RSM
Research School of Management
Project management; Program management; Project governance; Operations management; Government projects.
Ofer Zwikael is a Professor of Project Management at the Australian National University. His five books and more than 250 scholarly peer-reviewed papers have been recognized through research awards from the Academy of Management, British Academy of Management, Project Management Institute, International Project Management Association, Emerald, and the Australian Institute of Project Management. As one of the world’s leading project management scholars, Professor Zwikael was named by Stanford University and Elsevier to be among the top 2% of international scientists. His research on project benefits management has been funded by major organizations, including the Australian Department of Defence and the Project Management Institute (US). He has held leadership roles including Head of School and Associate Dean and is currently an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Project Management.
Research publications
Recent Books
· Zubac, A., Tucker, D., Zwikael, O., Hughes, K., Kirkpatrick, S. (2022). Effective Implementation of Transformation Strategies: How to Navigate the Strategy and Change Interface Successfully. Springer. Palgrave Macmillan (Edited book).
· Zwikael, O., Smyrk, J. R. (2019). Project Management: A Benefit Realisation Approach. Springer-Verlag, London, UK. ISBN: 978-3-030-03173-2 (print book); ISBN 978-3-030-03174-9 (eBook). [Project Management Institute’s (PMI) David I. Cleland Project Management Literature Award (2020)]
· Kwak, Y. H., Liu, M., Petanakul, P., Zwikael, O. (2014). Challenges and Best Practices of Managing Government Projects and Programs. Newtown Square PA: Project Management Institute, Inc., ISBN: 978-1-62825-065-7.
· Zwikael, O., Smyrk, J. R. (2011). Project Management for the Creation of Organisational Value. Springer-Verlag, London, UK. ISBN 978-1-84996-515-6 (print book); ISBN 978-1-84996-516-3 (eBook).
· Globerson, S., Shtub, A., Zwikael, O. (2009). Project Management: Planning, Execution and Control, 2nd Edition, Dyunon, Tel
Recent publications
· Zwikael, O., Gilchrist, A. (2024). A structured process for the fuzzy front-end of complex projects. Production Planning & Control. (Forthcoming). [ABDC ranking: A].
· Asadabadi, M.R., Zwikael, O. (2024). Unrealistic project goals: Detection and modification. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 150(3), 04023166. [ABDC ranking: A*].
· Zarghami, A., Zwikael, O. (2024). Buffer allocation in construction projects: A disruption mitigation approach. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Ning, Y., Zwikael, O. (2024). Effective combinations of control strategies in inter-organizational projects. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O., Huemann, M. (2023). Project benefits management: Making an impact on organizations and society through projects and programs. International Journal of Project Management, 41(8), 102538. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O., Salmona, M., Meredith, J., Zarghami, S.A. (2023). Enhancing project stakeholder communication under insufficient knowledge of project management concepts. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 30(10), 5007–5029. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Asadabadi, M.R., Saberi, M., Sadghiani, N.S., Zwikael, O., Cheng, E. (2023). Enhancing the analysis of online product reviews to support product improvement: Integrating text mining with quality function deployment. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 36(1), 275-302. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O., Gilchrist, A. (2023). Planning to fail: When is project planning counter productive? IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 70(1), 220-231. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zarghami, A., Zwikael, O. (2022). Measuring project resilience – Learning from the past to enhance decision making in the face of disruption. Decision Support Systems, 160, 113831. [ABDC ranking: A*].
· Sadeh, A., Zwikael, O., Meredith, J. (2022). Organizational support as an effective risk mitigation approach. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 15(7), 1123-1143.
· Zwikael, O., Meredith, J. (2022). How can comprehensive goal setting enhance project investment decisions? IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 69(6), 2781-2790. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Pinto, J.K, Davis, K., Ika, L.A, Jugdev, K., Zwikael, O. (2022). Coming to terms with project success: current perspectives and future challenges. International Journal of Project Management, 40(7), 831-834. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O., Pathak, R.D., Ling, F., Titov, S., Husain, Z., Yang, L., Sharma, B., Tay, C.Y., Samson, D. (2022). Variation in project management practices across borders. Production Planning & Control. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O., Meredith, J. (2022). How can comprehensive goal setting enhance project investment decisions? IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Feris, M., Goffin, K., Zwikael, O., Fan, D. (2021). Enhancing software development through project-based learning and the quality of planning. R&D Management, 51(5), 447-467. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O., Meredith, J. (2021). Evaluating the success of a project and the performance of its leaders. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 68(6), 1745-1757. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zubac, A., Dasborough, M., Hughes, K., Jiang, Z., Kirkpatrick, S., Martinsons, M., Tucker, D., Zwikael, O. (2021). The strategy and change interface: Understanding "Enabling“ processes and cognitions. Management Decision, 59(3), 481-504. [ABDC ranking: B].
· Pesämaa, O., Zwikael, O., Hair, J. F., Huemann, M. (2021). Publishing quantitative papers with rigor and transparency. International Journal of Project Management, 39(3), 217-222. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Asadabadi, M. R., Zwikael, O. (2021). Integrating risk into estimations of project activities' time and cost: A stratified approach. European Journal of Operational Research, 291(2), 482-490. [ABDC ranking: A*].
· Asadabadi, M., Saberi, Chang, E., Zwikael, O. (2020). Ambiguous requirements: A semi-automated approach to identify and clarify ambiguity in large-scale projects. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 149, 106828. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Asadabadi, M. R., Zwikael, O. (2020). The ambiguous proposal evaluation problem. Decision Support Systems, 136, 113359. [ABDC ranking: A*].
· Zwikael, O. (2020). When doesn't formal planning enhance the performance of government projects? Public Administration Quarterly, 44(3), 331-362. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Asadabadi, M. R., Chang, E., Zwikael, O., Saberi, M., Sharpea, K. (2020). Hidden fuzzy information: Requirement specification and measuring the performance of the provider using an MCDM method. Fuzzy Sets and Systems, 383, 127-145. [ARC ranking: A].
· Meredith, J., Zwikael, O. (2020). Achieving strategic benefits from project investments: Appoint a project owner. Business Horizons, 63(1), 61-71.
· Zwikael, O., Meredith, J. (2019). The role of organizational climate in setting project goals. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 39(12), 1281-1294. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O., Meredith, J., Smyrk, J. (2019). The responsibilities of the project owner in benefits realization. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 39(4), 503-524. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Meredith, J., Zwikael, O. (2019). When is a project successful? IEEE Engineering Management Review, 47(3), 127-134.
· Zwikael, O., Meredith, J. (2019). Effective organizational support practices for setting target benefits in the project front end. International Journal of Project Management, 37(7), 930-939. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O., Meredith, J. (2018). Who’s who in the project zoo? The ten core project roles. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 38(2), 474-492. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O., Chih, Y., Meredith, J. (2018). Project benefit management: Setting effective target benefits. International Journal of Project Management, 36(4), 650–658. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Musawir, A., Serra, C. E. M., Zwikael, O., Ali, I. (2017). Project governance, benefit management, and project success: Towards a framework for supporting organizational strategy implementation. International Journal of Project Management, 35(8), 1658-1672. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Feris, M., Zwikael, O., Gregor, S. (2017). QPLAN: Decision support for evaluating planning quality in software development projects. Decision Support Systems, 96, 92–102. [ABDC ranking: A*].
· Zwikael, O. (2016). Editorial - International Journal of Project Management special issue on project benefit management. International Journal of Project Management, 34(4), 734-735. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Patanakul, P., Kwak, Y., Zwikael, O., Liu, M. (2016). What impacts the performance of large-scale government projects? International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), 452–466. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O., Smyrk, J. (2015). Project governance: Balancing control and trust in dealing with risk. International Journal of Project Management, 33(4), 852-862. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O., Shtub, A., Chih, Y. (2015). Simulation-based training for project management education: mind the gap, as one size does not fit all. Journal of Management in Engineering, 31(2), 040140351-11. [ARC ranking: A*].
· Chih, Y., Zwikael, O. (2015). Project benefit management: A conceptual framework of target benefit formulation. International Journal of Project Management, 33(1), 352-362. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O., Pathak, R. D., Singh, G., Ahmed, S. (2014). The moderating effect of risk on the relationship between planning and success. International Journal of Project Management, 32(3), 435-441. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Unger-Aviram, E., Zwikael, O., Restubog, S. (2013). Revisiting goals, feedback, recognition and performance success: the case of project teams. Group & Organization Management: An International Journal, 38(5), 570–600. [ABDC ranking: A]. [Editor's Choice Collection].
· Cohen, Y., Sadeh, A., Zwikael, O. (2012). Finding the shortest non-delay schedule for a resource-constrained project. International Journal of Operations Research and Information Systems, 3(4), 41-58.
· Zwikael, O., Smyrk, J. (2012). A general framework for gauging the performance of initiatives to enhance organizational value. British Journal of Management, 23, S6-S22. [ABDC ranking: A]. [Emerald Citations of Excellence Award for 2015].
· Zwikael, O. (2012). Exclusive project critical success processes: a cultural diversity perspective. International Journal of Project Organisation and Management, 4(2), 143-152.
· Zwikael, O., Elias, A., Ahn, M. (2012). Stakeholder collaboration and engagement in virtual projects. International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, 10(2), 117-136.
· Cohen, Y., Zwikael, O., Sadeh, A. (2011). Using a sliding-frame approach for scheduling large and complex IT projects. International Journal of Information Technology Project Management, 2(4), 1-13.
· Zwikael, O., Ahn, M. (2011). The effectiveness of risk management: an analysis of project risk planning across countries and industries. Risk Analysis: An International Journal, 31(1), 25-37. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Cohen, Y., Zwikael, O. (2010). A new technique for estimating the distribution of a stochastic project makespan. International Journal of Information Technology Project Management, 1(3), 14-27.
· Ahn, M., Zwikael, O., Bednarek, R. (2010). Technological invention to product innovation: A project management approach. International Journal of Project Management, 28(6), 559–568. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O., Unger-Aviram, E. (2010). HRM in project groups: the effect of project duration on team development effectiveness. International Journal of Project Management, 28(5), 413-421. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O. (2009). The relative importance of the PMBOK® Guide’s nine knowledge areas during project planning. Project Management Journal, 40(4), 94-103. [ABDC ranking: B].
· Zwikael, O. (2009). Critical planning processes in construction projects. Construction Innovation, 9(4), 372-387. [ABDC ranking: B].
· Gonen, A., Zwikael, O. (2009). Increasing security of financial investments: a combined risk management - project management - operations research approach. Serbian Journal of Management, 4(1), 29-40.
· Lipke, W., Zwikael, O., Henderson, K., Anbari, F. (2009). Prediction of project outcome: The application of statistical methods to earned value management and earned schedule performance indexes. International Journal of Project Management, 27(4), 400-407. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O. (2009). The uniqueness of management in
· Cohen, Y., Zwikael, O. (2008). Modelling and scheduling projects using Petri networks. International Journal of Project Organisation and Management, 1(2), 221-233.
· Zwikael, O., Levin, G., Rad, P. (2008). Top management support - the project friendly organization. Cost Engineering Journal, 50(9), 22-30 (misspelled Zqikael).
· Zwikael, O. (2008). Top management involvement in project management - a cross country study of the software industry. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 1(4), 498-511. [ABDC ranking: C].
· Zwikael, O. (2008). Top management involvement in project management – exclusive support practices for different project scenarios. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 1(3), 387-403. [ABDC ranking: C].
· Henderson, K., Zwikael, O. (2008). Does Project Performance Stability Exist? A re-examination of CPI and evaluation of SPI(t) stability? Crosstalk – The Journal of Defense Software Engineering, 21(4), 7-13; and a reprint in The Measurable News, 2008, Fall issue, 16-27.
· Ben-Yshai, R., Zwikael, O. (2007). Macro-Midro-Micro: the "Triple-M" model for analyzing complex organizations. Serbian Journal of Management, 2(2), 101-126.
· Zwikael, O., Tilchin, O. (2007). Effective customer requirement management using an information supply based model. Problems & Perspectives in Management, 5(4), 50-56.
· Zwikael, O., Globerson, S. (2007). Quality management - a key process in the service industries. Service Industries Journal, 27(8), 1007 - 1020. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Frank, M., Zwikael, O., Boasson, M. (2007). Jobs requiring a capacity for engineering systems thinking (CEST): selection using an interest inventory. Project Management Journal, 38(3), 36-44. [ABDC ranking: B].
· Zwikael, O., Gonen, A. (2007). Project execution game (PEG): training towards managing unexpected events. Journal of European Industrial Training, 31(6), 495-512. [ABDC ranking: C].
· Zwikael, O., Sadeh, A. (2007). Planning effort as an effective risk management tool. Journal of Operations Management, 25(4), 755-767. [FT50; ABDC ranking: A*].
· Bar-Yoseph, B., Zwikael, O. (2007). The practical implementation of the gestalt cycle of experience in project management. The Gestalt Review, 11(1), 42-51.
· Zwikael, O. (2007). Al Qaeda's operations - project management analysis. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 30(3), 267-280.
· Zwikael, O., Globerson, S. (2006). Benchmarking of project planning and success in selected industries. Benchmarking - an International Journal, 13(6), 688-700. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O., Globerson, S. (2006). From critical success factors to critical success processes. International Journal of Production Research, 44(17), 3433 – 3449. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O., Cohen, Y., Sadeh, A. (2006). Non-delay scheduling as a managerial approach for managing projects. International Journal of Project Management, 24(4), 330-336. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O. (2006). A road map towards customer satisfaction. Innovative Marketing, 2(1), 37-44.
· Zwikael, O.,
· Zwikael, O., Bar-Yoseph, B. (2004). Improving the capabilities of project team management using the Gestalt cycle of experience. Team Performance Management, 10(7), 137-144. [ABDC ranking: A].
· Zwikael, O., Globerson, S. (2004). Evaluating the quality of project planning: a model and field results. International Journal of Production Research, 42(8), 1545-1556. [ABDC ranking: A].
Research grants and awards
Recent Research Grants
Zwikael, O., Hirst, G. (2019-22). Project investment benefit realisation to enhance force effectiveness. Research Grant awarded by the Defence Science and Technology Group of the Australian Department of Defence.
Pathak, R. D., Zwikael, O., Singh, G., Prasad, B. C. (2014-16). Improving project management capabilities in the Pacific. Research grant funded by the University of the South Pacific
Kwak, Y. H., Liu, M., Patanakul, P., Zwikael, O. (2011-13). Project, program, and portfolio management in government: application and performance. The Project Management Institute’s Sponsored Research Grant, PA, USA.
Awards
A top 2% scientist (2023). Named by Stanford University and Elsevier to be among the top 2% international scientists in 2022 and their career.
A top 2% scientist (2022). Named by Stanford University and Elsevier to be among the top 2% international scientists in 2021.
A top 2% scientist (2021). Named by Stanford University and Elsevier to be among the top 2% international scientists in their career.
Project Management Institute’s (PMI) David I. Cleland Project Management Literature Award (2020), awarded for the book entitled “Project Management: A Benefit Realisation Approach” published by Springer-Verlag (Co-authored with John Smyrk).
A top 2% scientist (2020). Named by Stanford University and Elsevier to be among the top 2% international scientists in 2020.
Best paper award (2018), “Enhancing organizational performance through strategic project selection” the SIBR Conference on Interdisciplinary Business & Economics Research, Bangkok, Thailand.
IPMA Research Award Winner (2016), awarded by the International Project Management Association.
Project of the Year (2016), awarded by the Australian Institute of Project Management, ACT Chapter.
Project Management Research Award (2016), awarded by the Australian Institute of Project Management, ACT Chapter.
Emerald Citations of Excellence Award (2015), awarded by Emerald at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada based on citations and novelty of a 2012 paper published in the British Journal of Management.
The Thomson South-Western Award (2015) for outstanding research-based paper on management consulting was awarded at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada.
Best paper award (2013), Public Management and Governance track at the 27th Annual British Academy of Management Conference, Liverpool, UK.
Best paper award (2012), the SIBR Conference on Interdisciplinary Business & Economics Research, Bangkok, Thailand.
Outstanding Research Contribution (2008), awarded by the International Project Management Association.
Research engagement and outreach
Associate Editor, International Journal of Project Management
Editorial Board Member:
International Journal of Project Organisation and Management
Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems
IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management
Teaching
Prof Zwikael’s teaching excellence has gained wide recognition. Ofer has been awarded by the ANU Vice Chancellor Commendation for outstanding contribution to student learning. He has also been recognised by the ANU College of Business and Economics for Program that Enhances Learning Award. Additionally, Ofer has received awards for top PhD supervisor and Best Lecturer.
Teaching and learning awards
Commendation for outstanding contribution to student learning, awarded by the ANU Vice Chancellor (2014).
Program that Enhances Learning Award, awarded by the ANU College of Business and Economics (2013).
Student award for top supervisors, awarded by the Australian National University’s Dean of Students (2010).
Best lecturer award, awarded by the Holon Institute of Technology, Israel (2003).
Teaching:
MGMT7170 Tools and Techniques for Business Project management
MGMT7169 Management Framework for Business Projects