Project management dates back to the 19th century when Henry Gantt developed techniques for planning and controlling projects, including his widely used Gantt chart. The growth of modern project management later in the century came as a result of the necessity of structured manufacturing, transportation, and construction industries. Currently, software developers in the information technology (IT) industry are concerned with the techniques of project management which make the assumption projects are predictable. In reality, unforeseen changes have occurred in almost all projects to date. The inability to accommodate such changes leads to wasted time, money, and resources. Hence, the project management discipline must continuously offer theories, methods, and approaches that raise the key question: how do people manage the complexities of work in order to achieve the end result effectively and efficiently by applying strategic techniques using information technology as an enabler?
This book aims to showcase the nuts and bolts of managing and implementing an IT project from the experiences and views of project managers. The book highlights captivating narratives of different IT projects being implemented in companies across the Middle East. It is ideal for executives, practitioners, and students who want to learn more about how IT project management is implemented in the 21st century.
Dr. Shafiz Mohd Yusof is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, University of Wollongong in Dubai. Dr Shafiz holds a PhD in Information Science and Technology, MSc in Telecommunications and Network Management, and MPhil in Information Transfer - all from Syracuse University, USA. He has a BSc in Information Technology (Hons), Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia. He has 18 years of teaching experience at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. He currently teaches IT Project Management, Information Technology Strategic Planning and Research Methods at the postgraduate level and Information Systems related subjects at the Undergraduate level.
His teaching philosophy is based on the humanistic approach which is based on exploring the self and instilling 'fun' to the students in his classes. He feels that when students have fun, they tend to be comfortable and the information that is taught to them tends to remain in their long-term memory. Dr Shafiz was previously a faculty member of Computer Science and Engineering at UOWD as an Assistant Professor and then as Associate Professor from 2009 to 2012. During that period, he was the Director of the Master of Information Technology Management (MITM), and BSc Information Technology in MIS. He has also worked as a Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor at the School of Computing, Universiti Utara Malaysia. He held various other senior roles including Deputy Director of Cooperative and Entrepreneurship Development Institute (CEDI) and Director of International Telecommunication Union - Universiti Utara Malaysia Asia Pacific Centre of Excellence (ITU-UUM ASP CoE) for Rural Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Development. He is a certified professional trainer (Train of Trainers' Programme) under the Ministry of Human Resource, Malaysia and has conducted several workshops on computers and ICT.
Before joining UOWD, Dr Shafiz was awarded the "Excellence Service Award 2008" for his teaching, research and administrative contributions to his university. He was also awarded several research grants under several national and international bodies such as the Windows on Science (WOS) Program from the Asian Office of Aerospace Research & Development (AOARD) Japan; Ministry of Energy, Water and Communication (MEWC), Ministry of Higher Education (MED), Malaysia; and Malaysian Commission of Multimedia and Communications (MCMC). He was chosen to represent Malaysia to the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Workshop on Embedding Entrepreneurship at University Curriculum in Hanoi, Vietnam (2008) to present a paper on Malaysia's initiatives on developing entrepreneurship programmes at institutes of higher learning.
Dr Shafiz's research interests focuses on the social impact of Information Technology -- information behaviour, virtual/e-community, e-government, teleworking, community networks, rural ICT, technopreneurship and open source. He has published his works in refereed journals, conference papers, encyclopaedias, and book chapters. He has supervised the completion of eight (8) PhD and over seventy (70) MSc students. He was also awarded several research grants under several national and international bodies. He has published his works in refereed journals, conference papers, encyclopaedias, and book chapters.
Dr. Kamal Jaafar is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, University of Wollongong in Dubai. He is the Program Leader for the Master of Information Technology Management, Master of Engineering Management and the Master of Engineering Asset Management. He holds BS, MPhil and PhD degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from the Ashcroft International Business School in Cambridge. He also undertook studies in international relations at Harvard University. In 2004, he was honoured by Prince Charles as a Fellow of the Cambridge Overseas Trust. In 2005 his research won first prize at the Royal College of Physicists in London organised by KRSF. Dr Jaafar he has been honoured by the Lebanese government for his academic achievements. His research interests focuses on seismic design and safety implementations for concrete structures. His research has been published in well known engineering journals such as the ACI Journal, Canadian Journal for Civil Engineers, and Magazine of Concrete Research. He has presented his research at various international conferences in UK, USA, Greece and Italy. Dr Jaafar is a corporate consultant and a trainer in Project Management.
