Perspectives on Projects

by Turner; Rodney J.

• ISBN13: 9780415993746
• ISBN10: 0415993741
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2010-07-09
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Perspectives on Projects describes the full range of skills a project manager must develop. By grouping these skills into nine schools and developing a metaphor for each approach, students and managers alike are better able to apply the theory in developing a strategy for managing their project.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. x
Notes on contributors	p. xv
Preface	p. xxi
The Diversity of projects and project management	p. 1
New perspectives on project management	p. 1
The memes of project management	p. 3
The nine schools of project management	p. 6
A theory of the management of projects	p. 12
Two typologies of projects	p. 25
The nine perspectives	p. 31
Optimization: The project as a machine	p. 33
The genesis of modern project management	p. 33
Tools for optimizing project outcomes	p. 34
Earned value management	p. 48
CPM and EVM compated	p. 57
The lean Six Sigma method	p. 58
Is that all?	p. 59
Modeling: The project as a mirror	p. 62
Modeling rather than optimization	p. 62
The cause of project overruns	p. 64
Hard systems modeling	p. 67
Soft systems modeling	p. 69
Modeling propositions	p. 73
Here comes the philosophy	p. 77
Are we modeling the right things?	p. 78
Success: The project as an objective	p. 81
Modeling success	p. 81
Judging success: Success critieria	p. 82
Achieving success: Success factors	p. 93
The project manager as a success factor	p. 98
But who is in charge?	p. 103
Governance: The project as a legal entity	p. 105
Governing success	p. 105
The project as a temporary organization	p. 106
The governance of project management	p. 111
Developing project management capability	p. 128
Reviews, health checks, audits, and benchmarking	p. 133
Project contract management	p. 138
But where is the green parrot?	p. 145
Behaviour: The project as a social system	p. 148
Governing people	p. 148
Project organization	p. 149
Project teams	p. 156
Diversity in projects	p. 162
Emotionally competent project leadership	p. 164
Human resource management	p. 171
Are the people hearing?	p. 176
Marking: The project as a billboard	p. 179
Communicating with people	p. 179
Stakeholder management	p. 180
Marketing the project	p. 186
Selling project management to senior executives	p. 192
How do we get there?	p. 197
Process: The project as an algorithm	p. 199
Converting vision into reality	p. 199
Project processes	p. 200
Project management processes	p. 209
Procedures manuals	p. 219
Are we going in the right direction?	p. 222
Decision: The project as a computer	p. 224
Converting desire into memory	p. 224
Deciding where to go	p. 225
Deciding which fork to take	p. 233
Setting project strategy	p. 238
Do all roads lead to Rome?	p. 242
Contingency: The project as a chameleon	p. 245
Deciding to be different	p. 245
Categorizing projects	p. 246
Attributes of projects	p. 250
Using the nine perspectives	p. 257
Did we achieve the best of all possible outcomes?	p. 262
The three case studies	p. 265
Using the nine perspectives	p. 267
Taking a perspective	p. 267
Choosing methods	p. 268
The case	p. 270
The North-South Metro Line: Managing in crowded historic Amsterdam	p. 272
A brief history	p. 272
The Amsterdam North-South Metro Line	p. 273
Project history	p. 277
Using the nine perspectives	p. 283
Conclusing	p. 295
The LAS story: Learning from failure	p. 296
A journey from failure to success	p. 296
The first attempt: Starting small	p. 298
The Second attempt: Fostering ambition	p. 298
The third attempt: Cutting up the elephant	p. 304
Fourth time lucky	p. 309
Beyond success: Looking to the future	p. 310
Using the nine perspectives	p. 317
ABS International: Sustainable project management	p. 323
Sustainability and porjects	p. 323
The ABS International Project	p. 325
Sustainable success	p. 332
Sustainable project management	p. 335
Using the nine perspectives	p. 337
Index	p. 340
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