ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The conceptualization, definition, and preparation of the third edition of this book became a key project for the authors. As is typical of all projects, this project took on a life cycle of its own and required the cooperative effort of many people who served as advocates, adversaries, and consultants. Our deep appreciation goes to all of these book project “stakeholders,” without whom this project could not have been imagined and completed.

Our deep appreciation goes to all of our students, clients, and associates who have provided the opportunities for us to engage in discussions and practices of project management. Our students and associates in the project management community have been particularly influential in their support. We have tried to capture, in summary fashion, the best of the concepts, processes, and techniques of project management theory and practice.

Our thanks to Dr. Bopaya Bidanda, Chairman of the Industrial Engineering Department, and Dr. Gerald D. Holder, Dean of the School of Engineering, at the University of Pittsburgh, who provided an intellectual environment in which a project such as this Handbook could be pursued.