Project management is truly an art-seeking science with complex processes balancing project output objectives against restraints of time, budget, human resources, quality, and customer satisfaction. Achieving this balance requires skill, experience, and a host of supporting tools and techniques. Project Management Theory and Practice, Fourth Edition explores the project delivery process through an examination of multiple strategies. Its core material reflects the traditional model approach to the life cycle; however, it also highlights common usage errors and reality gaps. The book describes the full life cycle of common processes and tools every project manager needs to understand.

This fourth edition features a contemporary perspective on project management and explores future needs and discusses new directions in the project management model. The textbook introduces new processes and aims to address known gaps in current methodologies and outlines logical future directions. Given the current success rates for projects, a serious project manager must be prepared to make significant changes to the existing toolset and related processes. The book aims to raise awareness of these needs and encourages examination of the shortcomings in current models.

The text emphasizes that, beyond the theoretical aspects of project planning and control, effective management is fundamentally a human activity. While processes and tools serve as supports for human decision-making, they primarily help define the project's objectives and later aid decision-makers in determining the execution plan. The text emphasizes how to transform a project vision into a format that is suitable for execution. It also emphasizes a life cycle perspective along with the essential mechanics needed to develop the projects. The book’s case study examples have been classroom evaluated with students and professionals to ensure they are effective and relevant.