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In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the potential of data analytics to enhance project delivery. Yet many argue that its application in projects is still lagging behind other disciplines. This paper aims to provide a review of the current use of data analytics in project delivery encompassing both academic research and practice to accelerate current understanding and use this to formulate questions and goals for future research.

We propose to achieve the research aim through the creation of a systematic review of the status of data analytics in project delivery. Fusing the methodology of integrative literature review with a recently established practice to include both white and grey literature amounts to an approach tailored to the state of the domain. It serves to delineate a research agenda informed by current developments in both academic research and industrial practice.

The literature review reveals a dearth of work in both academic research and practice relating to data analytics in project delivery and characterises this situation as having “more gap than knowledge.” Some work does exist in the application of machine learning to predicting project delivery though this is restricted to disparate, single context studies that do not reach extendible findings on algorithm selection or key predictive characteristics. Grey literature addresses the potential benefits of data analytics in project delivery but in a manner reliant on “thought-experiments” and devoid of empirical examples.

Based on the review we articulate a research agenda to create knowledge fundamental to the effective use of data analytics in project delivery. This is structured around the functional framework devised by this investigation and highlights both organisational and data analytic challenges. Specifically, we express this structure in the form of an “onion-skin” model for conceptual structuring of data analytics in projects. We conclude with a discussion about if and how today’s project studies research community can respond to the totality of these challenges. This paper provides a blueprint for a bridge connecting data analytics and project management.

The purpose of this study is to explore the latest approaches in integrating artificial intelligence and analytics (AIA) in energy smart grid projects. Empirical results are synthesized to highlight their relevance from a technology and project management standpoint, identifying several lessons learned that can be used for planning highly integrated and automated smart grid projects.

A systematic literature review leads to selecting 108 research articles dealing with smart grids and AIA applications. Keywords are based on the following research questions: What is the growth trend in Smart Grid projects using intelligent systems and data analytics? What business value is offered when AI-based methods are applied? How do applications of intelligent systems combine with data analytics? What lessons can be learned for Smart Grid and AIA projects?

The 108 selected articles are classified according to the following four research issues in smart grids project management: AIA integrated applications; AI-focused technologies; analytics-focused technologies; architecture and design methods. A broad set of smart grid functionality is reviewed, seeking to find commonality among several applications, including as follows: dynamic energy management; automation of extract, transform and load for Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems data; multi-level representations of data; the relationship between the standard three-phase transforms and modern data analytics; real-time or short-time voltage stability assessment; smart city architecture; home energy management system; building energy consumption; automated fault and disturbance analysis; and power quality control.

Given the diversity of issues reviewed, a more capability-focused research agenda is needed to further synthesize empirical findings for AI-based smart grids. Research may converge toward more focus on business rules systems, that may best support smart grid design, proof development, governance and effectiveness. These AIA technologies must be further integrated with smart grid project management methodologies and enable a greater diversity of renewable and non-renewable production sources.

This study aims to investigate the organisational structure to exploit data analytics in the educational sector. The paper proposes three different organisational configurations, which describe the connections among educational actors in a national system. The ultimate goal is to provide insights about alternative organisational settings for the adoption of data analytics in education.

The paper is based on a participant observation approach applied in the Italian educational system. The study is based on four research projects that involved teachers, school principals and governmental organisations over the period 2017–2020.

As a result, the centralised, the decentralised and the network-based configurations are presented and discussed according to three organisational dimensions of analysis (organisational layers, roles and data management). The network-based configuration suggests the presence of a network educational data scientist that may represent a concrete solution to foster more efficient and effective use of educational data analytics.

The value of this study relies on its systemic approach to educational data analytics from an organisational perspective, which unfolds the roles of schools and central administration. The analysis of the alternative organisational configuration allows moving a step forward towards a structured, effective and efficient system for the use of data in the educational sector.

In today’s marketplace, accountants must understand and master Big Data and data analytics, and many educators have devised approaches to help students acquire these critical skills. At our university, we have worked closely with our accounting advisory council to develop an adaptable classroom case where students not only gain a broad understanding of what data analytics means to the profession but also what specific tools are available to analyze an accounting-centered problem – cash collections. Using patterns and behaviors discovered in their data analyses, students develop collection procedures and controls for a case firm. Such a project begins to fulfill the profession’s initiative that accountants must exploit Big Data and data analytics for organizational growth and opportunity.

This paper aims to provide a roadmap for organizations to build big data projects and reap the most rewards out of their data. It covers all aspects of big data project implementation, from data collection to final project evaluation.

In each stage of the proposed roadmap, we introduce different sets of information and communications technology platforms and tools to assist IT professionals and managers in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods and technologies involved and in making the best use of them. The authors also complete the picture by illustrating the process through different real-world big data projects implementations.

By adopting the proposed roadmap, companies and organizations willing to establish an effective and rewarding big data solution can tackle all implementation challenges in each stage of their big data project setup: from strategy elaboration to final project evaluation. Their expectations of privacy and security are also baked, in advance, into the big data project design.

While technologies to build and run big data projects have started to mature and proliferate over the last couple of years, exploiting all potentials of big data is still at a relatively early stage. The value of this paper consists in providing a clear and systematic methodology to move businesses and organizations from an opinion-operated era where humans’ skills are a necessity to a data-driven and smart era where big data analytics plays a major role in discovering unexpected insights in the oceans of data routinely generated or collected.

This study aims to investigate the mediating role of “Big Data Analytics” played between “Project Performance” and nine factors including top management, project knowledge management focus on sustainability, green purchasing, environmental technologies, social responsibility, project operational capabilities, project complexity, collaboration and explorative learning, and project success.

A sample of 321 responses from 106 Indian manufacturing small and medium-scaled enterprises (SMEs) was collected. Data were analyzed using empirical analysis through structural equation modeling.

The result shows that project knowledge management, green purchasing and project operational capabilities require the mediating support of big data analytics. The adoption of big data analytics has a positive influence on project performance in the manufacturing sector.

This study is useful to SMEs managers, practitioners and government policymakers to develop an understanding of big data analytics, eliminate challenges in the adoption of big data, and formulate strategies to handle projects efficiently in SMEs in the context of Indian manufacturing.

For the first time, big data for manufacturing firms handing innovative projects was discussed in the Indian SME context.

In recognising the key role of business intelligence and big data analytics in influencing companies’ decision-making processes, this paper aims to codify the main phases through which companies can approach, develop and manage big data analytics.

By adopting a research strategy based on case studies, this paper depicts the main phases and challenges that companies “live” through in approaching big data analytics as a way to support their decision-making processes. The analysis of case studies has been chosen as the main research method because it offers the possibility for different data sources to describe a phenomenon and subsequently to develop and test theories.

This paper provides a possible depiction of the main phases and challenges through which the approach(es) to big data analytics can emerge and evolve over time with reference to companies’ decision-making processes.

This paper recalls the attention of researchers in defining clear patterns through which technology-based approaches should be developed. In its depiction of the main phases of the development of big data analytics in companies’ decision-making processes, this paper highlights the possible domains in which to define and renovate approaches to value. The proposed conceptual model derives from the adoption of an inductive approach. Despite its validity, it is discussed and questioned through multiple case studies. In addition, its generalisability requires further discussion and analysis in the light of alternative interpretative perspectives.

The reflections herein offer practitioners interested in company management the possibility to develop performance measurement tools that can evaluate how each phase can contribute to companies’ value creation processes.

This paper contributes to the ongoing debate about the role of digital technologies in influencing managerial and social models. This paper provides a conceptual model that is able to support both researchers and practitioners in understanding through which phases big data analytics can be approached and managed to enhance value processes.

A vast amount of complex data is being generated in the business environment, which enables support for decision-making through information processing and insight generation. The purpose of this study is to propose a process model for data-driven decision-making which provides an overarching methodology covering key stages of the business analytics life cycle. The model is then applied in two small enterprises using real customer/donor data to assist the strategic management of sales and fundraising.

Data science is a multi-disciplinary subject that aims to discover knowledge and insight from data while providing a bridge to data-driven decision-making across businesses. This paper starts with a review of established frameworks for data science and analytics before linking with process modelling and data-driven decision-making. A consolidated methodology is then described covering the key stages of exploring data, discovering insights and making decisions.

Representative case studies from a small manufacturing organisation and an independent hospice charity have been used to illustrate the application of the process model. Visual analytics have informed customer sales strategy and donor fundraising strategy through recommendations to the respective senior management teams.

The scope of this research has focused on customer analytics in small to medium-sized enterprise through two case studies. While the aims of these organisations are rather specific, they share a commonality of purpose for their strategic development, which is addressed by this paper.

Data science is shown to be applicable in the business environment through the proposed process model, synthesising micro- and macro-solution methodologies and allowing organisations to follow a structured procedure. Two real-world case studies have been used to highlight the value of the data-driven model in management decision-making.

Organizations are beginning to realize the potential benefits of big data and harnessing all of the data they are creating. However, a major impediment for many organizations is understanding where to start in big data and analytics implementation. In many respects, starting a successful implementation is not much different from any other project managed within the organization. The major stumbling block is knowing what questions to ask to get things going. This paper aims to help libraries and information organizations that are considering big data and analytics implementation to begin their journey by following a checklist of eight aspects to be considered in the development of a big data and analytics strategy.

The eight aspects to consider in big data and analytics implementation were developed using a combination of existing project management common knowledge, consultant recommendations and real-life experiences.

Organizations considering big data and analytics implementation need to explore aspects related to the data they have, what organizational problems they are trying to solve, how data governance will work in the new environment, as well as how they will define success in terms of their implementation. These are in addition to the technical issues one would normally expect in a systems implementation.

While there have been many articles written about the implementation of big data and analytics in organizations, most of these focus on technical issues rather than managerial and organizational concerns. In addition, none of these other articles have been from the perspective of library and information science. In this article, the focus is specifically on how information professionals may approach this problem.