Leading Complex Projects

Quantitative analysis of outcomes vs PMs at the individual level

Leading Complex Projects takes a unique approach to post-mortem analysis to provide project managers with invaluable insight. For the first time, individual PM characteristics are quantitatively linked to project outcomes through a major study investigating the role of project leadership in the success and failure of complex industrial projects; hard data on the backgrounds, education, and personality characteristics of over 100 directors of complex projects is analyzed against the backdrop of project performance to provide insight into controllable determinants of outcomes. By placing these analyses alongside their own data, PMs will gain greater insight into areas of weakness and strength, locate recurring obstacles, and identify project components in need of greater planning, oversight, or control.

The role of leadership is to deliver results; in project management, this means taking responsibility for project outcomes. PMs are driven by continuous improvement, and this book provides a wealth of insight to help you achieve the next step forward.

• Understand why small, simple projects consistently outperform larger, more complex projects
• Delve into the project manager's role in generating successful outcomes
• Examine the data from over 100 PMs of complex industrial projects
• Link PM characteristics to project outcome to find areas for improvement

Complex industrial projects from around the world provide a solid basis for quantitative analysis of outcomes—and the PMs who drive them. Although the majority of the data is taken from projects in the petroleum industry, the insights gleaned from analysis are widely applicable across industry lines for PMs who lead complex projects of any stripe. Leading Complex Projects provides clear, data-backed improvement guidance for anyone in a project management role.

Edward Merrow (www. IPAGlobal.com www.ipainstitute.com; Lancaster, NH) is the founder and CEO of Independent Project Analysis, Inc., the world's leading consulting firm, evaluating billion-dollar "mega-projects" of national and international oil, chemical, pharmaceutical, and major mineral companies, benchmarking their cost, schedules, safety, startup and operational performance.  Before founding IPA in 1987, Merrow was a research analyst and later the director of the Energy Policy Program at the Rand Corporation.

Neeraj Nandurdikar  is currently Director of IPA’s Exploration and Production (E&P) global advisory business. Neeraj has spent the past 15 years providing strategic advice to EVP’s, VP’s, Heads of Projects, and Functional leaders of more than 30 different oil and gas operators around the world ranging in topics from reservoir and well construction best practices, to portfolio optimization, to organizational design and work process improvement to optimizing production performance.