ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book addresses the combined challenges of international, distributed and virtual projects, being mainly dedicated to global projects. It defines the main characteristics of global projects and programs and presents a framework that will lead international companies to achieve maturity in global project management by helping global program and project managers to focus on the advantages of international teams, addressing the challenges of cross-cultural and virtual communication and presenting innovative solutions for collaboration over a distance. Organisations can use the scale above to establish comparisons among different projects, to decide when to apply the good practices and for risk management. The book discusses the main dimensions of a global project and understands what challenges are faced by global program and project teams. It also discovers the Global Project Management Framework, which will guide throughout the book parts and chapters.
