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Although there has been an increase in the application of a variety of robust technologies and systems, the oil and gas sector relies on project managers’ soft skills for success because of their vital role. Therefore, this study aims to explore the profound influence of project managers’ soft communication skills on successful risk management within Libya’s oil and gas projects.

A review of relevant literature and a quantitative approach through the administration of a questionnaire were used to determine factors impacting risk management implementation related to managerial communication skills. A total of 246 valid responses were received from the oil and gas companies in Tripoli, Libya. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to examine the direct and moderating relationship drawn by the hypotheses.

The findings suggest that managerial soft skills may be used to improve continuous risk management processes and intra-project communication. It was found that the experience is strengthening the positive relationship between written communication soft skills and project risk management implementation among Libyan oil and gas construction projects.

This study defines project managers’ soft communication skills and analyzes project managers’ soft communication skills with the role of experience as a moderator. This paper presents a valuable contribution by offering original insights tailored explicitly to the Libyan context. The information presented in this paper is relevant to project managers operating within the oil and gas industry. It also offers a novel approach to risk management in the Libyan oil and gas industry that can improve project efficiency and effectiveness.

The project management literature provides a fairly united picture of the importance of projects being successful. One success factor is represented by project managers themselves, whose personality, skills, knowledge, competencies, and traits affect project success. To better understand various project manager types, the purpose of this paper is to review the extant project management literature and propose a framework for categorising project managers based on the traits that they possess or lack.

The research commenced with identifying and collecting articles from the academic project management literature. The articles were then coded to identify different competencies and traits that a project manager needs to be successful. Based on this analysis, a framework with four main project manager types was developed.

The results indicate that ambiguity acceptance and translation skills are two important dimensions that project managers need to be successful. The four project manager types were arranged around two dimensions.

The framework presented is based on previous research. Empirical testing of the proposed framework would be a promising direction for future research.

The framework assists reflective practitioners in identifying what kind of project manager they currently are, suggesting how they might transition into a different project manager type to increase their project management success rate.

This paper conceptualises project managers and how their personal traits relate to project success. It offers practical help to project managers in understanding their strengths and limitations, and how to become a different type of project manager.

The purpose of this paper is to develop criteria for project manager selection based on desired skills of a project manager and facilitate the selection of a suitable candidate from a pool of potential candidates for the implementation of projects in the Indian context.

The study utilizes three major skills, namely human skill, conceptual and organizational skills; technical skill along with their sub-skills to develop criteria for project manager selection. Based on the responses of project professionals from industry, the study uses analytical hierarchy process to prioritize and identify the relative importance of different skills in the criteria in order to develop a hierarchical structure for project manager selection.

The study finds that at the first level of project manager selection criteria, conceptual and organizational skills are the most important selection criteria followed by human skills and technical skills. At the second level of project manager selection criteria, planning, delegating authority and understanding methods, processes, and procedures are some of the important sub-selection criteria. The weights indicating the relative importance of major selection criteria and sub-selection criteria can be used to evaluate the relative weight of a given candidate for selection as a project manager.

The results in this study are derived from specific demographic conditions in India. Future research with larger samples from other countries is needed for generalizations of the proposed criteria.

The proposed method quantifies the intangible qualitative criteria to select a project manager, which can aid decision-makers in a multi-criteria decision-making environment.

This research paper is focused on the identification of critical skills for the selection of a project manager, which is almost neglected by the researchers.

This study aims to illuminate the currently poorly understood inflow of knowledge originating from project managers across the value chain of construction projects. The primary purpose is to identify the domains of knowledge that project managers’ need to share in their management activities, the skills they need to develop in their sharing practices and how these relate to each other across different phases of a construction project.

Knowledge domains, skills and the relationships between them were identified following an inductive methodology, a combination of grounded theory and case study, and through the analysis of semi-structured interviews with 21 project managers and participants within a single construction project.

The outcome is a novel framework that theorizes the dynamic interplay between knowledge domains and the skills that facilitate knowledge sharing (KS) for successful project work throughout the construction project.

The combined effects of task heterogeneity, knowledge interdependencies and temporariness require paying increased attention to how knowledge domains and KS skills impact project performance. This paper addresses gaps in developing an integrative understanding of the nature of the domains of knowledge that need to be shared in a project context, the key skills contributing to KS and more importantly, how they evolve and are interpreted and reinterpreted throughout the project and assist KS practice in projects.

Effective project managers are required to have both “hard” technical skills to help control the iron triangle of time, cost and functional scope as well as relationship management skills to work effectively with people and get the best out of them. This paper argues that project managers also need a third skill: we refer to it as tapping into the power lines. This is a skill beyond the management of schedules, budgets and milestones, beyond leading project teams or managing suppliers and users, and even beyond what is commonly regarded as managing a project's senior stakeholders. The hypothesis, based on data gathered from three case studies, is that there is a need for project managers to be skilled in managing at the third dimension in large organizations; to understand the need for, have the ability, and be willing, to “tap into the power grid” of influence that surrounds all projects, particularly in large organizations. Without third dimension skills, project managers and their organizations will find delivering successful project increasingly more difficult. The second part of this paper will discuss how project managers might achieve competence in managing the third dimension both through individual effort and with the support of the learning organization.

Project manager’s competency is crucial in the construction sector for the successful completion of projects, particularly in the case of developing countries like Nepal. Therefore, it is very essential to select competent project managers by finding the competency factors required by them. Hence, this study aims to identify the characteristics of competent project managers by expert opinion method and to evaluate their competency level by a questionnaire survey to develop a prediction model using a supervised machine learning approach via Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis (WEKA), a machine learning tool which predicts Project manager’s performance as “Higher than expected,” “Expected” or “Lower than expected” for the medium complexity construction projects of Nepal (from US$200,000 up to US$10M).

The data collection procedure for this research is based on an expert opinion method and survey. Expert opinion method is conducted to find the characteristics of a competent project manager by validating the top 15 competency factors based on literature review. The survey is conducted with the top management to assess their project manager’s competency level. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches are used to collect data for classification and prediction in WEKA, a machine learning tool.

The results illustrate that the project managers in Nepal have a high score in leadership skills, personal characteristics, team development and delegation, communication skills, technical skills, problem-solving/coping with situation skills and stakeholder/relationship management skills. Furthermore, among the seven classifiers (naïve Bayes, sequential minimal optimization [SMO], multilayer perceptron, logistic, KStar, J48 and random forest), the accuracy given by the SMO algorithm is highest of all in both the percentage split and k-folds cross validation method. The model developed using SMO classifier by k-folds cross-validation (k = 10) is acknowledged as a final model.

This research focuses to develop a prediction model to predict and analyze the competency of project managers by applying a supervised machine learning approach. Seven extensively used algorithms (Naïve Bayes, SMO, multilayer perceptron, logistic, KStar, J48, random forest) are used to check the accuracy of models and an algorithm that gives the highest accuracy is adopted. Data collection for this research is carried out by expert opinion method to validate the characteristics (factors) essential for competent project managers in the first round and the description of each factor as high, medium and low is inquired with the same experts in the second round. After an expert opinion, a structured questionnaire is prepared for the survey to assess the competency level of project managers (PMs). The competency level of PMs working under government funded, foreign aided or private projects from the contractor’s side is measured. This research is limited to the medium scale construction projects of Nepal.

This model can be a huge asset in the human resource department of construction companies as it helps to know the performance level of project managers in terms of “Higher than expected,” “Expected” or “Lower than expected” for the medium complexity construction projects of Nepal. Also, the model will assist human intelligence to make the decision while recruiting a new project manager/s for different types of projects at a time. Moreover, the model can be used for self-assessment of project manager/s to know their performance level. The model can be used to develop a user friendly interface system or an application such that it can be conveniently used anywhere any time.

This research shows that most of the project managers working in a medium complexity construction project of Nepal are male, maximum of them hold bachelor’s degree and study for road projects. Furthermore, most of the project managers scored high in leadership skills, personal characteristics, communication skills, technical skills, problem-solving/coping with situation skills, team development and delegation and stakeholder/relationship management skills. The model has given the “Personal characteristics” attribute the highest weightage. Likewise, other attributes having high weightage are communication skills, analytical abilities, project budget, stakeholder/relationship management, team development and delegation and time management skills.

This research was conducted to find the competency factors and to study the competency level of project managers in Nepal to develop a prediction model to predict the PM’s performance using a machine learning approach in medium scale construction projects. There is a lack of research to develop a model that predicts project manager’s competency using the machine learning approach. Therefore, the predictive model developed here helps in the identification of a competent project manager as it will be advantageous for project completion with a high success rate.

This paper summarises a doctoral research study. The purpose is to provide a summary of the scope, literature review, main issues raised in the thesis, the application of case study research methodology, key research findings and potential areas for future research.

Research reported here is based on a case study methodology for a better understanding of new product development (NPD) projects in the Australian Telecommunications service provider (Telco) industry, and what makes their project managers successful. Theoretical conclusions from the literature review were tested using empirical data from one‐on‐one interview with experienced project management professionals and major stakeholders (i.e. unit of data collection). Sample projects (i.e. units of analysis) were analysed to gain a better understanding of Telco NPD projects and the skill sets required for their success.

A theoretical skill set framework of technical, leadership, managerial and administrative skills, has been proposed and summarised with clear definitions grounded in the recent management and leadership literature and with a rationale of how they contribute to project management success that this thesis fleshes out. This framework was empirically proven to define successful Telco NPD project managers.

The research study advances knowledge of projects and their practices in a specific Telco industry NPD context, and proposes a better description of successful project managers. Its results have important implications for hiring, developing and assigning project managers to projects in different phases. Generic project manager competency standards need to be complemented and adjusted in accord with the findings from this research.

This paper alerts academicians and practitioners to this research work on Telco industry NPD projects, and their project managers. It presents an up‐to‐date status of this industry, and requirements for project managers.

Increased construction risk due to the complexity and numerous construction performance challenges requires improved construction project managers’ competence. However, contextual interrogation of these competencies is limited. This paper aims to report on a study that sought to determine the expected competencies of construction project managers and assesses the existence of statistically significant differences due to gender, designation and educational levels of respondents.

A quantitative research design was instituted through the administration of a questionnaire survey on Project Managers, Architects, Engineers and Quantity surveyors working for consultants and contractors’ organizations. Descriptive and inferential statistics analysed significant differences due to demographic variables. Factor analysis was also used to reveal interrelated significant sets of competencies expected of construction project managers.

Factor analysis determined 11 significant components with the highest-ranked components comprising organizational savvy and experience in managing project constraints. The univariate analysis determining effective communication, leadership and good team-building skills as being the three most critical expected competencies. Significant differences due to educational levels were established, with shortcomings existing in those with Diplomas.

The higher education institutions need to establish curricula designs that align with the competency expectations. Mentorship programmes within construction organizations can also be significant in bridging the existing competence gap. However, due to the exploratory nature of the study, the insights of clients were not considered.

The study determined competencies for construction project managers and demographic-specific interventions.

Construction organizations' investment in effective talent-development programs is a key strategy in attracting, developing and retaining staff. Such programs are especially important given the current challenges in the construction workforce, including labor shortages, an aging workforce, generational differences in the workforce, supply chain disruptions and the need to effectively train staff in the skills that are essential in a constrained labor environment. To address these challenges, this study proposes a performance measurement strategy that construction companies can use as input to design their talent development programs.

The strategy intends to assess the performance of project managers and develop criteria that define categories of their performance, including the top performers' category. This enables construction organizations to provide each project manager with individualized training that addresses areas of weakness and in turn, develops the skills that correspond with being top performers. The proposed strategy was developed and tested by surveying the immediate supervisors of 187 project managers working for general and specialty contractors in the United States. Principal component analysis was used to develop a single performance construct from seven performance criteria.

This construct was used to organize the project managers into the categories of top, above-average and below-average performers. According to the findings, top-performing project managers have well-rounded skills in the areas of leadership, communication, technical proficiency and overall job knowledge.

The outcomes of this study can help construction organizations focus their talent-development programs on the skills most associated with PMs being top performers.

This study provides construction organizations with a comprehensive performance-measuring construct to focus their talent-development programs on the skills most associated with top-performing project managers. Researchers can use this study as a foundation for further understanding how performance is related to various construction professions.

The purpose of this paper is to present a practical approach to the teaching of project management as it was applied in the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the College of Engineering, Qatar University. The leadership skills of the project managers, leading several working groups, were evaluated by running a multidisciplinary collaborative project.

The main aim of the research was to propose a practical approach for assessing the extent to which the knowledge and skills of a leader are important for ensuring that a project is completed successfully. The research exercise highlighted the fact that some of the leadership attitudes of the project manager are fundamental to the success of the work. The project manager’s ability to lead a team through the different work stages of a project is seen as a fundamental contributor to its success.

This practical approach to the appraisal of leadership brings the theoretical teaching of project management closer to its practical applications, by encouraging students to learn the techniques and tools commonly used in the professional setting. The paper concludes by suggesting that there is a need to focus more attentively on assessing leadership skills when selecting a project manager, in either an academic or a professional context.

The research exercise highlighted the fact that some of the leadership attitudes of the project manager are fundamental to the success of the work. The project manager’s ability to lead a team through the different work stages of a project is seen as a fundamental contributor to its success.