Interview four

for the most appropriate framework which coincides with the company’s goals because this is how they got used to running the company.

Another shocking point which the interviewee mentioned was that the management of the company does not recommend using a new framework because they might have to change their approach in the work process. In other words, the company is not concerned about making any change in the way they manage the company because they do not want to change their strategies in the work process. This company’s management is only concerned about the sales rate and customer satisfaction, according to what the interviewee said. Therefore, the company’s management does not care about the methods or quality of staff as long as they are getting the desired end results. Probably the manager believes that any attempt to make a change would be a waste of time because they are satisfied with their current approach.

The major weakness that the interviewee finds in many frameworks is that they tend to focus on one specific concept, while what they need is something that allows them to keep an eye on several things at once. Therefore, many of the designed frameworks highlight a certain concept over the others, which is a major issue. Yet the actual work process involves all the concepts portfolio, project and innovation management. This leads us to the importance of designing a framework based on authentic observations to the work process in the company and in the market of the industry.

The interview believes that an ideal framework should be comprehensive in a sense which allows them to take care of various things and progress in more than one direction. To put it in another way, the framework should include all the concepts while being sufficiently flexible in order to overcome obstacles and problems which face managers in this industry. Furthermore, the framework should provide flexibility in terms of catering to the changing needs of the market. If the framework is very strict, then trying to modify according to new needs of the market will be very hard.

Regarding project management, he thinks that good project managers tend to manage the project in a flexible way; that is if the project manager finds at any stage of the work process a smarter direction to take, he would easily do it. With this in mind, project management is affected by the mentality of the project manager and his style of work. That is, if the project manager has an inventive mentality, he is more likely to be open for change or innovative ideas. He would, also, make modifications in the plan and in the directions of the work process whenever he thinks it is suitable. The project manager might find an easier strategy, a more customer-attractive service, or a more profitable idea. Based on this, the project manager makes the appropriate adjustments.

When it comes to innovation management, he highlighted that it is involved in the other two concepts, according to what he said. He considers that a company which does not challenge itself to offer something new is at risk of going out of business. The market has become very open, especially with the presences of the internet connections and the media. Everybody now knows what takes place in other areas of the world and in different fields. This makes the competition higher and the innovation becomes a necessity in all fields of industry. Also, the customer has become capable of searching the internet for the best offers by various companies. Therefore, if the company is not innovative enough, it is at risk of losing its position in the market. However, he assumes that all the three concepts come in equal %s in the industry in general as they all affect the consistency of the businesses in the market.

Hence, it is crucial to give each concept the best effort, time, and thought, in order to achieve the best results.

The interviewee’s reaction towards using framework was neutral. He said that it has to do with the nature of the framework. He clarified that it should answer all the following questions: How is it going to help me? Why do I need to use it? What phases shall I complete with it? Therefore, it is important to assess the value of the framework, according to a certain criteria, which are set by the company. Based on this criteria the company decides if the framework is beneficial for them or not.

Furthermore, the interviewee thinks that the managing style of each project manager differs, so it is not helpful to set one road and ask all managers in a company to follow it. Unless this road was flexible and big enough, in a way that encompasses many styles, and it shows only the main direction of the approach, not the detailed steps of how to do everything, otherwise it will not be helpful. Hence, a framework would be more helpful if it is comprehensive for various styles. Also, it should not be so detailed in order not to restrict the actions of the managers and the working team.

In addition, his belief about frameworks is that they affect performance of the team who are using it. It is designed to guide them through the right track all the way from A to Z. To put it in another way, a

framework directly affects the performance of the working team because it is the plan upon which they move throughout the work process. Yet, he sees that the framework’s impact on the sales cannot be measured directly; however, it is possible to quantify the impact on the sales by measuring the enhancements which take place throughout using the framework. Consequently, the framework’s impact on the end result can be estimated while using the framework and observing the enhancements it makes while putting it into action.

Regarding the interviewee’s enthusiasm towards using frameworks, he mentioned that they rarely use frameworks because he is not satisfied with what is currently used in the market. He believes that most of them are theoretical and could be used the best in university labs and classes. There is no doubt that he could be right to a certain extent, because frameworks should be built in a way to fit the real events that take place in the company and in the market. Thus, any framework which is offered to this company would only catch their attention if it appeared applicable and practical for them.

Despite the interviewee’s unsatisfactory view about current frameworks in the market, his working team recommends using frameworks. He said that this recommendation comes in the shape of organizing data and operations in order to have clear and defined steps and information in the working process.

This is true because organization in the work process allows the work steps to take place at a smooth pace. However, unclear instructions will result in complications, confusion, and contradictions among the working team. Consequently, the team will waste its time trying to figure out a working process to agree upon it together.

The interviewee believes that some companies avoid using frameworks due to the rigid nature of some frameworks. He explains that they are not easy to modify or even slightly adjust. This could be a point of weakness in some frameworks because it restricts the directions of the work processes. Provided that project managers need some flexibility to address the changing needs of the market and keep an eye on the variations in customer satisfaction. He believes that an ideal framework should be agile at all levels while maintaining discipline, alignment, and professionalism. Therefore, an effective framework should not be stiff, but it should be agile enough to allow possible modifications in order to deal with unexpected events that might appear in the work process, in the industry or in the needs of the customers. At the same time, the framework should provide clear instructions and easy steps in the work process. It should also align with the general objectives of the company. It should provide professionalism in the work process, as well, in order to clarify the role of each person in the working team.