l score

Score

Tota

l score

Score

Tota

l score

Score

Tota

l score

1 1 1 1 1 - - 5 5 - - - - 1 1

2 1 2 1 2 2 4 - - - - 3 6 1 2

3 1 3 3 9 - - 2 6 2 6 - - - -

4 2 8 2 8 2 8 - - 1 4 1 4 - -

5 1 5 1 5 3 15 1 5 - - 2 10 - -

6 1 6 - - 1 6 - - 3 18 - - 3 18

7 1 7 - - - - - - 2 14 2 14 3 21

Total rank

32 25 33 16 42 34 42

Table 6.2: Scoring for the importance of Key Performance Indicators

(KPI’s)

According to the scoring method (see table 6.2 above), Spanish Project

Managers order KPI’s from the most important (less score) to least

important as it follows:

0. Client satisfaction (16 scores)

1. Cost (25 scores)

2. Time (32 scores)

3. Quality (33 scores)

4. Business Performance (34 scores)

5. Health & Safety (42 scores)

6. Change orders (42 scores)

It can be seen that the major emphasis as always is client satisfaction, due

to the fact that the client pays the bills it is not surprising, however rarely is

the client satisfied. Health & Safety and Change Orders and were of the

least concern to this sample group, the latter comes to my surprise.


62

6.4.10. IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT’S PROBLEMS

Chart 6.10: Importance of Project Management’s problems

Diaz (2007) classifies the Project Management’s problems involving 6

problematic areas which generate the followings:

- Scope: deviations in the costs. Lengthening in the period.

Tensions with the client, inside the proper organization and

with exterior organizations.

- Quality (invaluable)

- Planning: not fulfilment of targets. Complaint to the costs of

the project and, in the worst thing, to the quality.

- Budget: not fulfilment of project targets. Deviations in the

costs, the risk and the margin.


63

- Programming: not fulfilment of the targets of the project.

Deviations in the period and costs.

- Organization/communication: the organization does not work

and does not fulfil with his duty to carry out the project the

Plan of established Project.

Project Management’s problems

Scope Quality Planning Budget Programming Organization /

Communication

Weig

ht

Score

Tota

l S

core

Score

Tota

l S

core

Score

Tota

l S

core

Score

Tota

l S

core

Score

Tota

l S

core

Score

Tota

l S

core

1 1 1 - - 2 2 1 1 - - 4 4

2 3 6 1 2 2 4 1 2 1 2 - -

3 1 3 1 3 2 6 2 6 1 3 1 3

4 2 8 - - 2 8 1 4 1 4 2 8

5 1 5 2 10 - - 2 10 2 10 1 5

6 - - 4 24 - - 1 6 3 18 - -

Total rank

23 39 20 29 37 20

Table 6.3: Scoring for the importance of Project Management’s

problems


Managers order Project Management’s problems from the most important

(less score) to least important as it follows:

1. Organization/Communication (20 scores)

2. Planning (20 scores)

3. Scope (23 scores)

4. Budget (29 scores)

5. Programming (37 scores)

6. Quality (39 scores)


64

In today's environment it is remarkable that organisation/communication is

considered the greatest concern. Individuals are expected to be

contactable by mobile phone immediately and receive a response to an

email within 24 hours. The introduction of Building Information Modelling

techniques together with software packages such as Microsoft Project and

Primavera should prevent any communication problems. Should I repeat

this questionnaire process I would have it include the average size of the

project and the annual turnover of the company. This would give an

indication to the size and the number of projects that respective

companies get involved with. Together with the information we possess we

should be able to determine if the companies are large enough to adopt

and incorporate effective software systems. The majority of building

contracts are based on the traditional procurement method and as such

the quality of work is known as is therefore of least concern.


65

6.4.11. PROJECT MANAGER’S LEGAL REGULATION

Chart 6.11: Project Manager’s legal regulation

Chart 6.11 clearly identifies that those in the sample group wish for their

profession to be recognised under Spanish Law. For this to be

implemented then the individuals aught to be required to be affiliated to an

Organisation / Body that can assess the proficiency of the members. As

with any organisation there will be stringent levels of competence which

could be assessed in the same fashion as is the case for RICS members.

This will increase the perception of the Project Manager to other

professionals within in the industry and will ensure the reputations of those

that have joined the Organisation are maintained. Through continual

development this will ensure those members will be rewarded more

handsomely.


66

6.4.12. APPLICATION OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN ALL PROJECTS

Chart 6.12: Application of Project Management in all projects

“Managing projects requires time, effort, and discipline, regardless of the

project size. The difference between managing larger and smaller projects

is not only the amount of time, effort, and discipline but also the processes

and tools”, ROWE (2006, p xi).

Since the sample group is affiliated with the AEDIP it comes as no surprise

that all those who completed the questionnaire wished for Project

Management to be adopted on all projects. Should I revisit his

questionnaire I would like to quantify what level of expense is required

before the services of a Project Manager need be employed?


67

6.4.13. FUTURE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN

Respondents have given the following answers (see table 6.4 below) to

this question of the questionnaire: “The construction sector in Spain has

been deeply affected by the recent global economic crisis. Please express

your opinion about the future of Project Management in Spain in short-

term and medium-term within this context”.

RESPONDENT ANSWERS

1

In short-term or middle term a big business can arise from our type of

companies if the public administrations begin hiring our services. We are

going to enter in a new economic stage in which the cost and the

deadlines will impact strongly on the project feasibility (we are no longer in

the stage where “everything is ok"). This new stage is going to be a “low

cost” stage where everything will be analysed carefully, especially

investments. This is why any project’s investment should be supervised

under specialized consultant i.e. Project manager. Consultant will defend

client’s rights (either public or private client)

2 Short-term, difficult. In the mid-term, Project Management will be

considered to be essential to face projects with professionalism.

3 As in the rest of sectors, the PM is in phase of readjustment and

professionalization to face the future of the construction in Spain

4

Right now companies from other sectors non-specialized in Project

Management are obtaining work as if they are, harming our sector.

The consequences of this avalanche of companies and professionals not

qualified in the Project Management will provoke 2 effects immediately:

•Client: confusion because they will have to find means in order to identify

the intrusive companies.

•Project Management’s and professionals: they will have to specialize

more than they are already in order to distinguish themselves from the

intrusive companies. I think the crisis will oblige developers to understand

the necessity of Project Management. Also it will oblige Project Managers

be more specialized.

5 Project Management sector will be ESSENTIAL for effective organization

of projects. Also for effective coordination amongst all Agents of Building in

order to optimize their performance.

6 Project Management sector will not obtain legal regulation and will be

absorbed by the Chartered Quantity Surveyor.

7

Public client will become more important (in fact private client has decreased a lot already). Companies and professionals proceeding from other disciplines that have lost their traditional market (architects especially) will enter in the Project Management sector.

8 Encouraging

Table 6.4: Answers to future of Project Management in Spain


68

There was a unilateral response to the question which confirms that there

is a desire for the Project Manager to be considered as real professionals

within the construction industry. Despite limited investment in the

construction industry those clients prepared to undertake projects will

secure the services of a Project Manager to ensure the successful

completion of that project. One individual remarked that the Project

Management sector will be engulfed as part of the Quantity Surveying

Profession. This is quite an interesting remark as the majority of Project

Managers in Spain moved away from surveying and might find themselves

represented by the same body.


69

6.4.14. IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT MANAGER’S INTERPERSONAL

SKILLS

Chart 6.13: Importance of Project Manager’s interpersonal skills

PMI (2008, p417-421) highlights 8 main Project Manager’s interpersonal

skills which are Leadership, Teambuilding, Motivation, Communication,

Influencing, Decision Making, Political and Cultural Awareness and

Negotiation.

Chart 6.13 above shows that Leadership is the most important skill from

the Spanish Project Manager. The rest skills have the vote shared in a

similar manner except Political and Cultural Awareness. This one is the

least important for the majority maybe because of lack of foreigner people

in managerial levels in Spain. If Spanish companies want to take


70

advantage of the international market they should be start to have the

employee's background as something to take into account.

Project Manager’s interpersonal skills

Lead

ers

hip

Team

bu

ild

ing

Mo

tivati

on

Co

mm

un

icati

on

Infl

uen

cin

g

Decis

ion

makin

g

Po

liti

ca

l an

d

cu

ltu

ral

aw

are

ness

Neg

oti

ati

on

Weig

ht

Score

Tota

l score

Score

Tota

l score

Score

Tota

l score

Score

Tota

l score

Score

Tota

l score

Score

Tota

l score

Score

Tota

l score

Score

Tota

l score

1 6 6 - - - - - - - - - - - - 2 2

2 1 2 4 8 1 2 - - 1 2 - - - - 1 2

3 - - 1 3 2 6 2 6 - - 3 9 - - - -

4 1 4 2 8 2 8 1 4 - - 1 4 - - 1 4

5 - - - - 2 10 1 5 2 10 1 5 - - 2 10

6 - - - - 1 6 3 18 2 12 1 6 - - 1 6

7 - - 1 7 - - 1 7 2 14 2 14 1 7 1 7

8 - - - - - - - - 1 8 - - 7 56 - -

Total rank

12 26 32 40 46 38 63 31

Table 6.5: Scoring for the importance of Project Manager’s

interpersonal skills


Managers order Project Management’s interpersonal skills from the most

important (less score) to least important as it follows:

1. Leadership (12 scores)

2. Team building (26 scores)

3. Negotiation (31 scores)

4. Motivation (32 scores)

5. Decision making (38 scores)


71

6. Communication (40 scores)

7. Influencing (46 scores)

8. Political and cultural awareness (63 scores)

Any manager in a non-sales environment will be of the opinion that

Leadership together with Team Building are the most important skills to

possess. What I found remarkable is that Negotiation was the next most

important factor, which considering the fact that Change Control was not

an important factor in the KPI question that the negotiation skills are

required to appease the client, sub-contractors or suppliers. Either way

these discussions should be clearly defined at outset and ought not to be

of concern.

I had envisaged the communication skill to be perceived as a much higher

skill requirement in light of the fact the sample group considered

communication and Organisational concerns as the primary.


72

6.4.15. PROJECT MANAGER’S LEADERSHIP STYLE

Chart 6.14: Project Manager’s leadership style

According to Gebremedhin and Schaeffer (1999, p19-22), there are three

main leadership styles:

- Autocratic leader (assumes full responsibility for decision making)

- Democratic leader (consults their team to make decisions, but

saves the final decision for themselves)

- Laissez-Faire leader (delegates to subordinates the authority to

make decisions).


73

6.4.16. PROJECT MANAGER’S CHARACTERISTICS

Chart 6.15: Project Manager’s characteristics

PMI (2008, p13) highlights 3 main Project Manager’s characteristics as:

Knowledge: This refers to what the project manager knows about

project management discipline.

Performance: This refers to what the project manager is able to do

or accomplish whilst applying their project management knowledge.

Personal: This refers to how the project manager behaves when

performing the project or related activity. Personal effectiveness

encompasses attitudes, core personal characteristics and

leadership - the ability to guide the project team whilst achieving the

project objectives and balancing project constraints.

It is remarkable that none of the sample group consider knowledge as an

essential skill.


74

6.4.17. SPANISH PROJECT MANAGER’S DEFINITION

Respondents have given the following answers (see table 6.6 below) to

this question of the questionnaire: “According to your experience, please

define a positive feature and a negative feature which you think are

common in a Spanish Project Manager”.

RESPONDENT POSITIVE FEATURE NEGATIVE FEATURE

1 Flexibility Lack of implication with the client

2 Market in heyday Shortness of specialized knowledge

3 Interpersonal skill Unable to define roles of team members

4

Wide management’s

knowledge of the

construction stage

Lack of procurement knowledge and its

alternatives. A little involvement in design

coordination.

5 Influence Autodidact

6 Good technical knowledge Little empathy with clients

7 Negotiating character Culture of last minute ( student’s syndrome)

8 Interpersonal capacities Lack of anticipation

Table 6.6: Answers to Spanish Project Manager’s definition

Taking the positive comments into consideration the sample group

emphasised the importance of interpersonal skills with only one comment

about the poor market conditions.

The negative features are interesting and include the lack of specialist

knowledge and the implication that knowledge is self taught.

There are no standardised contracts in Spain so the various procurement

routes that are seen in the UK are not present and as such create

difficulties when understanding foreign contracts. The only people that

know and understand the two procurement routes in Spain are the Project

Managers. Since the Spanish Construction law is so specific only

additional detail outside the guidelines is required.


75

6.4.18. COMMENTS

This last question is optional and has been filled by three people. Besides

greetings, an interesting comment for this research says that “planning

and organising” and “synthesis analysis” should be included as

interpersonal skills.

These are both interesting and in my opinion relevant interpersonal skills.

Without the ability to manage your resources they will be under utilised

creating additional expense, confusion and resentment to the project.

The remark about synthesis analysis is it as a key performance indicator

or indeed developed to enhance interpersonal skill is a very interesting

point. The project manager role is to ensure the smooth running of the

project, should problems and issues arise it is vital that these concerns are

identified and dealt with expediently.


76

7. CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

7.1. CONCLUSION

The three objectives of this research were made along this research

Objective 1: To outline what project management is and its international

standards.

Projects have been part of the history since the ancient cultures but have

been in the 20th century when it has become a discipline called Project

Management and apparition of several standards have been occurred.

The most important international standards are five:

1. PMBOK by Project Management Institute which is represented in

Spain by three chapters: Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.

2. ICB by International Project Management Association which is

represented in Spain by AEIPRO.

3. PRINCE 2 by Office of Government Commerce. In Spain it is not

very popular.

4. ISO 10006:2003 Its equivalent in Spain is UNE 66916:2003.

5. Project Management Maturity Models which are starting to become

more present in day to day practices.

Objective 2: To analyse the contrition industry in Spain in order to

understand the Project managers Role within the Spanish

Context.

This sector has a traditional procurement method of "design and build" and

"contract management". Spain does not use standard contract forms and

is due to the fact that Spanish legislation is stronger than UK legislation.

PPP/PFI is not as popular in Spain as is the case in the UK. Normally it is

only used on roads. It has slowly started to be introduced into other

sectors. The crisis has affected Spanish construction sector deeply


77

because of speculation mainly in the last ten years. The future of the

sector extremely pessimistic and the recovery is not anticipated until 2014.

Objective 3: To investigate the past, present and future of Project

Management in Spain.

Project Management arrived to Spain late but after 2000 has become a

consolidated industry. As an example Integrated Project Management

White Book has become a well respected book with guidelines that have

been adopted widely.

The project management sector in Spain has suffered a slowdown in its

past successful growth due to the economic crisis which appeared in

2007. It is suspected that 2009 shows a stop in the sector. This is why the

Spanish project management companies are looking at the International

market.

It is widely wished that project management is represented by its own

body or at least bound by government regulation.

A survey was made in order to compliment the literature review in this

objective with the following results:

Respondent Background Section

The characteristics of the average Spanish Project Manager average

is a man with more than 40 years, a bachelors degree and no

international accreditations who works in a consultancy company. He

has been working in his current company for the last 5 years and has

been working in the construction industry between 10 and 20 years.

Project Management Section

The most important indicator of success for the Spanish Project

Manager is Client Satisfaction and also he thinks that the most


78

important problems come from organisation and communication

issues. He claims that Project Managers should have their own legal

recognition. He thinks Project Management should be used in all

project not just in unique, major projects. His view of the immediate

future is pessimistic but relies on international sector and the

specialisation of Spanish professionals.

The Project Manager Section

The Project Manager thinks that leadership is the most important

interpersonal skill and he defines himself as a participative leader. He

considers personal qualities as the most characteristic to succeed over

the performance and the knowledge. He defines the Spanish Project

Manager with two main characteristics: Good interpersonal skills but

on the other hand a lack of formal education in the role.

The Aim: To provide a general overview to those ones who wants to wish

to understand and possibly undertake the role of the Project

Manager in construction in Spain.

Therefore the aim is having achieved as it has been formulated a

comprehensive overview of the role of a Project Manager in Spain as

detailed above.

7.2. RECOMMENDATIONS ON FUTURE STUDY

It would be interesting to develop the study to include:

Shortness and difficulties at learning the discipline

Lack of knowledge of the client

Legislation about the Project Manager entity

Why are women not attracted to the industry?

Project Management applying in all projects not just major projects.


79

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MONTALVO, J. (2007). Algunas Consideraciones sobre el Problema

de la Vivienda en España. [online]. Last accessed 17 Dec 2009 at:

http://www.econ.upf.edu/~montalvo/wp/funcas113.pdf

http://www.iclg.co.uk/index.php?area=4&country_results=1&kh_publications_id=28&chapters_id=1031

http://www.iclg.co.uk/index.php?area=4&country_results=1&kh_publications_id=28&chapters_id=1031

http://www.laing.co.uk/pfi_ppp/948.htm

http://www.econ.upf.edu/~montalvo/wp/funcas113.pdf


82

NAOUM, S.G. (2007). Dissertation Research & Writing for

Construction Students. 2nd edition, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

NATIONAL STATISTICS INSTITUTE. Estadísticas de la Construcción.


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px&type=pcaxis&L=0

OGC (2005). Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2. 4th edition,

London: TSO.

PMI, Project Management Institute (2008). A Guide to Project

Management Body of Knowledge: (PMBOK Guide). 4th edition.,

Newtown Square, Pa.: Project Management Institute.

RAYON, M. C. (2008). Direccion Integrada de Proyecto en el Ambito

de la Construccion: Nociones Juridicas Basicas. Anuario Juridico y

Economico Escurialense, XLI (2008) 161-182

ROWE, S. (2006). Project Management for Small Projects.

Management Concepts, Inc.

SCI, Soluciones Constructivas Integrales (n.d.). Project Management.


http://www.scintegrales.com/?servicios/project-management.html

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Edificación. Boletin Oficial del Estado, de 6 de noviembre de 1999,

number 266, pages 38925 to 38934).

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http://www.ine.es/jaxi/tabla.do?path=/t38/bme2/t07/a081/l0/&file=1300005.px&type=pcaxis&L=0

http://www.scintegrales.com/?servicios/project-management.html


83

THIETART, R. et al. (2001). Doing Management Research: a

Comprehensive Guide. London: SAGE.


84

BIBLIOGRAPHY

AEDIP (2006). Libro Blanco de la Dirección Integrada de Proyecto.

Madrid: Asociación Española de Dirección Integrada de Proyecto.

DIAZ, A. (2007). El Arte de Dirigir Proyectos. Paracuellos de Jarama

(Madrid): RA-MA.

MARTINEZ, G. and PELLICER, E. (2006). Organizacion y Gestion de

Proyectos de Obras. McGraw-Hill.

NAOUM, S.G. (2007). Dissertation Research & Writing for

Construction Students. 2nd edition, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

PMI, Project Management Institute (2008). A Guide to Project

Management Body of Knowledge: (PMBOK Guide). 4th edition.,

Newtown Square, Pa.: Project Management Institute.

ROWE, S. (2006). Project Management for Small Projects.

Management Concepts, Inc.


85

APPENDIX 1: COVER LETTER

Sheffield, the United Kingdom, on December 14th, 2009

To whom may concern:

Matter: University Student survey for dissertation.

Good morning.

My name is Francisco José and I am a Quantity Surveyor from Granada

who at present is studying a Master's degree of Project Management in

construction in Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom.

This is my last semester and I have to do a dissertation. My research is

entitled “Project Management in Spain” and I hope that it will useful for

future students of this discipline in both countries.

I would be very grateful to you if a "Project Manager" of your company

could dedicate approximately 5-10 minutes to answer this simple and short

questionnaire only following this link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZNFDVNS .

Of course the information will be treated confidentiality and it will only

serve for my research work, without being any of the interrogated persons

identified by any means. In fact, the survey can be anonymous if this way

is wished.

If you have some doubt about this survey, please do not hesitate to

contact me to the phone 0044 7942630099 or to the email

[email protected]. Assertion of this research can be obtained across

my supervisor in the mentioned university: Mr. Cliff Ellis, phone 0044

1142254072 and email [email protected].

In case you are so kind to fill the survey in, I request you to do it before

January 4th, which will be when the link stops working.

I am grateful to you in advance for your time and I wish you Merry

Christmas.

Faithfully,

Francisco José López Morales

Sheffield Hallam University

Faculty of Development and Society

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZNFDVNS


86

APPENDIX 2: SURVEY

PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEYPROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEYPROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEYPROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEY

This information is for academic research only.Any information submitted will not be disclosed to third parties and is strictly confidential. Should you wish certain informational is not essential such as your name and your company's name. (Essential data is highlighted with an asterisk nest to the question). Thank you in anticipation.

1. Respondent background

1. Name: (optional answer)

2. Name of company: (optional answer)

3. Age:*

4. Sex:*

5. Highest level of formal education: *

Under 20

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20-29

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30-39

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40-49

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50-59

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60 and above

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Male

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Female

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Diploma

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Bachelor's Degree

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Master's Degree

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Doctorate Degree

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Others (please specify)


6. Do you speak any other language? (several answers may be chosen)*

7. Do you have any credential or certification obtained from the following international organizations?

*

8. How would you classify your company within the construction sector?*

9. How long have you been working in your current company?*

No

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English

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French

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German

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Italian

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Others (please specify)

PMI (Project Management Institute)

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IPMA (international Project Management Association)

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Yes, I have both PMI and IPMA

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No, I do not have any

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Public

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Private-Consultant

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Private-Developer

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Private-Contractor

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Private- Any combination of the three private classifications listed above

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1-2 years

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3-5 years

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6-10 years

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More than 10 years

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Project Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques in order to complete all work required in a project within scope, time, cost and quality defined.

10. How long have you been working in the construction industry?*

2. Project Management

11. Please order the following indicators of success of a project in order from most important (1) to least (7).

*

1 (most

important)2 3 4 5 6

7 (least

important)

Time nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Cost nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Quality nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Client Satisfaction nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Change Orders nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Business Performance nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Health & Safety nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

12. Inefficiency in the following concepts can cause problems in a project. Please order the importance of these types of problems in the order of most important (1) to least (6).

*

1 (most

important)2 3 4 5

6 (least

important)

Problems of SCOPE nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Problems of QUALITY nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Problems of PLANNING nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Problems of BUDGET nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Problems of PROGRAMMING nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Problems of ORGANIZATION /

COMMUNICATIONnmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Less than 5 years

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5-9 years

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10-14 years

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15-19 years

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more than 20 years

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Within the construction process, the Project Manager assumes full responsibility for carrying out the project. Therefore the success of this project will depend on their knowledge, their performance and their interpersonal skills.

13. Project Managers is classified as an Agent of Building within the Spanish Building Law without any specific regulations. Do you believe that Project Managers should be recognized under law?

*

14. Project Management is usually used on unique and major projects in Spain. Do you think it would be useful to adopt Project Management on all projects?

*

15. The construction sector in Spain has been deeply affected by the recent global economic crisis. Please express your opinion about the future of Project Management in Spain in short-term and medium-term within this context.

*

3. Project Manager

16. An effective Project Manager embraces their interpersonal skills to develop their work successfully. Please order from most important (1) to least important (8) the following interpersonal skills.

*

1 (most

important)2 3 4 5 6 7

8 (least

important)

LEADERSHIP nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

TEAM BUILDING nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

MOTIVATION nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

COMMUNICATION nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

INFLUENCING nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

DECISION MAKING nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

POLITICAL AND CULTURAL AWARENESS nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

NEGOTIATION nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Yes

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No

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do not know / do not answer

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Yes

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No

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do not know / do not answer

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17. Please choose the type of leadership style that you most closely identified with.

*

18. What do you think is the most essential characteristic to succeed in this profession from the following?

*

19. According to your experience, please define a positive feature and a negative feature which you think are common in a Spanish Project Manager.

*

Positive feature

Negative feature

20. Please add any comments you deem appropriate or of interest to any point(s) raised in this survey (this answer is optional). I remind you that this information will be kept strictly confidential. Thank you.

Autocratic leader (assumes full responsibility for decision making)

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Democratic leader (consults their team to make decisions, but saves the final decision for themselves)

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Laissez-faire leader (delegates to subordinates the authority to make decisions)

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Personal

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Performance

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Knowledge

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Project Management in construction in Spain

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