APM Northern Research Symposium and Doctoral Workshop
Project Management and the Productivity Challenge
The Hacienda Suite, Holiday Inn Manchester Piccadilly, Tuesday 4 December 2018
Globally, the field of project management is growing in significance. For example, capital projects account for over a quarter of the world’s global output, with an estimate of between USD $6-9 trillion spent annually on megaprojects . The importance of project management becomes more pronounced when considering business transformation and organisational change projects and programmes that are so prevalent today. The need for project management is also underscored by the projection that by 2027, over 22 million more project managers are required to help organisations implement strategic initiatives, drive change and deliver innovation with much of this growth found in rapidly developing countries such as India and China .
Despite increasing recognition of the strategic value of project management, it is surprising that far less is known as to how project management contributes to improving productivity. In a recent APM-funded systematic review of published evidence, it was found that there needs to be more holistic examination of how project management contributes to productivity in practice . Furthermore, new ways of thinking about productivity and productivity improvements need to be developed to account for how project management can contribute not only to production-based industries, but also to knowledge-based workplaces in the public, private and third sectors. The review also highlighted how little is known about the value of project management education.
The purpose of this doctoral workshop is to bring together PhD researchers at all stages of the research to share their knowledge and research findings, and to discuss and debate on how project management can help address the productivity challenge. The doctoral workshop and symposium will address one or more of the following issues:
• While there is a wealth of research on the perceptions of how project management contributes to productivity, far less is known on evaluating the productivity impacts of everyday practices of managing projects. How can we capture micro-level practices of managing projects and their productivity effects? What methodologies and evidence exist to show compelling comparative analysis of what works (or not)?
• Increasingly, project management is playing a significant role in organisational change projects. In these contexts, the measure of productivity shifts from a tangible, physical output to more intangible outcomes. How should we reframe the measure of productivity so as to develop more meaningful understandings of the relationship between project work and productivity?
• How do we translate academic research into practicable outcomes that make a difference in reality?
Please email paul.chan@manchester.ac.uk if you wish to register to participate in the doctoral workshop and symposium.
Programme for the Day
Time Description
09:30am Arrivals for the Doctoral Workshop
09:45am Welcome to the Doctoral Workshop
Obuks Ejohwomu, The University of Manchester
10:00am – 11:00am An exploratory study of the relationship between Lean Project Management and Organisational Learning
Jane Dowson, Liverpool John Moores University
Ballasting, loading, de-ballasting, and sailing ships: An explanation of how work practices emerge in global projects
Mahesh Balasubramani, IIT Madras
Halfhearted artificial intelligence (AI) in PM professionalization: Co-production between technology and human-beings?
Kun Wang, The University of Manchester
11:00am – 11:15am Break
11:15am – 12:35pm Learning from project failure in UK project-based organisations: A case for productivity?
Danstan Chiponde, Northumbria University
Effects of standards and standardization process on productivity
Anupam Dey, The University of Manchester
Public-private collaboration in the Dutch construction industry: visions for the future
Astrid Potemans and Bart Suijkerbuijk, TU Delft
An outcomes-based approach to public-sector innovation: the case of two UK public bodies
Kate Lawrence, The University of Manchester
12.35pm – 1.15pm How can APM better support doctoral students, their supervisors and Early Careers Researchers?
Daniel Nicholls , APM
Christine Unterhitzenberger, Lancaster University
1.15pm – 2.00pm Lunch and networking
2:00pm – 3:30pm Framing impacts of research
3:30pm – 4:00pm Break
4:00pm Arrivals for the Industry Part of the Symposium
4:15pm Welcome and introductions
Paul W Chan, The University of Manchester
4:30pm APM and APM Research
Daniel Nicholls, APM
4:45pm – 5:10pm Summary provocations from the doctoral presentations
Time Description
5:10pm – 6:00pm Knowledge Café
Project management and the productivity challenge
• Governance and methodologies
• People, health and wellbeing
• Benefits realisation
• Change/transformation and risk management
6:00pm Networking buffet
6:30pm – 7:20pm Is productivity really a problem for construction?
Ian Heptinstall
Project management and productivity: What are the questions we are not asking?
Paul W Chan
Complicated project management theory turns people off and doesn’t work – why do we keep peddling it?
Richard Preston
More details about these presentations and speakers can be found on https://www.apm.org.uk/event/project-management-and-the-productivity-challenge/
7:20pm – 8:00pm Panel Discussion
Question Time: Looking ahead – how can project management researchers and practitioners work more closely together to address the productivity challenge?
Chaired by Richard Preston
