[12/02/2020]

Title – Project Management practices used during

Covid-19. Changes & New Approaches.
Abstract
This capstone research work is to articulate project management practices
used during Covid-19 and how this crisis brings new challenges in managing
projects which leads to applying new strategies.

Title – Project Management practices used during

<Jayraj Munjalbhai Modo>
<12022020>
Table of Contents

1. Executive summary…………………………………………………………………………………….2
2. Overview of the Project Audit Process………………………………………………………..3
2.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………3
2.2 Purpose…………………………………………………………………………………………………….4
2.3 Scope………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4
2.4 Objective…………………………………………………………………………………………………..5
3. Research approach…………………………………………………………………………………….6
3.1 Literature Review………………………………………………………………………………………6
3.2 Obtain and Prepare data……………………………………………………………………………8
3.3 Questions………………………………………………………………………………………………….9
3.4 Operational Enquiry………………………………………………………………………………….9
3.5 Expected Outcomes…………………………………………………………………………………..9
4. Analysis Overview………………………………………………………………………………………10
4.1 Methodology………………………………………………………………………………………………10
4.2 Inclusion Criteria…………………………………………………………………………………………10
4.3 Data Analysis………………………………………………………………………………………………11

5. Summary of Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………..14
6. Deficiencies…………………………………………………………………………………………………15
7. Project Risk…………………………………………………………………………………………………16
8. Recommendations………………………………………………………………………………………16
9. Implementation Plan…………………………………………………………………………………..17
10. Audit Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………18
11. Appendix…………………………………………………………………………………………………..18
12. References………………………………………………………………………………………………..19
13. Sign-off……………………………………………………………………………………………………..22

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 1. Executive summary
This academic research paper is written to audit project management practices used during Covid-19 Crises
based on Project Management Institute (PMI) standards. Ten knowledge areas of project management are
also at the center of this research work. The different places of the world are consistently being subjected
to disasters like earth quacks, tsunami, floods, storms, plagues, etc. and epidemics like influenza, plague,
and cancer, etc. But COVID-19 has disturbed the market globally. The purpose of writing this paper is to
convey that how project management practices are useful to deal with the turbulent circumstances in a
COVID-19 outbreak and also to articulate the changes and new approaches implemented by project
managers to overcome challenges faced during this time. Today ‘project management’ is a buzzword as it
is a need of every business firm. As project management is always important in difficult as well in a good
phase and it gets more important when a worldwide crisis hits billions of individuals. Project management
practices are essential to understand gaps in a project and manage it using time, scope and budget.
(Knowledge, 2019) Project managers embrace these parts to achieve the essential elements of the
managers such as planning and strategies, organizing, controlling and leading, and grooming of employees.
Project managers and stakeholders are facing challenges because of technical problems, social distancing
while working in an office, monitoring the activity of staff, not having data centralized to access from
anywhere and unclear communication with clients and employees in this Covid-19 Crisis (Docquin, 2020).
Due to these challenges, the revenue of companies starts plummeting and they have lost their existing
customer base and future contracts owing to this pandemic. As a result, the company needs to laid-off
employees to survive in a crisis. To adopt innovative ways of managing project-based on PMI standards
becomes necessary to get adjusted in post-COVID circumstances for an organization (Ozguler, 2020). A
simple solution based on the research of the various analyst is that the organizations should start managing
business/projects using different tools and monitoring staff online as much as they can because the
movement of employees was not possible due to lockdown measures. So being agile is also an important
factor for every organization and moved to a virtual working system. Though virtual working system might
not be possible for each and every sector. This manuscript derives different work culture in various sectors
and the management systems of each in Covid-19 times. The limitation of the study and the futuristic
recommendations and the implementation plan are also included. This study is crucial for the objective
reader, the aspiring scholar as well as the emerging industrial practitioner.

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 2. Overview of the Project Audit Process

2.1 Introduction
The emergence of the Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) or COVID-19 Pandemic has been by far the most disastrous
occurrence in the human macrocosmic domain in the past few decades. While the medical practitioners
are still grappling in ambiguity and ceaselessly trying to develop vaccines. The crisis led by this pandemic
has a huge impact on almost all businesses and industries across the world. This pandemic has exposed
loopholes in existing work patterns because most organizations are project-based in nature. There are
thousands of projects that are going on at this time and handling them has been quite difficult. This
pandemic has generated major setbacks for conventional project management practices for them. I
strongly believe that this is the golden opportunity to re-invent and analyze project management
approaches. The crisis does as such by putting a focus on more modest issues that most of the organizations
have overlooked. During a crisis, it is essential for project managers and leaders of organizations to adopt
the innovative approach of managing projects and to keep the business streamlined. Project management
practices have undergone critical transformations to breed prompt, feasible and accountable solutions of
project management amidst such an unsought atmosphere. This is the ideal opportunity to look at the
entire cycle and analyze project management practices used by various organizations and industries. The
issue to answer then is how to keep project teams’ continuously functioning as physical distancing laws are
in force. Precisely, technology has helped us to reduce the disruptions caused by the pandemic. It has
necessitated situational practices and approaches that outgrow traditional and rigid methods of project
management. In the present situation, most of the employees have started working from home. The right
communication tool like skype, zoom and web-ex will help a lot to resolve that issue which
allows employees to collaborate. It also gives a feeling of a conference room as project management
requires cross-functional communication. (Djordjevic, 2020) However, an effective conversation is crucial
for every business in the Covid-19 situation to keep the project on track, under budget and manage
resources. Due to scarce resources and unfavorable circumstances, almost every project faced challenges
to meet deadlines. Hence, this research work will give a sense of managing projects during uncertain times
to project managers and organizational leaders in the future.

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 2.2 Purpose

The purpose of writing this research paper is to analyze the project management practices applied during
the Covid-19 crisis. It is imperative for project managers and organizational leaders to prioritize the work
for the well-being of project associates by contemplating system analysis, visionary concepts and
essentially being ahead of time to ensure project sustainability. (Pittsburgh, 2020) Also, to identify issues
as a result new strategies need to be implemented by project managers to fulfill the remaining task of the
ongoing projects. So that this crisis does not have a major impact on the business of the organizations.
Moreover, this study will put a glance at the creative methods of working things out in a real-time project
during a crisis. The research may also potentially explicate how the project managers, leaders and
stakeholders are willing to review existing information or analyze new data.
This research plays vital role in validating project management practices based on the perspectives of those
who are directly involved in such industries. E.g - Information Technology Industry. With respect to
futuristic research endeavors, this assessment may provide essential background and guidelines to
optimize academic and professional development in advanced, visionary and discretionary project
management. Consequently, this may exemplify collaborative or inclusive managerial practices.

2.3 Scope

Project management practices give clear insight on how to keep working and doing business with enough
safety during the Covid-19 crisis (turbulent time). Apply project management principles using limited
resources and implement new strategies in this period to sustain business and retain existing customer
base to deliver products and services. To cope-up with the demands of products and services in this
pandemic and a sudden dearth of resources, certainly the project managers have to implement
unconventional and innovative strategies. Moreover, it may be critical in analyzing changes in project
management practices in different industries. Additionally, this academic research can be pivotal to analyze
the work of successful project managers and leaders who implemented innovative strategies to manage
their projects.

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 2.4 Objective
- To analyze the challenges experienced by project managers during the Covid-19 crisis.
- To assess the perspectives of newer project management practices applied by the project manager.
- To provide possible solutions for handling projects with new ideas and strategies in a turbulent time.
- To be prepare and learn how to manage a project in a challenging situation for the future.
- To critically analyze the aspects of technological accelerations owing to Covid-19.

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 3. Research Approach:

The project manager should have a clear understanding of the project scope and deliverables for academic
research. The clarity in the definition, the overall idea of the project implementation and possible outcomes
can minimize or eliminate the possibilities of a mishap. I’ll take the help of the project sponsor (faculties)
to maintain project flow. Besides that, I have referred to various articles and different literature from online
sources and the Georgian college library database to get ideas and insight for research work. I took the
help of Georgian college library technician Gail Hussey to find related articles. Also, I take a look at various
journals of previous research work on google scholar on how to manage projects during the various crises
to figure out gaps in that and try to fill those gaps. Most importantly, I’m following the seven guidelines
provided by PMI on how to handle projects in a turbulent time.

3.1 Literature Review

Dr. Sumesh Sudheer Babu and Dr. B. Sudhakar have a presented research paper on how to manage
construction projects during an economic crisis caused by low oil prices and how to handle crisis efficiently
so that it can cause minimum damage to an organization (Sumesh, 2016). Another important thing that is
documented in this research paper is that the project manager should use an early warning signal to handle
a crises and be ready for it before it starts hitting. In addition, both researchers have identified five
approached to prevent a crisis. These are escaping, solving, proactive, reactive and interactive.

The research paper published by Agnieszka of WSB University reveals that project managers should set a
contingency plan before starting projects that could reduce the adverse effect of the crisis on the project
(Agnieszka, 2017). It was also suggested that every organizational leader should form a committee that
looks after anti-crisis measures and the project manager should focus on the optimization of cost to limit
the effect of the crisis on a project.

According to Alyssa Place the project manager should have the aim to use positive psychology skills and
mental strength to cultivate a more productive and successful workplace (Place, 2020). He believes that
projecting psychology skills like resilience and gratitude will help all employees whether it is the adjustment
of the workplace in coronavirus situations and in other situations. It all starts with the attitude of the
project manager.

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The studies done by Jaroslav Vrchota conclude the importance of project management and crises in the
sector of the economy (Vrchota, 2016). It has been studied that the project management aspect acts in a
unique way in particular sectors. The basic principle and skills of project management should be included
in universities so that managers be prepared for the challenges of the environment. It is important that the
ventures managed the conceivable outcomes of the event of crisis and their evacuation. Overall, the small
and medium endeavors affirmed the presumption that organizations without project management
perceive a crisis worse than project-managed enterprises.

One of the most relevant trends in project management in the COVID-19 pandemic is adaptive and agile
governance in crisis response and management. As accurately put forward by Janssen and van der Voort
the pandemic has essentially resulted in limited access to information and therefore successful
management calls for system-level changes throughout government and private projects (Janssen, 2020)
.While adaptivity and agile management are complementary, these also turn out to be contradictory and
conflicting in nature. Despite this paradox, project management can be optimized through the method-
agnostic and contingency-oriented approaches of adaptive management. Such management may also be
significant in maximizing funding to keep the economy running.

Michal Vondruska has done useful studies regarding the importance of crisis communication tools for crisis
management (Vondruska, 2014) . It has a direct connection with project planning. He also pointed out that
organizations need to build resilience to cope up with unexpected situations. This paper has explained
mainly three kinds of crisis communication. Internally initiated crisis communication, externally initiated
crisis communication and external crisis communication. This scenario will be useful to maintain
communication with stakeholders which ultimately leads to saving time and cost. So, this case studies
reveals the fact that with good communication abilities one can help the organization to reach a sound
economic condition.

As the pandemic is often viewed as a cosmological event, the conventional definitions of sensemaking,
communication as well as health and crisis management have changed drastically (Stephens, 2020) . As a
result, economic uncertainty and cross-sectional activities have inclined towards managerial practices. An
appropriate example could be clinical ultrasound education in the pandemic era. As enunciated by
Panebianco (Panebianco, 2020), this can be utilized as a unifying strategy in educational project

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management. This can be highly effective for collaborative and flexible project leadership, ensuring
optimized quality. With regards to the healthcare industry, electronic health record (EHR)-based tools
could be sustainable in clinical project management (Reeves, 2020) Precisely, such tools can generate
value-added services in rapidly developing standardized processes and optimizing documentation and
communication through real-time analytics, whereby the decision-support system would be patient-
centric.

Above mentions research work are based on managing project with different tools and techniques during
different crises and conclusions that researchers have figured out at the end of crises. Crises led by
Coronavirus pandemic is relatively new topic hence It is been challenging to collect data for this research
topic.

3.2 Obtain and prepare data:

The proposed research would include a qualitative research framework. Which has been undertaken by
surveys of various project managers, organizational leaders as well as associated employees and
participants. The stakeholders and vendors also need to be questioned with regard to the diverse
perspectives of time, cost, profit, project quality and organizational commitment. Also, data is collected
using extensive research on this topic from various articles and journals. In addition, various concerned
people have been interviewed one by one and discussed what changes they have seen because of this
pandemic in their work pattern in project. The view of organizational leaders is to retain the existing
customer base and sustainability in a volatile market using innovation. The perspective of project
managers is to keep the project streamlined, apply new strategies on daily basis and maintain
communication with stakeholders. Whereas other employees want to give their best effort to finish the
daily task and to meet project deadlines and also to maintain a good relationship with management to
secure their jobs.

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 3.3 Questions

I. What are the key challenges experienced by the project managers during the Covid-19 crisis?
II. What are the common project management practices in Crisis?
III. Which are the challenges in the Covid-19 crisis that differentiate from other crisis in terms of project
management?
IV. What are the pro-active measures taken by the organizational leader in this crisis?
V. What are the new project management practices/approaches implemented by leaders during Covid-
19?
VI. Which tools and techniques play a pivotal role in the remote working system?

3.4 Operational Enquiry

The questions or enquiry would be primarily based on the above mention research questions. Thus, the
enquiry would include multiple generic, open-ended and closed-ended questions. The responses to the
questions are considered as a raw data. This can be assessed through critical thematic analysis that would
be important to derive distinctive themes, based on the similarities and differences within the various
perspectives and direct responses.

3.5 Expected outcomes

The proposed research is crucial for the wide domain of project management research. It will provide a way
for exhaustive and insightful scholarly endeavors in the future. From an analytical perspective, the research
would be important to put theory into practice. Consequently, organizational leaders, project managers and
industrial practitioners can differentiate the elements of traditional and modern project managerial
practices. However, the researchers need to be careful about the participants’ aspects of confidentiality
and sensitivity of the information, failing to do so may lead to conflicts and dissatisfaction. Moreover,
this research topic is relatively new so it can be considered as an extension of previous studies that may
address previous research gaps. Overall, the research may prove to be pivotal in enabling project managers
and leaders to comprehend the ways to create shared interests and common goals of project management
in a crisis situation.

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 4. Analysis Overview :

4.1 Methodology

The proposed research would include a qualitative data analysis methodology. Data presented in this
research paper is gathered by the survey (questionnaires) of different organization leaders and industrial
representatives (focus groups). In this context, various companies and industry representatives had been
selected for the core survey. It must also be noted that the people undergoing the survey had provided
their complete consent to the subsequent questioning and on the terms of keeping information confine to
researcher and project sponsors. The researcher has done a telephonic inquiry along with online (skype
and web-ex) meetings with the participant to fill up questionnaires, owing to the norms of quarantine or
social distancing during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Specific meeting time (except office hours) was decided
by the researcher and participants before inquiry. During interaction with each other, I did realize that
direct communication is highly imperative to ensure appropriate responses. This approach is also highly
logical as not only the verbal response of participants but their gestures, tone of voice, gesture, sentiments,
facial expressions and body language also play vital roles in deriving the required answers for surveys.

4.2 Inclusion Criteria:

The basic inclusion criteria in surveys are highly significant in qualitative research and the current
study has been no different. The survey was conducted based on their education background and
desired work experience of participants. The specific criteria that have been decided for the work
experience of participants. It was three to five years or more. These people are ideal to get a deep
insight into the topic. Approximately 10 plus respondents of various industries were chosen for the
survey. Amongst them, the role of 35% of participants was CEO and/or Director and/or Executive Vice
President. Whereas, 33% were project managers and supervisors and the rest of the contributors
(32%) were associated-employees or unspecified. Respondents belonged to different industries, but
the majority of them were from I.T, Healthcare, E-commerce, Construction and Education sectors.
Moreover, organizations operating in one particular industry for more than five years have also been
selected (Petschek, 2020).

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 4.3 Data Analysis (Findings):

As mentioned earlier, both data collection and subsequent data analysis are carried out in qualitative
manner for this research work. The responses of various organizations and company executives have
provided broad-spectrum analysis for the present endeavor. Based on the exhaustive analysis, the
researchers have formulated the following themes:

4.3.1 Healthcare Project Management:

The developing medical care unpredictability requires broad approaches considering different perspectives
because each nation has limited healthcare work force to combat with Covid-19. In the view of one director
of private hospital, the most effective way of providing care to Covid-19 patients is using robots to avoid
close contact with them. This facility can reduce costs, increase productivity and safety of the healthcare
professional. The robots can collect all data like photos, history of the patient, temperature, etc., this is
how data remains stored and could ease the management of hospitals. Because of the pandemic travel
restrictions is also to be faced by many of the individuals and physical distancing has also created a
requirement to leverage digital methods of patient healthcare by using telehealth applications. To provide
facilities remotely, organizations must look at recruiting a workforce that can smartly deal with patients
who could not consult Doctors personally or must develop the skills of the existing staff. In healthcare, the
digital revolution needs to be adopted for screening patients, tracing contacts and to allocate manpower.
Technology out to be satisfactorily utilized to ease the management in the difficult times to save lives.

4.3.2 Educational Project Management:

One of the most revolutionized managerial aspects amidst the Pandemic is that of education, teaching,
training, coaching and mentor. Precisely, the educational institutes of Schools, Colleges and Universities in
a Country like India have undergone critical transitions in conventional face-to-face teaching methods.
During this time, project managerial orientations have been very problematic since diverse academic
institutions have been reluctant to transform traditional pedagogical approaches to education. In this
regard, the sustainability of online teaching modes is largely subject to the managerial and leadership
aspects of diverse Ed-Tech start up organizations. Precisely, a synchronized learning environment is needed
to be fostered within the digital learning framework. As specified by couple of the organizational leaders,

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various platform are widely used by them to provide online education such as Gmail, Google forms, Google
calendars, G-Drive, Google Hangouts, Google Meet, Google Duo, Google Jam Board, and Google Classroom,
Open Board Software, Google Drawings, amongst others (Netta, 2020). In large scale project
implementation of remote delivery using these tools and techniques are proved to be a boon. However, it
is to be noted that technical mismanagement as well as mediocre course consent are prevailing issues. This
online education industry is regarded as a booming domain, incorporating several enterprises like BYJU`S,
Board Infinity, Adda 24*7, Lido Learning, Global Gyan, Edu Brisk, Vedantu, Unacademy, ZOOM Classroom,
SWAYAM Portal, amongst others. The distributions of Information and Communication Technology-14
(ICT-14) frameworks and infrastructures are determining factors in this regard. Furthermore, the shaping
of digital trajectories in online education is also highly significant. However, understandably, the efficacy
of digital education is not only related to students but educators, working professionals and parents as
well.

4.3.3 Information Technology (I.T) Project Management:

Covid-19 pandemic leads to significant changes in managing I.T projects. This pandemic has necessitated
small, medium and large scale enterprises to work remotely on different projects more than ever before.
Consequently, owing to lockdown and social distancing measures almost all I.T professionals have to
relocate their offices to their homes. The most common response was that being a Project manager they
have to continuously engage with virtual teams and stakeholders, maintain effective communication and
overcome challenges virtually. It can only be possible by using technology and collaboration tool. Although,
remote working is usual practice in the I.T industry but due to this pandemic project managers need to
establish new ways of working. To manage the project virtually, the project manager used to do standup
meetings with team members to guide them on daily tasks, to get a status update and resolve challenges
in the project. Multinational organizations have provided them computers, laptops, a secure network and
different collaboration tools to effectively work from home. While project managers should ensure reliable
and high-speed internet as well as webcam and headset to effectively take a virtual meeting. In case of
network failure, project managers used the laptop and mobile hotspots as a fallback to be in the project
environment. For project managers, communication is key to working effectively with remote teams.
Online chats and screen share applications such as Skype, Google Meet, Zoom, Web-ex and slack are also
effectively utilized by project managers for daily standup in this context. Project managers used to keep
data centralized on shared platforms like Atlassian, G-suits and Microsoft Teams, Share Point that can

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facilitate stakeholders to access the project documents whenever needed (Djordjevic P. , 2020). I.T
engineers and dba are advised to use these platforms which make data collection and synchronization easy
for project managers. Some of the cloud-based project management tools are Trello, Basecamp, Asana,
MS project and Monday. Also, to store project information and to collaborate with stakeholders virtual
whiteboards are used. A few of them that remain in demand are Mural, Conceptboard, Miro and Limnu. It
has also been observed that many companies shift their project task where physical presence is required
and that time has been allocating to remote work. Moreover, many organization has signed the project
agreement but due to the pandemic project implementation seems not possible So in this case project
manager’s preference remained to extend the project start date and prepare a new contract.

4.3.4 E-commerce Project Management:

During coronavirus lockdown, managing largescale E-commerce projects has been a cumbersome process
for various companies as there was a restriction on mobility people. To keep their business alive project
managers of JD.com (second-largest e-commerce company of china) has come up with vehicle and drone
that can autonomously deliver goods (Cheng, 2020). These robots could easily ship products even if
lockdown measures were in place and also reduce human interaction in order to prevent people from
infection of coronavirus. These managerial practices are outstanding and it has brought a total
contemporary way of delivering products with the help of A.I equipped robots and drones within a range
of up to 10 kilometers. The system within the robots sends a message of retrieval code to the recipient
after arriving at the delivery place. These robots consist of cameras and sensors which can recognize a
customer by their face or password and then unload and/or unlock a product from the machine. In case
the customer does not collect the product then that shipment will be rescheduled by the company after a
few days. However, after analyzing the success of this initiative several other organizations have adopted
similar kinds of tools for contactless home delivery of products.

4.3.5 Construction Project Management:

The results of the survey questions have duly indicated that owing to less influence of technology in the
construction sector managing construction projects for small and medium enterprises was quite difficult
and that leads to setbacks. One of the head of a giant real estate firm was grumbling that the construction
sector has dire need of various tools and techniques that facilitate remote work to some extent. Due to

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lockdown measures, the construction project remained stalled for a while. But in new normal, project
managers were equipped with various digital tools such as Punch-List and Fieldwire for communication
with subordinates, evaluate workflows and check project status. Few project managers and contractors
are using tools like Canvas and PlanGrid to make a plan of construction sites online. Canvas is a tool which
is used for site inspections, project audits and provides estimates. Whereas PlanGrid helps contractors to
share project documents and drawings etc. Most importantly, project managers have to follow a few safety
guidelines decided by the government to reduce the spread of the virus such as not sharing equipment
while working in the field, maintain social distance, face-covering and hand-hygiene.

5. Summary of Analysis:

The outcome of the conducted survey clearly indicates that project-based organizations and
subsequent management has been greatly jeopardized by the COVID-19 Pandemic, generating financial as
well as technological disruption. Understandably, this necessitates newer resources for project ecosystems
(pmi, 2020). The implications and perspectives indicate three dynamic propositions-lobbying
governments for project business, a sharp project-centric B2B Marketplace portal and helping hotline for
management practitioners. This duly indicates that in order to -ensure long-term customer satisfaction,
project leaders and associates may resort to tools and techniques like customer journey mapping along
with collaborative leadership. Moreover, potential project managers may largely rely on tracking Customer
Performance Indicators (CPI) rather than the traditional Key Performance Indicators (Garrett, 2020).
It appeared that the respondents were able to retain their honesty and integrity while answering
the critical questions. All the respondents have unanimously agreed that the pandemic has bred profuse
bankruptcy or insolvency amongst the industrial or organizational entities. While all have spoken in favor
of embracing innovative technologies, there has been prevailing apprehension regarding job security
amongst the economic depression or recession.

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 6. Deficinecies:
Despite the diligent and constructive orientations of the researchers, the present study has certain
problems associated, as discussed below:

6.1 Limited Sample Size

This research sample includes the response of more than ten participants, data from website of some
multi-national companies and literature available from Georgian college database, Science hub, google
scholar and other websites this cannot be termed as an enlightening or encompassing study. It cannot be
denied that the researchers had to settle for a relatively smaller sample size due to the time constraints and
effects of the pandemic. The result of the survey may vary based on further inquiry with more respondents.
However, that does not undermine the fact that deducing results from such marginal study can turn out to
be fragmentary or superficial.

6.2 Technical Hindrances

As mentioned earlier, the preliminary execution of surveys had been done by telephonic inquiry and
online. Usually, data accumulated through physical interaction with participants is reliable and can blindly
be taken into consideration. Hence, the researcher has seemed skeptical regarding the clarity or
accountability of the conducted survey. Precisely, the analysis of results and subsequent themes in a virtual
setting has been problematic.

6.3 Bias
The response from biased participants can also be considered as a limitation of the research work.
Sometimes participants grudgingly answer the questions asked by researchers as they have fear of
organizational leaders. Because any response from participants that reveal confidentiality of organizations
work pattern or response that affects the reputation of the organization may jeopardize their career
(Shivanee, 2019).

6.4 Regional Impediments

The research has been conducted for just a few countries in Asia like India and China. This restriction
invariably reduces the accuracy and validity, owing to potential assumptions. There are also several other
deficiencies this project has like limited data access and analysis of outdated data (Wordvice, 2020).

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 7. Project Risk:

Carrying out the research amidst the pandemic has been uncertain and risk due to health hazards.
Precisely, many of those involved have been prone to the novel Coronavirus. Being devoted to a busy
schedule amidst such tough times sometimes leads to an annoying and frustrating situation. Another,
undeniable risk factor is that of financial constraints. It needs to be noted that the researcher himself is a
novice and also seek employment and stability. Hence, this research has turned into a burden due to
monetary issues. Conversely, the researcher has not been able to acquire much numerical data and figures
owing to limited access to databases, prohibiting company policies and legal hindrances. Thus, it has
conceivably obstructed this analysis which could have been more accurate and trustworthy. Moreover, to
strike a balance in research and other course work can also consider as a risk as not satisfying expectations
of sponsors into research resulted in an incomplete analysis and generate poor-quality performance.

8. Recommendations:

On the basis of the discussion above, the following recommendations for project managers may be taken
into consideration:
• It is necessary to optimize online communication and collaboration in large-scale project
managements.
• Agility and Digitalization must be incorporated in various industries like Airlines, Retail, Education,
Banking, amongst others (Seetharaman, 2020) .
• The rudiments of products and services delivery must be reconsidered.
• Companies should have aim to execute maximum number of tasks using different tools.
• In the context of organizational project management, it would be highly imperative to have
asynchronous instructional pedagogies with synchronous classes.
• Digital Products and Services must be synthesized with dynamic online efficacy.
• Design thinking must be implemented to satisfy the long-term goals in sustainable project
management.
• Alternative mechanisms of delivery and distribution must be taken into consideration.
• Adoption of Adaptive project framework (ADF) is necessity of an organizations to manage project
(Thomas, 2020).

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 • Competitive analysis ought to be specific and not generalized.

Analyzing from unified and larger perspectives, it can be commented that transitional project management
amidst the pandemic is largely subject to emergency and all organizations should have their response plan
to manage outbreak. As appropriately put forward by Adarsh project management in the healthcare
industry or in the treatment regime will vastly dictate the terms in the project management of other sectors
(Kumar, 2020). Meanwhile, the World has been witness to the various network systems, such as that of
the Drone-based network systems in order to provide various services as well as combat the pandemic.
Consequently, the associated measures of Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence, Robotics,
Quantum Computing and Collision Avoidance may be recommended and considered as unorthodox but
effective project managerial orientations in the future. Other technological alternatives include thermal
imaging, fog network, edge network, Cloud computing and 3D Printed Medical Equipments (Belhouideg,
2020).

9. Implementation Plan:

Based on the discussion above, the implementation plan for concerned industries and companies include
both opportunities as well as impediments. Precisely, technical simulation is highly imperative in the
current context. Formulative algorithms are also required to be based on the requirements of social
distancing. In recent months, large-scale equipment delivery and the essential scanning procedures have
been somewhat problematic for many industrial and organizational bodies. It is undeniable that in order
to fully shield project management and for the continuous function of the business, a state-of-art
technology is needed to be embraced. Additionally, these have to be complemented by performance
analysis and comparative system analysis. Transitional organizations and Companies may also have to
resort to long distant or collective support systems along with environmental considerations.
Irrespective of industries or organizations, changing project management approaches and practices are
required to be synthesized with the necessary medical protocols. Conversely, it must be ensured that
technological or human resource and political management engenders economic scalability amidst
encompassing project management. The researchers, thus, would like to conclude with the undeniable
implication that innovative project management practices are necessities and future managers need to
combine theory with practice.

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 10. Audit Summary:
The Covid-19 crisis has pushed every organization to come up with innovative strategies in order to run
their business. This research is focused on project management practices that emerged due to the Covid-
19 pandemic. To examine these strategies, the researcher has used a qualitative data analysis method. For
the survey, more than 10 participants were selected from different industries and companies. Owing to
the pandemic, the researcher forced to conduct a survey by telephonic inquiry and online meetings. The
researcher has bifurcated all the information received from participants into different themes. Themes
were categorized mainly in five sectors which are Information Technology, Healthcare, Education, E-
commerce and Constructions. The response of participants was based on questions prepared by the
researcher.

There were a number of solutions that may be useful to project managers and leaders. Some of them are
collaboration and communication in the project, having an alternative mechanism, executing maximum
task using tools, adoption of adaptive project framework and long-term goals while implementing a
project. These aspects suggestions will be fruitful for effective considering project management practices.

11. Appendix
1) How long have been working in this industry as a project manager?
2) What is the approach of your organization in the initial phase of the pandemic?
3) What innovative idea you had to keep the project streamlined?
4) What kind of digital tool and techniques used by your organizations to work remotely?
5) Are your newer roles and responsibilities are suitable?
6) What is the impact of Covid-19 on your business?
7) How did you engage with stakeholders during this period?
8) Have organizational measures have been clarified to you?
9) What is the most significant aspect of online work?
10) What are the potentially most relevant online tools and techniques for the future?

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 13. Sign-off

Sponsor, by signing, you are confirming that you have had the opportunity to read the paper and
provide feedback to the student and that a closeout meeting was completed (closeout required
for Final Report ONLY).

Sponsor Signature: Date:

Sponsor Email Sponsor Phone:

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Note: closeout means; student has met with the sponsor to share the outcomes of the Final Report. This
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