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Innovative Operational Research practitioner, intellectual leader in the development of systems ideas, and founder of the field of management cybernetics. Born: September 25, 1926 in London, England. Died: August 23, 2002 in Toronto, Canada. Education: D.Sc., University of Sunderland, 2000. Key positions: Production Controller and Head of OR Group, Samuel Fox (1949–1956); Head, Operational Research and Cybernetics, United Steel (1956–1961); Managing Director, SIGMA (1961–1966); Development Director, International Publishing Corporation (1966– 1970); Consultant (1970–2002). Awards and Recognition: Silver Medal, Royal Swedish Academy for Engineering Sciences (1958); Lanchester Prize, Operations Research Society of America (1966); McCullough Plaque of the American Society for Cybernetics (1970); Norbert Weiner Gold Medal, World Organization of Systems and Cybernetics (1984); Lifetime Achievement Award, UK Systems Society (1999); Honorary degrees: Doctor of Laws, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada (1988); Doctor of Economic Sciences, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland (2000). Key OR roles: President, Operational Research Society (1970–1971); President, Society for General Systems Research (1971–1972); President, World Organization of Systems and Cybernetics (1970–the time of his death). Stafford Beer was one of the most remarkable figures that Operational Research (OR) in any country has produced. A charismatic, even flamboyant, character, he founded two major and pioneering OR groups; wrote some of the best books about the subject; and was a world leader in the development of systems ideas. He is widely acknowledged as the founder of the field of International Transactions in Operational Resarch.

Research Using New Technologies: Software and Web-Based Tools for Analysis, Communication and Project Management

Project management is never easy, but an abundance of sophisticated Project Management (PM) software tools have certainly made the job of project managers easier than it was in the recent past. Project management software can manage, schedule, and monitor tasks, resources, and costs. However, with the plethora of features, the selection of the “right” features for inclusion in project management software becomes a dilemma for developers and vendors.This study provides a methodology for selecting the most profitable features for project management. Developers can include these features in contemplated future PM product lines. Filtered task lists and links to mainframe packages are the highest ranked profitable PM features. In contrast, On-line help is the lowest ranked among PM features.It is important to discover which features contribute the most to the segment margin. It reflects the profitability to the vendor and should guide the product designer. If the PM software contains these highest margin features, then most likely, it would command the highest possible profits.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly dealing with international projects and distributed (sometimes even virtual) teams. Consequently, they are looking for project management (PM) tools which fit their respective needs regarding communication and collaboration. Unfortunately, the majority of the PM software available in the market seems to be oversized for this purpose. Instead most project managers are requesting smart solutions that allow quick implementation without any significant organisational or technical change.
 Within the research project InterComp SME 2.0 we combine theoretical research and real business to develop hands-on solutions for SMEs. This paper describes an effective approach for a â??PM Toolboxâ? that allows finding the right project tool for a specific project need. The toolbox has been developed in due consideration of user stories gained from business practice, a more detailed SME business survey, a theoretical PM meta model and a market of PM tools.
 Since the business survey revealed that the readiness to use and test a â??toolboxâ? is highly dependent on the type of user and his or her technical background, we designed the system based on use cases and user typology. As a result, we suggest a framework of open, freely available, easy-to-install, single and multi purpose PM software tools which can be selected solely on a need basis. With this free platform we want to guide practitioners through the tool jungle with the potential to grow into a lively community.

Purpose Project management techniques for digital initiatives must shift with the transformation of content from analog to digital, from singular projects to mass-digitization and large-scale digital preservation. How are project management methods employed across digital practices, from digitization, to online access, to preservation? How can project management methods evolve to create a collaborative workflow across collection and service areas of librarianship, centered on digital stewardship? Methodology/approach Solutions for these questions are illustrated in an explanation of the workflows implemented at the University of Maryland, College Park Libraries and reflected upon in a case study of a recent digital initiative. Findings Centered on the efforts of two departments in the Libraries’ Digital Systems and Stewardship division, this chapter outlines the origins, techniques, and integration of digital project management with a focus on Waterfall and Agile project management. Furthermore, the integration and transition of project management methodologies and tools between groups is emphasized, mirroring the transformation of analog media to digital formats and the requisite shifts in thinking such projects require. Originality/value These case studies are based on research across the profession and implementation at the University of Maryland, College Park Libraries. The local application of two established project management techniques, Waterfall and Agile, are summarized and compared. Though regularly employed in application development, applying Agile project management in libraries is a relatively new practice and has not been widely documented in library literature.

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Generally in software development, there is a need to link the development work products with each other i.e., requirements with the corresponding design artefacts, to the resulting software and associated test cases. This enables, for instance, the efficient change impact analysis and reporting facilities during the different phases of the software development life cycle. Establishing and maintaining these links manually is a laborious and error prone task, so tool support is needed. This paper describes a configurable tool integration solution (the Merlin ToolChain) that integrates project management, requirements management, configuration management and testing tools. The paper introduces the architecture of the ToolChain as well as describes the development and validation activities carried out. Experiences from real life industrial case showed that the ToolChain works and is useful in collaborative software development.

About the Authors

Using a recently developed model, inspired by mean field theory in statistical physics, and data from the UK's Research Assessment Exercise, we analyse the relationship between the qualities of statistics and operational research groups and the quantities of researchers in them. Similar to other academic disciplines, we provide evidence for a linear dependency of quality on quantity up to an upper critical mass, which is interpreted as the average maximum number of colleagues with whom a researcher can communicate meaningfully within a research group. The model also predicts a lower critical mass, which research groups should strive to achieve to avoid extinction. For statistics and operational research, the lower critical mass is estimated to be 9 ± 3. The upper critical mass, beyond which research quality does not significantly depend on group size, is 17 ± 6.

In this paper, an overview is given of the project data instances available in the literature to carry out academic research in the field of integrated project management and control. This research field aims at integrating static planning methods and risk analyses with dynamic project control methodologies using the state-of-the-art knowledge from literature and the best practices from the professional project management discipline. Various subtopics of this challenging discipline have been investigated from different angles, each time using project data available in literature, obtained from project data generators or based on a sample of empirical case studies. This paper gives an overall overview of the wide variety of project data that are available and are used in various research publications. It will be shown how the combination of artificial data and empirical data leads to improved knowledge on and deeper insights into the structure and characteristics of projects useful for academic research and professional use. While the artificial data can be best used to test novel ideas under a strict design in a controlled academic environment, empirical data can serve as the necessary validation step to translate the academic research results into practical ideas, aiming at narrowing the bridge between the theoretical knowledge and practical relevance. A summary of the available project data discussed in this paper can be downloaded from http://www.projectmanagement.ugent.be/research/data VIDEO about paper: https://youtu.be/9VESaMeh3nI

The task of managing a software project can be an extremely complex one, drawing on many personal, team, and organizational resources. The quality of a software product is dependent on the process in which the project is completed. Time delays in software development project and low productivity tend to fall right to the bottom line. Recently, the evolution of project management tools for both software and non-software applications has been accelerating at a rapid pace, and the number of available products have grown significantly. There are many project management tools and software being developed everyday to help managers to automate the administration of individual projects or groups of projects during their life-cycle. This article presents a short comparison of popular software project management tools.

Between 1979 and 1990, Columbia University conducted 26 family planning operations research (OR) projects in 13 sub-Saharan African countries. Most of these projects were implemented in settings where family planning service delivery had not yet been initiated or was new and poorly developed. In keeping with program needs in the early stages of development, the majority of the OR projects were based on demonstration or diagnostic designs. Only four of the 23 projects were comparative or quasi-experimental in design. Projects demonstrated the growing demand for family planning, and the feasibility and acceptability of a range of service delivery models. Sixteen of the projects have been sustained or replicated by national or local governments and institutions following the initial OR phase, replication of two others is planned, and another four resulted in policy formulation or improvements in existing national programs. OR in Africa played an important role in generating political and medical support for contraceptive services, and served to improve project management. OR proved more useful in the implementation and strengthening of individual programs than in generating universal lessons regarding service delivery. In order to maximize OR's utility in Africa, simple research designs and methods should be adopted.

About the Authors

A tool to test and validate algorithms for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem

Current practice in project management — an empirical study