I first became interested in the methods of planning the sequence and
timing of jobs on large-scale development projects, as a field officer
involved in planning and implementing mechanised farming schemes in
Uganda in the mid-sixties. This interest was reinforced by experience of
agro-industrial projects in both Nigeria and Iran, when it became
obvious that the lax traditional methods of both planning and controll-
ing the implementation of agricultural and other rural development
projects were very ineffective compared with those already in use in
other disciplines. An extended spell as Resident Adviser on a World Bank
project to strengthen planning and project management services in the
agricultural sector in Sind Province, Pakistan, stimulated this interest
further, and gave opportunities to develop the use of improved methods
on some very complex schemes. This book summarises the experience gained
in adapting critical path methods, well established in other fields, to
Third World development projects, with their peculiar problems. It would
not have been possible to reach this point without the help and
stimulation of discussions with a large number of colleagues, includ-
ing John Joyce (then of Hunting Technical Services), Hatsuya Azumi
(World Bank), and-particularly-Zaffar Sohrwardy and Akhtar Ali of
Aarkays Associates in Karachi, during our work together. My thanks are
also due to Yasin Mohammed, who typed most of the original draft; Anwar
Mohammed and Irene Mills for final typing; and to my wife, Jill, for
drawing the original figures.