A Concise Guide to Project Collaboration: Building a Delivery Organization

by Robin Hornby

Overview

Easy to read and act on immediately, this concise guide shows how organizations can work more effectively with in-house or contracted project managers and their teams, using specific collaborative techniques to improve success rates, reduce project costs, and enable organizations to benefit from common-sense, cost-effective project management approaches that work.

Using a clear structure and accessible style, the book demonstrates how:

• Managers can create an organizational environment more naturally adapted for project work and recognition of business priorities;
• Barriers to project work can be removed so project managers can focus on resolving real project problems;
• Specific collaborative project management methods engaging business owners, users, and technical teams can be illuminated and implemented;
• Projects can fit within an architecture that aligns with business needs using models and workflow designs; and
• Standardized delivery management can unify in-house and vendor teams to create a uniform and predictable owner experience.

The book is aimed at managers and executives (both IT and users) in corporations and vendor firms who are engaged in delivering projects. The book will also be invaluable to any project manager or senior practitioner who is interested in a business-oriented, unified, and collaborative approach to project management.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781000874204
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	02/09/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	142
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Robin Hornby worked in Information Technology for over 40 years, rising from a technical role to project and delivery management. He taught project management at Mount Royal University for 12 years and maintained a consulting practice. He has authored four books and pioneered many of the delivery practices described in this guide.

Table of Contents

1. The Organisation and the Project 2. A Reference Framework For Collaboration 3. Stages of the Business Lifecycle 4. Shared Collaborative Practices 5. Independent Project Practices 6. Implementation Steps 7. The Future of Collaboration

Editorial Reviews

"A masterful project manager and one of the best educators in the project management discipline, Robin Hornby does an excellent job in A Concise Guide to Project Collaboration. The guide walks the reader through the business lifecycle, focusing clearly on the business interest and the client’s share of responsibilities. At each stage the guide defines the collaborative steps as part of a clear project plan, emphasizing critical communications, agreements, and accountabilities. The approach includes assessing and documenting project successes, and a final analysis ‘Did we Benefit?’. Hornby’s methods have saved significant dollars for companies I have worked for. This guide will further strengthen our ability to deliver professional projects to our customers."

James R. Wickson, Vice President, Esri Canada

"In A Concise Guide to Project Collaboration, Robin Hornby culminates decades of experience successfully delivering programs and projects. He takes a holistic project delivery perspective and goes beyond the core capabilities and practices of project management to provide frameworks and guidance for the ‘Delivery Organization’. Hornby describes this as a high performing collaborative, business-oriented environment, and a frequently overlooked component of success. This is a must-read for executives, sponsors, leaders, and business stakeholders who are accountable for project outcomes and business benefits, as well as their supporting consulting firms and service providers."

Jackie Poeckens, Partner, Sia Partners

"Robin Hornby’s A Concise Guide to Project Collaboration is a valuable read for managers and employees collaborating with the project provider to achieve project success. The guide is clearly written, and the concepts are enhanced with practical visuals and templates. I appreciated the strong emphasis on project accountability, quality, risks, and resources."

Kam Jugdev, Professor, Project Management and Strategy, Athabasca University

"If you are one of those many project managers who have been frustrated by the lack of direction, support, and accountability from the Board, Executive and Business Management, Hornby’s focus in A Concise Guide to Project Collaboration will help you navigate your way to a successful outcome."

John Thorp, Author of The Information Paradox, Fujitsu Consulting Fellow, Fellow of The Innovation Value Institute, and the Institute for Digital Transformation

"A Concise Guide to Project Collaboration draws upon Robin Hornby’s vast experience and delivers a ground-breaking, easy to understand, actionable resource for collaborative and successful delivery of complex projects. This guide is a tremendous resource for all business leaders and project professionals who want to know what to do, and how to do it."

Russ Hall, former President, Intergraph Canada

From the Publisher