Overview
Three of the most important names in project management— Randall Englund, Robert Graham, and Paul Dinsmore— show how to create an organizational environment that will produce successful projects time after time. Creating the Project Office offers a wealth of illustrative examples from organizations that have put in place successful 'project office' models and offers the step-by-step guidance managers need in order to revitalize their companies by creating project-based organizations that get results!
Synopsis
If organizations are to succeed they must develop and maintain positive results and create value from all their projects. But too often projects fail to live up to company expectations— the revolutionary new product never makes it to the marketplace or service leaves customers dissatisfied.
Creating the Project Office is written for managers who are searching for ways to transform their organizations into more effective and efficient project-based workplaces. As this important book reveals, there is no more effective way to make that change than to create a project office tailored to the needs of the organization. While a project office model leads to better products from projects, it is also a vehicle for generating overall organizational change— by transforming the organization from function-based to project-based. This model incorporates projects into the very fabric of the organizational strategy and revitalizes organizations, creates competitive advantage, and increases shareholder value.
The project office concept fundamentally changes the way an organization thinks about projects by determining what projects are most critical to organizational strategy, reducing the overall number of projects, and building a solid business case for each project. The project office consolidates project-related tasks in the organization and facilitates project selection, the training of project managers, project mentoring, and the development of career paths for project managers. Using an enterprise project management system, projects become more efficient and more innovative producing higher-quality products or services.
The authors— Randall Englund, Robert Graham, and Paul Dinsmore— are recognized experts in the field of project management and here offer managers the information they need to create a successful project office implementation plan. Step by step, Creating the Project Office shows how to:
* Develop action plans to apply proven techniques and processes and implement a project office in any organization
* Identify the barriers and develop a course of action that will enable change toward project-driven results
* Lead a change process at any level in an organization
* Avoid potential pitfalls that often derail project office efforts
In addition, Creating the Project Office includes illustrative case examples.