Right Projects Done Right: From Business Strategy to Successful Project Implementation

Your Guide for Project Management Done Right!

"Business strategists and project managers may appear to come from different worlds, yet they have strongly shared objectives. Their functions are highly complementary, since business strategists aim at medium- and long-term survival and prosperity, whereas the project teams zero in on completing short-term projects in pursuit of the organization's declared goals. To make that happen, people have to be aligned behind the business strategy—they have to know what it is, believe in it, and be motivated to contribute to its fulfillment. Specifically, the players need to be charged up about completing the projects that make up the portfolio, since that is ultimately what makes the strategy come true. The key to successful project portfolio management is overall alignment. First, the portfolio has to be aligned with the business strategy and with available resources. Then the projects have to be aligned with each other and within the organizational structure. A distinction is drawn between project and processes, both of which are important. Projects are generally associated with future capability of the organization, yet project management is also applicable in situations requiring continuous improvement (enhanced capability). Present capability is the task of ongoing processes, but future potential depends on the right combination of the right projects done right."
—From the Introduction

"This excellent text outlines and emphasizes the need for a strategic approach to managing multiple projects and provides a plethora of sensible ideas on how this may be achieved."
—Ron Dean, senior lecturer and project management course director, The Business School, Canterbury Christ Church University

"Top management, project sponsors, and the project management community will find in this book an abundance of practical ideas and advice that will directly and quickly improve the way they do their jobs and in turn the performance of their organizations."
—Russell D. Archibald, author, Managing High-Technology Programs and Projects

"Written by two internationally recognized experts, this book is one of the best books on project management to emerge in the past several years."
—Jeffrey K. Pinto, Andrew Morrow and Elizabeth Lee Black Chair in Management of Technology, Pennsylvania State University, Erie

Paul Dinsmore and Terence Cooke-Davies, two of the foremost authorities on project management, combine their expertise to explain a groundbreaking approach for creating a successful project-based enterprise.

The Right Projects Done Right! reflects the advances that have been made since the concern for managing multiple projects in organizations first emerged more than a decade ago. This book includes findings and solutions that address three vital questions: Has the right portfolio of projects been chosen to ensure that company strategy is implemented successfully? Have the right projects with the right scope been selected as candidates for the portfolio? Are the projects managed well? Dinsmore and Cooke-Davies provide managers with the information they need to implement an enterprise-wide project management environment.

Step by step, the book shows how to create the right combination of projects so that the strategy and desired results of the organization are substantially boosted. The Right Projects Done Right! will help managers implement a "projectized" mentality in their organization so that projects become a natural way of working and doing business. And the authors highlight the dynamic interactions between multiple projects and multiple levels of hierarchy that will help ensure success for any organization.

The Right Projects Done Right! is filled with illustrative case studies from such industry leaders as Eli Lilly, Hewlett-Packard, Ericsson, Abbey, and Project Corps. The book includes informative surveys, discussions of variations between industries, and suggestions for overcoming frequently encountered roadblocks.

Paul C. Dinsmore is an internationally renowned consultant, and Fellow and Project Management Professional of the Project Management Institute. A prolific writer, he is author and coauthor of numerous books, including Creating the Project Office from Jossey-Bass.

Terence J. Cooke-Davies is founder of Human Systems, a company that creates and supports a global network of international organizations that work together to improve corporate performance through projects. He is a Fellow of the Association for Project Management and the Chartered Institute of Management.