ABSTRACT
The US government’s failure to undertake adequate postwar project planning in Iraq is evident in the run-up to the invasion of the country in March 2003. As James Lewis points out, project planning is an attempt to answer the journalist's questions—who, what, when, where, why, and how—about a particular project prior to its execution. Engaging in the nine aspects of public sector project planning we've listed may sound like a complex and painful process, and, in many ways, it is. This chapter discusses capital investment planning and budgeting. Richard Neustadt and Ernest May explain that questioning presumptions can be a relatively simple process and can be a part of a brainstorming process as well. Procurement and contracting rules, in particular, are often intended to encourage public managers to undertake adequate project planning, select the best agents for the task, adopt mutually advantageous agreements, and monitor projects adequately-all elements of this book's framework for successful public sector project management.
