It is the complexity of large industrial projects rather than size that presents the greatest challenge and leads so many down the pathway to failure. By identifying the root causes of success and failure and sharing strategies to succeed, the IPA Institute has educated project professionals around the globe for the last several years on how to navigate the complexities of large projects.

However, complexity transforms the leadership requirements from project management to project leadership. IPA research shows that successful leaders display very different personalities and backgrounds from unsuccessful leaders. Building on the IPA Institute’s original Megaprojects course, this updated version shares key research findings linking project leader background, education, and personality characteristics to actual project outcomes. The updated course also addresses shaping and early commitment issues associated with renewables projects.

Instructor

IPA President and CEO Edward Merrow is a globally recognized subject matter expert in the execution of large and complex megaprojects. Merrow’s latest work, Contract Strategies for Major Projects (Wiley), provides a valuable resource for all those who need to understand the factors that drive successful execution of multibillion-dollar industrial projects.

Key Benefits

• Understand the project leader’s role in generating successful project outcomes
• Gain insight into the unique characteristics of successful leaders of complex projects
• Learn different strategies required for complex projects, versus smaller, less complex projects
• Understand the critical drivers of complex project success
• Identify the key criteria to select complex projects that best meet business needs
• Recognize the resourcing needs to effectively manage, plan, and execute a complex project
• Discover the risks for defining and executing complex projects and risk mitigation approaches
• Implement a formal opportunity shaping process to stabilize the project environment

Course Topics

• Outcomes and Trade-Offs
• The Opportunity Shaping Process
• Devising the Shaping Strategy
• Basic Data
• Teams and Leadership
• Organizing Project Teams to Lead Complex Projects
• Translating Ideas and Data to Scope (FEL 2)
• Preparing to Execute (FEL 3)
• Contracting
• Control of Execution Risks
• Complex Projects and Corporate Governance

Course Review
“The course awesomely disclosed major root causes of (project) failures, and that gave me food for thought on where my attention should go in managing the next project(s).”
– Public Course Participant

Course Background

All course instruction, presentations, and supplementary course materials are rooted in IPA’s decades of experience evaluating projects and project systems, and conducting quantitative research into capital project issues and trends. IPA maintains a proprietary database with detailed information on hundreds of complex projects in the petroleum, minerals, chemicals, and power industries. These projects represent an average cost of $3.5 billion (in 2010 terms) and over 80 sponsor organizations. Each project is characterized by over 3,000 attributes that enable IPA to perform detailed analyses regarding the project phases, project management practices, and performance.

Pricing & Discounts

US$2,250 if registered by November 5, 2023

US$2,500 if registered after November 5, 2023

Register 3 and send a 4th for free!

Download the course brochure for additional details. Early registration and group discounts are available.