Australian Institute of Project Management


2003 STUDENT MEDAL WINNER

Masters Student & Research Assistant Project Management UTS

Julien Pollack is a research student, enrolled in a Masters of Applied Science. His research examines possibilities for extending the practice of Project Management, through the combination of traditional Project Management methods with other methods. This research has recently been awarded the both the Australian and the NSW Australian Institute for Project Management Student Medals. The award submission is attached.

The Masters research focuses on strengthening the links between theory and practice in Project Management through the application of Action Research cycles of reflection and practical application of theory. Furthermore, Project Management practice is developed through this research, by examining how different methods can be combined with Project Management to suit it more effectively to new application areas, such as the public sector and strategy development.

Working at the University of Technology, Sydney for the past three years, Julien has been participating in a continuing program of research into the development of Project Management practice, with particular emphasis on the management of organisational change projects and programs. He has also been working in the NSW public sector as an Administrative Manager IS / IT strategy development and implementation projects.

Julien’s research has focussed on enhancing Project Management capability through incorporation of ‘soft’ systems concepts, techniques and models.  These have been applied as frameworks for discussion and debate to encourage stakeholder engagement and for sense-making amongst stakeholder groups.

Prior to joining UTS, Julien completed degrees majoring in philosophy and computing science. Previous experience in a diverse range of fields has proved to be of significant benefit, providing a broad basis of knowledge. This has proved invaluable in extending traditional Project Management practice to meet the emergent needs of new practice environments.

Qualifications
  • BA (UNSW), B.Sc. (UNSW)
  • Currently enrolled in Masters of Applied Science
  • Associate Member of the Australian Institute of Project Management
  • Winner of the National and state AIPM student medals for research into project management
Publications & Conferences
  • Crawford, L., Costello, K., Pollack, J. and Bentley, L. Managing soft change projects in the public sector, International Journal of Project Management, 2003, 21, p. 443 – 448
  • Costello, K., Crawford, L., Pollack, J. and Bentley, L. Soft Systems Project Management for Organisational Change. IRNOP V. 2002.
  • Costello, K., Crawford, L., Bentley, L. and Pollack, J. Connecting Soft Systems Thinking with Project Management Practice: An Organizational Change Case Study. In: Systems Theory and Practice in the Knowledge Age, New York: Kluwer Academic/Plunum Publishers, 2002.
  • Remington, K. and Pollack, J., Stakeholder Management for Project Competence, IPMA Conference, Berlin, June 2002.
  • Remington, K. and Pollack, J., Collaboration for Project Success, PMI Conference, Wellington, NZ, September, 2001.
Research

The title of Julien's research thesis is "Project Managing IS / IT Development: The practical combination of different methods and methodologies."

As is clear from the title of the thesis, this is practice based research, seeking to explore how different approaches to project management can be practically combined, to effectively reach project and organisational objectives. The aim of the research is to explore how these different methods and methodologies can be effectively combined to expand the application of project management to growth areas like the public sector, IS, IT and strategy development. This is done through reflection on a case study project.

The aim of the case study project was the development of an IS / IT Strategic Plan, which was to act as the basis for IS / IT development within the Agency. The Strategic Plan has been designed to act as the basis for future discussion and debate on development of Agency electronic service delivery over the subsequent five years.

This research builds bridges between the practice and theory of project management, drawing on theories and methods from a variety of fields. The contribution to project management knowledge provided by this research is practice-based learning on the application of different methods, in the context of the project management of a strategy development project in the public sector. This learning can then be applied to similar projects, in similar settings, by other project managers.

2003 Student Award Sponsored by:

      Blue Visions Management Pty Ltd


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