An analysis of critical chain project management application

Abstract

Theory of Constraints (TOC) - developed by Dr E. Goldratt - is a new management philosophy that provides a theoretical framework and tools to organisations to improve their organisations' performance. TOC has been effectively and successfully applied in various areas, including project management. TOC and its application to project management - known as Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) - has recently emerged as one of the most popular approaches to project management. However, due to the recency of the approach, not many research studies or case studies have been reported about CCPM applications. This thesis intentionally focused on only TOC application in project management; other project management literature was not included and discussed. The thesis aimed to provide evidence of the effectiveness of TOC application in the field of project management - CCPM. The thesis, firstly, provided a comprehensive theoretical framework on CCPM; most significant aspects regarding CCPM were discussed here. This thesis was a single-case study that examined CCPM application in a real-life organisation that has been implementing CCPM to improve its project system by gathering documentation related to the CCPM implementation, conducting semi-structured interviews with staff members who were involved in the process, and carrying informal observation. Data collection and analysis allowed the researcher to examine CCPM implementation, and the findings provided an additional evidence of the effectiveness of TOC in project management, giving management confidence to apply CCPM in their organisations. Also, the findings provided thoughts to management regarding issues that need to be considered when CCPM is applied. Finally, this thesis outlined recommendations to organisations (to both management and staff members) that would like to apply CCPM, and implications for future research opportunities were also described.