Adventures in Project Management

Abstract
The business environment has been evolving over the last several decades because of many factors including a volatile economy, growth in technology, increased competition and demanding customers and shareholders. Companies are also taking larger bets with technology as a means of competitive advantage. The result has been a rise in large and complex programs for many companies. These programs usually span many years, cost millions or even tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to run, involve many people from across the organization and usually also include vendors and partners from other companies.

While programs are getting larger and more complex, at the same time the success rate of programs remains low. In order to manage programs in this environment, it is imperative to take a “consultative approach” to running them.A consultative approach involves managing these programs with a core set of guiding principles and utilizing them across every function of the program. This book will define what it means to take a consultative approach by identifying the eight key guiding principles and then propose several strategies to enable Program Managers to be successful in the new landscape by applying them to their programs.

This book is divided into three sections to explain the consultative approach, identify the guiding principles and then apply the principles to the program functions. There are also nine case studies which demonstrate how the guiding principles were successfully applied to a program as well as several examples of templates which are described in the book.

While there is  industry material on how to run a program as well as a program office , they are mostly focused on specific functions and tools. This book anchors on the key guiding principles, which should be driving the processes and tools, and therefore is applicable to any program for greater success in today’s business environment. This book is intended for any professional who is working in Information Technology and managing a large project or program. It is specifically targeted toward Project Managers and Program Managers who have a fundamental background in Project and Program Management principles and want to evolve their skill sets and thinking around how to manage their work effectively.

Distributors
The book can be purchased at several sites:
Amazon.com
CRC Press

I do have several extra copies and would sell them at $40 each (roughly half of the online price) so e-mail me at kerryrwills@gmail.com if interested