Visual project management practices to control projects

Abstract. In today’s technologically advanced world, projects are becoming much more complex and managers often face challenges of controlling the pace of the project. Visual project management is a fundamental element of lean methods that allows the project management activities to accomplish efficiently and effectively within the timeline. The challenges and complexity of projects are on the rise nowadays due to distinct unpredicted characteristics for instance workplace accidents, environmental effects, price hiking of materials cost and so on. Lack of controlling and monitoring the external or internal events within the project sometimes drive to project failure. This thesis aims to gain an insight into the visual project management practices in various projects through literature analysis along with the understanding of the contribution of visual tools and elements in the purpose of controlling the project. The initial part of this research focuses on in-depth literature review concerning the functions, tools, elements and the current state of the visual project management. The analysis is conducted by keeping two case studies as examples. The literature review reveals the contribution of visual management to support managerial strategy by integrating information, providing the elements, tools, and sensory aids into various project work settings. Following this, a qualitative analysis of two case projects provides the insight into the findings of this thesis which focuses on the prominence of visual management in two different project characteristics. Through the analysis and discussion, the anticipation of visual management was explored and identify the findings that disagree or complements the previous literature. Nevertheless, the overall research is concerned with the improvement of the project performance and effectiveness, removing potential threats and uncertainties and controlling the project through visual project management philosophies