Project Successful Deployment: A Method for Evaluating the Success of Digitalization Projects

Giovanni Romagnoli; Giovanni Esposito; Davide Reverberi

doi:10.3991/ijoe.v18i14.35087

Authors

Giovanni Romagnoli University of Parma http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9891-0314
Giovanni Esposito University of Parma, Parma, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5150-0855
Davide Reverberi University of Parma, Parma, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6768-3932

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3991/ijoe.v18i14.35087

Keywords:

Project management, Project scope, Digitalization, Functionality, Quality criteria, Evaluation methods

Abstract

In this paper, we present a method for evaluating the success of digitalization projects, namely the Project Successful Deployment (PSD). With the term digitalization, we mean the use of digital technologies and digitized information to create value in new ways and to benefit from them. The existing methods for project evaluation emphasize the capability of a project to deliver its results by respecting times and costs. The method we propose, instead, suggests evaluating projects by means of its external dimensions, namely the functionalities and quality of the deliverables. These external project dimensions are reflected on the project scope, and thus evaluate the requirements of the deliverables, and the degree to which the deliverable meet their quality objectives The method is composed of a set of matrixes, and it uses a structured procedure to define and refine its items and their weights, by means of a panel of experts. It has been applied to a practical case study, a digitalization project of a network of research and teaching laboratories. The method allowed a structured project evaluation, and the practical case study showed strengths and weaknesses of the PSD model, which proved to be robust and effective, in providing a timely evaluation of the project.

Author Biographies

Giovanni Esposito, University of Parma, Parma, Italy

Giovanni Esposito obtained a PhD in Industrial Engineering at the University of Parma (Italy) in 2021. His research interests comprehend RFID application for supply chain management and supply chain modelling towards Industry 4.0. He also visited the Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences (Germany). He acted as a local manager for the University of Parma on the DigiLab4U project.

Davide Reverberi, University of Parma, Parma, Italy

Davide Reverberi was born in 1992 in Parma (Italy). He completed his master’s degree in Management Engineering with a focus on production methodologies at the University of Parma. He is now a research fellow at the University of Parma at the Department of Engineering and Architecture. Since May 2019, he has been involved in the DigiLab4U project with a focus on remote labs and lab-based learning. During this period, he has attended several workshops, both in Italy and abroad, on technical and didactic topics for labs. He is currently co-author of eight international scientific publications, two of which have been accepted in international journals. He has served as a local administrative manager for the project DigiLab4U.