Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"The authors have produced another thought provoking, next generation look at the project based organization, change, politics, and role of the project office. The journey they depict expands and challenges the status quo and gives them a prominent place as thought leaders on the future of project management. This book's premise, that projects are vehicles of change and change is the life blood of world-class companies, makes it a must read for project managers, program managers, and portfolio managers."
— Dalton Weekley, President, Human Systems Knowledge Networks, Inc.
"These authors have scored again with the latest evolution of their collective insight. This text will serve a broad audience spanning both academic and industry needs— anyone seeking a solid framework for launching project management initiatives now has a new, valuable reference and implementation guide."
— Ray M. Haynes, director, University Alliances Technology Development, office of the chief engineer, TRW Space Electronics, and retired professor of engineering management, Cal Poly University
"If you are a practicing project or program manager faced with the challenge of driving a multi-organizational complex project, this book is for you. While not providing exactly a how-to recipe, Englund and his colleagues describe from personal experience what works and what remarkable results can be achieved with passion, persistence and good upper management sponsorship."
— Peter Rosenbladt, Hewlett-Packard R&D; Manager (retired)
"What's a project office and why do you want one? Different organizations are at different points along a continuum on the use and acceptance of project offices. While there is no simple or secret answer to creating a project office and leading organizational change, Englund, Graham, and Dinsmore construct a compelling case that the process of implementing a project office will, itself, be a catalyst for organizational change."
— Arnold M. Epstein, Office of Project Management and Engineering Support, United States National Nuclear Security Administration
Synopsis
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
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
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.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 299-301) and index.
About the Author
Randall L. Englund is an executive consultant, speaker, and trainer. Englund was a project manager at Hewlett-Packard in new product development and a consultant on their Project Management Initiative team, which provided world-wide corporate leadership for the continuous improvement of project management.
Robert J. Graham is an independent project management consultant and senior associate with the Strategic Management Group. Graham was a senior staff member at the Management and Behavioral Sciences Center at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He taught in the MBA and Ph.D. programs and the Wharton Effective Executive program. Graham and Englund coauthored Creating an Environment for Successful Projects (Jossey-Bass).
Paul C. Dinsmore is president of Dinsmore Associates, an international management consulting and training firm. He is certified as PMP-- Project Management Professional -- and received the Distinguished Contributions and Fellow Awards from the Project Management Institute, where he is also on the Board of the Educational Foundation. He is the author of eight books, including Winning in Business with Enterprise Project Management.
Table of Contents
Preface xi
The Authors and Contributors xvii
PART ONE: CREATING THE CONDITIONS FOR CHANGE 1
1 Leading Organizational Change 7
2 Clear Danger: Creating a Sense of Urgency and Economic Value 33
3 Powerful Forces: Building a Guiding Coalition 53
4 Focus: Developing and Communicating the Project Office Vision and Strategy 83
5 Tell the Tale: Harnessing Internal Support 109
Robert Storeygard, 3M
PART TWO: MAKING CHANGE HAPPEN 125
6 Contact: Managing the Change 129
7 Implementing the Project Office: Case Study 167
Alfonso Bucero, PMP
8 Keep Moving: Getting Your Arms Around Chaos 197
Colonel Gary LaGassey, USAF
9 In or Out? Staffing and Operating the Project Office 219
PART THREE: MAKING CHANGE STICK 245
10 Looking Forward: Embedding Project Practices in the Culture of the Organization 249
Dennis Cohen, Strategic Management Group
11 The Tale We Tell 277
Appendix: Templates for Project Office Planning 291
References 299
Index 303