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Dr. Aaron J. Shenhar
Many project teams today realize that
they need to develop their own solutions on top of the standard techniques
in order to cope with their project’s dynamic changes, uncertainty, or
complexity. In fact, research shows that although the conventional
approach to project management provides the necessary basic guidelines
for managing projects, it is not enough to guarantee a project’s success.
This presentation will address the current myths in the traditional guidelines
and contrast them with the dynamic realities of today’s projects.
The conventional approach to project management
is based on a predictable, fixed and relatively simple model. Sometimes
the conventional model seems decoupled from changes in the market, technology,
or business environment. However, only few projects today are fixed,
certain, or simple. Rather, they are unpredictable, changing, and
involve a great deal of uncertainty and complexity. Dr. Aaron J.
Shenhar will offer a framework to deal with such projects in a highly flexible
and adaptive way. This discussion will also show that this model
can be applied on top of the current organizational processes to increase
the chances of project success. These ideas formed the motivation
for the book on “Reinventing Project Management: The Diamond Approach
to Successful Growth and Innovation” by Aaron Shenhar and Dov Dvir, Harvard
Business School Press, 2007. The book was ranked among the top five
best business books of 2007.
Dr. Shenhar is the Institute Professor
of Management and the founder of the Project Management Program at the
Stevens Institute of Technology. He is also the CEO of the Technological
Leadership Institute, a consulting and training company in technology and
project leadership. Dr Shenhar holds five academic degrees in engineering
and management from Stanford University and the Technion in Israel.
He is the recipient of the Engineering Manager of the Year Award of IEEE
and the first PMI Research Achievement Award. Dr. Shenhar accumulated
over 20 years of technical and management experience as an executive in
a leading high-tech organization in the defense industry in Israel.
In his academic career, he published over 150 publications in innovation
management, project management, and the management of professionals in
technology-based organizations. He served as a consultant to leading
high-technology organizations such as 3M, Honeywell, Dow Jones, NASA, BMI,
Liz Claiborne, IAI, and the US Army.
Aaron's handout
can be downloaded. |
