Project management tools and techniques positively impact project success by increasing the global competitiveness of the organization, satisfying stakeholders, handling technological complexities, maximizing resources, and reducing development time.
The following are empirical studies about the impact of project management tools on project success from across the globe.
The impact of project management tools on project results: evaluation of a survey among managers leading international development projects for four selected Central and Eastern European donors
This study explored the adoption of project management tools by project managers in the Central and Eastern European countries, including Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. The target population included 357 organizations that have implemented CEE-funded International Development (ID) projects in Europe. 726 project managers from the target organizations were selected to participate in this study. Data collection was done using questionnaires administered online. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. A regression analysis model was employed to establish the effect of adopted project management tools on project performance. The findings were presented using relevant tables (Dufkova, 2023).
The findings revealed that in the lowest project management maturity stage, stage 1, the following tools were adopted by the target organizations: logical framework and milestone planning. In the project management maturity stage 2, the following tools were adopted: organizational chart, scope management, risk management, communication plan, status reports, and cost accounting. In the project management maturity stage 3, the following tools were adopted: work breakdown structure, stakeholder matrix, and Gantt chart. In addition, tools deployed in project management stage 2 were all used in this stage. Lastly, in the project management maturity stage 4, the following tools were employed: earned-value management system, critical path method, contingency allocation, and issue log (Dufkova, 2023).
The results of the regression analysis model demonstrated that project management tools deployed in the project management maturity stage 1 had a positive and significant effect on internal project performance. However, the same tools had an insignificant effect on external project performance in the target organizations. In addition, the findings revealed that the tools deployed in the project management maturity stages 2, 3, and 4 had an insignificant effect on internal and external project performance in the target organizations. These results may be attributed to differences in project characteristics across organizations’ spectrums (Dufkova, 2023).
Project management tool: a review
This study explored the effect of project management tools on project success in companies operating in the engineering, software development, retail, and wholesale sectors in Nashik. The target population included small, medium-sized, and large firms operating in diverse sectors in the study area. Participants in the study included 400 project managers drawn from the target companies. Data collection was done using a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the collected data. Regression analysis was used to determine the association between the independent variables and the dependent variable. The findings were presented using graphs, charts, and tables, as deemed fit (Chouhan et al., 2022).
The findings revealed that firms that adopted project management tools and techniques had witnessed increased executive support, more accurate metrics, improved budget estimation, enhanced team collaboration, more effective use of the tools, and improved timeline estimation. The results also revealed the following as the key considerations that managers observed while purchasing project management tools, starting with the most important to the least important: functionality, price, ease of use, customer support, implementation and training, software popularity, and lastly, vendor reputation (Chouhan et al., 2022).
The findings also showed that the following were the most commonly used project management tool features: reports/dashboards, document management, collaboration, requirements management, budgeting, resource planning, and time tracking. The least used project management tools’ features include Gantt charts, burn-down charts, and velocity charts. The most desired project management tool features included a project request intake form, product road-mapping, portfolio management, velocity charts, automated workflows, burndown charts, and Gantt charts (Chouhan et al., 2022).
The results of regression analysis showed that adopted project management tools and techniques impacted project phases in the following ways: cost baseline and critical path method (CPM) had a positive and significant effect on project success; CPM had a positive and significant effect on time, cost, and quality aspects of the project; and hierarchical scheduling had a positive and significant impact on customer satisfaction and overall project success (Chouhan et al., 2022).
Finally, the findings revealed the following as the main challenges facing implementation of project management tools and techniques in the target firms: complexity of the tool/technique, too many unused features, integration challenges, lack of skilled personnel to handle the tool, lack of support from vendors, lack of cross-functional or stakeholder participation, lack of buy-in by management, and poor user adoption. The following were proposed as the approaches firms could use to overcome the stated challenges: providing peer-to-peer workshops/training sessions, improving cross-functional collaboration, creating comprehensive documentation for the tool, organizing vendor training workshops/seminars, hiring new project-focused staff, and integrating project management tools with other tasks (Chouhan et al., 2022).
Investigation into project management tools and techniques currently used in practice
This study explored the effect of project management tools and techniques in project performance in manufacturing and engineering companies in Sweden. The study investigated the tools and techniques adopted by the target companies and the factors influencing adoption of those tools and techniques. The target population included manufacturing firms in Sweden, including the Swedish-Swiss ABB, the ELE engineering works, Scania AB, and the Northvolt company. The firm operates in the areas of process automation, motion, robotics, and electrification. Primary data collection was done using questionnaires. Secondary data for the study was collected from articles in journals and company reports. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the descriptive variables under investigation (Shammakh et al., 2022).
The findings revealed that each company developed its own tools and techniques as per its characteristics. Some of the tools adopted by the companies include the stage-gate model, internal cost monitoring software, MS Office, MS Whiteboard, MS Teams, MS Project, Gantt Chart, SWOT, decision tree, project cash flow, milestone planning, visual planning, Zoom, Skype, Jira, and risk and opportunities (Shammakh et al., 2022).
Project management tools and techniques and SME performance: empirical evidence in the context of developing countries
This study explored the impact of project management tools and techniques on the performance of manufacturing SMEs in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first objective was to establish the extent of adoption of project management tools and techniques by SMEs in the manufacturing sector in the study area. The second objective was to find out the effect of adopted project management tools and techniques on the financial and non-financial performance of the target SMEs (Sensini et al., 2021).
The target population included 172 SMEs operating in the manufacturing sector in Buenos Aires. Project managers drawn from the target population constituted the sample for the study. Data collection was done using a questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Correlation analysis was done using Spearman’s model in order to establish the significance of the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variables. The findings were presented in relevant tables as required (Sensini et al., 2021).
The results of correlation analysis showed that scoreboard and integrated logistics support had a positive and significant effect on both financial and non-financial performance in the target SMEs; configuration management and cost-estimation techniques only showed a positive and significant impact on the financial performance of the target SMEs; and the quality assurance plan indicated no effect on SME performance. The results also demonstrated that cost-estimation and configuration management techniques had a greater impact on SMEs that implemented them than those that did not. In addition, it was revealed that SMEs that used the integrated logistics support performed better in terms of financial measures compared to the non-users. Last but not least, the results also indicated that the quality assurance plan had no significant impact on both the financial and non-financial performance measures (Sensini et al., 2021).
Project management tools and techniques usage in building sector companies.
This study investigated the tools and techniques used by construction companies of Cartagena City. The target population included the 120 housing construction companies registered in Cartagena City. As such, 22 project managers employed by target construction companies were interviewed. Data collection was done using a questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings were presented in suitable tables as needed (Kumar, 2020).
According to the results, a paltry 13% of the target companies had employed the following project management tools and methodologies: ISO 21500, PMI, APM, PRINCE2, and IPMA. Other tools adopted by the target companies included EDT, WBS, PERT, organizational diagrams, RACI matrices, SWOT analyses, histograms, Pareto diagrams, scatter diagrams, Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Project. The majority of the respondents indicated that they have developed customized project management tools and methodologies to run their projects. The findings also indicated that the majority of the target companies lacked project offices needed to support projects and also do follow-ups of ongoing projects. The findings also indicated that about a third of the targeted companies had certified project management personnel. This implies that the majority of the firms’ employees lacked validated knowledge regarding the use of project management tools and techniques (Kumar, 2020).
Impact of project management tools on project estimates and benefits
This study explored the impact of project management tools on project estimates and benefits. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the effect of project management tools on project benefits, to establish the effect of using project management tools on deviation from project estimations, to find out the effect of project risks on project estimations, and to explore the effect of deviation from project estimation on overall project benefits (Nakayama & Chen, 2016).
The target population included 200 project management professionals (PMPs) registered by the Project Management Institute (PMI) in China. These included department managers, project managers, line managers, general managers, and deputy general managers. These professionals worked in either IT projects or business projects. Data collection was done using a questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation). A partial least squares (PLS) model was used to establish the relationship between the variables under study. The results were presented in relevant tables as required (Nakayama & Chen, 2016).
The findings revealed that project management tools have a positive and significant impact on project benefits; use of project management tools does not have a significant impact on deviation from project estimations; the degree of project risks had a positive and significant impact on deviation from project estimation; and lastly, deviation from project estimation was shown to have had a small effect on project benefits (Nakayama & Chen, 2016).
An empirical study on the use of project management tools and techniques across the project life cycle and their impact on project success
This study examined the types of project management tools and techniques adopted by firms operating in the manufacturing, healthcare, telecommunication, financial services, and information technology industries in the USA. The study also sought to determine the effect of the adopted tools and techniques on project success in the target companies. The target population included 4000 firms operating in the study area. A sample size of 412 project managers was selected to participate in the study. Data collection was done using a questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), T-test, and Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) were used to establish associations between variables under study. The findings were presented in suitable tables as needed (Patanakul et al., 2010).
The results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in the adoption of project management tools and techniques across project life cycles or phases in the target firms. The findings of Tukey’s HSD revealed that many project management tools and techniques are significantly employed in more than one phase during the project life cycle. In addition, the results demonstrated that none of the project management tools and techniques are used in all the four phases of the project life cycle (Patanakul et al., 2010).
Regression analysis was used to determine the frequently used project management tools and techniques. The findings revealed that the following project management tools and techniques were the most frequently used by the target companies in the various phases: conceptual phase: WBS, stakeholder analysis, scope statement, project charter, customer visit, communication plan, checklist, brainstorming, bar chart, and analogous estimate. For the later phases, the following tools and techniques were adopted: WBS, stakeholder analysis, scope statement, risk response plan, responsibility matrix, project charter, project change request, project change log, performance report, milestone chart, milestone analysis, hierarchical schedule, flowchart, customer visits, CPM, cost baseline, contingency plan, communication plan, checklist, brainstorming, bottom-up estimate, bar chart, and analogous estimate (Patanakul et al., 2010).
The results also revealed the following tools and techniques had a positive and significant impact on project success: projectconceptual phase: communication plan, checklist, and analogous estimate; projectplanningphase: hierarchical schedule, critical path method (CPM), cost baseline, contingency plan, bottom-up estimate, bar chart, analogous estimate; project execution phase: scope statement, schedule crashing, project change request, milestone analysis, hierarchical schedule, cost baseline, contingency plan, communication plan, checklist, bar chart; project termination phase: work breakdown structure (WBS), project change request, milestone analysis, lessons learned, and cost baseline (Patanakul et al., 2010).
Citation
Chouhan, Y., Sangle, A., Patil, A., Ramteke, S., and Metre, K.V. (2022). Project management tool: a review. International Journal of Scientific Development and Research, 7(1).
Dufkova, G. (2023). The impact of project management tools on project results: evaluation of a survey among managers leading international development projects for four selected Central and Eastern European donors. Review of Economic Perspective, 23(4), 251-276.
Kumar, M. (2020). Project management tools and techniques usage in building sector companies. A whitepaper.
Nakayama, M. and Chen, C.C. (2016). Impact of project management tools on project estimates and benefits. International Conference on Internet Studies.
Patanakul, P., Lewwongcharoen, B., and Milosevic, D. (2010). An empirical study on the use of project management tools and techniques across the project life cycle and their impact on project success. Journal of General Management, 35(3), 41-65.
Sensini, L., Shan, A., and Vazquez, M. (2021). Project management tools and techniques and SME performance: empirical evidence in the context of developing countries. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 11(5), 45-51.
Shammakh, M., Touma, N., and Trykoz, V. (2022). Investigation into project management tools and techniques used in practice. Unpublished Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration submitted to the School of Business, Society, and Engineering, Malardalen University, Sweden.
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