Project management specialists today recognize that when you run a project, you are running a business. In fact, a popular model of project managers is as CEOs of a project enterprise. Because of this new focus on project workers as business men and women, increasing attention has focused on adopting business techniques on projects.

A particularly intriguing business technique that is generating excitement in the project management community is the real option decision making technique employed by investors. When applied to project management, this approach views certain project activities -- such as writing a proposal or engaging in research and development -- as real options, which we are willing to "buy" to gain information for future investment decisions (e.g., whether to stick with a project or kill it). The technique can be used for a number of project decisions, but it is particularly powerful when trying to make bid/no-bid decisions.

In Real Option Approach to Decision Making, Dr. J. Davidson Frame explains how financial options and real options function in traditional investment environments, and then shows how they can be applied to projects. He goes through a step-by-step demonstration of using the real option approach to determine whether it is worthwhile to fund a feasibility study to expand a manufacturing plant, then he carries the methodology one step further by using the feasibility study conclusions to determine whether it is worthwhile to proceed with the actual plant expansion project.

CD-ROM Contents

This CD contains a 50-minute long video playable on Windows Media Player that covers:

• The need for prioritization on projects
• Financial options and real options
• Traditional approach to selecting projects using financial tools
• The real option approach to selecting projects
• Demo: Step by step illustration of how to use the real option approach to select a project
• Real options "buy" information for better decisions
• Real options as a risk management tool
• Strengths and limitations of real options

J. Davidson Frame

Dr. Frame is Academic Dean of UMT, and one of the world's leading authorities on project management. He has written a number of books on risk management and technology management including: Managing Projects in Organizations, The New Project Management, Project Management Competence, Managing Risk in Organizations, and Project Finance: Tools and Techniques. Dr. Frame was Professor of Management Science at the George Washington University, where he served on the faculty from 1979-1998. In 1990-1996, he headed the certification program for the Project Management Institute (PMI). In 1997-1998, he was PMI's Director of Education Services. In 1999-2002, he served on PMI's Board of Directors.

How to Obtain this CD-ROM

There are two ways to obtain this CD-ROM:

1. Purchase a copy for only $14.95 at UMT's secure Online Payment page.

2. Register for UMT's newest self-paced course, Project Finance and Budgeting. In addition to the CD-ROM, you will receive the following:

• Course textbook: Project Finance: Tools and Techniques (UMT Series on Project Management Principles and Practices), by Dr. J. Davidson Frame
• Course modules
• Think and Review sections for each module
• Answers to the Think and Review sections
• Final exam
• Certificate of Completion.

If you successfully complete the course, you are eligible to earn 30 Professional Development Units (PDUs) from the Project Management Institute.