Books & Publications
Practical knowledge for project professionals — handbooks, references and educational resources from Dr. Hassan Eliwa, PhD.
Last updated · Reviewed by Dr. Hassan Eliwa, PhD
The Construction Project Manager's Handbook
A Complete Guide to Planning, Scheduling, Cost Control, Contracts, Risk, and Delivering Projects On Time and On Budget
By Dr. Hassan Khames Eliwa, PhD
Construction projects rarely fail for one dramatic reason. They fail through a schedule nobody believed, a variation nobody priced, a risk nobody logged, and a conversation nobody documented. This handbook exists to close those gaps. Drawing on more than two decades in project controls across infrastructure and building programmes, The Construction Project Manager's Handbook brings the full delivery cycle into a single, practical volume — written for the manager who needs an answer today, not a theory to study for later.
Topics covered
- Planning & Programme Development
- Scheduling and Critical Path Control
- Cost Control, Budgets & Cash Flow
- Contracts, Variations & Claims
- Risk Management & Contingency
- Progress Measurement & Earned Value
- Documentation, Records & Correspondence
- Certification Mapping: PMP, PMI-SP, AACE PSP & CCP
Who should read this book
Available formats
Paperback, hardcover and PDF editions. Links open in a new tab.
Primavera P6 Step by Step — 2026 Edition
The Complete Beginner-to-Practitioner Tutorial
By Dr. Hassan Khames Eliwa, PhD
Master Oracle Primavera P6 by actually using it. This hands-on 2026 tutorial walks you through building a complete construction project — schedule, logic, resources, costs, baseline, and a real monthly progress update — with 60+ genuine P6 screenshots. No theory dumps, no button tours. One real project, start to finish, and the professional habits that make schedules trusted.
Topics covered
- Enterprise Setup, Calendars & EPS
- Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
- Activities, Relationships & Critical Path
- Resource & Cost Loading
- Baselines & Monthly Progress Updates
- Variance Analysis & Lookahead Planning
- Layouts, Filters, Reports & Dashboards
- Industry Best Practice & Career-Ready Skills
Who should read this book
Available formats
Paperback, hardcover and PDF editions. Links open in a new tab.
Construction Planning & Scheduling Handbook
By Dr. Hassan Khames Eliwa, PhD
Written from 20+ years of planning and project controls practice on real construction programmes, the Construction Planning & Scheduling Handbook is a step-by-step reference for building credible schedules, tracking progress with confidence, defending claims with evidence, and recovering troubled projects under pressure.
Topics covered
- Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
- Critical Path Method (CPM)
- Baselines & Variance Control
- Progress Tracking & Earned Value
- Delay Analysis Methodologies
- Recovery Planning & Acceleration
- Executive Schedule Reporting
Who should read this book
Available formats
Paperback, hardcover and PDF editions. Links open in a new tab.
Build Your AI Project Manager with Claude
The Complete Hands-On Guide to Creating an AI-Powered Project Management System
By Dr. Hassan Khames Eliwa, PhD
This practical guide teaches project professionals how to transform Claude into an intelligent AI Project Manager capable of supporting almost every daily project management activity. Rather than replacing the Project Manager, Claude becomes an intelligent co-pilot that prepares reports, analyses project data, tracks risks, remembers important decisions, documents meetings, assists with delay analysis, supports recovery planning, and helps executives make better decisions. Throughout the book, you'll learn step-by-step how to create reusable AI workflows using professionally engineered prompts designed specifically for construction projects, infrastructure, engineering, PMOs, EPC projects, and capital delivery programmes.
Topics covered
- Weekly & Executive Reporting with AI
- Project Memory & Decision Logs
- Meeting Minutes Automation
- Risk Tracking & Heat Maps
- Delay Analysis & Claims/EOT Support
- Recovery Planning with Claude
- Cost Control & Executive Dashboards
- Reusable Prompt Workflows for PMOs & EPC
Who should read this book
Available formats
Paperback, hardcover and PDF editions. Links open in a new tab.
PMP Exam Prep 2026–2027: The Complete Study Guide for the New July 2026 Exam
Master the Updated ECO with AI & Sustainability Questions, PMBOK 7 vs PMBOK 8 Explained, Full Study Plan, and 60+ Practice Questions with Detailed Answers
By Dr. Hassan Khames Eliwa, PhD
The first complete study guide built for the new PMP exam launched July 9, 2026. Covers the updated Examination Content Outline, PMBOK 8 alignment, brand-new AI and sustainability content, the new question formats, and includes 60+ practice questions with fully explained answers — plus a week-by-week study plan that takes you from registration to PASS.
Topics covered
- New July 2026 Examination Content Outline (ECO)
- PMBOK 7 vs PMBOK 8 — What Changed
- AI Project Management Scenarios
- Sustainability in Project Management
- New PMP Question Formats (Drag & Drop, Matching, Point & Click)
- 60+ Practice Questions with Detailed Answers
- Week-by-Week Study Plan
- Full Mock Exams & Exam-Day Strategy
Who should read this book
Available formats
Paperback, hardcover and PDF editions. Links open in a new tab.
THE CRITICAL PATH: A Business Novel About Schedules, Claims and Telling the Truth
By Dr. Hassan Khames Eliwa, PhD · Auckland, New Zealand
THE CRITICAL PATH. Six months late. Fourteen days reported. Eighty-four days to tell the truth.
Nadia Farouk is a senior planner who can make any schedule behave. When her company sends her to Dubai to “tidy the programme” on a troubled 600-bed hospital, she expects a few weeks of formatting. Instead she finds forty-seven date constraints hiding a six-month delay, a project director determined to keep his number, a client moving toward termination, and a contract clock counting down to the day her company’s right to claim expires.
To save the project, Nadia must answer three questions that an old forensic delay expert writes on a napkin:
Whose delay is it? When did you know? Can you prove it?
A business novel and a complete project controls course in one book. Written by a practitioner with more than twenty years in planning, scheduling, delay analysis and construction claims, The Critical Path teaches the way the job is really learned: under pressure, on a real project, with real people. Along the way you will learn:
Topics covered
- The critical path method (CPM), total float, free float and the longest path
- Why mandatory constraints hide delay instead of removing it
- How to read a schedule health check, including the DCMA 14-point assessment
- Baselines, progress measurement, earned value management (EVM) and earned schedule
- Windows analysis, time impact analysis (TIA) and concurrent delay
- Notices, time bars and extension of time (EOT) claims under an international standard contract (FIDIC 2017)
- Resource levelling, recovery planning, and testing and commissioning
- How to write a one-page report that a board will actually read
Every chapter ends with a page from the mentor’s notebook, a short summary of what the chapter teaches. The book closes with a 47-term glossary, a lessons-by-chapter index and three ready-to-use tools: a one-page summary template, an Engineer’s programme-review checklist and a list of lessons learned.
For planners and schedulers, project managers, construction managers, engineers, quantity surveyors, contract and commercial managers, and students of construction and project management. And for anyone who has ever been asked to hold the dates.
Who should read this book
Available formats
Paperback, hardcover and PDF editions. Links open in a new tab.
What you will learn
Each chapter builds the skills construction project teams use every week.
Work Breakdown Structure
Build defensible WBS hierarchies that align scope, cost, and schedule from day one.
Critical Path Method
Logic-driven scheduling: activity sequencing, lags, floats, and constraint handling.
Baselines
Set, freeze, and protect schedule baselines; manage changes without losing traceability.
Progress Tracking
Physical % complete, earned value, and weekly progress measurement that holds up in audits.
Delay Analysis
TIA, Windows, As-Planned vs As-Built — methodologies project teams use in real claims.
Recovery Planning
Compression, fast-tracking, resource reloading and credible acceleration plans.
Executive Reporting
Concise schedule reports executives trust — variance, trend, forecast, and risk.
Written by a practitioner, for practitioners
Field-tested guidance, not abstract theory.
Practical
Field-tested workflows, templates, and checklists drawn from live programmes.
Experience-Based
20+ years across infrastructure, buildings, and complex construction portfolios.
Visual
Diagrams, Gantt examples, S-curves, and dashboards illustrate every concept.
Step-by-Step
Each chapter builds on the last — clear procedures, not abstract theory.
Industry Focused
Written specifically for construction planning, project controls, and PMO teams.
Dr. Hassan Eliwa, PhD
Senior Planning & Project Controls Engineer with a PhD in ICT Capability Development in Construction Organisations and 20+ years of international experience across infrastructure and complex construction programmes. Based in Auckland, New Zealand.