Preface

Even if a project is properly and carefully scoped, it can turn out incomplete. This book is the result of one such project, the writing of Michael Dobson’s The Triple Constraints in Project Management, a volume in Management Concepts’ Project Management Essential Library. About halfway through the book, Michael realized there was much more to say about the topic. He proposed canceling the existing book and writing an expanded version, but the Management Concepts publishing division had another idea: finish the Essential Library volume and then write the expanded book.

Some of the fundamental information needed to be in both books, so we agreed that this book would contain a fairly large chunk of its predecessor—about a fourth of the present volume. This meant, of course, that nearly twenty-five percent of the book was written before the writing officially started—a pleasant prospect for an author.

It didn’t quite work out that way. Michael’s third novel, a fictional examination of the land invasion of Japan that did not happen because of the A-bomb, occupied the better part of a year, and in the meantime even the cases in the original book warranted upgrading. The project became somewhat larger than initially conceived.

Enter historian, educator, and cross-cultural expert Heidi Feickert. Her historical and project management insights were particularly suited for the present project—as was her shared taste for quirky quotes. All the sections, including those pulled from the previous volume, have undergone expansion and improvement. The book was completed almost exactly a year after it was due, and as any editor will tell you, that’s not too late.

Michael lectures on project management topics and consults on specific project problems. Heidi consults on cross-cultural management issues. You may contact the authors through Management Concepts or via www.dobsonsolutions.com.

Michael Dobson
Heidi Feickert
Bethesda, Maryland