This fourth edition of Project Management: Strategic Design and Implementation has been put together with the objective of further contributing to the project management knowledge of professionals at all levels of responsibility and to the student aspiring to be a part of a project team.

Managers and professionals engaged in project management, who desire to be more effective contributors in their organization s success, will find this book useful. The format of the book is adaptable to many different uses. Readers may read sections and topics in whatever order best suits their interests. The 7 parts and 22 chapters provide an easy division of information for readers. In Figure I.1 these parts and chapters of the fourth edition are portrayed in the context of strategic management and project management and are briefly described in the following text.

FIGURE I.1: Strategic management context of project management.

Part 1, Introduction, consists of two chapters that introduce project management and describe the management processes that are involved in the practice of this discipline. Here, a historical perspective shows early efforts that could only be called projects in our modern interpretation.

Part 2, The Strategic Context of Projects, shows how projects are used in both the strategic and operational management of the enterprise. The theme emphasized in this section is how projects are building blocks in preparing the enterprise for its uncertain future. When to use project management, the strategic context of projects, strategic issues, and the role of stakeholders and boards of directors...