Our motivation for writing this text was to provide students with a holistic, integrative view of project management. A holisitic view focuses on how projects contribute to the strategic goals of the organization. The linkages for integration include the process of selecting projects that best support the strategy of a particular organization and that in turn can be supported by the technical and managerial processes made available by the organization to bring projects to completion. The goals for prospective project managers are to understand the role of a project in their organizations and to master the project management tools, techniques, and interpersonal skills necessary to orchestrate projects from start to finish.

The role of projects in organizations is receiving increasing attention. Projects are becoming the major tool for implementing and achieving the strategic goals of the organization. In the face of intense, worldwide competition, many organizations have reorganized around a philosophy of innovation, renewal, and organizational learning to survive. This philosophy suggests an organization that is flexible and project driven. Project management has developed to the point where it is a professional discipline having its own body of knowledge and skills. Today it is nearly impossible to imagine anyone at any level in the organization who would not benefit from some degree of expertise in the process of managing projects.

This text is written for a wide audience. It covers concepts and skills that are used by managers to propose, plan, secure resources, budget, and lead project teams to successful completions of their projects. The text should prove useful to students and prospective project managers in helping them understand why organizations have developed a formal project management process to gain a competitive advantage. Readers will find the concepts and techniques discussed in enough detail to be immediately useful in new-project situations. Practicing project managers will find the text to be a valuable guide and reference when dealing with typical problems that arise in the course of a project. Managers will also find the text useful in understanding the role of projects in the missions of their organizations. Analysts will find the text useful in helping to explain the data needed for project implementation as well as the operations of inherited or purchased software. Members of the Project Management Institute will find the text is well structured to meet the needs of those wishing to prepare for PMP (Project Management Professional) certification. The text has in-depth coverage of the most critical topics found in PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PIMBOK). People at all levels in the organization assigned to work on projects will find the text useful not only in providing them with a rationale for the use of project management tools and techniques but also because of the insights they will gain on how to enhance their contributions to project success.

Our emphasis is not only on how the management process works, but, more importantly, on why it works. The concepts, principles, and techniques are universally applicable. That is, the text does not specialize by industry type or project scope. Instead, the text is written for the individual who will be required to manage a variety of projects in a variety of different organizational settings. In the case of some small projects, a few of the steps of the techniques can be omitted, but the conceptual framework applies to all organizations in which projects are important to survival. The approach can be used in pure project organizations such as construction, research organizations, and engineering consultancy firms. At the same time, this approach will benefit organizations that carry out many small projects while the daily effort of delivering products or services continues.

In this latest edition of the book, we have responded to feedback received from both students and teachers, which is deeply appreciated. As a result of the this feedback, the following changes have been made to the Third Edition:

Overall the text addresses the major questions and issues the authors have encountered over their 50 combined years of teaching project management and consulting with practicing project managers in domestic and foreign environments. The following questions represent the issues and problems practicing project managers find consuming most of their effort: What is the strategic role of projects in contemporary organizations? How are projects prioritized? What organizational and managerial styles will improve chances of project success? How do project managers orchestrate the complex network of relationships involving vendors, subcontractors, project team members, senior management, functional managers, and customers that affect project success? What factors contribute to the development of a high-performance project team? What project management system can be set up to gain some measure of control? How do managers prepare for a new international project in a foreign culture? How does one pursue a career in project management? Project managers must deal with all these concerns to be effective. All of these issues and problems represent linkages to an integrative project management view. The chapter content of the text has been placed within an overall framework that integrates these topics in a holistic manner. Cases and snapshots are included from the experiences of practicing managers. The future for project managers appears to be promising. Careers will be determined by success in managing projects.

The 120-day trial version of Microsoft Project software is included on its own CE-ROM free with the text.

We want first to acknowledge with special thanks and appreciation the contribution of Diane Parente, Pennsylvania State University—Erie, who prepared the SimProject extended case in the appendix. This case consists of a series of exercises tied to the chapters of this book that coordinate with and make use of SimProject, a project management simulation developed by Diane and her colleague at Penn State—Erie, Jeff Pinto. SimProject adds a hands-on, experiential dimension to this course.

In addition, we would like to thank Ed Blevins, DeVry University—Irving, for updating the Test Bank; Charlie Cook, University of West Alabama, for creating PowerPoint slides; and Julie Mehra for accuracy checking the text and Instructor’s Resource Manual content.

Next, it is important to note that the text includes contributions from numerous students, colleagues, friends, and managers gleaned from professional conversations. We want them to know we sincerely appreciate their counsel and suggestions. Almost every exercise, case, and example in the text is drawn from a real-world project. Special thanks to managers who graciously shared their current project as ideas for exercises, subjects for cases, and examples for the text. Shlomo Cohen, Pat Taylor, and John Wold, whose work is printed, are gratefully acknowledged. Special gratitude is due Robert Breitbarth of Interact Management, who shared invaluable insights on prioritizing projects. University students and managers deserve special accolades for identifying problems with earlier drafts of the text and exercises.

We are indebted to the reviewers of the first and second edition who shared our commitment to elevating the instruction of project management. We thank you for your many thoughtful suggestions and for making our book better. Of course we accept responsibility for the final version of the text.

We would like to thank our colleagues in the College of Business at Oregon State University for their support and help in completing this project. In particular, we recognize Mark Pagell, Jimmy Yang, Prem Matheu, Jack Drexler, and Roger Graham for their helpful comments and suggestions. Special thanks go to Lori Emmons, Sharon Carlson, Ann Leen, and Cheryl Hoflich who helped prepare the manuscript. We also wish to thank the many students who helped us at different stages of this project, most notably Carrie Doran, Neil Young, Rebecca Keepers, Katie McAlexander, Katherine Knox, and Amanda Bosworth. Mary Gray deserves special credit for editing and working under tight deadlines.

Finally, we want to extend our thanks to all the people at McGraw-Hill/Irwin for their efforts and support. First, we’d like to thank Scott Isenberg for continuing to champion and provide editorial direction and guidance through all three editions of the book, and Wanda Zeman, whose superb management of the book’s development has continued to add value to the book with each new edition of it. And we would also like to thank Jim Labeots, Rose Hepburn, Jeremy Cheshareck, Adam Rooke, Cathy Tepper, Elizabeth Mavetz, and Gina DeMartino for managing the final production, design, supplement, and media phases of the Third Edition.

Clifford F. Gray
Erik W. Larson