A Forward Looking Approach to Project Management: Tools, Trends, and the Impact of Disruptive Technologies

This book is intended as a basis for advanced treatment of concepts in project management. In the current scenario where most questions are answered through the internet, the knowledge element in project management has come under the influence of disruptive technologies. In other words, project managers no longer get 'points' for knowing something that is easily available on the internet. This has far-reaching consequences. The present day project managers need to orient themselves to newer benchmarks of what is required for success on the business front. This book deals with a few such advanced concepts in project management. This book is not designed as an elementary primer to the field of project management, rather it is an advanced level treatment on the subject, to be read after the preliminary study has already been completed. The book is designed for practicing project managers, and graduate students in engineering and management, who need to understand the dynamics that are typically encountered in a project-based environment. The content in the book is based on extensive study of literature and training programs. Many of the tools have been developed on the basis of modeling and simulation methods that are specially designed by the author. These were tested at several live projects across the globe.Most of the exercises in the book are actually meant for the reader to perform as they go. The book is not designed with a ‘read-all-and-come-back-later’ approach, rather it focuses on ‘learning by doing’, whereby the reader is expected to do the exercises before reading on. The book will prove useful in self-learning, as well as in classroom teaching and professional training programs.

About the Author

N. S. Gurjar holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Bombay. He is a gold medalist MBA from NITIE, Mumbai and a first class Master's level Degree Holder in Intellectual Property Law from WIPO, Geneva and UniSA, Pretoria. His academic honors include the prestigious NCERT National Talent Search Scholarship and the All India Universal Science Talent Search Awards. He is a pioneer in the field of modeling and simulation-based management consulting in India and has also worked in several sectors including steel, specialty materials, oil, white goods, consumer goods, education, IT, robotics technology, government, and textiles. His functional expertise spans across the areas of management consulting, project management, sales, operations and information systems and IT. He is an empaneled consultant at the National Productivity Council of India for Lean Management under the MSME Scheme. He is also known for his innovative models for Public-Private Partnerships, contracting and government policy development. Mr. Gurjar has been a guest faculty member, teaching Project Management and Supply Chain Management at NITIE. He has published over 15 international papers in several areas including Strategy Management, Business Process Re-engineering, Supply Chain Management, Information Technology, Law, and Education.