Optimizing Project Work, Management, and Delivery

Thousands of project management–related books have been written. Why is Optimizing Project Work, Management, and Delivery different?

This book represents the authors’ experiences gained from looking at the problem of project management for 50 years and wondering why projects cannot be more successful. Experience from various management models and techniques has helped but still does not fit reality or provide accurate forecasts. Industry surveys have compiled the root causes of project failure, and yet they persist. Is there no answer to this problem?

As the book explains, the management solution is not in the models or the theory but is found in how they are mapped against the actual target project characteristics. This is the book’s unique strength. There are major coverage gaps in current project management models that also need to be recognized. All of the existing models are correct in some ways, and yet each is also wrong.

The book starts by reviewing popular models and related topics that help construct the building blocks of an integrated model structure, which is at the core of this book. The integrated model described here is meant to be a decision-oriented view related to the project life cycle rather than a cookbook of success steps. Project management is too complex for a cookbook approach. This text helps managers find that right path.

Gary L. Richardson retired from the is the University of Houston, College of Technology graduate project management program as the PMI Houston Endowed Professor. During these sixteen years, he taught PMP and project-related programs for the university, plus external U.S. and international organizations. He also taught various project management programs to audiences in Finland, Russian, Iraq, China, and South America. He previously held professional certifications as a Professional Engineer (PE), Project Management Professional (PMP), and certification in Earned Value. In this time frame, he produced six professional texts on the topic area of project management.

Brad Jackson is co-founder and CEO of cordin8, llc. He has spent over thirty-five years focused on developing and implementing collaborative technologies in support of team-based organizations. He has implemented these technologies to support teamwork for global clients in oil and gas, insurance, consulting, and telecommunications.