Images of Projects

In this very distinctive book, Images of Projects challenges how we think about projects in the most fundamental way: it rejects outright the idea of a one 'best way' to view all projects and also the idea of following a prescriptive approach. In contrast, Images of Projects seeks to encourage a more pragmatic and reflective approach, based on deliberately seeing projects from multiple perspectives, exploring the insights and implications which flow from these, and crafting appropriate action strategies in complex situations. Based on real examples and the authors' work over the last ten years, Images of Projects presents seven pragmatic images for making sense of the complex realities of projects. Illustrated using various models, these images are presented in ways that allow the reader to reflect upon their own mental models in relation to the different perspectives in this book. Contents: Detailed Contents; Foreword; Overview; Part 1 Introduction to Images of Projects; Why not 'just do it'? The image-action connection; Images of projects - a pragmatic framework for practitioners. Part 2 Seven Core Images of Projects: Image 1 - projects as social processes; Image 2 - projects as political processes; Image 3 - projects as intervention processes; Image 4 - projects as value creation processes; Image 5 - projects as development processes; Image 6 - projects as temporary organizations; Image 7 - projects as change processes. Part 3 Applying the Images in Practice: Selective use of the images; Structured use of the images; Shared use of the images; Case example 1 - initiating a major retail project (Tesco Stores Ltd); Case example 2 - managing a major research project (Rethinking PM); Appendices; Index.