Dimensions of Project Management

Projects of very different natures are continuously changing the world in which we live. Project management offers the right instruments to solve the multitude of problems that arise during the life of a project from its beginning to its completion. No space satellite could be designed, no computer program developed, no skyscraper built, and no company organized efficiently without PM. In honor of the 65th birthday of R.W. Gutsch, 29 authors from 16 countries have contributed to this publication. It covers the fundamentals of project management as well as the PM techniques and software, PM organization and human factors and applications in effectively managing projects. The contributions demonstrate the enormous progress that has taken place in PM within the past years in a language and style which is understandable for project managers in both industrialized and developing countries.

InhaltsangabeDetailed Contents.- Fundamentals of Project Management.- The Fundamentals of Project Management.- 1. Introduction.- 2. A Definition of Project Management.- 3. The Basic Propositions.- 4. But What Does a Project Manager Actually Do?.- 5. How to Finish on Time Within Budget.- 6. Project Managers Ned Space.- 7. Keep Changing the Plan.- 8. How to Make the Right Decisions.- 9. Allowing for Space.- 10. Leadership and Delegation.- Change and Usefulness of Project Management.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Change.- 3. Priorities.- 4. Systems.- 5. Usefulness.- 6. Associations.- 7. Conclusion.- Project Management Paradigm - A System Oriented Model of Project Management.- 1. Introduction: Why Structuring Project Management?.- 2. The System Approach to Project Management.- 3. Why Is the Acting System "Project Organization" Working?.- 4. How Is the Acting System "Project Organization" Working?.- 5. How Is the Project Process Measured?.- 6. Who/What is Doing the Project Process?.- 7. Project Management Phases.- 8. Construction of a Model of Project Management.- 9. Framework of Project Management Knowledge.- Project Management within the Systems Context.- 1. The Shortcomings of PMS.- 2. The Systems Approach.- 3. An actual case.- 4. Conclusion.- Managing the Project Environment.- 1. Introduction.- 2. What is the Project Environment?.- 3. Dimensions for the Project Environment.- 3.1 The Project Time Environment.- 3.2 The Internal Project Culture.- 3.3 The Corporate Culture.- 3.4 The Project's External Surroundings.- 3.5 Some Practical Examples.- 4. Summary.- The Cultural Dimension of Project Management.- 1. Introduction.- 1.1 Systems to Persons.- 1.2 Recognition of Cultural Problems.- 1.3 National Characteristics.- 2. Attitude to Change.- 3. Organisational Differences.- 4. Small is Manageable.- 5. The Myth of the Developing Country.- 6. Future Development.- The Viking Approach to Project Management.- 1. Introduction.- 2. The Viking Approach.- 3. The Nordic Approach Today.- 4. Trends in the Nordic Approach.- Project Management and Corporate Strategy.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Interrelations between Corporate Strategy and Project Management.- 2.1 Strategy Development.- 2.2 Projects as Strategy Elements.- 2.3 Management by Projects.- 3. The Impact of Corporate Strategy on Projects.- 4. Conclusion.- Project Management Techniques and PM-Software.- Project Objectives Identification and Proper Formulation for Project Success.- 1. General.- 2. Explicit Objectives.- 3. Implicit Objectives.- 4. Instrumental Objectives.- 5. Internal and External Objectives.- 6. Project Objectives and Company's Objectives.- 7. Objectives and Programs.- 8. Conclusion.- The Evolution of Management Tools and the Efficiency of Produkt Development & Engineering.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Some Efficiency Tools Developed and Tried Out.- 3. Probable Reasons for Rejection.- 4. 'Tools'for Quality Improvement.- 5. Risk Assesment and Contingency Planning.- 6. The Development of Institutes, Societies and Associations.- 7. The Evolution of the Societies.- 8. Societies Moving to the First Phase of the Product Life-Cycle.- 9. Resistance to Change 'Habits' of R.D.&E.- 10. The Tree of Development Management and the Product Life-Cycle.- 11. The Estimation of 'COST' a Problem of the Future?.- Operations Research and Project Management: Past, Present and Future.- 1. Introduction: Operations Research and Project Management.- 2. Spread of Operations Research Theories in Project Management Practice.- 3. Reasons for the Small Number of OR-method Application to Project Management.- 3.1 Are OR Methods Suited Better for Bulk or Series Production than for Projects?.- 3.2 Inadequate Models.- 3.3 Little Acquaintance of the Developers with the Real Problem.- 3.4 Necessary Data are not Available.- 3.5 Institutional Conditions are not Taken into Consideration.- 3.6 The Models and Procedures Offered are too Complicated.- 4. Possibilities of a More Intensive Application of Operations Research Methods to Project Management.