This book reports on new theories and applications in the field of intelligent systems and computing. It covers computational and artificial intelligence methods, as well as advances in computer vision, current issues in big data and cloud computing, computation linguistics, and cyber-physical systems. It also reports on data mining and knowledge extraction technologies, as well as central issues in intelligent information management. Written by active researchers, the respective chapters are based on papers presented at the International Conference on Computer Science and Information Technologies (CSIT 2018), held on September 11-14, 2018, in Lviv, Ukraine, and jointly organized by the Lviv Polytechnic National University, Ukraine, the Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics, Ukraine, and the Technical University of Lodz, Poland, under patronage of Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Given its breadth of coverage, the book provides academics and professionals with extensive information and a timely snapshot of the field of intelligent systems, and is sure to foster new discussions and collaborations among different groups.

Implementing change is needed in every business. But how do you get started and ensure you actually realize the benefits you need? How do you direct and manage the tens, hundreds, or even thousands, of projects and the other pieces of work your business is undertaking? How do you make sure everyone is working towards the same goals? Building on five previous editions of The Project Workout, this book focusses on programme and portfolio management. It is a valuable companion for every business executive and programme manager as well as a comprehensive resource for students of business, portfolio and programme management. The Programme and Portfolio Workout provides practical advice and techniques to direct and manage your business in a structured, yet agile, way. Aimed at both business and programme managers, it takes you through different approaches to portfolio, programme and project management and shows you how they can work together. The practical approach is enhanced throughout with a series of 'Workouts': exercises, techniques and checklists to help you put the book's advice into practice. The Workouts are supported by an on-line resource of tools. This expanded edition contains a wealth of new material on the governance and management of portfolio and programmes, including how to work with standards and methods, such as GovS 002, ISO 21504, BS6079 and MSP. The companion to this book, The Project Workout, deals with directing and managing individual projects. It uses the same concepts and approaches so that you know, when directing your portfolio or programme, that your project sponsors and managers are taking the same approach. Together, these books give you what you need to ensure your organization succeeds.

This book is for executives, practitioners, and project managers who are tasked with the movement of data from old systems to a new repository. It is designed as a practical guide and uses a series of steps developed in real-life situations that will get you from an empty new system to one that is populated, working and backed by the user population. This new edition is updated to take account of changes in technology and the maturing of the market for data migration services, with two brand new chapters. It guarantees to get the dirty old data out of your legacy systems and transform it into clean new data for your new system.

Shelving Guide: Business and Management / Strategic Planning / Leadership / Operations Culture, Strategy, Execution. These three components forge the path to realized potential. The Blendification (R) System breaks down and rebuilds these core concepts within your company's DNA, setting the foundation for an energizing, engaging, and impactful organization. It is based on the belief that many organizations fail to maximize their potential because they simply do not comprehend the magnitude of their personal and collective untapped capabilities. Many workplaces are stuck in "second gear," not quite embracing and pursuing their full potential. Corporate missions are based on market dominance and incremental profit growth, leaving a massive blind spot in terms of the connection between employees, customers, and communities. This short-sightedness may provide a clear focal point, but it leaves the company, its leadership, and its employees with limited sustained motivation to realize potential. The Blendification (R) System embraces the connection between culture, strategy, and execution using the Strategy Whiteboard and integrating emotional and system intelligence into the following three-step model: Strategic Analysis including Culture Strategic Focus, Strategic Outcomes, and Strategic Actions Strategic Execution The Blendification (R) System connects culture, strategy, and execution in a meaningful way that fosters an inspired, exceptional workforce. By focusing on the unifying purpose within each organization, the platform promotes alignment between leadership and employees setting a clear, strong foundation in which every individual can thrive. With this foundation in place, organizations activate their employee's potential who then take care of their customers. By fully engaging those with whom organizations directly interact, these individuals then become the spark that ignites community-wide advancement. This is not a theory-based, philosophical book. This is an in-depth operating system by which organizations reshape their infrastructure to realize potential. The methodology outlined in The Blendification (R) System creates agile and efficient action, maximizing success in periods of economic expansion and times of uncertainty such as the COVID-19 outbreak, the Great Recession, and 9/11. By following the structure outlined in The Blendification (R) System and using the Strategy Whiteboard, organizations will move beyond financial success to uplifting employees, customers, and entire communities.

This book deals with the fundamentals of specification writing and management. It is useful for anyone concerned with the preparation of standards in a world that is shrinking due to improvement in communication and where many specifications have to hold clarity when translated into other languages.

"Few people have more experience guiding organizational change than Greg Shea and Cassie Solomon." -Adam Grant, New York Times-bestselling author, Originals and Give and Take Featured on CNBC and in Harvard Business Review and Fast Company, Leading Successful Change is now updated for 2020 and beyond to help leaders successfully navigate the ever-increasing pace of change. When Jack Dorsey returned to Twitter as CEO in 2015, the company was in trouble. But unlike so many other social media platforms that have crumbled under tough conditions, Twitter is still alive-and thriving. How did Twitter turn itself around in one of the most turbulent and competitive industries? The change management approach of authors Gregory P. Shea and Cassie A. Solomon guided a significant area of the organization's turnaround effort. In this revised and updated edition of Leading Successful Change, Shea and Solomon share success stories from a host of companies including Twitter, Viacom, and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, offering a tested method for leading successful change, which they have developed over a combined 50 years of helping organizations do just that. In Leading Successful Change, Shea and Solomon share: Why most change efforts failThe two key tenets for making successful changeHow to create a scene that will provide a vision of the futureThe 8 Levers of Change, a tried-and-true method for designing the work environment to support the changesHow winning companies-from IKEA to Whirlpool-are successfully implementing change Change is not optional and it is difficult-but it is also not impossible-with Leading Successful Change. "A must-use guide for anyone who is faced with leading others to a future that is better than today." -Annie McKee, author, How to Be Happy at Work. "Greg Shea and Cassie Solomon have written a novel and valuable resource for leaders of change." -Michael Useem, Professor of Management, The Wharton School, and author, The Leader's Checklist "Wonderfully concise." -Richard J. Green, Board Chairman and CEO, Firstrust Bank "The handbook for positive disruption for any leader in any industry in the 2020s." -Stephen K. Klasko, President and CEO, Thomas Jefferson University; Distinguished Fellow for the Future of Health, World Economic Forum

This book discusses risk management as it applies to problem-solving for simple, complex and wicked problems faced by policy creators and implementors, project managers and systems engineers in the context of policies, large engineering projects (LEPs), projects and systems. When applying systems thinking to risk management, it can be seen that risk management applies to almost every action taken in daily life. This book: Introduces the systems approach of integrating risk management into policy creation and implementation, project management and systems engineering, such as the risk framework and the Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract with penalties and bonuses. Introduces a number of out-of-the box concepts building on the application of the systems thinking tools in the system thinker's toolbox. Points out that integrating risk management into policy and project management and systems engineering is just good management and engineering practice. Discusses the flow of risk in a policy from creation through implementation via LEPs and simpler projects, identifying where risks arise and where they should be dealt with. Presents the risks in the relationship between policy creation, implementation, project management and systems engineering. Discusses risks throughout the policy implementation process and shows how the nature of risks changes from political to financial to technological as implementation proceeds. Discusses managing complexity and specifies the minimum number of elements in a system for it to be defined as, and managed as, complex. Points out that in most instances the traditionally ignored major implementation risk is that of poor performance by personnel. Shows how to proactively incorporate prevention into planning in order to prevent risks, as well as how to mitigate them when they occur.

This book explores the wide-ranging elements of property PR in the UK, with a strong emphasis on communications theory, strategy and technique. The editors begin with an introduction to the property cycle and the role of property PR within it; consideration of the changes and challenges facing the industry; various structures of property communications; and the need for a strategic approach. Subsequent chapters provide perspectives and lessons from contributors in a variety of property sectors including commercial property, estate agency, social housing, property consultancy, proptech, retail and homebuilding. The book concludes with insight into future change, both for the property industry and for the communication function within it. This book is recommended reading for all property PR teams, for students studying for property, PR or marketing degrees, and for anyone working in the built environment sector who needs to consider PR and marketing as part of their role.

This book outlines how to identify stakeholders, analyse theirs stakes, and plan and implement an engagement strategy to secure relevant input and dependable buy-in to assure the successful delivery of Large Infrastructure Projects. It also addresses common stakeholder management "inadequacies" and is supplemented with four extended practical exercises to help readers apply the principles to their own large, complex projects and ensure project success. The project management industry, particularly the Large Infrastructure Projects domain, has only recently awakened to the reality that failed Stakeholder Management probably leads to a failure of the project altogether. Due to the complexities involved, most traditional approaches to managing stakeholders have developed serious difficulties in dealing with large and complex projects. This book presents a Systems Thinking approach to managing stakeholders that accommodates these complexities and seeks to crystallise the notion that "managing projects means managing stakeholders", while also introducing an ethical perspective (i.e., stakeholders have legitimate rights regardless of their power to influence the project). This shifts the paradigm from "Management of Stakeholders" to "Management for Stakeholders". It is essential reading for all those involved with managing large projects including project managers, sponsors, and executives. It will also be useful for advanced students of project management and systems engineering looking to understand and expand their knowledge of infrastructure projects and Systems Engineering.

This book offers a guide on how to prepare business and operational environments to safely receive and effectively utilise systems (i.e., products of projects) to prevent successfully completed systems from failing to add value to their intended environment. It is supplemented with four extended practical exercises to help readers apply the principles to their own large, complex projects and ensure project success. Operational Readiness remains one of the least developed practices of both Project Management (PM) and Systems Engineering (SE). As a result, satisfactorily completed "systems" (e.g., satellites, aircrafts, mine shafts, power plants, road and rail networks, hospitals, and schools), completed on time, on budget, and to specification, are often failing to add value by providing improvements in their intended operational environment. In numerous cases, System Deployment is also accompanied by adverse and detrimental effects on the business and operational environments, and at times on the broader environment (e.g., persistent pollution, negative economic externalities, exacerbation of social ills such as deprivation and crime). In this book, the author discusses both the process and challenges of deploying the product into its intended operational environment and offers guidance to enable organisations to benefit from a holistic framework for Operational Readiness. This forward-thinking book is essential reading for all those involved with managing large projects including project managers, sponsors, and executives. It will also be useful for advanced students of Project Management and Systems Engineering looking to understand and expand their knowledge of Operational Readiness, infrastructure projects, and systems deployment.

In today's hyper-competitive, global marketplace, a manufacturing company needs a competitive edge if it is to survive and grow. That edge could be anything from superior manufacturing technology to innovative product design; from patent protection to solid, well-established customer relationships. One competitive edge available to all manufacturers, but realized by only a few, is the ability to accurately measure, control, and optimize costs throughout a product's entire life cycle. The lack of a methodology to engineer cost optimization into every product makes attaining and maintaining profitability all that the more difficult. Cost Engineering provides a means for a manufacturer to achieve and sustain profitability by designing and manufacturing products to specific cost requirements. It incorporates a variety of proven methodologies including cost estimating, cost control, and cost optimization. Features: Describes the components and organization of an effective cost optimization process Provides detailed explanations of cost estimating techniques for many of the most common manufacturing processes Explains the selection and use of appropriate cost allocation methods Presents the fundamentals of cost-based negotiation Includes both proper and improper executions of cost engineering principles The details presented in this book are important to design engineers, manufacturing engineers, buyers, accountants, cost estimators, cost optimization specialists, and their managers and provides CEOs, COOs, general managers, product line managers, and plant managers with guidance on improving and sustaining profitability. .

Crisis Leadership examines the challenges faced by leaders at each stage of the crisis 'lifecycle', and offers a unique insight into the lessons learned by people in the most challenging of situations. Anyone in a leadership position is only too aware that we live in uncertain times: disaster can strike any business, at any time, and usually without warning. Public institutions, too, face a range of threats - from global recession, resurgent terrorism and a stream of appalling natural disasters. For leaders in such organisations, these crisis situations can present both opportunities and threats. How they lead through such challenging times will propel their careers to new heights - or destroy them completely. Crisis Leadership examines the challenges faced by leaders at each stage of the crisis 'lifecycle', from the instant they learn of the crisis, through to moments of critical decision-making and the final tumultuous days. Tim Johnson offers a unique insight into the lessons learned by people in the most challenging of situations. Blended with operational guidance from the author's extensive experience in crisis management, Crisis Leadership provides an overview of the crisis 'lifecycle', to ensure that readers will come away from this book with a deeper appreciation of the critical nature of each key stage and the leadership challenges they bring - from the first signs of an emerging crisis to dealing with the long-term consequences they can create.

The book is developed to provide significant information and guidelines to construction and project management professionals (owners, designers, consultants, construction managers, project managers, supervisors, contractors, builders, developers, and many others from the construction-related industry) involved in construction projects (mainly civil construction projects, commercial-A/E projects) and construction-related industries. It covers the importance of construction management principles, procedures, concepts, methods, and tools, and their applications to various activities/components/subsystems of different phases of the life cycle of a construction project. These applications will improve the construction process in order to conveniently manage the project and make the project most qualitative, competitive, and economical. It also discuss the interaction and/or combination among some of the activities/elements of management functions, management processes, and their effective implementation and applications that are essential throughout the life cycle of project to conveniently manage the project. This handbook will: Focus on the construction management system to manage construction projects Include a number of figures and tables which will enhance reader comprehension Provide all related topics/areas of construction management Be of interest to all those involved in construction management and project management Provide information about Building Information Modeling (BIM), and ISO Certification in Construction Industry Offer a chapter on Lean construction The construction project life cycle phases and its activities/elements/subsystems are comprehensively developed and take into consideration Henri Fayol's Management Function concept which was subsequently modified by Koontz and O'Don

In Human Factors in Project Management, author Zachary Wong-a noted trainer and acclaimed leader of more than 250 project teams-provides a summary of "people-based" management skills and techniques that can be applied when working in a team environment. This comprehensive resource brings together in one book new and current models in team motivation and integrates the most significant concepts in team motivation and behaviors into a single set of principles called "Human Factors." Wong shows how these factors can be applied to the most challenging issues facing project managers today including* Motivating a diverse workforce* Facilitating team decisions* Resolving interpersonal conflicts* Managing difficult people* Strengthening team accountability* Communications* Leadership

Learn how to use stories throughout the agile software development lifecycle. Through lessons and examples, Agile UX Storytelling demonstrates to product owners, customers, scrum masters, software developers, and designers how to craft stories to facilitate communication, identify problems and patterns, refine collaborative understanding, accelerate delivery, and communicate the business value of deliverables. Rebecca Baker applies the techniques of storytelling to all facets of the software development lifecycle-planning, requirements gathering, internal and external communication, design, and testing-and shows how to use stories to improve the delivery process. What You'll Learn Craft stories to facilitate communication within the project team and with stakeholders Leverage stories to identify problems and patterns, accelerate delivery, and communicate business value Apply storytelling techniques to all stages of the SDLC Marshal user stories to focus requirements gathering and ensure a consistent message Who This Book Is For All SDLC and UX roles: product owners, customers, scrum masters, software developers, and UX designers

The goal of the new edition is to continue with a systems view of the world. For a more robust and worldwide market dissemination, the new edition has changed to a reference book. The project systems approach to project management, is needed in executing projects across countries and across cultures, which is a crucial requirement in today's globalized and intertwined economics. The book uses ample graphical representations to clarify the concepts and techniques presented. The case examples help to reinforce the topics covered. Several illustrative examples and practice exercises are included. Each chapter is updated and new chapters include Project Simulation and Project Templates. A new chapter on managing complex projects in an age of artificial intelligence adds a unique value to the book. Features Highlights contemporary best practices of project management Uses a systems framework to integrate quantitative and qualitative tools Offers illustrative examples and practice exercises Covers project schedule performance appraisal techniques Discusses the knowledge areas contained in the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK) Presents software applications for project management, as well as case examples

In recent decades, we have witnessed an increasing use of projects and similar temporary modes of organising in the public sector of nations in Europe and around the world. While for some this is a welcome development which unlocks entrepreneurial zeal and renders public services more flexible and accountable, others argue that this seeks to depoliticise policy initiatives, rendering them increasingly technocratic, and that the project organisations formed in this process offer fragmented and unsustainable short-term solutions to long-term problems. This volume sets out to address public sector projectification by drawing together research from a range of academic fields to develop a critical and theoretically-informed understanding of the causes, nature, and consequences of the projectification of the public sector. This book includes 13 chapters and is organised into three parts. The first part centres on the politics of projectification, specifically the role of projects in de-politicisation, often accomplished by rendering the political "technical". The chapters in the second part all relate to the reframing of the relationship between the centre and periphery, or between policy making and implementation, and the role of temporality in reshaping this relation. The third and final part brings a focus upon the tools, techniques, and agents through which public sector projectification is assembled, constructed, and performed.

The treatise supports understanding the phenomena of complexity in engineering, distinguishes complexity from other challenges and presents an overview of definitions and applied approaches.The historical background of complexity management is explained by highlighting the important epochs, their key actors and their discoveries, findings and developments. Knowing about the appearance of early system awareness in ancient Greece, the creation of mechanical philosophy in the 17th century and the discovery of classic physics enables the reader to better comprehend modern system sciences and management approaches.A classification of complexity management approaches by research fields indicates current focus areas and starting points for future discussions. In a comprehensive map, the classification points out mutual overlaps between engineering disciplines in terms of similar complexity management approaches.Finally, the treatise introduces a generic complexity management framework, which is based on structural management approaches.

Underline by the importance of sustainable quality management practices to contemporary organizations, this edited book complies best practice cases of leaders who have initiated and facilitated quality practices in their organizations. The cases highlight how these best practices manifested in their work cultures, values, and beliefs. Not only do they address organizational efforts towards implementation of quality practices, but they also discuss the challenges the leaders faced to instill a sense of quality in practices across the hierarchical structures of their organizations. The book highlights the profiles of quality leaders, their journey and their successes in leading quality in their organizations. A book would be an interesting read for those who are eager to integrate quality in their work culture. A key message emerging from these expertise is that 'passion' is truly behind the quality success!

Managing cost, time, and quality of a project can be a challenging task for any project manager, but especially in times of an ever-changing and burgeoning field of IT. Project Management Techniques and Innovations in Information Technology offers a vital compendium of the latest research, case studies, best practices, and methodologies within the field of IT project management. By collecting research from top experts around the world in a variety of IT project management applications and job sectors, this volume will serve as a critical reference manual and research guide for both practitioners and academics alike.

This book describes how auditors exercise different levels of professional skepticism and how they are exposed to different types of affective information on clients' behavior. Based on the author's empirical study of 56 auditors, it shows that auditors' skepticism and affective reactions towards a client interact to influence their appraisal of valuation problems. It also suggests that the effects of auditors' affective reactions on their skeptical judgments depend on the level of risk in the audit engagement.

For many organizations, the way in which projects are managed is a fundamental factor in how well they can prosper in today's marketplace. Unfortunately, the current solutions available to companies for managing projects are proving to be increasingly ineffective in a complex world that is becoming more and more dynamic and unpredictable. Organization's pay for this complexity in delayed time-to-market, slow response to customer needs, and decreased productivity. While tweaking the current project management paradigm may provide some minimal gains, to have a real impact requires a fundamental change in mindset. New business models like Uber and AirBnB show us that the most efficient operations in today's business environment behave like complex adaptive systems (CAS) where self-managing participants, following a set of simple rules, organize themselves to solve incredibly complex problems. Instead of trying to function like a "well-oiled machine" where things "work like clockwork", companies like Uber function more like an organism that is alive and constantly changing. They fully embrace the characteristics of a CAS. Viewing an organization as a complex adaptive system drives a radically new philosophy of project management that is much better suited to the needs of the 21st-century organization and can provide the quantum leap improvement in project production that we are looking for. This book exposes the assumptions underlying the accepted paradigm of project management, describes the common practices that are based on those assumptions, analyzes why these practices are unhelpful and even harmful, and proposes an alternative, sometimes seemingly counter intuitive approach to project management based on CAS thinking. By the end of the book, the reader will have a completely new perspective on the way projects can be managed in their organization, and how they can quickly start reaping the benefits provided by a CAS-driven management methodology and supporting toolset that is more in tune with today's business demands - and that turns complexity into a competitive advantage.

One of the most difficult, yet important, questions regarding projects is "What advantages will this project create for the investors and key stakeholders?" Projects and programs should be treated as investments. This means that the focus of projects shifts from delivering within the triple constraints (time-cost-quality) towards some of the more fundamental questions: What is the purpose of this investment? What are the specific advantages expected? Are these benefits worth the investment? Implementing Project and Program Benefit Management is written for executives and practitioners within the portfolio, program, and project environment. It guides them through the important work that must be addressed as the investment progresses towards the realization of benefits. The processes discussed cover the strategic elements of benefits realization as well as the more detailed requirements, which are the domain of the program delivery teams and the operational users. Using real cases to explain complex situations, operational teams and wider groups of stakeholders, including communities affected by infrastructure projects, will be able to engage in the conversation with the sponsors and delivery teams. Covering an area of program and project management that is rapidly becoming more widely valued, this book blends theory with practical experience to present a clear process flow to managing the benefits life cycle. Best practices are defined, and pitfalls and traps are identified to enable practitioners to apply rigor and structure to this crucial discipline.