About this Presentation
Critical Chain came to the awareness of the project management community with the publication of Eli Goldratt’s book 'Critical Chain' in 1997, after a decade of development and testing. Goldratt was known for developing the Theory of Constraints, a body of knowledge related to the efficient and effective management of operational systems. Critical Chain is the result of applying TOC thinking to the topic of project scheduling and execution. In the 25+ years since that book was published, the techniques of critical chain have continued to develop as experience was gained and the understanding of project workflows improved. Attendees at the conference will discover a range of variations on how critical chain is used across different organizations and project domains. This presentation presents an overview of how critical chain has evolved over time, and how it relates to the wider field of project and organizational work management and different ways of conceptualizing project work. It will conclude with some ideas on how other techniques from the wider ‘TOC’ body of knowledge, of which critical chain forms part, might be useful additions to the project management bodies of knowledge. Note: This presentation is not a primer on the basic techniques of critical chain. Conference attendees who are new to critical chain will get much more from the conference if they watch the CC basics training videos before the event.
What Will You Learn
To help you get the most value from this session, we’ve highlighted a few key points. These takeaways capture the main ideas and practical insights from the presentation, making it easier for you to review, reflect, and apply what you’ve learned.
Learn how Critical Chain Project Management has evolved over the past three decades, including shifts in focus from scheduling mechanics to execution behavior and project flow.
Understand why early CCPM concepts like buffer placement and task duration reduction were only part of the solution, and how later practice emphasized culture, habits, and prioritization.
See how real-world implementations revealed challenges around people, measurement, and organizational resistance that pure theory did not fully anticipate.
Gain insight into practical lessons from long-term CCPM adoption, including how visibility, governance, and consistent execution discipline contribute to sustained improvement.
Instructor(s)
Ian Heptinstall
Ian is an Associate Professor of Project Management at the University of Birmingham (UK).
He is a late-career academic, joining the University after 35 years of working in project management, procurement and management consulting.
His project & procurement experience primarily in the capex, construction & engineering fields.
He has been a regular TOCICO Conference attendee since 2011, and in 2020 he helped set up the annual Critical Chain virtual conference, to share CC real world experience with project management practitioners who have little or no knowledge of TOC or critical chain.
In 2016 he published “The Executive Guide to Breakthrough Project Management” about overcoming obstacles to using critical chain on capital/construction projects, in collaboration with Robert Bolton, and he supported Rene Nibbelke in producing the APM’s “Senior Managers’ and Project Managers’ Guide to Critical Chain” (2024