Acknowledgements

We are aware that the acknowledgements section is often skipped over in writings like this one. But a project of this nature cannot be successfully completed with the dedication and generous support of a number of experts, friends, colleagues, and all of those individuals who shared their time and information so freely with us. We hope that their efforts will be recognized by all who read this book.

We follow a chronological order, beginning with those who started this venture with us. It was Professor John Byrne who first started the project and helped to write a creative and innovative project proposal that was ultimately funded by the PMI-sponsored research program. Dave Keeney worked relentlessly to identify and convince project managers to participate in our study. His efforts greatly enriched the depth and breadth of projects represented in the study. Without the effort of these two individuals the study would have been nearly impossible to initiate and implement. We are grateful for their participation and friendship. We also want to thank all the project managers who took the time to share important information about their projects. With their information, they cultivated innovative insights for their profession. In her role as sponsor, Dr. Carla Messikomer, Manager and Academic Resource for the Project Management Institute, was always supportive of the work with the clear priority of innovation. Regardless of the challenging dynamics such a project brings with it, we were always simpatico when it came to finding common ground. Finally, we deeply thank our families for their support and understanding during those times when we were working on the project instead of sharing our time with them.

We leave it to the reader to decide if we were able to meet the high ambitions and standards our partners set.