This Record of Study (ROS) summarizes the experiences and lessons learned while serving as an intern with Peak Land Consultants (PLC) in Vail, Colorado. The objectives of the internship were designed to provide benefits to myself, the United States Air Force Academy, and PLC. The first objective was to develop a business plan for a similar company in a mountain community. This provides a useful tool to begin a second career after retirement from the Air Force. The second objective was to build lesson plans based on the experience at PLC for the Air Force Academy cadets. Through the use of real engineering examples and by integrating civil engineering subjects across the curriculum, Air Force Academy cadets will be better prepared for their professional life as a civil engineer. The last objective was to provide PLC with an objective management review. The management review highlighted good practices and provided recommendations for further improvement in areas such as marketing, communication, project management, training, and company goals. Each one of the objectives was tested. The business plan was provided to a loan officer at Wells Fargo bank. The loan officer remarked that the plan was well researched. He also indicated that the bank was willing to provide a loan for the business. This positive result indicated that the objective to develop a business plan for a similar company in a mountain community was met. The second objective to build lesson plans for the Air Force Academy was also met. These plans were presented to a senior class in April 07. The cadets liked the idea of seeing how an engineer solves problems in the private sector. In addition, the cadets recognized the usefulness of AutoCAD in solving problems in their other classes. Finally, the objective for providing a management review of PLC also proved to be successful. PLC has already implemented a number of recommendations from the review and is using the review to build new company and employee goals.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis (PhD (Organizational Behaviour))--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis (M.S. in Operations Research)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): Robert A. Koyak. Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-61). Also available online.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Michael Boudreau, David Lamm. Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-72). Also available online.

The primary goal of this research is to provide quantitative information used for the implementation of project management attributes. Nineteen project management attributes and five project performance outcomes were investigated to examine their relationships. A series of statistical analyses were conducted to quantify the relationships between the implementation levels of the attributes and the probabilities for better project performance. The analyses utilized data from 212 projects collected by the Construction Industry Institute (CII) Benchmarking and Metric database from 2007 through 2010. The results showed that the beneficial effects of project management attributes varied depending on the implementation levels of project management attributes, the performance outcome type, and whether the project was conducted by the owner or contractor organization. Quantified analysis results were provided by this research. Project management attributes were identified as critical if they were found to be significantly related to a particular performance outcome. Minimum implementation levels were provided for these critical attributes, as were results covering the combined effects of the critical attributes on performance outcomes. Based on the analysis results, the research generated specific and quantitative information used in implementing project management attributes for better performance. This information will help practitioners achieve improved project performance in the most effective and efficient way, and thus it is the practical contribution of this research. From an academic point of view, this study designed a data analysis process by a series of statistical analysis methods which makes it possible to examine the relationships between project management attributes and various project performance outcomes in a quantitative manner. / text

Agile project management and software development practices have become widely accepted in the industry and much of the currently published literature focuses on the developer's uptake of the methodology. Although it is commonly known that customers play a key role in Agile project success, the extent to which they can influence a project is not as well understood. This case study measures the contribution of customer involvement to the success of Agile projects. The study demonstrates that active customer participation is one of the top three factors for successful Agile projects. It also demonstrates that successful Agile projects have customers that are "knowledgeable, committed, collaborative, representative, and empowered". Similarly, the study shows that successful Agile projects have customers who transfer domain knowledge to project team members efficiently and effectively. The study concludes with recommendations for developers and customers that maximize an Agile project's potential for success. / text