Research & Publications
The academic spine of the profile.
Doctoral thesis · University of Manchester
The Impact of Multitasking on Resource Availability and Buffer Sizing in CCPM Portfolios
PhD, Management of Projects — The University of Manchester, 2016. Passed with minor corrections.
President Doctoral Scholar Award — full PhD funding.
Methods
Quantitative modellingRandomly generated CCPM portfoliosMonte Carlo simulationCCPM scheduling logicStatistical analysisPractitioner interviews
Outcomes
Defined “good vs bad” multitasking and the boundary between them.
Tested the relay-race mentality central to Critical Chain.
Challenged blanket multitasking bans with evidence.
Explored buffer-size adjustment and resource-capacity sizing for multi-project organisations.
Selected publications
2015
Current Status and Future Potential of the Research on Critical Chain Project Management
Ghaffari, M. & Emsley, M. W. — Surveys in Operations Research and Management Science, 20, 43–54
2016
The Boundary Between Good and Bad Multitasking in CCPM
Ghaffari, M. & Emsley, M. W. — The Journal of Modern Project Management, 4(1), 104–111
2015
A Synopsis of the Research on CCPM
Ghaffari, M. & Emsley, M. W. — Proc. Engineering Project Organization Conference, Edinburgh
2015
The Research on Critical Chain Project Management
Ghaffari, M. & Emsley, M. W. — 4th Intl. Scientific Conf. on Project Management in the Baltic Countries, Riga, 68–90
2014
A Detailed Analysis of Existing Project Success Factors
Ghaffari, M. — Proc. 30th ARCOM Conference, Portsmouth, 897–906
Education
2016
PhD, Management of Projects
The University of Manchester · Passed with minor corrections.
2012
MSc, Management of Projects
The University of Manchester · Distinction; Best Performance Award (cohort of 375).
2011
BSc, Industrial Engineering & Systems Analysis
Shiraz Azad University · First-Class Honours (top 5% of year).