Project management involves decision making, and for most projects the ability to make good decisions is crucial to their success. In practice, many project management decisions are based purely on experience and judgement not always successfully. Effective decision making requires an understanding of available alternatives, appropriate methods for deriving choices, and the ability to continually evaluate and select the best means for enhancing project success. The book presents a model for decision making in projects. It distinguishes between authorization, selection, and plan decisions, and presents an overview of available techniques. In addition, the book presents research results to support methods for optimal decisions in projects in order to achieve success. Asbjorn Rolstadas is Vice Dean for research at the Faculty of Engineering Science and Technology and Professor of Production and Quality Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He is the author of 13 books and over 290 papers. He has more than 30 years of experience in education, research, and consulting in project management and project risk management for major international projects. Jeffrey K. Pinto is the Andrew Morrow and Elizabeth Lee Black Chair of Management of Technology in the Sam and Irene Black School of Business at Behrend College, Penn State University. He is the lead faculty member for Penn State s Master of Project Management programme. Dr Pinto is the author or editor of 29 books and over 140 scientific papers. He served as Editor of the Project Management Journal from 1990 to 1996. Peter Falster was a warded an MSc in Electrical Power Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark. At the same university, he completed a PhD in Systems Science, with specialization in production planning and scheduling. His research interests are systems science and engineering, logic and array theory, logistics and supply chains, project management, and IT. Ray Venkataraman is the Department Chair and Professor of Project and Supply Chain Management in the Sam and Irene Black School of Business at Behrend College, Pennsylvania State University. He was awarded a PhD in Management Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. Dr Venkataraman has published in many of the top journals in his field, and his current research interests are in the area of sustainability in projects and supply chains.
