New Handbook Aims to Improve Project Performance

Vittal Anantatmula, professor of project management in the College of Business at Western Carolina University, is the editor of a new research handbook designed to provide ways to improve the performance of all participants involved in projects of various sizes and complexities, from initial proposals through development of objectives to project completion and measurement of deliverables.

The book, succinctly titled “Research Handbook on Project Performance,” is scheduled for publication in early 2023 by Edward Elgar Publishing of the United Kingdom.

In his role as editor, Anantatmula solicited chapter proposals from more than 50 research scholars in project management and related disciplines from around the world. After receiving and reviewing the proposals, he accepted 17 of them for inclusion in the handbook, adding a couple of chapters covering his own research work on the subject.

The book’s chapters all focus on project performance, with most of the contributing authors actively serving as professors who teach project management at institutions spanning the U.S., Canada, Australia, India and the United Kingdom, Anantatmula said.

The handbook is aimed at an audience including professors, doctoral students, graduate students and other research scholars in project management and related professions, he said. It examines the question of how to improve project performance for the sponsor, client and end-user of a project, utilizing a number of empirical research studies and reviewing new and emerging trends in the area of project performance.

With a focus on project performance concepts and methods, the book provides a fresh look at successful project completions, achieving project objectives, on-time or ahead-of-time project completion and delivering within budget, Anantatmula said.

“Readers can use the book for teaching and can use some of the chapters as references for reading in learning modules,” he said. “Each chapter gives an idea or two about future research efforts and research methods that can be used for new research efforts, specifically by doctoral students. In addition, industry professionals can use the book to improve their project management processes and procedures.”

The book offers advice on best practices for handling the impact of unexpected changes on project risks, unknowns or uncertainties. It highlights various factors that can lead to project success including the role of a project manager and effective leadership, the importance of sharing knowledge, the value of effective communication and lessons learned from past projects.

“Project performance aims to improve project management success, which may be looked at in terms of ‘faster, better, cheaper,’” Anantatmula said. “This consequently results in project success – that is, deliverables meeting client goals such as cost, time, quality and value. Each chapter of the book presents ideas and research outcomes on project performance pertaining to various knowledge areas, project phases and processes such as project initiation, project teams, resources, scope, cost, time, quality assurance, conflicts, changes and risk, as they all affect project performance.”

Anantatmula said he believes he was selected to edit the book because of his extensive relevant research experience and publication record, and his good standing with a vast network of research scholars on the subject of performance management. As he approached the end of the publishing project, he asked colleague Chakradhar Iyyunni, a fellow with the European School of Governance, to serve as co-editor and help bring the handbook across the finish line.

Early reviewers of “Research Handbook on Project Performance” are offering praise for the volume. Among them is Terry Williams, professor of management sciences at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom.

“A book for every project academic – I can thoroughly recommend it to both researchers and practitioners,” Williams said. “It ranges through the entire breadth and lifecycle of a project, from debates about ‘project success’ to project environment issues as diverse as cross-cultural ‘Integration and Industry 4.0,’ with a practical critical view. It has a considerable international range of authors bringing a fresh look to conditions for project success.”

Nathalie Drouin, professor in the School of Management Sciences at Canada’s University of Quebec at Montreal, called the handbook “…a ‘must-read’ to understand the conditions to achieve project success and improve project performance.”

“For project managers, identifying, selecting and implementing ‘best’ project management practices that can have a major impact on project performance are not easy tasks to conduct. One can ask what is the role of project managers to do so? How can project managers implement and measure project management success? With the collaboration of well-known academics, this book sheds light on the concepts and dimensions  on project success and project performance,” Drouin said.

A faculty member at WCU since 2005, Anantatmula served as director of WCU’s project management program from 2009 until 2018. He also is currently a guest professor at Keio University in Yokohama, Japan and visiting professor at Skema Business School in Lille, France.

He taught previously at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona, Florida, and George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He received WCU’s University Scholar Award in 2017.