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
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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.
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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
3.1. INTRODUCTION 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
4.1. INTRODUCTION 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
5.1. INTRODUCTION 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
6.1. INTRODUCTION 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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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.
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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
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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).
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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]".
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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)
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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.
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- 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”.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?"
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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- 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
According to the scoring method (see table 6.3 above), Spanish Project
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)
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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
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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.
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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
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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
According to the scoring method (see table 6.5 above), Spanish Project
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)
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
MSc Project Management
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NAOUM, S.G. (2007). Dissertation Research & Writing for
Construction Students. 2nd edition, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
NATIONAL STATISTICS INSTITUTE. Estadísticas de la Construcción.
[online]. Last accessed 17 Dec 2009 at:
http://www.ine.es/jaxi/tabla.do?path=/t38/bme2/t07/a081/l0/&file=1300005.
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.
[online]. Last accessed 27 Dec 2009 at:
http://www.scintegrales.com/?servicios/project-management.html
SPAIN. LEY 38/1999, de 5 de noviembre, de Ordenación de la
Edificación. Boletin Oficial del Estado, de 6 de noviembre de 1999,
number 266, pages 38925 to 38934).
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THIETART, R. et al. (2001). Doing Management Research: a
Comprehensive Guide. London: SAGE.
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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.
MSc Project Management
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
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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)
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEYPROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEYPROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEYPROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEY
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
gfedc
French
gfedc
German
gfedc
Italian
gfedc
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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Page 3
PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEYPROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEYPROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEYPROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEY
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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Page 4
PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEYPROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEYPROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEYPROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEY
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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Page 5
PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEYPROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEYPROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEYPROJECT MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN-RESEARCH SURVEY
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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