Project Management

A Value Creation Approach

Project Management: A Value Creation Approach is the textbook on project management we have all been waiting for. Solidly based on cutting-edge social science it takes the field forward in ways that will hugely benefit students, complete with great case studies, guidance on further readings, and which videos to watch. It even has access to slides for lecturers. Get it, read it, use it!

Challenges to the predominant systems paradigm in project management first espoused by Cleland and King in the 1960s have been maturing in the research literature for over 20 years. Yet our most widely used textbooks draw thinly on this new thinking and remain within the systems paradigm. These authors have created the first textbook that addresses the needs of contemporary project managers which engages deeply with this research literature. The book is, therefore, a vital contribution to our libraries and reading lists.

Project Management is traditionally framed as a discipline based in techniques and models for effective planning and execution of projects – implying a widespread neglect of emotional, behavioral, organizational and societal aspects of project-based work. In this volume, the authors provide a much needed research-based overview of these aspects, and relate them well to the practical realities of projects. It is a book not only for scholars and students of Project Management, but also for all those who lead projects, work in projects, hold stakes in projects or want to understand better the role of projects in industrial and societal transformation.

This is a timely book as the value from projects has become an important  measure of  a project’s success. The magic of Clegg’s writing has rendered  this book with Skyttermoen and Vaagaasar open up to debates about projects from both project management scholars as well as the organization studies scholars. The book certainly helps the project management professionals as well as their peak bodies to get the attention of C-Suite for whom delivering value to customers is critical for their business. The beauty of this book is that while it starts unconventionally with value as its focus in early chapters it also covers the essential knowledge on how to manage a project through its lifecycle in later chapters. Thus, both students and practitioners will also find great value from the book. The book uses a variety of interesting and contemporary case studies that extends the perspective of projects that have become pervasive in our projectified society.

This is the kind of book I wish I had when I was learning project management. It presents a very human view of projects that goes far past the simple emphasis on process common in so many texts. This book introduces the reader to a rich literature in a way that is a pleasure to read.

There are books on project management. Then there is "Project Management: A value creation approach" by Clegg, Skyttermoen and Vaagaasar! An easy to follow structure guides the reader through this inventive book. Beyond 'simple' solutions, Clegg et al provide any student of projects theoretically informed distillations of useful and informative practices that are useful and relevant to any setting. This book has a unique approach that is best experienced!

Strongly rooted in a temporary organization perspective, Project Management: A Value Creation Approach offers a detailed and multi-layered compendium of ideas related to project management. With its contemporary emphasis on the value and valorization of projects, and through fun and creative “what would you do” exercises, this book is an indispensable guide to the modern project manager.

This book is an interesting contribution to the project management debate. The dominant perception of organizing projects as technical defined matters in demarked spatial settings with a particular kind of complex tasks that has to be solved has become highly problematic. Therefore, I am very supportive to approaches that take humans central and perceive projects as social networks of people in the process of organizing. This is exactly what the authors do in this book; exploring how projects can create value for solving contemporary social questions.

This book draws a useful map of Project Management. It will help you decide where and how to travel the full gambit and terrain of workplace projects with all the tools needed to reach your desired destination. Buckle up and enjoy the journey!