"For more than 50 years, project management has been in use but perhaps not on a worldwide basis. What differentiated companies in the early years was whether they used project management or not, not how well they used it. Today, almost every company uses project management, and the differentiation is whether they are simply good at project management or whether they truly excel at project management. The difference between using project management and being good at it is relatively small, and most companies can become good at project management in a relatively short time, especially if they have executive-level support. A well-organized project management office (PMO) can also accelerate the maturation process. The difference, however, between being good and excelling at project management is quite large. One of the critical differences is that excellence in project management on a continuous basis requires more metrics than just time and cost. The success of a project cannot be determined just from the time and cost metrics, yet many companies persist in the belief that this is possible. The growth of project management applications to nontraditional projects such as those involving strategic issues, innovation, and long-term business investment opportunities have forced companies to rethink how project management can be better utilized. Companies have come to the realization that they must excel at project management rather than just being good at it. This requires the use of flexible"-- Provided by publisher.