PROJECT BASED APPROCH

LECTURE1

What is research?
“Something that people undertake in order to find out things in a systematic
way, thereby increasing their knowledge”

Basic research Applied research

Purpose:
 Expand knowledge of processes of
business and management
 Results in universal principles
relating to the processand its
relationship to outcome
 Findings of significance and value
to society in general
Context:
 Undertaken by people based in
universities
 Choice of topic and objectives
determined by the researcher
 Flexible timescales
Purpose:
 Improve understanding of
particular business or
management problem
 Resultsin solution to problem
 New knowledge limited to
problem
 Findingsof practical relevance and
value to manager(s) in
organisations(s)
Context:
 Undertaken by people based in a
variety of settings, including
organisationsand universities
 Objectivesnegotiated with
originator
 Tight timescales

Our focus will be on the applied research

Applied research:
Research that takes place in an everyday context to solve specific problems of
individuals in organizations.

Project definition:
Work executed through a group of people, which mostly contains different
disciplines, who work together on a temporary basis to achieve a
predetermined goal within certain preconditions
Kinds of work:
Improvised work:
– Getting started with a problem as soon as possible: quick, flexible, coming up
with new rules doing the job
Routine work:
– Long term, regularly stable performances: efficiency, fixed rules and way of
working
Project-based work:
– Once, focussed on a particular purpose and maximum performance, limited
resources:
effectivity, temporary structure

Project-based routine Improvised

Core effectivity effectivity quick, flexible
description Once, maximum long term, start as soon as
performance, performance on possible
limited resources regular basis
Tasks/ Replaced by old, maintain and new rules
responsibilities temporary continue as much develop by doing
structure as possible
from problem to Step by step translated in quick, ad-hoc
solution approach, standard solutions
translated in problems/solutions
demands, user
checks results
how activities in Activities spread in tangle of
phases, uneven time, even activities, no
use of resources deployment of control of the
capacity resources

The characteristics of a project:

• Defined begin and end (time pressure)
• Multidisciplinary/complicated organization => collaboration
• Unique, new elements
(not necessary completely new)
• Only once
• Results oriented, worthwhile, urgent
• Limited resources
Lecture 2

Typical project phases: (Grit, 2008)

• Concept:
• Definition
• Design
• Preparation
• Execution:
• After Care

 The 5-Why method: Five why helps you to find the cause of a problem.
e.g., why do I always have headaches?
Possibly we might get More than 5 reasons for the problem.

 SMART-Goals: we use them to determine the project objectives

 Specific: target a specific area for improvement, uniform
 Measurable: by which measurable or observable condition(s) is the aim
achieved, suggest an indicator of progress
 Acceptable: agreement with the stakeholders what the goal should be
(e.g. the management, target group, university)
 Realistic: state what results can realistically be achieved given available
resources.
 Time-related: specify when the result(s) can or need to be achieved

 Possible project phases:

– Orientation phase
– Data gathering phase
– Analysis phase
– Development phase
– Implementation phase
– Evaluation phase