Utilization of project management methods in practice in more extensive projects is, due to high demands, only possible with support of a Project Management Information System. Project managers can use a number of applications offering a wide range of functions in the areas of project planning, monitoring and continuous evaluation of project implementation, and final evaluation when it has finished. An important function offered by a Project Management Information System is the possibility of sharing data concerning the running projects across the project team and their surroundings. Project Management Information System applications are primarily designed to support project management, so it is worth considering how much the available applications support the project management methods defined in the project management theory, how much software applications make it possible to get support in individual stages of the project life cycle, and if this scope is sufficient from the point of view of quality project management. The evaluation involved selected project management methods suitable for individual project life cycle stages, and the scope of support of individual project management methods within the respective project life cycle stages was evaluated in selected software applications

Project management maturity greatly influences the success rate of the project implementation. However, available project management maturity models (PMMMs) are costly, time-consuming and demanding in terms of organization and competence when it comes to application. Moreover, there is no PMMM that evaluates in detail the usage of recommended project management methods and tools. The goal of this article is to design a user-friendly PMMM that would evaluate the project management maturity based on assessment of the usage of project management tools and methods within each stage of project life cycle taking into account the predominant type of projects implemented. The authors used the critical and comparative analysis, based on that the available project management maturity models were assessed and the new PMMM was designed using analogy, deduction, and induction, based on the synthesis of the acquired knowledge combined with the expert experience of the practitioners. It is a unique PMMM, characterized by complexity, user friendliness and financial flexibility. In addition, it is a model that can be used not only in companies of various branches, but also in organizations of other institutional sectors.

The paper deals with the problems of project management and project management tools in practice in the Czech Republic. The introduction describes the essence of project management and characterizes its key tools. Special attention is paid to the analysis and evaluation of the current level of project management and exploitation of the project management tools in the Czech Republic. The paper presents and compares the outcomes of the research carried out by organization Spolecnost pro projektove rizeni with some other global researches from the points of view of project outcomes monitoring, success of project implementation, awareness of project management tools, utilization of project management tools, including software tools, project management knowledge and the reasons why some project implementations fail

This paper deals with the problems of projects co-financed by European Union funds (structural funds and the Cohesion fund) in the Czech Republic within the Programming Period 2007 – 2013 from the point of view of the knowledge and use of project management methods within implementation of these projects. The authors aimed to analyse and assess the scope of knowledge and the rate of utilization of project management methods by the solvers of projects co-financed by EU funds in the Programming Period 2007 – 2013 and to evaluate the influence of the project solvers’ attitude to project management on the scope of knowledge and the rate of utilization of project management methods. At first, the paper characterizes the basic project management methods, and then it discusses the outcomes of a questionnaire survey focused on the knowledge of the basic project management methods and their utilization within implementation of projects co-financed by EU funds, and that also in view of the project solvers’ attitude to the above methods as efficiency improving tools. At the same time, these outcomes are compared with the outcomes of the research performed by Spolecnost pro projektove rizeni, which evaluated the scope of awareness and rate of utilization of the basic project management methods in the Czech Republic. Finally, there are recommendations to the institutional authorities on application within the Programming Period 2014 – 2020.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.28.3.13651

In stereolithographic (SLA) 3D printing, objects are constructed by exposing layers of photocurable resin to UV light. It is a highly user-friendly fabrication method that opens a possibility for technology sharing through CAD file online libraries. Here, we present a prototyping procedure of a microfluidics-enhanced dot-blot device (Affiblot) designed for simple and inexpensive screening of affinity molecule characteristics (antibodies, oligonucleotides, cell receptors, etc.). The incorporation of microfluidic features makes sample processing user-friendly, less time-consuming, and less laborious, all performed completely on-device, distinguishing it from other dot-blot devices. Initially, the Affiblot device was fabricated using CNC machining, which required significant investment in manual post-processing and resulted in low reproducibility. Utilization of SLA 3D printing reduced the amount of manual post-processing, which significantly streamlined the prototyping process. Moreover, it enabled the fabrication of previously impossible features, including internal fluidic channels. While 3D printing of sub-millimeter microchannels usually requires custom-built printers, we were able to fabricate microfluidic features on a readily available commercial printer. Open microchannels in the size range 200–300 μm could be fabricated with reliable repeatability and sealed with a replaceable foil. Economic aspects of device fabrication are also discussed. Graphical abstract