Business process development in
project-based industry
A case study
Maqsood A. Sandhu
Department of Management and Organization, Swedish School of Economics
and Business Administration, Vaasa, Finland, and
A. Gunasekaran
Department of Management, University of Massachusetts, North Dartmouth,
Massachusetts, USA
Keywords Business development, Process management
Abstract The strategic focus of organisations today is on the customer and internal and external
processes. This paper presents a systematic approach to project process development and identifies
key aspects of long-term process evaluation. A framework for process development is presented
with special emphasis on value-adding activities in engineering, procurement, and construction
(EPC) projects. The framework provides a better understanding of the dynamic processes and
critical interfaces in inter-organisational networks. The choice of concepts and final construction of
the framework is informed by an empirical research of EPC projects, and a case study of the power
division of Wa
¨
rtsila
¨
Corporation is analysed. Empirical findings are gathered through the Delphi
method and the use of personal group interviews with the key actors involved. A model for process
development is developed, linking interest groups to the development of their targets, information,
and knowledge sharing. The emphasis is on the right place, the right actors, the right resources,
and the right time.
1. Introduction
We all deal with some kind of projects in our daily lives. In most cases, organisation
and management simply amount to the construction of a list of tasks and the execution
of them in a sequence. The Association of Project Managers (UK) says that a project is
“a set of inter-related tasks that are undertaken by an organization to meet defined
objectives, that has an agreed start and finish time, is constrained by cost, and [that]
has specified performance requirements and resources”. The British Standard Guide to
Project Management defines a project as “a unique set of coordinated activities, with
definite starting and finishing points, undertaken by an individual or organization to
meet specific objectives with in defined schedule, cost and performance parameters”.
The definition of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) projects varies
according to the particular body of knowledge in the specific field of the project
involved. In the present study, we focus particularly on power plant EPC projects.
In this study, a project is defined as: “a group of inter-linked activities with a
starting and finishing point, in which human, financial, and material resources are
organized in such a way as to undertake a unique scope of work, of given specification,
within constraints of cost and time, and requiring a central intelligence to direct it”.
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The authors are most grateful to the anonymous referees for their constructive and helpful
comments that helped to improve the presentation of the paper considerably.
Business process
development
673
Business Process Management
Journal
Vol. 10 No. 6, 2004
pp. 673-690
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1463-7154
DOI 10.1108/14637150410567875