The long planning horizon of complex projects defies the traditional project management concepts of deterministic schedules, costs, risks, and assumptions. Large cost overruns and benefit shortfalls are all too common. Virtually all major projects involve complex interfaces among diverse stakeholders, many of which have no direct contractual relationships, yet they share critical interfaces that can mean the difference between great success and huge failure.

This unique book presents a holistic view of a new discipline called project interface management, which is planning, coordinating, and controlling of the work of others at project interfaces. It includes numerous processes, tools, and techniques and aligns critical interactions among project management, systems engineering, and operations management to reduce project risk and increase successful system design, development, completion, and transition of major projects.

This cutting-edge text is designed for use in graduate-level project management and system engineering courses, executive education programs, and will serve as a professional reference. It will show professional project managers, systems engineers, executives, managers, and students how to plan, implement, and manage interfaces in real-world practice using a simple cost-effective approach. It is a must-read for those dealing with complex industrial projects and in government, defense, aerospace, energy, information technology, education, transportation, and infrastructure.

• Details how project interface management can address many of the issues contributing to large cost overruns and significant under-delivery on major projects
• Articulates why interface planning is critical and must align with the project plan for design, development, and delivery
• Destroys the common misconceptions that project interface management is only applicable within technical or engineering functions and that acquiring an applicable software tool is all one needs to improve major capital project outcomes
• Discusses the need to systematically identify, document, and manage technical, project, organizational, and industry interfaces on major projects to ensure effective system integration and adherence to project constraints, while meeting stakeholder expectations and industry regulations
• Describes ways to effectively and efficiently manage interfaces during project execution that minimize the risk of rework during integration
• Provides practical guidance on how to plan and implement a project interface management program that incorporates proven practices in a variety of domains
• Demonstrates how to perform interface management during project execution using an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) project execution model

Chapter 1: Accelerating Change and the Context for Projects

Chapter 2: Understanding Project Complexity

Chapter 3: Interface Management Introduction

Chapter 4: Basic Interface Management Process

Chapter 5: Interface Analysis

Chapter 6: Interface Management Planning

Chapter 7: Interface Management Implementation

Chapter 8: Managing Interface Activity during Execution

Chapter 9: Interface Management Verification and Closeout

Appendix A: Interface Management Definitions and Terminology

Appendix B: Coreworx Interface Management Overview

Appendix C: ABC Management of Project Development

Appendix D: Project Diamond Mandate for Execution Phase

Appendix E: Project Diamond Execution Plan

Appendix F: Project Diamond DG3 Interface Control Document

Appendix G: Example Interface Management Closeout Report