Management of Engineering Projects Dealing with Complexity

A series of career-oriented courses to develop in-demand skills.

Underestimating project complexity is widely accepted as one of the major causes of project failure. Based on international benchmarking activities (Merrow, 2010), we know that an average of 40% of projects do not deliver what they promised.

So how can you as an engineer with a technical background improve your project performance?

In this program, you will learn the project management skills you need to successfully manage engineering projects. First you will focus on the early project phases, which are crucial to achieve project success. The areas covered include the project manager and the team, the project process and the project context. At the end of this part of the program you will have created your own project execution plan.

But how will you deal with the inherent uncertainties linked to the length and scale of engineering and infrastructure projects and their constantly changing environments? As with most external factors, many of the causes and consequences of these uncertainties are difficult to avoid or control. Attempts to overcome these challenges by simply trying to reduce their causes is not enough.

In the second part of the program you will learn our approach to mastering project complexity, focused on front-end development and teamwork. You will develop the skills you need to make timely actions in order to tackle complexities and improve your chances of project success.

You will learn to identify what makes a project complex and how to perform a complexity assessment. You will analyze these elements in the context of your own project. Then, based on our complexity framework, you will identify the complexity footprint of your project and use it to adapt your management processes.

This course has been designed by TU Delft’s international experts on Project Complexity, and is based on more than 60 years of practical experience as well as relevant research in the field. “We see projects still fail and there is a need to do things differently. That’s what this course is about: delivering the best practices for project execution based on our state-of-the-art research.” – Professor Hans Bakker.

Job Outlook

• Project management professions are expected to grow by 33 percent through 2027. (source: Project Management Institute).
• Nearly 22 million new jobs will be created during the next decade — and by 2027, employers will need nearly 88 million individuals working in project management-oriented roles (source: Project Management Institute).
• Average salary of a project manager: $81,201 per year and a senior project manager: $103,096 per year in the US (source: indeed.com - 2017).

Real Career Impact

"Delft University of Technology combines the entire range of hard and soft skills for the future project manager in their Professional Certification Programs for Project Management. At Royal HaskoningDHV, we contribute to a better society and improve people’s lives through delivering work underpinned by our sustainable values and goals. Excellent project managers who are able to lead today’s and future’s complex and innovative projects in an adaptive way are key for us. Therefore we fully endorse the Professional Certification Program for Project Management of TU Delft. Let’s enhance society together!"

— Erik Oostwegel , CEO, Royal HaskoningDHV

What You'll Learn:

• To manage your project successfully in different sectors and contexts.
• To work together successfully in a project team.
• To examine the elements of a project (such as interfaces, stakeholders, cultures, environment, technology, etc.) and their intricate interactions.
• To identify what makes a project complex and how to perform a complexity assessment.
• To develop a complexity footprint and adapt your management processes to fit the complexities of your project.

Marcel J. C. M. Hertogh

Professor, Infrastructure Design and ManagementDelft University of Technology

Marian G. C. Bosch-Rekveldt

Assistant Professor in Project ManagementDelft University of Technology

Hans L. M. Bakker

Professor, Management of Engineering ProjectsDelft University of Technology

To participate in this training, you can  Enroll now