Robert Prieto

• Master of Science
• Chairman & CEO at Strategic Program Management LLC

• Strong foundations are required for large complex project success. • Strong foundations begin with clearly articulated strategic business objectives (SBOs). • These SBOs must be agreed to and continuously communicated.

In this fourth part of this Executive Insight series, we look at some structural The risks described in Groups 1, 2 & 3 of this Executive Insight series on Technology Adoption and Deployment highlight the complexities and challenges that the engineering and construction industry must navigate to successfully adopt and deploy new technologies In thi...

In Group 1 of this series, we recognized that the engineering and construction industry has lagged in the development and adoption of new technologies. This is reflected in its lower investment in research and development (approximately 1%) as contrasted with innovation leading industries such as aerospace or automotive (3.5 – 4.5%). In large part...

In Group 1 of this series, we recognized that the engineering and construction industry has lagged in the development and adoption of new technologies. This is reflected in its lower investment in research and development (approximately 1%) as contrasted with innovation leading industries such as aerospace or automotive (3.5 – 4.5%). In large part...

The engineering and construction industry has lagged in the development and adoption of new technologies. This is reflected in its lower investment in research and development (approximately 1%) as contrasted with innovation leading industries such as aerospace or automotive (3.5 – 4.5%). In large part this lower investment rate in technology and i...

This Executive Insight, published by the National Academy of Construction, provides a comprehensive overview of collaborative robots, commonly known as cobots, which are revolutionizing the engineering and construction industries. Cobots are designed to work alongside human workers, unlike traditional industrial robots, enhancing productivity, safe...

The global supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19 served as a wakeup call to industry broadly, and the engineering and construction industry more specifically. The evolving global situation makes the prospect of tariffs and potentially expanded trade sanctions regimes more likely. This Executive Insight takes a deeper look at both tariffs and...

We are seeing dramatic growth in the scale and complexity of capital construction programs. Like all programs, these consist of a series of discrete but closely coupled projects that when taken in their entirety enable an owner to meet a set of well-defined strategic objectives. Just as we saw a set of non-linear scaling effects come into play as w...

The engineering and construction industry has always faced challenges on alignment of interests of multiple parties in project delivery. Among the challenges are risk allocation and risk/reward sharing. Traditional contract mechanisms are often focused on risk transfer, not always to the best party to mitigate risks, but often driven by lenders and...

This Executive Insight, published by the National Academy of Construction, focuses on complex projects and complements other Executive Insights on project complexity. In this Executive Insight we: • Define complex projects • Decompose complexity and look at some of the drivers • Describe complex project characteristics • Look at the process to...

Quantum Project Management continues a journey which has spanned several decades as I first studied the unacceptably high “failure” rates of large complex projects, identified some root causes and suggested various focus areas to address the observed deficiencies. Along that journey I observed that classical project management theory failed us at s...

This paper lays out an approach to improving our ability to manage large complex projects recognizing the nature of these projects which exhibit the quantum like behaviors of many large complex systems. This quantum framework was comprehensively laid out in Quantum Project Management and then developed and refined in other subsequent papers. Import...

The National Academy of Construction (NAC) sponsored a panel entitled “Leading People: Essentials for Small Businesses to Thrive and Grow” at the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Small Business Conference (SBC) held in New Orleans. The panel, moderated by Lloyd Cauldwell, included Dave Nash, Bob Prieto and Mark Handley, all NAC members...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents tremendous potential within the E&C industry. • Good AI "hygiene" is required to capture the benefits of AI and manage attendant risks. • Three elements of AI "hygiene" are discussed from an organizational and management perspective: 1. Strengthened governance requirements created by this rapidly evolving tec...

The E&C industry is undergoing a significant transformation driven by technological advancements. Many of these advancements have been developed, are well-documented, and have been successfully adopted in other industries. Early adoption in the E&C industry has largely occurred when owners required a particular technology to be adopted. E&C industr...

This Member Viewpoint takes a macro look at the construction industry and compares its performance to all non-farm industries, of which it is a part. This viewpoint acknowledges the gains made over the last decade while also recognizing that sufficient deficiencies remain to be addressed. Troublingly though, it calls out the continued declining rel...

This course is based on the author’s contributions to the National Academy of Construction’s Executive Insights program. The course is being provided freely to academia and the public and private sectors to aid in the education of those engaged in or interested in the Engineering & Construction industry. The goal of this course is to extend the stu...

PMC Training Module 10

PMC Training Module 5

Proposed Graduate Level Risk Course

PMC Training Module 11

PMC Training Module 7

PMC Training Module 17

PMC Training Module 20

PMC Training Module 16

PMC Training Module 14

PMC Training Module 13

PMC Training Module 6

PMC Training Module 4

PMC Training Module 19

PMC Training Module 18

PMC Training Module 15

PMC Training Module 3

PMC Training Module 12

PMC Training Module 9

PMC Training Module 8

PMC Training Module 2

PMC Training Intro and Module 1

Giga” programmes bring new challenges in many regards, but like mega programmes, the two principal vectors are those with respect to the management of a step change in scale and a more exponential change in complexity as the number of interfaces and opportunities for impact grows in a decidedly nonlinear way.

In Quantum Project Management1 I continued a journey which has spanned several decades as I first studied the unacceptably high “failure” rates of large complex projects, identified some root causes and suggested various focus areas2 to address the observed deficiencies. Along that journey, I observed that classical project management theory failed...

In Quantum Project Management I continued a journey which has spanned several decades as I first studied the unacceptably high “failure” rates of large complex projects, identified some root causes and suggested various focus areas to address the observed deficiencies. Along that journey I observed that classical project management theory failed us...

Traditionally in assessing risk in projects, project teams go through a process of identifying and modeling quantitative and event risks. This process has previously been described in other Executive Insights published by the National Academy of Construction. A common failure in risk assessment is to fully account for the range of risks that humans...

Today’s infrastructure and facilities are “smart.” These “smart” facilities transcend any given sector and bring new challenges to the engineering and construction industry. In some ways, more traditional projects have become outcomes-focused IT projects with bits of concrete and steel wrapped around them. This “smart” focus is not limited to techn...

The greater the complexity of a project the greater the importance of transformational leadership. This is essential as uncertainty grows in large complex projects. A more iterative project planning process underpinned by iterative project risk assessment is required, so we may quickly understand when a project execution plan no longer maps to real...

In the business of engineering and construction, we face numerous negotiating settings. They range from negotiation of a client contract, a subcontractor or supplier agreement, or a change order to a compensation agreement with a key hire, or even more challenging negotiations that occur in stakeholder settings. The intent of the negotiating tidbi...