Understanding Project Practices and Processes

Mel Bost is a project management consultant specializing in project closeout and lessons learned, as well as process improvement, best practices, and benchmarking. He has taught “Project Management for Research” to postgraduate students at Arizona State University, as well as developed new approaches to the research process.

He was formerly a practice leader in BOT International’s PMO Practice and is a specialist in PMO best practices, Project Lessons Learned, and program management. He is experienced in all aspects of project and program management, including strategic planning, design thinking, knowledge management, risk management, and business process analysis. Bost has successfully developed the processes, standards, procedures, and organizational structures for the PMOs of several major corporations.

Before becoming a consultant, Bost worked for a number of large national and international companies, including Exterran Corporation, ConocoPhillips, Phillips Petroleum, Tosco Corporation, UNOCAL, Atlantic Richfield Company, and Ford Motor Company. Bost began his career in the industry with Ford Motor Company, where he directed product programs for the North American and European markets. He was also instrumental in a group that introduced finite element analysis in Ford Product Engineering using NASA programs.