How to be a Better-- Project Manager

How to be a Better-- Project Manager
Author: Trevor Leonard Young
Publisher:
Total Pages: 164
Release: 1996
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Lively and ""easy to read"", the books in this dynamic new series are clear, concise action-oriented and up-to-date summaries of a particular management skill. Providing practical advice that any employee can apply immediately in their day-to-day work, each book in the series includes: -- practical tips for improving personal skills -- checklist and diagrams -- short case studies. Project-based work is rapidly becoming the mainstay of many organizations but all too easily projects can go off the rails. Illustrated throughout with checklists, diagrams and templates for running effective projects, this step-by-step guide provides a dear plan to help: -- keep control of costs -- ensure that project timetables are set and adhered to, and -- make use of computer systems in tracking projects. Complete with a detailed glossary.

Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager (Updated and Revised Edition)

Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager (Updated and Revised Edition)
Author: Kory Kogon
Publisher: BenBella Books
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2024-01-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1637740506

No project management training? No problem! In today’s workplace, employees are routinely expected to coordinate and manage projects. Yet, chances are, you aren’t formally trained in managing projects—you’re an unofficial project manager. FranklinCovey experts Kory Kogon and Suzette Blakemore understand the importance of leadership in project completion and explain that people are crucial in the formula for success. This updated and revised edition of Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager offers practical, real-world insights for effective project management and guides you through the essentials of the value, people, and project management process: Scope Plan Engage Track and Adapt Close If you’re struggling to ensure multiple projects are finished with high value and on time, this book is for you. If you manage projects without the benefit of a team, this book is also for you. Change the way you think about project management—"project manager" may not be your official title, but with the right strategies, you can excel in this project economy.

The Data-Driven Project Manager

The Data-Driven Project Manager
Author: Mario Vanhoucke
Publisher: Apress
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2018-03-27
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1484234987

Discover solutions to common obstacles faced by project managers. Written as a business novel, the book is highly interactive, allowing readers to participate and consider options at each stage of a project. The book is based on years of experience, both through the author's research projects as well as his teaching lectures at business schools. The book tells the story of Emily Reed and her colleagues who are in charge of the management of a new tennis stadium project. The CEO of the company, Jacob Mitchell, is planning to install a new data-driven project management methodology as a decision support tool for all upcoming projects. He challenges Emily and her team to start a journey in exploring project data to fight against unexpected project obstacles. Data-driven project management is known in the academic literature as “dynamic scheduling” or “integrated project management and control.” It is a project management methodology to plan, monitor, and control projects in progress in order to deliver them on time and within budget to the client. Its main focus is on the integration of three crucial aspects, as follows: Baseline Scheduling: Plan the project activities to create a project timetable with time and budget restrictions. Determine start and finish times of each project activity within the activity network and resource constraints. Know the expected timing of the work to be done as well as an expected impact on the project’s time and budget objectives. Schedule Risk Analysis: Analyze the risk of the baseline schedule and its impact on the project’s time and budget. Use Monte Carlo simulations to assess the risk of the baseline schedule and to forecast the impact of time and budget deviations on the project objectives. Project Control: Measure and analyze the project’s performance data and take actions to bring the project on track. Monitor deviations from the expected project progress and control performance in order to facilitate the decision-making process in case corrective actions are needed to bring projects back on track. Both traditional Earned Value Management (EVM) and the novel Earned Schedule (ES) methods are used. What You'll Learn Implement a data-driven project management methodology (also known as "dynamic scheduling") which allows project managers to plan, monitor, and control projects while delivering them on time and within budget Study different project management tools and techniques, such as PERT/CPM, schedule risk analysis (SRA), resource buffering, and earned value management (EVM) Understand the three aspects of dynamic scheduling: baseline scheduling, schedule risk analysis, and project control Who This Book Is For Project managers looking to learn data-driven project management (or "dynamic scheduling") via a novel, demonstrating real-time simulations of how project managers can solve common project obstacles

What You Need to Know about Project Management

What You Need to Know about Project Management
Author: Fergus O'Connell
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2012-02-24
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0857081608

What You Need to Know About Project Management Project Management is all about getting things done without spending too much or taking too long. But when you start hearing things like man-days, PSOs and stakeholders, it just makes it difficult to understand. So what do you really need to know about project management? Find out: Why setting clear goals matters How to estimate absolutely everything. How to get things back on track after they’ve gone wrong How to track big projects Why work/life balance matters when you’re running a big project This clear and simple approach will mean you’ll never panic when faced with a big project again. Read More in the Want You Need to Know Series and Get to Speed on the Essentials... Fast.

Project Management Essentials

Project Management Essentials
Author: William P. Athayde
Publisher: Maven House Press
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2013-08-14
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1938548108

If you're new to project management or need to refresh your knowledge, Project Management Essentials, Third Edition, is the quickest and easiest way to learn how to manage projects successfully. The simple techniques and templates in this book provide you with the essential tools you'll need to be an effective project manager. It's as simple as that. Read the book and discover: How to plan well - to decide on the right things to do; The key skills and knowledge you'll need to be effective; How to create an effective charter to start projects off right; Guidelines for building a usable project plan; Tips for breaking project work into manageable pieces; Techniques for estimating project cost and schedule; How to build a team; Strategies to deal with conflict, change, and risk; How to report on the progress of the project and keep everyone concerned happy. Project Management Essentials is written in short, clear chapters to make project management more easily understood. The authors, all valued senior faculty of PM College, use both their business experience and their academic backgrounds to make these chapters come alive. This updated edition complies with the latest project management standard, the PMBOK Guide 5th Edition.

Strategic Project Management Made Simple

Strategic Project Management Made Simple
Author: Terry Schmidt
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2009-03-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 047044293X

When Fortune Magazine estimated that 70% of all strategies fail, it also noted that most of these strategies were basically sound, but could not be executed. The central premise of Strategic Project Management Made Simple is that most projects and strategies never get off the ground because of adhoc, haphazard, and obsolete methods used to turn their ideas into coherent and actionable plans. Strategic Project Management Made Simple is the first book to couple a step-by-step process with an interactive thinking tool that takes a strategic approach to designing projects and action initiatives. Strategic Project Management Made Simple builds a solid platform upon four critical questions that are vital for teams to intelligently answer in order to create their own strong, strategic foundation. These questions are: 1. What are we trying to accomplish and why? 2. How will we measure success? 3. What other conditions must exist? 4. How do we get there? This fresh approach begins with clearly understanding the what and why of a project - comprehending the bigger picture goals that are often given only lip service or cursory reviews. The second and third questions clarify success measures and identify the risky assumptions that can later cause pain if not spotted early. The how questions - what are the activities, budgets, and schedules - comes last in our four-question system. By contrast, most project approaches prematurely concentrate on the how without first adequately addressing the three other questions. These four questions guide readers into fleshing out a simple, yet sophisticated, mental workbench called "the Logical Framework" - a Systems Thinking paradigm that lays out one's own project strategy in an easily accessible, interactive 4x4 matrix. The inclusion of memorable features and concepts (four critical questions, LogFrame matrix, If-then thinking, and Implementation Equation) make this book unique.

Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook

Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook
Author: Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2021-10-19
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1647821274

The one primer you need to launch, lead, and sponsor successful projects. We're now living in the project economy. The number of projects initiated in all sectors has skyrocketed, and project management skills have become essential for every leader and manager. Still, project failure rates remain extremely high. Why? Leaders oversee too many projects and have too little visibility into them. Project managers struggle to translate their hands-on, technical knowledge up to senior management. The result? Worthy projects are starved of time and resources and fail to deliver benefits, while too much investment goes into the wrong projects. To compete in the project economy, you need to close this gap. The HBR Project Management Handbook shows you how. In this comprehensive guide, project management expert Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez presents a new and simple framework that will increase any project's likelihood of success. Packed with case studies from many industries worldwide, it will teach you how to manage your organization's projects, strategic programs, and agile initiatives more effectively and push the best ones ahead to completion. Timeless yet forward-looking, this book will help you win in the project-driven world. In the HBR Project Management Handbook you'll find: Everything you need to know about project management in practical, nontechnical language A definitive taxonomy of project types, from product launches to digital transformations to megaprojects A road map for becoming an effective project leader and executive sponsor A new, simple, and universal project framework, the Project Canvas, that breaks down any project into essential building blocks that can be easily understood by all project stakeholders Original concepts and exclusive case studies from public- and private-sector organizations worldwide You'll learn: A common language for project managers and executives to run successful projects across your organization When to use agile, traditional, or hybrid methods in your projects The twelve principles of successful projects, including purpose, agility, and a focus on outcomes Techniques for selecting and advancing the best projects and managing a strategic and balanced project portfolio How today's projects will help address some of the most pressing global trends, including automation, sustainability, diversity, and crisis management Why project management needed to be reinvented and what the future holds HBR Handbooks provide ambitious professionals with the frameworks, advice, and tools they need to excel in their careers. With step-by-step guidance, time-honed best practices, and real-life stories, each comprehensive volume helps you to stand out from the pack—whatever your role.

The Project Management Answer Book

The Project Management Answer Book
Author: Jeff Furman PMP
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Total Pages: 411
Release: 2014-12-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1567264670

If it's essential to project management... it's in here! The first edition of The Project Management Answer Book addressed all the key principles of project management that every project manager needs to know. With a new chapter on scrum agile, updates throughout, and many new PMP® test tips, this new edition builds on that solid foundation. The structure of this update maps closely to the PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, and is designed to assist anyone studying for the PMP® and other certification exams. Helpful sections cover: • Networking and social media tips for PMs, including the best professional organizations, virtual groups, and podcast resources • The formulas PMs need to know, plus a template to help certification candidates prepare and self-test for their exams • Quick study sheet for the processes covered on the PMP® exam • Key changes in PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, for readers familiar with earlier versions who want “the skinny” on the new version. PMs at every level will find real gold in the information nuggets provided in this new edition. Those new to project management will find the comprehensive coverage and the depth of the answers especially valuable, and will like the easy-to-read style and Q&A format. For experienced managers looking for new tools and skills to help them pass their PMP® or other certification exams, this is a must-have resource.

Project Management Absolute Beginner's Guide

Project Management Absolute Beginner's Guide
Author: Greg Horine
Publisher: Que Publishing
Total Pages: 613
Release: 2017-02-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 013465398X

This is the eBook of the printed book and may not include any media, website access codes, or print supplements that may come packaged with the bound book. Succeed as a project manager, even if you’ve never run a project before! This book is the fastest way to master every project management task, from upfront budgeting and scheduling through execution, managing teams through closing projects, and learning from experience. Updated with more insights from the front lines, including agile approaches, dealing with security and privacy priorities, and leading remote/virtual teams, along with the latest on Microsoft Project and PMI standards and certifications and a special bonus chapter on preparing for the PMP certification. This book will show you exactly how to get the job done, one incredibly clear and easy step at a time. Project management has never, ever been this simple! Who knew how simple project management could be? This is today’s best beginner’s guide to modern project management... simple, practical instructions for succeeding with every task you’ll need to perform! Here’s a small sample of what you’ll learn: • Master the key skills and qualities every project manager needs • Lead projects, don’t just “manage” them • Avoid 15 most common mistakes new project managers make • Learn from troubled, successful, and “recovered” projects • Set the stage for success by effectively defining your project • Build a usable project plan and an accurate work breakdown structure (WBS) • Create budgets and schedules that help you manage risk • Use powerful control and reporting techniques, including earned value management • Smoothly manage project changes, issues, risks, deliverables, and quality • Manage project communications and stakeholder expectations • Organize and lead high-performance project teams • Manage cross-functional, cross-cultural, and virtual projects • Work successfully with vendors and Project Management Offices • Make the most of Microsoft Project and new web-based alternatives • Get started with agile and “critical chain” project management • Gain key insights that will accelerate your learning curve • Know how to respond to real-life situations, not just what they teach you in school

The Everyday Project Manager

The Everyday Project Manager
Author: Jeremy Nicholls
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2020-09-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1000191672

The best organizations, and even the best departments within organizations, have a roadmap: a clear vision of where they would like to be and the means by which they will get there. This roadmap drives the everyday activity of the company as well as any change it makes both internally and externally. And it is what drives projects. In fact, it is arguable that success in business is almost wholly reliant on an ability to implement change effectively – whether it is a computer system that gives you the edge on your competitor, bringing a new product to market, adopting new ways of working, or completely redefining the approach your company takes. Success and survival in business relies on change and the way that business implements change is through projects. Therefore, if you work in the world of business, sooner or later the chances are that you will be involved in a project, as a stakeholder, advisor, sponsor or possibly running it - as the project manager. In The Everyday Project Manager, author and project management expert Jeremy Nicholls shares the key attributes and skills of successful project management and describes the practical skills that will enhance project delivery regardless of your level of experience. The skills and concepts detailed in this book can be easily understood and implemented. They are "everyday" (that is, commonplace) skills, but they are skills and the concepts that the best project managers use every day. Each chapter details the concepts, practices, and tools that readers will use to build their proficiency in every phase of delivering a project efficiently and effectively.