Welcome to the final triple issue of Volume 6 of the Engineering Project Organization Journal (EPOJ). This issue contains two parts; a special section on Best Papers from EPOC 2016 and a broader research paper section. Following this editorial is an introduction to the special section on the Best Papers as guest edited by Zerjav and Kaminsky. Therefore, this introduction will focus on the remaining papers in the issue.
The issue presents five papers that explore the role of visualization, different project approaches, and alternative management approaches to project delivery. Each paper places the challenges of project delivery in a different context as they explore both technological and managerial challenges to delivering successful projects. I hope you find these papers as well as the special section papers to be thought-provoking in both their specific content and their breadth of topics within the project organization domain.
The first paper by Whyte, Tryggestad, and Comi introduces the impact that visual representations can have on the understanding of project complexity. The paper uses empirical case studies to illustrate how multiple representations throughout a project serve to provide connections across the project stages and individual understanding. The use of the case studies provides a grounding for the effort in actual scenarios which provide context for how this concept can be understood across multiple types of projects. Continuing the focus on visualization and project delivery, the second paper in this issue by Kovacic, Filzmoser, and Vasilescu examines the role that BIM plays in bridging gaps in interdisciplinary design. Using student experiences over a two-year timeframe, the paper illustrates the implications of introducing BIM into student lab environments. The positive effect of enhancing communication and problem solving is presented together with the challenges of introducing BIM software training while also teaching integrated design approaches.
The third paper in this issue by Zerio, Opdyke, and Javernick-Will moves the project delivery focus away from visualization to a focus on the training required to support community members in delivering projects. Using post-disaster reconstruction as the backdrop, the paper illustrates how different methods need to be implemented to successfully engage and train local communities. The paper assesses different approaches to provide a recommendation on the need to alter traditional training perceptions. The fourth paper in this issue by Mahalingam et al bridges the focus of project delivery and community end-users by focusing on the use of design thinking principles to redesign an urban settlement through a cooperative effort with the community stakeholders. Working through the stages of design thinking principles, the paper illustrates how design thinking can be used to work with community members to undertake a large-scale redesign effort and what are the challenges associated with such an effort. Similar to this focus on community-based redesign, the final paper in the issue by Lousberg, Wamelink, and De Caluwe studies how conflict in public-private partnerships can be managed by focusing on the economic and social relationships contained within these partnerships. Utilizing ten cases as a backdrop, the paper illustrates that conflict between diverse parties can be mitigated if the common concerns are recognized and the relationships between the parties are understood to support the successful delivery of the project.
On behalf of the Editors and Editorial Board, thank you for your continued support of EPOJ and we look forward to bringing you additional works that challenge accepted principles. As always, please contact me or the Editorial Board with any comments regarding this issue.