Associate ProfessorJulien Pollack

Associate Professor Julien Pollack teaches:

• PMGT5876 Strategic Delivery of Change;
• PMGT6871 Project Planning and Governance;
• OLEO5312 Project Management for Research.

His current Ph.D. and M.Phil. students are conducting research into:

• The Impact of Public-Private Partnerships on Performance and Innovation;
• Dialectics in Complex Projects;
• Improving the Quality of Contracting Social Services;
• Real-time Perceptions of Complex Projects; and
• Trends in Construction Project Managers.

His most recent Ph.D. graduates have studied:

• Improving Threatened Species Recovery Programs Using Project Management;
• Post-Handover Success of International Development Projects; and
• The Use of Simulation to Understand Decision-Making in Complex Projects.

Associate Professor Julien Pollack would consider future Ph.D. students working on the following topics:

• Mapping the dynamics of the PMO lifecycle -Project Management Offices (PMOs) are established within organisations to improve project management capability, and control aspects of the project process. However, many PMOs only have a very short life, and are disbanded within a few years of their creation. This research would explore factors that affect the performance and longevity of PMOs using either Beer’s Viable Systems Model or cognitive mapping.
• Individual characteristics in networks -Understanding projects as networks of social interaction provides a perspective on the complex interpersonal dynamics that sit behind the formal organisational structure. Previous research has investigated how different network structures can impact upon team behaviours, but little research has explored the impact that different individual characteristics have on the network, the performance of a project, or its ability to respond to change. This research would explore how the personalities of individuals affect social network configuration and adaptability in projects.
• How Does our View of Time Affect How We Manage Projects? -Project management is a fundamentally time-bound activity. Previous research has uncovered significant differences in how different cultures perceive time. Societies based on monochronic or polychronic perspectives on time exhibit significantly different behaviours with respect to multitasking, punctuality, scheduling, and task orientation. This research will explore how different perspectives of time affect they ways project management is interpreted and applied in practice.
• What types of temporary organisations exist? -There is no shortage of ways of categorising projects. However, many of the most influential project categorisation systems simply to reinforce early notions of the field, ignoring the way that project management has spread to new industries and application areas. This research would seek to discover the key differentiating characteristics that define different types of projects. The research would build on prototype theory perspective on categorisation using an indictive research approach, such as the grounded theory method. Using a mixed methods approach, the research could be extended through cluster analysis of a quantitative survey.
• Managing Hybrid Projects at the Edge of Chaos -Predictive and agile approaches are approaches to project management at opposite ends of a control spectrum. The former emphasises efficiency, while the latter aims to increase responsiveness. However, actually delivering a project requires both of these qualities, with varying emphases at different times, in response to emergent needs in the project context. Using complexity theory as a theoretical basis, this research will explore the practical strategies used to shift between delivery efficiency and responsiveness to change.