E-Book Overview
This book examines the management of three projects from the nineteenth century which led to substantial business transformation: the Stockton to Darlington Railway, the US Transcontinental Railroad and the Manchester Ship Canal. The lessons learned are of great relevance to contemporary project management, particularly those concerned with disruptive technology. The book addresses a wide range of project management topics associated with transformation. These include value management, sponsorship, governance, partnerships, opportunity management, project culture and morale, project complexity, uncertainty, prototyping and piloting, agility, innovation, risk and knowledge management.
E-Book Content
Managing Transformation Projects Tracing Lessons from the Industrial to the Digital Revolution Mark Kozak-Holland Chris Procter
Managing Transformation Projects
Mark Kozak-Holland · Chris Procter
Managing Transformation Projects Tracing Lessons from the Industrial to the Digital Revolution
Mark Kozak-Holland Stouffville, ON, Canada
Chris Procter Salford Business School University of Salford Salford, UK
ISBN 978-3-030-33034-7 ISBN 978-3-030-33035-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33035-4 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Pivot imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface
Organisations are today facing a digital revolution that brings opportunities and threats, and are transitioning to new business models. Project management through transformational projects is playing a significant part in this revolution. This practice is largely conducted without reference to research or historical background. Indeed, this is indicative of a substantial gap between research and practice in project management more generally. We examine the successful management of three nineteenth-century projects: namely the Stockton to Darlington Railway, the (U.S.) Transcontinental Railroad and the Manchester Ship Canal. These have been chosen because although each one commenced with the purpose of business optimisation, all three resulted in significant business transformation and disruption. In each case we show how the management of these projects led to their transformational impact. The book demonstrates the relevance of these historical projects to contemporary digital transformation, and the vision and skills involved. In so doing it seeks to