What is a project? How are projects organized to deal with a complex rapidly changing & uncertain world? Why are projects the organization of the future? A project is a temporary organization & one-time process established to achieve a desired outcome Projects range in size from small teams to large international joint-ventures & temporary coalitions of public & private organizations What distinguishes projects from all other organizational activities
- such as mass produced products & services
- is that a project is finite in duration lasting from hours days or weeks to years & in some cases decades Each project is disposable It brings together people & resources to accomplish a goal & when the goal is accomplished the organization disappears When projects are complex unpredictable & changing their plans have to be flexible & able to adjust to situations that cannot foreseen at the outset In this Very Short Introduction Andrew Davies looks at how projects have developed since the industrial revolution to create the human-built world in which we live work & play Considering some of our greatest endeavours such as the Erie Canal Apollo Moon landing Japanese product development & Chinese ecocity projects Davies identifies how projects are organized & managed to design & produce large & complex systems cope with fast changing conditions & deal with the immense uncertainties required to create breakthrough innovations in products & services He concludes by considering how projects could be organized to address the challenges facing the post-industrial society of the 21st century ABOUT THE SERIES The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly Our expert authors combine facts analysis perspective new ideas & enthusiasm to make interesting & challenging topics highly readable