Executive's Guide to Project Management: Organizational Processes and Practices for Supporting Complex Projects

Preface

The contemporary project environment is characterized by a high degree of complexity, uncertainty, and risk. There is a never-ending stream of books, articles, webinars, podcasts, and blogs offering a variety of solutions for managing these projects and quick fixes for everything from requirements gathering to change management. Everybody seems to have a silver bullet to offer the project manager. The best I can say about the present plight of the project manager is that he/she is expected to perform in an environment that even the best among them is struggling to succeed in. Let's face it, we are in the midst of an evolution in project management and only the best and most effective organization-wide approaches have any chance of success. Unfortunately the much-needed help has not yet come to the rescue.

Executives, directors, and senior-level managers (a.k.a. senior management team, [SMT]) are expected to tolerate all of this ambiguity and no one is offering them any silver bullets. Well, first of all, there aren't any silver bullets for them or their project managers either. But there are strategies for the SMT that can improve the plight of their project managers and establish an environment to contribute sustainable business value. These strategies are the focus of this book. This will be the first “how to” book written specifically for the SMT. It is written to be your guide and constant companion.